Indonesian Chicken

Prep: The chicken is thawed and cut into pieces already. The sauce is already mixed, so you will start with the step below about sauteing the chicken. Cook rice according to instructions in bag (you'll need about 40 minutes), and steam broccoli.

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. peanut butter

4 tsp honey (that's 1 T. + 1 tsp.)

2 T. soy sauce

4 T. lemon juice

1 1/2 T. oil

3 chicken breasts, diced

3 green onions, sliced

rice for serving

Combine broth, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Saute chicken in hot oil 2-3 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and add the sauce and half of the green onions. Boil until slightly thickened. Add chicken, stirring to coat. Serve over rice and garnish with remaining green onions.

Pioneer Woman’s Simple, Perfect Chili

Ingredients

½ Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp Ground Cumin

2 pounds 80% lean/20% fat raw ground beef

8 oz canned tomato sauce

15 oz canned pinto beans

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup masa

Directions

1. Brown beef in large pot with garlic.

2. Drain off excess fat.

3. Pour in tomato sauce.

4. Pour in spices and salt (salt is already mixed in with spices in bag)

5. Stir well, cover, and reduce heat to low.

6. Simmer with cover on for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add in 1/2 cup of water at a time, as needed.

7. After an hour, mix the masa in a small bowl with 1/2 cup of water, stirring together with a fork.

8. Pour masa mixture into the chili.

9. Stir together well. Adjust seasonings to taste.

10. Add the beans and diced tomatoes.

11. Simmer for 15 minutes.

12. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or Fritos as toppings.

*Serve with Marie Calendars Corn Bread. (See instructions on package)

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• The chicken is already prepared. All you need to do is re-heat it. 
• Wash the lettuce leaves, careful not to tear them.
• Microwave the rice.

To eat, spoon some of the chicken mixture into a leaf of lettuce. (You'll be eating it like a burrito.) Top it with shredded carrots and chopped peanuts. Drizzle with special spicy sauce (in the jar) if you like. Serve with rice. Finish it all off with a fortune cookie. (This meal is pretty drippy, so have napkins ready and be prepared to assist with a fork.)

I used this recipe from allrecipes.com. This recipe is basically the same (except it uses beef instead of chicken) and it has all the calorie-type info listed.

The sauce is
4 T soy sauce
4 T rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 T sarracha chili sauce

Chicken Parmigiana with Spaghetti and Salad

Prep: The chicken will be flattened, so you'll just need to dip it in the egg and bread crumbs, and pan fry it. Then assemble the chicken, sauce, and cheese in a pan per directions below to bake. Cook pasta during the last few minutes of baking so you can serve the chicken over pasta.

Italian Tomato Sauce (makes about 4 cups)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 of a large onion, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (16 oz each) diced tomatoes with juices

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 tsp dried basil leaves (or 2 Tbsp fresh)

1 tsp dried oregano leaves (or 1 Tbsp fresh)

1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oil and saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, then reduce to low. Simmer 45 minutes.

Chicken Parmigiana

2 cups Italian Tomato Sauce (there will be extra that you can use for pasta/leftovers)

1 large egg

2 Tbsp water

2/3 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare Italian Tomato Sauce. Heat oven to 350. Flatten chicken between plastic wrap or waxed paper with a meat mallet to 1/4 inch thickness. Mix egg and water. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture. Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Cook chicken pieces in batches, about 2 1/2 minutes each side, until light brown. Place 1/2 of chicken in 9x13 pan, overlapping pieces slightly. Spoon 1/2 of sauce over pieces and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat with remaining chicken, sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is light brown.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE

*I put on our menu that I was making turkey, but it is impossible to find turkey cutlets or turkey breasts this time of year that isn't SUPER expensive. Live and learn! So, we are roasting chicken instead! :)

ROASTED CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 3-4 pound chicken

• 1 large onion or lemon

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• olive oil

• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with foil. Place a roasting rack (or even a cookie cooling rack would work!) in the bottom of the pan.

Remove giblet bag from cavity. Rinse chicken and pat dry well. Stuff the chicken cavity with halved onion or lemon. Rub skin with a little olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for approximately 10 minutes per pound, until juices run clear. The temperature of chicken should reach approximately 170 degrees in thickest part (not touching the bone). Let chicken sit for about 10 minutes (covered with foil) to allow juices to reabsorb. Carve and serve.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

*This recipe makes a lot and I divided it between the 4 of us. You can freeze what you don’t use right away. Will keep in fridge for 1 week.

Ingredients

• 1 bag (12 ounces) of fresh cranberries

• 1 cup maple syrup (the real stuff!)

• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

• 1 cup cran-raspberry juice

• zest of 1 orange

Directions

Place cranberries, maple syrup, orange zest, and cran-rasp juice in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, then lower heat to medium and allow it to boil until the cranberries start to pop open (about 10 minutes). Stir in nuts. I like to use my immersion blender to make it less chunky. Allow sauce to cool and then store in fridge.

ROASTED POTATOES AND CAULIFLOWER

1. Wash potatoes and cut in half.

2. Place potatoes in cauliflower bag and pour in a bit of olive oil and garlic salt, shake.

3. Line a baking sheet with foil.

4. Spread veggies out on the baking sheet.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes or until tender.

FEBRUARY MEAL SCHEDULE

SWAP ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Laura= Pork Milanese, asparagus, rice pilaf

Taylore= Pot Roast

Wendy= Chicken chili, chips and fixings

Betsy= Salmon, couscous, and green beans (pork tenderloin for Coulombes!)

