Weekly menu for the week following May 16th, 2009

I make up a weekly menu because I'm cheap. Breakfasts always very, as do snacks, based more on what I have in my pantry than what I write down here. Some days I successfully mix and match and other days are carbon copies of the day before.

Saturday:
L: Chicken sandwich with cheese, lettuce, spinach & sliced tomato
D: Out
Sunday
L: Leftover Beef & barley soup with tomatoes
D: BBQ steak, baked potatoes/sweet & steamed green beans
Monday:
L: Leftover Beef & barley soup with tomatoes
D: Californian brochettes* with basmati rice
Tuesday:
D: Italian chicken thighs with spazel & a blue-cheese dressed walnut & green salad
Wednesday:
D: Chicken soup & fresh bread
Thursday:
D: BBQ Lemon-herb roasted chicken drumsticks, potatoes/sweet potatoes & green salad
Friday:
D: Cheeseburgers, all dressed. Green salad.

* from the butcher's already in marinade.

Breakfasts:

• Cereal & skim milk, fruit. Water.
• Multi-grain oatmeal & cinnamon, fruit. Small glass of milk.
• 2 pc toast, nut butter, fruit preserves. Small glass of milk.
• 1 egg, 2 pc bacon, 3 slices tomatoes, 1 pc toast.

Snacks:

• Apples, pears, bananas, berries
  
• Low-fat yogurt & flax seed.
• Cheese & crackers.
• Taco chips & salsa.
• No-bake power bars.
• Celery & nut butter.
• Celery, zucchini, radishes (plain).
• hummus + stuff.
• Onion soup dip + stuff.

20-May-09 Added links.

The failure of a new paella recipe

I wanted to try a "new" paella recipe that I found on the ABC website. It sounded like it should taste good, if a bit too spicy for me. The following is the recipe with the changes I made to make it less hot. It was still too hot for me though, and something was definitely not to my taste. Paella to me brings to mind the taste of saffron and short-grain rice. This recipe lacks the saffron and uses minute-rice instead, which while absorbant, isn't quite the same.

The recipe was supposed to come in under $15 and serve 4 (which explains the lack of saffron and the specialty rice). The spices used are pretty costly when initially bought, but I had them all in my pantry and, based on the amount used, my cost should still be under the $15 goal.

Paella has a long tradition in Spain, and it's a wonderful community dish that has numerous cultural variations. Chicken and shrimp paella is one of my favourite versions, but I've also made vegetarian paella too (replacing the meat with beans and adding more vegetables).

Browning chicken in oil (with the skin on) is something that takes more practice than I have. My pieces were only lightly browned, and when served, the skin was gummy and unpleasant. It would have been better to leave the chicken in the pan to crisp more before removing it to a plate. Also, I think I overcooked it. The meat itself was very tasty, but the skin ... ug.

Medium salsa is hot for me. Hot salsa is inedible. This mix is something far north of hot salsa. The depth of flavour I was expecting might very well have been there, but I couldn't taste it. I couldn't taste much of anything--even with a glass of milk and a sour cream chaser.

Without thinking, I cooked 2 cups of basmati rice beside the dish. So now I have lots of cooked basmati rice and leftover chicken (hrm... I see chicken fried rice in my near future). Regardless, here was the failure along with a few changes for next time.

Ingredients

8 cups chicken stock

2 chipotle peppers in adobo (next time I'd leave this out)

1 tsp red chili flake (next time I'll reduce this to 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp chili powder (next time I'll reduce this to 1/4 tsp)

2 tsps extra virgin olive oil

1 two-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 med yellow onion, diced

2 tbsps fresh ginger, julienned

2 tbsps paprika

2 tsp red curry powder (next time I'll leave this out)

8 whole cloves garlic, peeled (next time I'll use 4 and mash them with salt & parsley)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (next time I'll use 2 red bell peppers)

1/2 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces

2 cups five-minute white rice (next time I'll use 2 cups short-grain spanish rice)

kosher salt (to taste)

black pepper, fresh ground (to taste)

saffron (to taste) (next time I'll add this in)

Directions

1. In a 6 quart saucepan, combine stock, chipotles, chili flake, and chili powder and bring to a boil.
   
2. Lower the heat to a simmer, and reduce the heat to minimum.
   
3. In a large 12-14-inch sauté pan, heat olive oil until almost smoking.
   
4. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt & pepper.
   
