Week of July 30, 2012

Sorry it has been awhile since I posted my meal plans.  It's been a crazy July!  This week my inspiration came from the August 2012 Cooking Light magazine.

Monday:  Grilled Vegetable and Fontina Pizza

Tuesday:  Seared Scallops with Haricot Verts and brown rice

Wednesday:  Chicken Cordon Bleu with asparagus  (my version)

Thursday:  Corn Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Chive Cream  (my version)

Don't get overwhelmed because you think these sound like fancy recipes.  I'm going to substitute Swiss cheese for Fontina cheese because I'm not a huge fan of Fontina cheese.  Haricot verts are just fancy green beans.  Chicken cordon bleu is just a fancy name for a chicken, ham and cheese roll-up.  The smoked salmon is prepackaged and the lemon-chive cream is just sour cream and chives mixture together.  See!  It's not so daunting.

Grocery List

Produce

• Shallots
• 2 lemons
• 12oz haricot verts (or green beans)
• Portobello mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• Garlic
• Red bell pepper
• Zucchini
• Red onion
• Basil leaves (unless you have some in your garden!)
• Thyme (dried will work too)
• Asparagus
• Chives (I have these in my garden)
• 1 1/4 cups corn kernels (I used frozen corn)

Meats

•  1/2lbs scallops
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1.25oz pancetta (you could substitute sliced deli ham)
• 6oz smoked salmon

 Dairy

• Shredded Fontina cheese (I used Swiss cheese)
• Refrigerated pizza dough
• Shredded Gruyere cheese (I used Swiss cheese again)
• Light sour cream (I used plain Greek yogurt)
• Buttermilk
• Eggs
• Butter

Miscellaneous

• Dijon mustard
• Dry white wine
• Brown rice
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Panko or bread crumbs
• Yellow cornmeal
• Sugar
• Ground red pepper
  

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Grandma Jane's Crab Cakes

In addition to Grandma Jane's Pasta Salad, she is well known for her crab cakes.  And they are delicious!

Ingredients

• 1lb backfin lump crab meat
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup corn flake crumbs
• 10oz package of cracker meal
• Canola oil
• Old Bay (if desired)

Procedure

Pick through the crab meat to get rid of any shells.

 Mix all ingredients except for the cracker meal and canola oil.

Form into patties and coat with cracker meal

 

 Let the cakes sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  The cracker meal will become damp in the refrigerator so re-coat the cakes with more cracker meal before cooking.

Pan fry the cakes in canola oil over medium heat until they are brown and heated through.

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Maryland Crab Soup

One of the best things about the Eastern Shore is picking Maryland Blue Crabs.  The next best thing is all of the meals that you make with the leftover crab meat!

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 4 ears of corn on the cob, cooked
• 1 onion, chopped
• Old Bay
• 2 cups crab stock
• 1lb crab meat
• 14.5oz jar tomato sauce
• Leftover crab claws

 Procedure

If your crabs are whole, pick as much of the meat out as you can.

Save the claws to make the crab stock.  If you are using store bought crabs, ready-made crab, seafood or chicken stock will work just as well.   

 Combine the tomatoes, onions, zucchini, tomato sauce, corn (cut off of the cob) with about 1/4-1/2 cup water.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

Boil the crab claws in about 3 cups of water for 15 minutes.  Strain and reserve the liquid.  Reduce the remaining liquid down by almost half by boiling it for about 10 minutes.

Combine the stock with the vegetable mixture.  Add the crab meat just before serving.  You can season the soup with as much Old Bay as you prefer.  Old Bay does add a little heat and spiciness but it can also add a lot of salt so don't overdo it.  You can add more water if the soup is too thick or boil it for a longer amount of time if it is too thin.  

Maryland Blue Crab

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Grandma Jane's Pasta Salad

Grandma Jane is well known for her signature dishes.  Her potato salad always tops the list as everyone's favorite but her pasta salad comes in at a close second. 

Ingredients

• 1lb short pasta
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1/2lb sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp parsley flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Procedure

Cook the pasta according to the directions, drain and refrigerate until cool.  You can run the pasta under cold water to speed up the cooling process.  Grandma usually uses elbow macaroni but we had 2 half boxes of shells and twisted elbow macaroni so we used that this time.

Once the pasta is cool, add the onions, green peppers, celery, cheese and parsley flakes.

 

 

Mix thoroughly.

Watch out for sneaky fingers who steal bites!

Stir in mayonnaise.  Grandma only uses Kraft Mayonnaise because it is extra white in color but any brand will work.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Grandma relaxing on the porch after all of her hard work in the kitchen!

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Here's another easy salad that comes together really quickly.  You can substitute any kind of meat for the shrimp if you prefer. 