SWAP ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14

Laura= Asian lettuce wraps and brown rice

Taylore= Taco Salad

Wendy= chicken parmigiana, salad

Betsy= turkey, cranberry sauce, roasted potatoes and cauliflower

SWAP ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Laura= burgers and sweet potato fries

Taylore= Chicken Pot Pie

Wendy= Indonesian chicken, rice, broccoli

Betsy= Pioneer Woman chili and cornbread

SWAP ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28

Laura= Greek chicken, salad, pitas and hummus

Taylore= Cheese Enchiladas

Wendy= vegetable beef soup and bread

Betsy= Baked fish, rice and salad (Rotisserie chicken for Coulombes)

Pot Roast

1. Place chopped up onions in a skillet with a little oil.
2. Cover the pot roast with flour mixture (mixture: flour, lawry's seasoning, garlic salt, salt, pepper, I just put in a bunch of seasonings without measuring)
3. Brown all sides of the roast (about 3-4 minutes per side)
4. Fill a crockpot about 1/2-3/4 of the way full with water.
5. Dump in 2 gravy packages and 1 tsp of salt. Also add in 1 Tbs of kitchen bouquet to darken the water and give it a "gravy" type look. (I gave this to you in a tuperware).
6. Once the roast is browned, place in crock pot. Also, put in the carrots, celery and potatoes. (You'll need to peel the potatoes, and cut them in 1/2 or into thirds. You want them to be on the bigger side so they don't get mushy while they cook all day.
7. Cook on low for the day (8 hours) or on high for 5-6.

Getting ready to serve:
1. I put the meat in a 9X 13 baking dish to serve. Then I put the veggies in a separate bowl.
2. You can use the water/juice in the crockpot for gravy. I add "flour mixed with water" to thicken it up. You can also taste it and see if it needs any more flavoring. Season to taste.
3. I then pour the gravy over the meat to keep it moist and serve it this way.
4. Serve with corn and rolls.

PS. I hope the roasts aren't too fatty. The grocery store didn't have the ones I normally get. These ones didn't seem as lean. :(

Salmon, Couscous and Green Beans

Salmon:

1. Preheat oven or grill to 400 degrees

2. Cut the salmon into the number of filets that you need.

3. Place salmon filets on a large piece of heavy duty foil. Fold the edges up to make it look like a baking sheet.

4. Sprinkle the rub* generously onto the top of the salmon.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or grill for 8-10 minutes (keep lid closed) keeping the salmon on the foil "baking sheet".

Couscous:

-follow directions on box

Green Beans:

- Steam on stovetop

*The salmon rub recipe is the Shaeffer’s “secret” recipe. I need to ask Renee if I can share before I can post it. I probably gave you enough for a few dinners if you like it.

Chicken Chili (for crock pot)

Chicken will be cooked and cubed for you, so you can use it within a few days or freeze it. Avocado and cilantro included for toppings, as well as chips for crumbling/dipping and baby carrots on the side. I did not pre-wash the cilantro, hoping that if it stays drier it will last longer.

Put the following ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours:

3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks

1/2 c. chicken broth

3 cans white northern beans, undrained

16 oz. salsa (Herdez salsa casera, mild)

1 lb. monterey jack cheese, cut into cubes

1 tsp. cumin

Top with avocado and cilantro and serve with chips or corn muffins.

Pork Milanese, Roasted Asparagus & Rice Pilaf

 Ingredients:

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 2 tsp chopped or dried basil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 large eggs
• 5 boneless pork loin chops, pounded thin to 1/4 inch-thick
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 lemon wedges

MEAL SWAP PREP:

This recipe requires a little bit of work, but I think the finished meal is worth it!

You need 3 wide shallow bowls.

Bowl #1: flour

Bowl #2: two lightly beaten eggs

Bowl #3: bread crumb mixture (basil, thyme, parmesan and bread crumbs)

Sprinkle the pork chops (I already pounded them) with salt and pepper (both sides). Working with one chop at a time, dredge in flour, dip in egg, coat in bread-crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere.

Set oven (or toaster oven) on warm. Melt 2 T butter in 1/3 cup olive oil over medium heat in a heavy sauté pan. Working with as many pork chops will fit easily into your pan, cook chops until light golden brown—3 minutes per side. (I usually actually set my kitchen timer—exactly 3 minutes per side, then I don’t have to keep checking.) Keep cooked chops warm in oven (covered in foil) while you finish cooking the rest.

Roasted Asparagus

• I have already washed and trimmed your asparagus spears. 
• Pre-heat the oven to 400
• Drizzle some olive oil in the bag and add some salt and pepper. Shake it up to coat the asparagus.
• Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spread the coated asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet.
• Roast for about 20 minutes--until done to your liking.

Rice Pilaf -- Make according to directions on the box.

"Stepped-on" salad

Nate and Janna Lotze enjoyed our Teriyaki and Fumi dinner with us tonight. I enjoyed learning from Nate (who spent several years in Japan) that "fumi" means "stepped on". Maybe ramen noodles are more easily crunched by simply stepping on them! =)