Meal Planning [2]

Second week of meal planning!

Monday: PW's Cajun Chicken Pasta

Tuesday: Mexican Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Thai Coconut Chicken Soup [ we had this at a wedding this weekend and it was soo good!]

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: We usually eat out for lunch after church, which usually takes care of dinner as well

While at the Grand Canyon at the beginning of the month, we stopped in one of the little stores and I found a rack of cook books that were all Southwest cooking. Yum! So my souvenir was this one:

I've been trying a recipe from the book each week. Last weeks was Spicy Chicken Joes and they turned out pretty darn good, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Spicy Chicken Joes:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 Yellow onions, chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped

olive oil

1- 8oz can tomato paste

1- 16oz can tomato sauce

2- chipotles in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped [not nearly spicey enough for us- if you're not into spicy start with one pepper]

1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 cup packed brown sugar [ I would take this down to 1/4 cup, it was a little too sweet]

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

Rolls

Cilantro for garnish if you like

Heat oil in pan. Brown chicken, onions and garlic [I drained off the water that the onions and chicken produced]. In separate bowl mix next 7 ingredients. Place chicken/onion/garlic mixture in crock pot and pour the sauce mixture over it. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken with forks and serve on rolls of your choice. Garnish with cilantro [Mike had cheese on his] and PLEASE serve with tator tots :)

Bruschetta Salad

While we were in Arizona we ate like kings [and queens]. Leah is a great cook and we probably gained 5lbs that week, but that's what vacation is for right? One night she made this salad and it's delish! It's all her, so I can't take credit. I didn't take pictures and this recipe isn't exact because really you just throw it all together. I just grabbed pictures from google for people who are visual learners :)

Bruschetta Salad:

Grape tomatoes cut in half - about a cup

Fresh Mozzerella cubed, about the same size as the tomatoes - 1/2 cup or more if you really like cheese :)

Fresh basil chopped - about 4 or 5 leaves

One or two cloves of garlic chopped - depending on how much you like garlic

Half cup or so of croutons - I used texas toast croutons

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for a few minutes to let all the flavors mix, but not too long so that the croutons get soggy, blech! There ya go- it's super easy and so good!

Foood!

Um, side note before I start: Where the heck did June go?! I sound old for saying that, but jeez I cannot believe it’s July (tomorrow)!

On to a tasty recipe- if you like shrimp, which I do… which is why I made it last night. We also love tomatoes, which is also included in this. [Sorry Elizabeth, this one is not for you ;) ]


Shrimp Scampi Pasta Bake (came up with that creative combo on my own)

It’s a little bit time consuming, but perfect for two people to prepare!

The main part of this is The Barefoot Contessa’s Baked Shimp Scampi. I cut the original recipe in half, so I went ahead and changed it here:

Ingredients:
• 1 pound shrimp in the shell (I bought already peeled)
• 1.5 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine (original amount, but hey I like wine)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used Earth Balance butter, which is vegan. I’m not vegan, but it’s a small step towards being healthier)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (two cloves, or more if you love garlic)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots (original amount, but I went with it)
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves (original amount)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (original amount)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (original amount)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (original amount)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (original amount)
• 1 extra-large egg yolk (original amount)
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes) *Half this, but I don’t know the correct measurement
• Pasta
• Tomatoes or any other veggie you prefer

Okay, okay so I halved the shrimp and the butter… whatever!


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
First, boil water and throw in your favorite pasta- I used half a box of Farfalle.

Peel, devein, and takes tales off of shrimp. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, salt and pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
Drain pasta and pour into bottom of a 9X13 dish. Arrange shrimp evenly over the pasta and pour remaining marinade over top. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the top (I used my hands and spatula). Then place diced tomatoes or other veg (I think artichoke hearts would be delish, but I’m pretty obsessed so…) over that. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese (I had some in the fridge, this is optional) and place in preheated oven for about 15 mins. Delish!


*Only thing I would suggest to do differently that I did last night is toss the pasta with a little bit of olive oil before putting in the dish.

There ya go! I think it's offical- I'm not good at posting recipes ha! I feel like they're all over the place, sorry!