 

Ingredients

• 1lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Chopped lettuce
• Shredded Parmesan cheese
• Croutons
• Oil & vinegar based Caesar salad dressing

Procedure

Marinate the shrimp in the Caesar dressing for about 30 minutes.  Grill (on top of foil) over about 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Discard the rest of the marinade.  Shrimp cook really quickly and change color from gray to pink when they are fully cooked.

Combine the lettuce, cheese, croutons and dressing and top with the grilled shrimp.  It's just that easy!

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Week of July 7, 2012

This week is going to be a week of simple meals.  The hubby has a lot of work commitments so I'm on my own for dinner this week.  Cooking for one person can be really tough and it's really easy to get lazy and just stop somewhere for dinner.  When I have to plan meals just for me I try to keep it super simple so that I don't cheat.  I hate wasting food so if I know that something quick is waiting in the fridge I'll stick to my plan. 

Monday:  Caesar salad with grilled shrimp

Tuesday:  Grilled chicken and asparagus

Wednesday:  Grilled ham steak with corn

Thursday:  Sushi

Thursday night will be the first night this week that the hubby will be available for dinner and sushi is one of our favorites!  Later this week I'll show you all of my techniques for a nice sushi dinner.

Impressed?

Well don't be!  My techniques for great sushi include driving to our favorite sushi restaurant and enjoying sushi made by someone else.  I consider myself a good cook but rolling sushi is a whole different playing field!

Grocery List

Produce

• Lettuce (a full head or bagged lettuce)
• 1lb asparagus

Meats

• 1lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1lb chicken (your favorite pieces of chicken are fine)
• Ham steak

 Dairy

• Shredded Parmesan cheese

Miscellaneous

• Caesar salad dressing (choose an oil & vinegar based dressing)
• Croutons
• Canned or frozen corn (corn on the cob would be fine as well)

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Asian-style Shrimp Salad

This salad has been my summer go-to lately.  It's really easy and has tons of flavor!

Ingredients

• 1lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Chopped lettuce
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• Red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• Cucumber, peeled and chopped
• Handful of cilantro, chopped
• Asian-style salad dressing
• Sesame seeds
• Crunchy chow-mein noodles

Procedure

Cook the shrimp however you like.  I usually cook them in a pan over medium heat with about 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Cutting the shrimp into smaller pieces can stretch 1lb of shrimp over a meal for 2 for dinner and lunch the next day.

Chop up all of your veggies, lettuce and cilantro and mix them together.  This week I was able to use lettuce and cucumber from my garden.  I also added mushrooms because they were leftover from last week and I didn't want them to go bad.

Top your salad with cooked shrimp, sesame seeds, crunchy chow-mein noodles and dressing.  I usually use the Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame dressing but any brand will work well.  And that's it!  A quick and easy summer salad that is ready in less than 20-30 minutes!

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Week of July 2, 2012

I can't believe it's July already!  Pretty soon the summer will be over.  As much as I love summertime I HATE the heat.  This week it is supposed to be in 90s all week so I tried to plan meals that require little to no indoor cooking.  There's nothing worse than a hot kitchen on a hot day!

Monday:  Asian style shrimp salad

Tuesday:  Grilled chicken with zucchini and squash

Wednesday:  Spicy Italian sausage with peppers & onions

Thursday:  Grilled chicken with salad

Everything that I have planned requires only chopping and a grill.  Plus when you grill there is not much clean up and the hubby is happy with that!   (If you haven't instated the "whoever ever cooks does not clean" rule in your house, DO IT NOW!)

Happy Cooking!

Jenny

Enchilada Lasagna

I was introduced to this recipe by my father-in-law.  This is the hubby's FAVORITE meal.  I admit that I have added to the original recipe by throwing in some veggies and beans, but the end result is the same:  gooey cheesy deliciousness!

I made this particular batch with the intent to freeze a few smaller trays.  You can cut this recipe in half and get a full 13x9 pan for just one meal (plus leftovers!)  As good as this recipe is fresh out of the oven, the leftovers are even better.

Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef
• 1lb ground pork
• Corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil
• 2-19oz cans enchilada sauce
• 2-12oz cans condensed tomato soup
• 1-12oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1-15.5oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-15.5oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat in a skillet over medium-high heat and drain off the fat.

Over medium heat in a large pot, add onions and both peppers with about 1 tbsp oil.  

Cook until softened.  Then add enchilada sauce, soups, beans and corn.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook tortillas in an inch of oil over medium heat.  

Drain on paper towels or newspaper.

Layer sauce, tortillas and cheese in a pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Rip tortillas into pieces to fit the size of the pan.  Start the layering with sauce and end with cheese.

 

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is melted and slightly brown.  

You can add any veggies that you like to this recipe or use hot enchilada sauce if you want a little spice.  If you want to freeze this for a later meal, just thaw for 24 hours in the fridge and then bake at 350 until everything is hot and bubbly.

Happy Cooking!

Jenny