5. Brown them carefully and slowly until the skin is a deep, dark, golden brown. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.
   
6. When chicken is browned on both sides, remove it to a plate.
7. In the same pan, add the onion, paprika, red curry powder, garlic cloves, red bell pepper, and ginger.
8. Sauté until soft and golden brown, about 8 minutes.
   
9. Add the chicken stock to the onion/pepper mixture and bring to a boil.
   
10. Lower the heat and allow to simmer 10 minutes.
11. Place the browned chicken pieces in the broth and cook for 15 minutes.
    
12. Add 2 cups rice and the sausage to the pan.
    
13. Bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and let sit for 5 additional minutes, uncovered.
    
14. Serve with a spring green salad.
    

Weekly menu for the week following May 8th, 2009

I'm sure this will change once I get my Victory basket on Tuesday, but for now -- here's my menu. I bought the rosemary roasted pork cold-cuts believing that I'd be making a lunch for 5, and the soup was for a dinner for the same 5 people; but that didn't turn out. So my initial menu is changed to try and eat up all the left-overs.

Sunday:
B: BLT on Chiabata bread, tea.
L: Rosemary roasted pork sandwich with cheese & salad, tea.
D: Beef & barley tomato soup, tea.
Snacks: popcorn, small apple, cottage cheese
Monday:
B: Cranberry & orange bread & butter, small apple, tea.
L: Rosemary roasted pork wrap with Beef & barley soup
D: Chicken Paella Diana
Snacks: 10 wheat crackers, small apple, cottage cheese
Tuesday:
B: Multi-grain oatmeal, cinnamon & small apple
L: Chicken paella diana, green salad, diet coke
D: Pasta & meat balls, green salad
Snacks: Crudité & light tzatziki, small apple,
Wednesday:
B: Rosemary roasted pork rolls with mustard & cheese
L: Rosemary roasted pork wrap with Beef & barley soup, diet coke
D: Sauteed Tilapia with Honey-Scallion dress, basmati rice & steamed vegetables
Snacks: 10 wheat crackers, small apple
Thursday:
B: Multi-grain oatmeal, cinnamon & small apple
L: Last-night's leftovers with extra veggies, diet coke
D: BBQ Lemon-herb roasted chicken drumsticks, potatoes/sweet potatoes & green salad
Snacks: Crudité & light tzatziki, small apple
Friday:
B: Rosemary roasted pork rolls with mustard & cheese
L: Last-night's leftovers with extra veggies, diet coke
D: Dinner out
Snacks: cottage cheese, small apple

Weekly menu for the week of May 4th, 2009

It's another week, and thus another menu. When searching online for these recipes, I came to realize that about 1/2 my recipes are on another site (I seem to be forever finding new places to write, and new things to write about). I'm going to migrate posts from the other site to here (and cheat by backdating the posts). Hopefully it won't cause any problems. Fingers crossed.

Monday:
Lunch: BBQ chicken breast, basmati rice & broccoli spears (with hunan vinegar sauce)
Dinner: BBQ beef (with Montreal steak spice), baked potato/sweet potato & steamed green & yellow beans

Tuesday:
Lunch: BBQ beef, basmati rice & broccoli spears (with hunan vinegar sauce)
Dinner: Homemade tacos (ground beef, taco spice, cheese, romaine lettuce) & homemade salsa

Wednesday:
Lunch: Taco salad (taco meat over a green salad)
Dinner: Sauteed Tilapia with honey-scallion dressing

Thursday:
Lunch: Tilapia with honey-scallion dressing over couscous
Dinner: Beef brochettes, flat bread & tzatziki served with green salad

Friday:
Lunch: Tuna salad
Dinner: Paella Diana

Snacks:
Vegetables & hummus or tzatziki
Crackers & cheese
Apples, bananas, plums
Taco chips & salsa
Unbaked energy bars

Carnitas, my way

What follows is actually 2 recipes; the first takes a bit of preparation, and the second can be thrown together easily for a quick and delicious week night meal.

Beef brisket

This dish takes a bit of planning, but once made can be the source of several delicious meals.

