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.

Sweet Pork Burritos, Rice and Beans, Corn

Sweet Pork Burritos
2 lbs pork
1/2 c brown sugar
1 small can mild green enchilada sauce
1 can diced green chiles (optional)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
garlic powder
8 - 10 tortillas
1/2 c shredded cheese

Grease crock pot. Add pork and cook on high 6 hours or on low all day. Drain off liquid. Shred pork, discarding any fat.

Mix together shredded meat, brown sugar, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and black beans. Add a little garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Warm in the crock pot for a half hour or in the microwave for a minute or two. Roll meat in tortillas. Place burritos, not quite touching, on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes, or until cheese melts and edges of burritos are golden brown.

Spanish Rice
1 c rice
2 c water
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 t minced onion
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t salt

For rice, add rice, water, tomato sauce, 1 t minced onion, 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t salt to a greased rice cooker and cook. When done, adjust seasonings to taste.

Zesty Refried Beans
1 can refried beans
2 t chili powder
1 t cumin

In a microwave safe bowl, mix refried beans, 2 t chili powder and 2 t cumin. Microwave one minute at a time, stirring after each minute, until beans are warm. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Corn
frozen corn
Microwave corn. Season with pepper. Simple as that.