Monday, April 13, 2009

What's For Dinner

This week was a week of side dishes!

MONDAY - Alfredo

Alfredo sauce
½ cube butter
8 oz cream cheese
tsp minced garlic
½ pint whipping cream
1/3 c. parmesan cheese

Combine first three ingredients in sauce pan. Heat over stove until completely melted. Then add whipping cream and parmesan cheese. Serve over noodles immediately.

Side dishes- French bread and deep fried zucchini.
*I just got a loaf of french bread from the store but topped it with butter, chives and garlic powder.

Fried zucchini
1 medium zucchini
½ c. flour
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 c. Corn Chex, crushed
Oil for deep frying

Slice zucchini. In a bowl, combine flour, onion salt, oregano and garlic. Combine egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients. Dip zucchini into batter then roll in crushed cereal. Heat oil to 375. Fry zucchini, a few at a time, for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve with ranch or other dipping sauce.

TUESDAY - BLT's
Side dish - Gulliver's (creamed) Corn
1 lb. bag frozen corn
4 oz. whipping cream
½ c. milk
½ tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
1 T. melted butter
1 T. flour

Heat corn, whipping cream, milk, salt and sugar in saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Boil 3 minutes. Mix butter and flour. Add to corn. Simmer.

WEDNESDAY - Chicken Cordon Bleu
4 boneless chicken breasts
½ - 1 cube melted butter
4 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
¾ c bread crumbs (I use Italian style bread crumbs)
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp. dried rosemary

Flatten chicken breast. Combine spices and bread crumbs in bowl. Dip each chicken breast in melted butter, then coat with bread crumb mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes. Pull out of oven and place cheese and ham slices on top. Cook another 20 minutes.
*If you put the ham and cheese on to begin with, the ham tends to overcook and get tough. If you want a little extra flavor sprinkle extra spices on chicken after coating with bread crumb mixture…we like a little extra garlic powder and rosemary!

Sauce for chicken: 1 can cream of chicken soup combined with ½ can milk, heated in saucepan.

Side dish - Tapioca/Jello Salad
1 small Package jello*
2 small packages Cook and Serve Tapioca Pudding (right by the Jello, in same kind of box)
8 oz. tub Cool Whip
2 lb. frozen berries or 1 can fruit*

Combine Jello mix and Tapioca pudding to 3 cups cold water. Bring to a boil. Let boil one minute. Let cool (at room temperature) completely. Add cool whip and fruit.
*I used strawberry Jello and frozen strawberries. I know someone who uses orange Jello and canned pineapple...

THURSDAY - Calzones and leftover side dishes
Rhodes frozen bread loave(s)*
Pizza toppings of your choice
Shredded Italian blend cheese
Pizza sauce for dipping (optional)

Roll out ½ of the dough. Cover with cheese and pizza toppings. Roll out other ½ of the dough and place over other layer. Seal edges. Bake at 350 20-25 minutes. Once out of oven, spread butter over top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

*One loaf will make ½ cookie sheet calzone, two loaves will make calzone to fill entire cookie sheet.

FRIDAY- Out
SATURDAY- Leftovers
SUNDAY - (at the in-laws) Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans

DESSERT- Cake/Brownie Bar (made with a cake mix, texture like a brownie)
Cake mix (chocolate or yellow)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ c. oil
Chocolate chips (milk or white)

Press batter into 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 15-20 min.

4 comments:

Dallin & Ashley said...

Yum! I want to try the Alfredo with Zucchini! Sounds amazing...
So here's a recipe, one of my favorite...called Italian Nachos. My friend Lauren Jesperson gave it to me!

Serves About 4

1 Package wontons (found in the produce section), cut on the diagonal to form triangles
2 pieces grilled chicken breasts cut up into pieces. I like to marinate mine first in italian dressing with seasonings.
1 jar Pepperochini peppers (I got mild)
Shaved Parmesan for garnish
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sliced olives
jalepenos (optional)

For the Cheese Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half *(I like to use half this with milk to make it thinner)
2 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or other good-quality Parmesan

1. In a heavy, medium saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and then the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half-and-half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat; add 2 cups of the grated Parmesan. Season with the salt, pepper and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

2. Heat a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to medium. Cook the wontons until light brown. This only takes a few seconds per side. Set aside on paper towels to drain.

3. Pile the wontons on a large serving platter. Drizzle with warm cheese sauce. Add chicken, tomatoes, olives and peppers. Top with shaved Parmesan. EAT

The Clawson's said...

Hey girl!!! I'm so glad that I found your blog!!! It looks like you two are having fun!!

Anonymous said...

You are amazing! I wish I could cook like that!
Mom

Stu and Angie Milne said...

yum yum yum! i wanna do calzones now, i just discovered a GREAT recipe for pizza dough that is soo tasty! and the zucchini sounds sooo good.

here's a recipe for a strawberry cake, perfect for right now since they're in season!

Ingredients:
Cake:
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries with juice (1 ½ cups whole berries)
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk
4 large eggs

Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
¾ cup fresh strawberries, rinsed, capped, and mashed to make ½ cup, then drained well (this is important, or the frosting will be runny)

1.) Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.
2.) Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven.
3.) Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 30 minutes (they usually cook much faster here in Utah). Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
4.) Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the sugar and drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar has been incorporated. Then raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting another minute or until the frosting lightens and is well combined.
5.) To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with clean, smooth strokes.
*Place the cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months.


ps stu and i are obsessed with lost too! oh my GOSH it's so good! we're only on the 2nd season though. are you visiting az this summer?