Notes

There are tons of recipes like this out on the internet, and they're all about the same. Cover the meat with some kind of sauce, season to taste and cook until the meat's ready to fall apart. Most briskets are really fatty--but most of the fat dissolves into the sauce while cooking.

This recipe produces a very beefy-flavored beef brisket. It has no kick for a reason -- namely that, as the ingredient for other recipes, I wanted something fairly mild in flavor.

As always, season to taste.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 hours
Serves: 6-10

Equipment

• Chopping board and knife.
• Measuring cups and spoons.
• Deep frying pan with cover.
• Wooden spoon.
• Crock pot

Ingredients

1	Onion, roughly diced
3 cups	Chicken stock
1	Carrot, roughly diced
1 stalk	Celery, roughly diced (leaves included)
2 cloves	Garlic, skinned and chopped in half
1	Bay leaf
2 cups	Ketchup
1 teaspoon	Cumin
1 teaspoon	Oregano
1/2 teaspoon	Salt
1 teaspoon	Black pepper, freshly ground
1	green bell pepper, seeded and rougly chopped

Directions

1. Combine the ingredients in the crock pot.
2. Set on low and cook for 8-10 hours.
3. Remove the meat from the crock pot and pull it apart with 2 forks.
4. Reserve the liquid separately.

Carnitas Tacos

A great way to use up pulled beef, this quick and easy meal can be served dozens of ways (covered in sauce, fried, etc); but this is the recipe that works best for me.

Notes

Caramelizing onions is a neat trick to add sweetness to a dish, but it's not always necessary. If you're in a rush, just cook the onions until they are translucent.

You can use flour tortillas (or any kind of flat bread) for this dish, but I prefer corn tortillas (the non-deep fried not from El Paso kind).

I like to add my heat at the table (thus I serve this with salsa). Feel free to add some kick with a blend of chili pepper, red pepper flakes and a few drops of choice chipotle peppers or hot sauce.

As always, season to taste.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 with leftovers

Equipment

• Chopping board and knife.
• Measuring cups and spoons.
• Deep frying pan with cover.
• Wooden spoon.

Ingredients

1	Onion, finely diced
1/2 cup	Chicken stock
2 cloves	garlic, finely diced
1 teaspoon	Cumin
1 teaspoon	Oregano
1 teaspoon	Olive oil
2 cups	Beef brisket, pulled
1/2 cup	Beef brisket sauce
1 cup	Cheese, finely grated
12	Corn tortillas
2 cups	Salsa (optional)

Directions

1. Put the olive oil in the bottom of a cold pan and bring it to temperature.
2. Add the onions and stir to coat.
3. Cook until the onions have caramalized, reducing the temperature as needed to make sure they don't stick or burn. Stir often.
4. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until fraigrant.
5. Add the beef brisket and sauce, stiring to incorporate.
6. Add another teaspoon of olive oil in a second pan.
7. Warm a corn tortilla, flipping when pockets begin to form.
8. Fill the tortia with 3 teaspoons of the meat and sauce mixture.
9. Add a pinch of cheese and roll.
10. Place on a plate, seam side down.
11. Cover to keep warm.
12. Repeat until the beef mixture and/or the tortilla are gone.
13. Serve immediately with salsa.

Menu plan for the week of April 26th, 2009

Another week of trying to buy as little as possible and eat meals derived primarily from my pantry. As much as I wish I could say this was brought about by the success of the Eat down the fridge attempt, it's really driven by a desire to save money.

My CSA box will arrive this week, and I suspect I shall have to do something with the accumulation of onions, beets, and potatoes. Onions and potatoes I can deal with as there's definitely soup to be made this weekend; but I rarely eat beets (other than pickled). So, I'm off to scour the internet for a good recipe. Ideally I'll find a crunchy pickled beet recipe that I can make en mass, and give away to friends and family as gifts. Oh, and eat some too. :)

As always, I shop on Saturday. What follows is a plan that (to date) never quite comes out. I suspect I'll be waylaid by at least one dinner invitation (possibly two, we'll see). But my grocery list was designed around this menu, so if I don't make it this week--I'll probably make it next.

