Week 40 Grocery List

This week I will be price matching at WalMart.

Ingredients for Week 40 Dinners
I will be purchasing:
1 red bell pepper ($.50- Buy Low)
1 head lettuce (Organic Romaine lettuce- $.99 Sunflower Farmers Market)
1 c cauliflower crowns ($.89/lb- Reams)
green onions
3 potatoes
fresh parsley (optional)
1 head garlic
cilantro
milk (1 gallon- $1.99- Kohlers)
mozzarella cheese (Tillamook 2 lb block- $4.99- Maceys)
jarred red peppers

I will be using from my pantry:
2 c broccoli
5 chicken breasts
2 lbs pork
8-10 tortillas
1 onion
1/2 c sour cream
cheese (about 16 oz of cheddar and Colby Jack)
Parmesan cheese
frozen edamame
frozen corn
rice
1 lb ziti pasta
1 lb linguini pasta
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes, crushed, diced, or whole
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can refried beans
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (14 oz) can black beans
2-3 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles (optional)
teriyaki sauce
Ranch dressing
bacon bits
dry Ranch salad dressing mix
salsa
lime juice
hot sauce
peanut buter
butter
oil
olive oil
sesame oil
flour
brown sugar
salt pepper
minced onion
garlic powder
chili powder
cumin
basil
bay leaf
nutmeg

I will also be purchasing these deals:
fuji apples ($.79/lb- Buy Low)
1 lb mini carrots ($.79- Fresh Market)
10 (7 oz) Keebler crackers ($1.99- Fresh Market, then use mail in rebate for $10 back)
(15 oz) Progresso Italian breadcrumbs ($.88 with Maceys in-ad coupon)
8-10 ct. Nestle hot cocoa mix ($.69 with Maceys in-ad coupon)

Week 40 Meal Plan

So sorry about the lack of posting last week. Man, oh man, my life has gotten extremely more complicated lately. I'm trying to balance it all, but sometimes I just run out of time! Here is this week's meal plan.

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Cream of Broccoli Soup, Toast

Friday- Trying something new!
Anniversary Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad

Saturday
Go Out

Sunday
Pork Enchiladas, Rice and Beans, Corn
(Follow the Pork Burrito recipe, but after rolling the meat in the tortillas, place in a pan with an extra can or two of green enchilada sauce. Top with cheese as desired and bake at 350 until bubbly.)

Monday
Neapolitan Baked Ziti, Green Salad, Peas

Tuesday- Trying something new!
Americanized Thai Pasta, Edamame

Anniversary Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad

When my husband and I were dating, he would always try to do sweet things for me. Ok, he still does that, but he happens to do it a little more skillfully these days. Once upon a time, I had to stay late at school studying, and since he lived just off campus, I asked if I could take a quick study break to see him and eat some dinner. He offered to make some food, and I asked for something quick and easy, like pb&j. When I arrived at his apartment, I was surprised to find he had tried a new chicken recipe from AllRecipes in hopes of spoiling me with an exciting dinner.

He had logically chosen a recipe with extremely high ratings. But since his bachelor apartment wasn't fully stocked with all of the ingredients called for in the recipe, he had made a few substitutions of his own. In the end, you probably guessed that the chicken was a bit of a disaster. We laughed at how his time would have been better spent making sandwiches.

Well, a few days ago I got an email from AllRecipes with that very same recipe as the Recipe of the Day. My husband and I vowed that we would have to try it (with all the right ingredients this time!) to see what all the five-star fuss was about.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe for Anniversary Chicken, from AllRecipes.

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup teriyaki basting sauce
• 1/4 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1-1/2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 (3 ounce) can bacon bits
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
3. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.
4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Americanized Thai Pasta, Edamame

I have been dying to try this Thai Pasta recipe from CreativeStirrings for months now, but somehow I hadn't ever gotten around to it. I have almost all of the ingredients in my fridge at the moment, so I thought I better get with it and make it!

You can find the original post for this recipe here at the Creative Stirrings blog, along with another creative and delicious-looking recipe for burritos if you want to try this sauce two different ways.

I am opting to only make the pasta, so I have modified the recipe by cutting out the extra sauce ingredients for the burritos. But man, check out the presentation on the burritos!


Americanized Thai Pasta
from Creative Stirrings

1/4 (1.0 oz.) dry package of Ranch® Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 bunch of cilantro
3.75 oz (a little less than 1/2 cup) jarred red peppers, drained and patted dry with a paper towel
1 tablespoon regular salsa
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce or more!

Combine the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Add the following in the blender:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon black pepper or more!
Additional hot sauce would also be good

Blend until smooth. Then, pour into a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl and set aside while you prepare the following:
16 oz. linguine pasta, cooked and drained

1 1/2 cups chopped and cooked chicken
1 red pepper, sliced

Stir the chicken into the sauce and heat through. Place noodles on individual serving plates and top with the sauce and red pepper slices. Serve immediately.

Disappointment

Remember how excited I was to try this Penne Rustica copy cat recipe?

Well, I think all of the reviewers online are either crazy or have never actually been to Macaroni Grill.

This dish looked a lot like Penne Rustica. It had penne pasta, chicken, shrimp, and cured pork (though Macaroni Grill uses proscuitto, not bacon) in a creamy sauce, so I can see where people might draw conclusions on their similarity. But seriously, the sauce did not taste one bit like Macaroni Grill's. Sorry, guys, but my pregnant taste buds are quite discerning.

I was pretty disappointed to spend so much time, money, and calories when the whole thing didn't come out right. My husband loved it and ate much more than he should have, but I was just left wishing for the right flavor. Ah well, maybe that means we'll have to actually go out for it sometime!

Sorry to anyone who tried it expecting a clone of the original. I feel your pain.