Weekly Menu - a few weeks back

I never posted my two week menus from a few weeks ago:

ribs, potato salad
homemade chicken nuggets, homemade fries
spaghetti squash, green beans, french peasant bread
hamburgers, sweet potato fries
steak, salad, love potion
buttermilk pigs in a blanket, smoothie
tomato soup, grilled cheese
cheesy ham and potatoes
pizza

French Toast

French Toast

I got this from America's Test Kitchen

Use a loaf of bread and cut into 1' slices

(they recommended Challah bread)

place bread slices on cookie sheet and dry in oven for 15 minutes

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. brown sugar

3 egg yoks

1 1/2 cup milk

soak each piece of bread for 20 minutes per side in batter.

cook in medium heat, buttered pan for 3-4 minutes on each side.

place in 200 degree oven to keep warm



Weekly Menu 2/5/12- Elise

Steak, potatos, veggies, rolls, fruit salad
lasagna
Turkey breast, twice baked sweet potatos, green bean casserole, rolls
Stew, biscuts
Beef Tacos, pinto beans, spanish rice

Weekly Menu 2/12/12- Elise

Turkey casserole, Gourmet sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls
Steak, potatos, green beans, fruit, rolls
Pizza, Salad,
Apricot chicken, rice,
Meat loaf, rolls, salad

Weekly Menu 2/12/12 - Amy

Quinoa Patties, fresh fruit, veggie platter
Cheeseburger soup
Quinoa Chili
Homemade mac and cheese, veggies
Black beans, spanish rice, tortillas, cheese
Roast, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots

Turkey Casserole

Turkey Casserole

cooked and cut up turkey meat (or chicken 3 or 4 pound whole chicken--cook and remove from bones)

Custard:
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
6 c. chicken broth
6 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
Melt butter. Stir in flour.  With stove on medium low heat, add broth as you pour slowly and stir fast.  When this thickens, add a small amount to the beaten eggs--pour slow and stir fast.  Then add the egg mixture to the remaining sauce.  Add salt.

Dressing:  (Or use a box mix of dressing and follow directions on the box)
3 - 4 cups bread crumbs
6 Tb. butter
2 Tb. onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
celery cut up in small pieces
Saute onion and celery in butter.  Add bread crumbs and seasoning

3/4 c. buttered bread crumbs  (Melt some butter in a pan.   Cut dried bread into small cubes and mix with melted butter)

Butter a 9 x 12 inch pan.  Put dressing in bottom of pan.  Put turkey or chicken in pan.  Top with
custard sauce.  Finish with buttered bread crumbs on top.  Bake in 300 to 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes until bread on top is brown.  Serves about 10 to 15.

You can cut the recipe down to a smaller amount. 
It is a little time consuming but very good.  If you use a box of dressing, It is a lot less work.  Also, you could buy croutons and mix with butter for the buttered crumbs on the top.

Carrie's Meatloaf

Elise here is the meatloaf recipe I have used.  I got it from my old roommate Carrie.  Everything in the parenthesis is her commentary.  Anything in italics is from me.

1 beaten egg (sometimes I make a 1 and 1/2 lb meatloaf, then I use an egg and 1 egg white too)
1 slice of bread crumbs (if you use dry use about 1/4 c)
1/4 c milk
1/4 c finely chopped onion (here is the happy mistake I made the other day... I had no onion so I used a packet of onion soup mix, whoa it was good!)
1/4 c finely chopped celery (or green pepper or carrots or mushrooms)  I love to add mushrooms... but that's just me
1/2 tsp basil
1 lb ground beef
the second secret ingredient: I add a little pork sausage, maybe like 1/4 of a lb

Mix egg, bread, milk, onion, celery, basil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

Add the beef (and pork) and mix well. I know this is gross, but I've found the only way to really get the sausage mixed in well is by using my hands. Haven't you ever noticed that sausage tends to clump together?

Put in your loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. I put it on a platter and then brush with a couple tablespoons of bbq sauce (I know, its not much, but makes all the difference)

Weekly Menu 2/5/12 - Amy

Taco soup
Chicken stir fry
Broccoli and beef
Cheesy chicken, bacon and avocado quesadillas, Spanish rice
Pizza, strawberry avocado salad
Baked chicken bacon alfredo

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

From Allrecipes.  We tried it last night and it was really good.

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic
Prep Time:          Cook Time:          Ready In:
20 Min                 1 hr. 5 min            1 hr. 25 min           

Ingredients

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Bundt pan garlic knots

Pizza dough
4 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
rosemary
parmesean
provolone
marinara sauce

Melt butter and garlic (grated or minced) in pan on stove.

Roll pizza dough into 3/4" logs and cut dough into bite sized pieces.  Cover with garlic butter, salt, pepper and rosemary.  Put half in bunt pan.  Layer with cheese (I think I'll do parmesean and mozzerella).  place the rest of the dough on top and layer with cheese again.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Dip in Marinara sauce.



I saw this on Rachael Ray but haven't tried it yet.

Weekly Menus 1/29/12- Elise

Cheesy potato soup  with ham, rolls
Steak, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans
Pizza, Smoothie, Salad
Baked chicken nuggets, salad, garlicky baked potatoes
chicken and rice, rolls, green beans
taquitos, guacamole, beans, rice

Weekly Menu 1/22/12- Elise

Steak, sweet potato fries, fruit salad, rolls
Honey baked chicken, rice
Beef nachos, pinto beans
Cheesy Ham and potatoes, salad
Beef Tacos