Sunday
Breakfast: Fried egg sandwich, all dressed & tea
Lunch: Gyro pita, diet coke.
Dinner: Hamburgers, all dressed

Monday
Breakfast: Cereal, skim milk, strawberries & 1/2 banana
Lunch: 3 carnitas enchiladas, cheese, spaghetti sauce, diet coke
Dinner: BBQ chicken with steamed green beans & baked potato/sweet potato
Snacks: 1 apple, 1 med zucchini, 3 stalks celery, hummus

Tuesday
Breakfast: Cereal, skim milk, 1/2 banana
Lunch: 3 carnitas enchiladas, cheese, spaghetti sauce, diet coke
Dinner: Lemon pepper salmon with basmati rice, green salad and red wine vinagrette
Snacks: 1 apple, crackers & cheese, cottage cheese

Wednesday
Breakfast: Toast, almond butter, 1 apple
Lunch: BBQ chicken, steamed rice, steamed vegetables
Dinner: Chicken shawarma with lemony couscous and steamed vegetables
Snacks: 1 med zucchini, 3 stalks celery, hummus, yogurt & flax seed

Thursday
Breakfast: Toast, almond butter, 1 apple
Lunch: Lemon pepper salmon, steamed rice, broccoli
Dinner: Sesame beef with stir-fry vegetables & basmati rice
Snacks: 1c pineapple, crackers & cheese, yogurt & flax seed

Friday
Breakfast: Toast, almond butter, 1 apple
Lunch: Basmati rice, steamed vegetables & tinned lemony pepper tuna
Dinner: Chicken piccata with artichoke hearts, Spatzle
Snacks: 1c pineapple, crackers & cheese, yogurt & flax seed

One-pot lemony chicken and couscous

A quick and easy weeknight dinner of chicken, vegetables, and couscous. The lemon makes everything taste fresh and the spices provide an unexpected depth of flavour for this simple dish.

Notes

This is a combination of two recipes: Spiced chicken with couscous and Lemony chicken with couscous. I wanted a one-pot meal with chicken thighs and couscous; but I didn't have all the ingredients for one, and didn't really want large chunks of tomatoes in my meal from the other.

My chile powder was quite dead; so the recipe didn't have the same kick that it would normally. The chile powder could easily be replaced by smoked paprika (to provide the same color but not the heat), or omitted entirely.

The vegetables in this dish could easily be replaced by your vegetable of choice (fresh or frozen). Adjust the cooking time accordingly.

If using fresh thyme, use the leaves from 2 sprigs and add them when you add the vegetables.

This recipe would work just as well with any cut of chicken (without bones). If using leftover chicken, additional olive oil may be required.

I will be making this recipe again. The lemon is defintely the strongest flavour; I liberally sprinkled lemon juice over my plate at the table. but even without the juice the zest in the meal is very noticeable in the couscous.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3

Equipment

• Chopping board and knife.
• Measuring cups and spoons.
• Deep frying pan with cover.
• Wooden spoon.

Ingredients

1 cup	Israeli couscous
1 tablespoon	extra-virgin olive oil
6	chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 teaspoon	ground cumin
1 teaspoon	dried thyme
1 teaspoon	salt
1 teaspoon	black pepper, freshly ground
2 teaspoons	chilie powder, divided (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon	allspice
1/2 teaspoon	ground cloves
2 cups	chicken broth, fat-free, divided
1	lemon, zested and cut into segments
3 cloves	garlic, minced
1 cup	peas, thawed if frozen
1 cup	corn, thawed if frozen

Directions

1. Put the olive oil into a cold pan and bring it up to medium-high heat.
2. Add the couscous and cook, stiring, for about a minute.
3. Pour the couscous out into a bowl and set aside.
4. Put the pan back on the heat and add the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 the chile powder. Brown well on both sides (3-5 minutes each side). Transfer to a plate and leave the drippings in the skillet.
5. Lower the heat and add the onion. Stir frequently.
6. When the onion becomes translucent, add the spices, garlic, and lemon zest (but not the salt). Stir for about 3 minutes.
7. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pan well.
8. Add the remaining chicken broth, salt, and couscous to the pan. Stir to incorporate.
9. Add the chicken on top of the couscous. Do not stir.
10. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
11. Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
12. Add the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Cover for 2-3 minutes, until the vegetables are warm.
13. Serve with lemon segments.