Reflections from the Backcounter
Menus on Monday bring order to a chaotic landscape of afterschool activities and worn out parents who droop into the kitchen at 6 p.m. with very few firing neurons and no inspiration for independent thought let alone menu planning.
A few minutes of planning can make the rest of the week go smoothly and can ensure that dinner is accomplished with a minimum of fuss and cacophony. When the troops are clamoring for food...redirect them to the menu and use the enticement of the meal to come to encourage cooperation in the kitchen and maybe completion of a chore or two (empyting dishwasher and setting the table.)
This week there is an amazing soup from the Smitten Kitchen. Love this website. The pictures are amazing.
Hope this menu plan provides a little help toward improving your household this week. Tomorrow can't come soon enough....the exterminator arrives!
Peace,
Julia
Check out the Smitten Kitchen website. This soup is amazing and the pictures on this blog are mouth watering
Tuesday
Tuesday
This is a great low carb meal! Just watch the rice portion!!!
Stir Fried Pork with Water Chestnuts
1 pound pork loin
1 T canola oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ T peeled and minced ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup sliced water chestnuts
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1T dry white wine
Salt and pepper
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
Cut pork into ¼ inch slices and then into thin strips. Heat the canola oil in a large, heavy skillet or a wok ove medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the pork and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the pork begins to brown. Add the onion, gingerroot and garlic and stir fry for one minute. Add the water chestnuts and mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the wine, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and soy sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes. Serve immediately
Rice
Wednesday
Beef Burgers with Feta and Tomato
2 pounds ground beef
3 t chopped fresh thyme or 1 ½ t crubled dried thyme
2 scallions chopped
1cup chopped fresh spinach
½ cup chopped tomato
4 oz crumbled feta
Salt and pepper to taste
1 – 2 t mint optional
Mix all ingredients and form into a patty..grill or pan fry Makes four.
Thursday
Ham Steak with Shallot and Vermouth Sauce
1 T butter
1 pound precooked ham steak
4 shallots chopped
3 whole cloves
2 T dry vervouth
1 T cognac
1 T balsamic vinegar
Heat the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the ham steak, shallots, and cloves, keeping the shallots to the side of the skillet. Cook the ham steak, stirring the shallots frequently, for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the ham to a serving plate and keep warm.
Add the vermouth, cognac, and vinegar to the skillet. Bring to a boil, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the ham steak and serve immediately.
Brussel sprouts
Scalloped potatoes
Stir Fried Pork with Water Chestnuts
1 pound pork loin
1 T canola oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ T peeled and minced ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup sliced water chestnuts
½ cup sliced mushrooms
1T dry white wine
Salt and pepper
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
Cut pork into ¼ inch slices and then into thin strips. Heat the canola oil in a large, heavy skillet or a wok ove medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the pork and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until the pork begins to brown. Add the onion, gingerroot and garlic and stir fry for one minute. Add the water chestnuts and mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the wine, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and soy sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes. Serve immediately
Rice
Wednesday
Beef Burgers with Feta and Tomato
2 pounds ground beef
3 t chopped fresh thyme or 1 ½ t crubled dried thyme
2 scallions chopped
1cup chopped fresh spinach
½ cup chopped tomato
4 oz crumbled feta
Salt and pepper to taste
1 – 2 t mint optional
Mix all ingredients and form into a patty..grill or pan fry Makes four.
Thursday
Ham Steak with Shallot and Vermouth Sauce
1 T butter
1 pound precooked ham steak
4 shallots chopped
3 whole cloves
2 T dry vervouth
1 T cognac
1 T balsamic vinegar
Heat the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the ham steak, shallots, and cloves, keeping the shallots to the side of the skillet. Cook the ham steak, stirring the shallots frequently, for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the ham to a serving plate and keep warm.
Add the vermouth, cognac, and vinegar to the skillet. Bring to a boil, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the ham steak and serve immediately.
Brussel sprouts
Scalloped potatoes
Friday
Pizza
Make it easy and use a Boboli crust topped with sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and goat cheese
Salad
2 comments:
I always want to d a menu and stick to it, but I am too lazy and then end up going out to dinner. Maybe next week I'll try again.
YUM! Too bad we live so far apart. ;)
Julia, I think you are an incredible writer! I have been reading some of your posts to my husband, and boy we get some really great chuckles over your very vivid descriptions. We loved the scorpion posts. Kind of. We liked the posts... Well, you know what I mean! :|
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