Our Dinner Menu Plan

It has been a long time since I have posted our dinner menu plans, but I am ready to get started again.  My son is in year round school and since he was out for a few weeks I wanted to spend all the time I could with him.

My focus for the last few days has been kale recipes and I have one more I would like to try this week so I have included it below.

Our Dinner Menu

Sunday - Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Salad, Asian Noodle Slaw and Homemade Rolls

Monday - Spaghetti with Braised Kale (recipe coming) and Bread

Tuesday - Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole and Mexican Salad

Wednesday - Apricot Honey Dijon Pork Chops, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli and Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Thursday - Refried Bean Soup and Kale/Cheese Taquitos

Friday - Elbow Macaroni Hamburger Goulash and Salad

Saturday - Leftovers or Eat out

Sunday - Steak, Baked Potato and Sauteed Squash/Zucchini with Onions

Asian Noodle Slaw

This picture is not that great.  I will try to take a better one!

Let me just start out by saying that this is one of my favorite slaw dishes.  A neighborhood friend of mine made this for a bible study potluck one year and it was such a hit.

This slaw is perfect for a barbecue or cookout.  I took it to a friend's birthday cookout and everyone really enjoyed it so I figured I better post the recipe (this is for you Shannel!).  

Asian Noodle Slaw

Ingredients:

2 Packages of Ramen noodles (throw away the seasoning packet)

1 Package of broccoli slaw- I cut this into smaller pieces with my kitchen shears

1 Cup Craisins

1 Cup Asian sesame with ginger and soy dressing (I used Ken's) or homemade

2 Green onions, chopped - optional as a garnish

Handful of silvered almonds - optional as a garnish

Cook Ramen noodles according to package for about 3 minutes, drain and let cool.  Combine broccoli slaw, Craisins, noodles and dressing until evenly coated.

Toss with green onions and almonds if desired, cover and place in refrigerator for 2 hours or more. Serve.

Now isn't that simple!

Corn and Kale Fritter Cakes

Look at all that color

Are you starting to see a theme on this blog lately?  Kale is going to be my focus for the next few days.  I know you can use kale for smoothies, chips, and salad, but I hope to find other recipes to use this healthy, nutritional vegetable.

Kale has vitamins A, C and K, plus it contains lutein which keeps eyes and vision healthy.

This week I did not plan my menu well because we were on vacation for part of the week and I thought I would find time to do it when we returned.  Therefore I found myself really not planning at all, which is so unlike me.  I knew we were going to have tuna cakes on Thursday night and scoured the internet to find a side dish.  I came across a delightful recipe for Corn and Kale Fritter Cakes and thought we would give it a try.  

While this recipe was not our favorite, it was pretty good and a great way to incorporate this wonderful green leafy vegetable into our meal.

Here is the link to the original recipe for Corn and Kale Skillet Cakes.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Kale Muffins

The kale is almost invisible

My local grocery had a large 16oz bag of kale on sale for $1.49 and I just could not pass it up.  I have a little experience making kale chips and using kale for soups, but I wanted to find other recipes too. 

I came across a recipe for Chocolate Kale Muffins that sounded out of this world.  Boy, these muffins were rich, moist and super chocolatey.

After my kids completed their chores the Thursday I told them they could have a lollipop as a treat.  They both told me they would much rather have the Chocolate Kale Muffins instead...yeah!

Follow this link to the Chocolate Kale Muffin recipe.

Grilled Kiwi Chicken

Kiwi Chicken with Kale Chips and Crowder Peas

My husband is the one who actually prepared this super flavorful Kiwi Chicken.  I was not feeling well this past weekend so he decided to make dinner. I gave him the original recipe from the March issue of the Rachael Ray magazine EveryDay as a guide.  

Of course he did not stick to the recipe, but we never do.  Here is my husband's version of Kiwi Chicken.

Grilled Kiwi Chicken

4-6 Chicken thighs

salt and pepper

1 Clove of garlic, minced

3 Kiwis

1 Tbsp honey

2 Tsp olive oil

1/2-1 Tsp jalapeno, chopped (more if you like it spicy)

Salt and pepper each side of the chicken and grill chicken until done.

While chicken is cooking, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat.  

Peel kiwis and press through a fine-mesh sieve (we used a fruit strainer) to extract all the juice.  

Place remaining kiwi flesh into a mini chopper and puree.  Add kiwi juice, garlic oil, honey and jalapeno, puree to combine.

Serve sauce over chicken and add chopped kiwi if you like.  This sauce was amazing!

Strawberry Sorbet Smoothie

You gotta love our 1971 Archies Glasses

As you may have read on some of my previous blogs, I have two really large buckets of freshly picked strawberries.  This week it has been my mission to find healthier recipes that incorporate strawberries.

I did find a No Sugar Strawberry Preserves recipe that I love and I also came across this Strawberry Sorbet recipe that I thought was very refreshing.  My kids did not like it though, but that was no surprise since they really don't like smoothies.

The original recipe called for a dabble of peanut butter on top of the smoothie, but after tasting it I don't believe you really need it.

The Strawberry Sorbet Smoothie is light and delicious so don't let the picture deceive you.

Strawberry Sorbet Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 Cups frozen strawberries

2 Tbsp honey or agave nectar

3/4 Cup orange juice

3 Tbsp lite coconut milk

Couple dashes of cinnamon

Dabble of peanut butter or Nutella - optional

Combine first 5 ingredients in a Vitamix or food processor until smooth and serve with a dab of peanut butter if desired.

Serving size 4

Play Dough

 Okay, I know this is a food blog, but since play dough is made with edible components (Not that you should eat it, but if you do I guess it would be okay), I thought I would post a homemade recipe for it.

My play dough did not produce the dark green I was looking for so next time I think I would add more food coloring.

 Play Dough

Ingredients:

2 Cups flour

2 Cups water

1 Cup salt

4 Tsp of cream of tartar

A few drops of food coloring

Cook all ingredients in a large saucepan until thick.  Stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pan often.  The dough will be a little lumpy and somewhat dull.  After the dough pulls away from the sides and starts to look dry you can remove.  Pour out onto counter and knead like cookie dough.  Let the dough cool completely and store in a Ziploc type bag.