girl's week

In absence of a weekly menu post, here are a few yummy recipes we made last week. Believe me, you want to try them all...

*SOFT PRETZELS with QUESO POBLANO SAUCE

*CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (the BEST ones...I promise...)

the gals are coming, the gals are coming!!!!!!

This is a pretty fun week for me---2 of my sisters in law are coming to Chicago for girl's week! So the eating we do may not actually follow this menu exactly, but I will say there will be PLENTY of good eats!!! For now, this is what I have scheduled:

*Monday: General Tso's Chicken and Brown Rice

*Tuesday: Soy Glazed Salmon with Garlic Mashed Potatoes (I know I just made these a couple weeks ago, but Ryder LOVED them, and they are super easy!!!)

*Wednesday: Leftovers

*Thursday: "Cobb" theme--delicious (and beautiful) Turkey Cobb Salad, and corn on the cobb with bread (I like to buy a yummy baguette, and dip it in a mixture of a good olive oil and some parmesan cheese--You can also add some salt & pepper or balsamic vinegar)

*Friday: Giordano's! A MUST when visiting Chicago

*Saturday: Oatmeal Pancakes (see recipe below) with Buttermilk Syrup for breakfast, and dinner downtown

*Sunday: Chicken Fajitas, Cilantro/lime rice (see recipes below) and Guacamole (I didn't end up making any last weekend, so today is the day!!!)


OATMEAL PANCAKES

-1 c. rolled Oats
-1 3/4 c. buttermilk
-2/3 c. chopped pecans
-1 c. pure maple syrup
-1 c. all purpose flour
-3 TBLSP firmly packed light brown sugar
-2 tsp. baking soda
-pinch of salt
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-4 TBLSP unsalted butter, melted
-1/2 c. low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, tast the pecans over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 mins. (*DO THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE MAKING THE PECAN MAPLE SYRUP* OR YOU CAN MAKE THE BUTTERMILK SYRUP...they are both completely SCRUMPTIOUS :) Remove from heat. Pour maple syrup into saucepan (mixture will bubble), stir well, cover to keep warm and set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add to soaked oats then stir in eggs and 2 TBLSP melted butter. Mix well.
In frying pan over med./high heat, heat remaining 2 TBLSP butter. Ladle butter into pan (forming pancakes). Cook until golden brown.
Top each pancake with syrup and a spoonful of yogurt (or I like to add some chopped strawberries... :)


CHICKEN FAJITAS

Marinade:
-1/4 c. oil
-1/2 c. vinegar
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 jalepeno pepper, finely chopped
-2 TBLSP snipped cilantro
-2 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. ground cumin

-2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into strips
-1 red pepper, 1green pepper, 1 yellow pepper (all cut into strips)
-1 purple onion (cut into strips)
-flour tortillas

Mix marinade; separate into two bowls. Add chicken to 1/2 of the marinade in one bowl, and peppers and onions in the other. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, or 2-24 hours in refrigerator.
Cook peppers until tender-crisp in fry pan. Remove and then cook chicken until done. Add peppers and heat through. Serve with warm tortillas, salsa and guacamole.


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

-2 TBLSP butter
-1 1/4 c. rice
-2 1/4 c. chicken broth
-3/4 tsp. salt
-pepper
-juice and zest of 1 large or 2 small limes
-2 TBLSP chopped cilantro
-1/4 tsp. cumin

In cooking pot, melt butter with rice, add liquid and other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Weekly Menu

This week, we are eating...

*Monday: "Wet Burritos"--This was one of my favorites growing up. I like to substitute the ground Beef for ground Turkey. You really can't tell, flavor wise, and it's quite a bit healthier. See the recipe below. We will have chopped lettuce, onion, tomato, and of course avocado, plus cheese to top ours.

*Tuesday: Grilled Chicken and Corn Lettuce Wraps--I LOVE trying different lettuce wrap recipes! I feel SO good after I eat them, and generally they are pretty quick and simple to make. If you're looking for a yummy low-carb dinner, try these. We will have some jasmine rice with our wraps.

*Wednesday: Leftovers

*Thursday: Salmon Salad--I like to get some fish in the menu once a week. We happen to love Salmon, and I love salads--especially with this nice spring weather we've been having!!! So I will just cook my Salmon however I feel like that night (probably poach it), then flake it into bite size pieces. I will put it on top of some sort of lettuce/romaine/spinach mixture, and top with hard-boiled eggs, sugar-snap peas, tomatoes, red onion, and anything else that sounds yummy that I have in my fridge. Top with your favorite vinaigrette dressing, or one of these.

*Friday: Fusilli with Squash and Bacon (or peppers and prosciutto, etc...)

*Saturday: Leftovers

*Sunday: BBQ Chicken Quesadillas...this may just call for some homemade guacamole as well. :)


WET BURRITOS

-1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (or ground turkey)
-1 can refried beans, divided (I use lowfat/fat free)
-1 pkg. chili seasoning mix, divided
-1 pkg. taco seasoning mix, divided
-1 can condensed cream of tomato soup
-1 pkg. large flour tortillas (I have also used whole wheat before and love those...)
-Shredded Cheese (about 1 cup)

Toppings (in amounts desired):
-lettuce, shredded
-tomatoes, diced
-onion, chopped
-sour cream
-black olives, chopped
-shredded colby/jack cheese
-avocados, sliced

In one saucepan combine half of the refried beans (about 1-1/2 c.), half of the chili seasoning, half of the taco mix, and the tomato soup. Add a soupcan of water; stir and heat ingredients through. This is the sauce.

In another saucepan, combine ground meat, remaining refried beans, taco mix and chili mix. Fill up chili mix packet with water and add to meat mixture, then mix ingredients and heat through.

To assemble: Place 2-3 TBLSP meat in center of each tortilla; fold sides to center and roll up. Place each one in a 9x13 pan; cover with sauce; then sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes or just until warmed through and cheese is melted on top.

this week--

Here is our menu for the week!

*Monday: Cafe Rio (yes, I'm serious! My Mom is on a plane RIGHT NOW coming from Utah, with a lovely gift for me in her suitcase. I can't wait!!!)

*Tuesday: Grilled Chicken with Corn and Slaw--I sort of feel like Paula Deen putting this on my menu :) I guess I did get it from Southern Living...

*Wednesday: Mediterranean Melt with Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips

*Thursday: Shrimp Pad Thai

*Friday: Date Night!

*Saturday:Leftovers

*Sunday: Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions, Green beans and Garlic Mashed Potatoes