What's on the Menu Birthday Week 3/21 - 3/26

This week, we celebrate the Big Guy's birthday and our oldest son's birthday.  Somewhat a bittersweet week each year.  Big Guy's father passed away 3 1/2 months before our first son was born.  It was the same year Big Guy would turn 40, the same age his father was when he was born.  Our first son, Patrick, was born on this grandfather's birthday (which would have been his 80th) thus he was named - Patrick - for this Granddad.  Funny how life is - my Patrick (Pat, we call him both names interchangeably) has many similarities to his Granddad physically and in his personality.
But we enjoy celebrating in our household - a big birthday bash with family and friends is planned for our Patrick (turning 4 on Saturday) as well as a little party at Playschool.  Then the weekend will end with a luncheon with my extended family where great aunts and uncles as well as 4 great-grandparents will be.
So meal planning is key for me this week to keep my sanity!

Sunday
Hot Dogs with Big Guy's Chili (recipe to follow - SO GOOD!)

Monday
Steaks
Twice Baked Potatoes
Salads

Tuesday
Birthday Dinner Surprise (trust me, it will be good!)

Wednesday
Chicken Divan (that we never had last week)
Steamed Carrots
Salad

Thursday
Crustless Quiche with Sausage, Onion and Cheese
Fruit
Salads

Friday
Beer Braised Chicken
Collard Greens
Roasted Sweet and Red Potatoes
Bread
Salad

Saturday
Party Time

Shared at Menu Planning Mondays - go check out other menu ideas!

Oh So Good, White Chicken Chili

Our menu this week was rearranged a bit - but change is good.  In this case, Oh So Good!  Having had Blue Fin Tuna lightly seared with wasabbi the night before, and Corned Beef was planned for St Patrick's Day, the Big Guy requested White Chicken Chili instead of the beef soup planned.  And I was glad he did!  Oh So Good!

This soup would be easy to throw together one evening after work.  Bonus would be if you already had chicken cooked (super easy, check out this post).  Open a couple of cans of beans, green chiles and chicken broth.  Throw in some cumin, cayenne pepper and cilantro.  Stir and top with Monterrey Jack cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  Done!  Really - it was that easy!  Finding a beer to go in the Beer Bread was more difficult.  (Not really but you get the idea). 

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers (I used 1/2 this amount.  For me this was enough)

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 - just a taste of heat, probably could have used more but the kids I wanted less not too much.  Adjust to your taste)

3 Tablespoons (or more) of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (LOVE cilantro!)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast  (I used 3 cups of cooked chicken - dark and white mixed)

3 (15 ounce) cans white beans (I took dried, soaked and cooked my own - super easy)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 - Heat oil in bottom of pot (one large enough for everything in the end, I used a large stock pot).  Chop onion and add to oil.  Saute till onion is clear.

2-Chop Jalapenos.  This is how much I used.  Just took them from a can - Big Guy likes his jalapenos on hot dogs, pizza, and nachos so we normally have a jar opened in the fridge.

3 - Add peppers, chiles, cilantro and spices to the cooked onion.  Cook together for another 5 minutes or so.

4- Add chicken, chicken broth, and beans.  Stir and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Spoon into bowls, topping with cheese and sour cream!  Enjoy!

Luck of the Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage

Luck of the Irish - a traditional "Irish" meal, at least here in America was served at our home tonight.  Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Roasted Sweet and Red Potatoes.  All that was missing was Irish Soda Bread and a Guinness Chocolate Cake that I have a recipe but lack the energy and willpower not to devour if they were in my house.   Therefore, they were not baked - I spent my day outside in our beautiful sunny weather planting new shrubs and plants in my front beds.

Several weeks ago, we bought 1/2 of a cow that we then split with a family member, leaving us with 125 lbs of beef.  One of the cuts of beef that we received was Beef Brisket.  We decided to turn our Brisket into Corned Beef courtesy of Alton Brown's recipe.  Following this recipe required some special purchases - Juniper Berries, Allspice Berries, and Saltpeter.  Saltpeter was a tricky product to locate but a local pharmacy was able to order it for me (you have to love service like that!).

Essentially, you create a brine for the Beef Brisket, leaving the meat to soak for days.  Pretty simple.

