Sunday, December 26, 2010

Menu Plan Monday

It's a clean out the fridge and use up the leftovers week!

Sunday: Halseth Family Christmas

Monday: Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup (with homemade stock, leftover Prime rib and homemade tomato-basil soup from the freezer! YUM), rolls

Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Chicken, rice, egg rolls

Wednesday: Scott cooks. Turkey and Gravy over Mashed Potatoes, carrots

Thursday: Scott cooks. Shrimp Scampi, garlic bread, salad (we don't really follow a recipe for the shrimp, but if we did- it would probably be this one from the Barefoot Contessa herself!)

Friday: New Year's Eve Celebration at friend's house!

Saturday: New Year's Day Open House at my parent's house

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Menu Plan Monday... and a Holiday Meal Plan

I wanted to share the cookies and treats that I (and Jake and Drew) have been baking over the past week:

Pfeffernusse: Jake needed these for a holiday presentation for his World History Class (his group had Germany)- He actually got mobbed after class by people wanting another one! We also made Marzipan- not as good- I still have a jar of almond paste that I am going to use to make Kringle- maybe for christmas morning???

Pretzel Turtles

Chunky Twix Cookies

Peanut Butter Bon Bons

Oreo Truffles

Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods


Now on to the week....

Sunday: Spicy Asian noodles with Chicken, egg rolls (yum)


Monday: Salmon (from last weeks menu)


Tuesday: Out for Mexican? There are 2 new restaurants in town that I would love to go to- 1 is a traditional mexican cantina and 1 is a new pizza place. I want to try one of them!


Wednesday: Scott cooks. Crockpot 40 clove chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans. I wanted to like this recipe for the ease of preparation, but this meal was not a winner- the chicken had an odd texture to it and the garlic stayed pretty garlicy. While I like 40 clove chicken, I will still to roasting it in the oven!


Thursday: Scott cooks. Breakfast for Dinner. Egg sandwiches with bacon or sausage, fruit smoothies, hash browns with peppers and onions


Friday: Christmas Eve: Scott requested Butternut Squash Risotto again! (I, of course, would not argue).


Saturday: Merry Christmas. We are hosting the Thompson Family Christmas.
Appetizers: Shrimp cocktail, vegie tray, crackers and cheese,
Zuppa Toscana (courtesy of my mother-in-law)
Prime Rib for 20
Steakhouse Baked Potato with all the fixings
Glazed Carrots
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Assorted Pies courtesy of my father-in-law
Assorted Cookies and treats from my sister-in-law (and me!)









Sunday, December 12, 2010

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday: Turkey Dinner: Herb Roasted Turkey, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans

Monday: BFD: Frittata, Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Tuesday: Parmesan Baked Salmon, fingerling potatoes, salad (never got to cook this one)

Wednesday: Scott "cooks". Turkey Soup in the Crockpot, rolls

Thursday: Scott cooks. Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Friday: Pizza Night: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Saturday: Chili

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Menu Plan Monday

Scott gets off easy this week- Simple reheating- With all the snow they're forecasting for this weekend, I thought I had better be nice to him this week!



Sunday: Company's coming! Greek Roast chicken (I was inspired by this recipe- I used ground oregano, onion and garlic powders, salt and pepper to season the chicken. Pan fried to brown the skin and placed in the oven to finish cooking. I made a pan sauce with white wine to deglaze the pan, chicken stock, a squeeze of lemon and a pat of butter. YUM! I will try the original recipe someday- put I needed to cook a lot of chicken and it wouldn't have fit in the pan! Much easier for company to toss on a sheet tray and finish in the oven!), fingerling potatoes, glazed carrots, bread/rolls


Monday: Leftovers


Tuesday: Sesame Chicken with Jack Daniels dipping sauce, Sweet potato fries, green beans


Wednesday: Scott Cooks. Black Bean Tacos (already ready), Pineapple


Thursday: Scott Cooks. Lasagna (already in the freezer!), breadsticks, salad


Friday: Pizza Pasta, salad


Saturday: Chili

I also have to include this recipe for Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash. I was planning on making it this week, but ended up making it on Saturday last week. I forgot to buy the shallot when I was out at the store, so I did a fine dice on a red onion and added two cloves of garlic instead. I also stirred in a couple of tablespoons of marscapone cheese at the end. I adore risotto but this recipe is definitely a keeper as Scott loved it too!