To cook the Brisket, I finished following Alton Brown's recipe. 

Add cut veggies of celery, carrot and onion to a large pot with the brisket.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables and meat.

Bring to a boil then lower to simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Smelled Heavenly in my kitchen today!



Greek Comfort Food - Pastitsio

It only took my soon to be 4 year old about 7 tries to say "Pastitsio" correctly to a family friend tonight over dinner.  Although the friend thought he was say "Facebook".  Quite a bit different!
Pastitsio is truly comfort food - a mix of macaroni and cheese and lasagna, but with a mediterranean flair.  SO GOOD!  The two year old was silent for 5 minutes while he savored two servings of Pastitsio tonight.
Warning - don't be scared of the length of the recipe.  It is not complicated.  Just creates a few dirty dishes to wash.   The preperation time is similar to lasagna with an additional 10 - 12 minutes to create the Bachemel Sauce (egg yolk, butter, milk and flour cooked together - can we say YUM!).  So this definitely would be a dish to plan to prepare when you have a little bit of time.  Clean up though can happen while the dish is baking for 45 minutes.  And it is such a filling dish, your sides can be minimal - we had salad and steamed carrots.

Ummm, golden brown deliciousness!

For the complete recipe, check out my very first blog post 6 months ago.

Shared at Tuesdays at the Table
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Mouthwatering Mondays

What's on the Menu March 13 - 19

Planning this week's menu has been difficult.  I am enjoying a recorded version of this past weekend's Saturday Night Live.  I seem to be having the attention span of a 3 year old.  Luckily, two of this week's meals are already planned - Pastitsio and St Patrick's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage.  And Big Guy has requested Easy Hamburger Soup again but I think I've convinced him to try another soup a try!
So here is the plan for this week's dinner menu!

Sunday
Fish Nuggents with homemade tartar sauce
Roasted Red Potatoes
Baked Beans
Cole Slaw

Monday
Pastitsio
Steamed Carrots
Salad

Tuesday
Chicken Divan
Rice Pilaf
Salad

Wednesday
Beef, Potato and Quinoa Soup
Salad

Thursday
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Roasted Potatoes
Irish Soda Bread

Friday
Pizza
Salad

Saturday
Chicken Stir Fry with Veggies
Rice

Honey Touched Cornbread Muffins

Confession time.  I can not make cornbread.  At least not like my Mother.  This is her recipe:
White Cornmeal
Milk
Mix a bit of both till it looks like a mudpie.  Bake in cast iron pan till golden brown.

I've tried - a couple times.  No luck.  And my oldest son loves my Mother's cornbread.
So I have resorted to using a boxed cornbread muffin mix.  Totally different from Mother's - touch of sweetness and golden.  But the family loves them.
The other evening when I was preparing Meatless Chili Mac, the aroma made me crave cornbread muffins.  But I did not have a box of mix in the pantry and about 20 minutes before dinner would be ready.  What to do????
Search the good 'ole internet and discovered a reason to never buy a box of mix again!  The Neely's from the Food Network Channel have a fabulous Honey Cornbread Muffin recipe.  These were so simple to prepare, were in the oven baking in no time flat.  And they were a HIT!
This recipe is entirely the Neely's. The only changed I made was to half it - I did not want 6 extra muffins staring at me, calling my name in the middle of the night when I woke with the baby.

Honey Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Easy Hamburger Soup - the name says it all!

The actually name of this soup truly is Easy Hamburger Soup - and it was simple as pie!  I adapted it to the slow cooker.  Great dinner, super "EASY"!

Served this with hearty bread and a salad.  Everyone enjoyed it - kids and adults!

Easy Hamburger Soup (adapted from Taste of Home)

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained

2 cups Beef Broth

1 cup water

4 celery ribs, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 cup barley (quick cooking or pearl if you are using slow cooker)

Pepper to taste

1 tsp parsley

1 - Brown ground beef with onions over medium heat until no longer pink.

2 - Add beef and onions into crockpot.  Add beef broth, water, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, thyme, salt, barley, pepper and parsley.

3- Cook on high for 5- 6 hours.

4 - Serve with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Shared at Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday and Frugal Food Thursday