• If you're a new visitor to this blog, please read "how to use this blog" off to the right-hand-side.
• Check NOTES under each meal for ahead-of-time preps.
• By clicking on “older posts” at the bottom of this page, you can look back at previous week’s recipes.
• If you are looking for a particular recipe, use the search box at the right-hand-side then scroll to the top of the page to see search results.
• I'm going to try and do better about taking a photo of the finished meal. This week I remembered to take one!
• Be sure to look at my homemade pizza dough recipe posted earlier this week. I posted that in response to several requests for it.
RECIPE 1: TWICE-BAKED SPINACH POTATOES
NOTES:
• You should be able to fully assemble the potatoes (through step 4) ahead of time and when ready to serve, let potatoes sit at room temperature for awhile (at least ½ hour) before baking. You may need to bake longer than 15 minutes in this case to heat thoroughly.
INGREDIENTS
• 3 large baking potatoes (about 12 ounces each)
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. tub-style cream cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 1 3/4 c. (7 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded & divided
• 1/4 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 (10-z) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry OR fresh baby spinach, chopped & sautéed in a little oil until wilted
• Sliced green onions (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450.
2. Poke a few holes in each potato with the tines of a fork and microwave on high until slightly soft to the touch, about 8-12 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Carefully transfer the potatoes to the oven and cook directly on the hot oven rack until a skewer slides easily though flesh, about 20 minutes.
3. Cool potatoes enough to handle and cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Mash pulp with a potato masher.
4. Combine milk and cream cheese in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add potato pulp, 1 cup cheddar cheese, onion, salt, pepper, and spinach; stir well. Spoon potato mixture into shells; sprinkle each half with 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese.
5. Place stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet; bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with green onions, if desired.
RECIPE 2: BACON & VEGGIE QUICHE
NOTES:
• Double this recipe for breakfast or lunch leftovers the next day.
• I like to make my own pie crust and then use the extra edges of crust to re-roll and make “mini-quiches” in crème-brulee dishes. These are great for kids or for a light lunch the next day.
Ingredients
• 1 unbaked pastry shell or make your own pie crust
• 2 c. fresh baby spinach
• 1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 c. fresh broccoli, chopped into small pieces
• ¾ c. chopped sweet onion
• Olive oil
• 1 5-oz can evaporated milk
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• ½ c. crumbled tomato and basil feta cheese
Directions
1. Line unpricked pastry shell with two layers of foil and bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the spinach, mushrooms, broccoli and onion in oil until tender. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, rosemary, salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, transfer veggies to egg mixture and stir in cheddar cheese and bacon. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
3. Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
RECIPE 3: DEEP-DISH CHICAGO PIZZA
NOTES:
• Sauté the veggies the night before and shred cheese (if not buying the pre-shredded kind) and store in a containers in fridge.
Ingredients
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 pkg dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)
• 1 c. warm water
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• About 2 ¾ c. flour, divided
• ¼ c. yellow cornmeal
• ½ tsp salt
• Cooking spray
• Sausage (chicken, turkey or pork)
• 2 c. thinly sliced mushrooms
• ¾ c. chopped green bell pepper
• ¾ c. chopped red bell pepper
• About 2 c. mozzarella and ½ c. parmesan cheese, shredded
• Your favorite store-bought pizza sauce (I like Muir-Glen) or homemade
Directions
1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in olive oil.
2. Lightly spoon 2 ½ c. of the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine with cornmeal and salt. Stir into yeast mixture until dough forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 min).
3. Add enough to the remaining flour (1 tbsp at a time) to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough well feel sticky). Place in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top and cover to let rise in a warm place 45 minutes or until double. Punch dough down, cover and let rest 5 minutes.
4. While dough is rising, heat skillet to medium heat and cook sausage, breaking up into small bits until cooked through. Remove and using a small amount of the oil leftover, cook mushrooms 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell peppers and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
5. When dough is ready, roll into an 11x15 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface and place in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; press dough up sides of dish.
6. Spread a layer of sauce over dough and top with sausage, veggies, & cheeses. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until crust browns and cheese bubbles. Cool 5 minutes before cutting.
RECIPE 4: SHRIMP FRIED RICE
NOTES:• Cooking and chilling your rice ahead of time is essential for good fried rice. Do this the night or morning before.
• Don’t forget to thaw the peas before getting ready to make dinner.
Ingredients
• 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/8 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 c. finely chopped green onions
• 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 4 c. cooked long-grain rice, chilled
• 1 1/2 c. frozen green peas, thawed
Directions
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels then season with ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and 1/8 tsp sugar. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; cook 4 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan and lower heat to medium. Add eggs; stir-fry 30 seconds or until soft-scrambled, stirring constantly. Stir in onions and ginger; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture, shrimp, rice, and peas; cook 3 minutes or until heated.
RECIPE 5: TUNA MELTS
NOTES:
• Use this on a day you’ll know you’ll be busy! Make the tuna salad the night before. You may need to freshen salad with a spoonful of mayo and squeeze of lemon juice.
Ingredients
• 5 6-oz cans tuna or 4 7-oz packages, flaked
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 c. mayo
• ¼ c. minced red onion
• ¼ c. minced dill or sweet pickles
• ¼ c. minced fresh parsley
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• High quality sandwich bread
• 2 tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick (optional)
• Provolone cheese (1 slice per sandwich or two if they’re thin)
Directions
1. Toss all of the ingredients together (through salt and pepper to taste) in a large bowl.
2. Adjust an oven rack so that it is about 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Arrange the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove ½ of the bread slices and set aside. Spread about ½ c. of tuna salad over bread slices on baking sheet and top with sliced tomato and provolone. Broil until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown, 3-6 minutes. Place remaining slices of bread over top of cheese and broil another minute to warm top slice of bread again if desired.
Shopping list:
NOTES:• I have organized the shopping list by category and then within each category by meal. After each item you’ll see a number in parenthesis which corresponds to the meal number. That way you can easily pick which recipes you want to try and then find those items (or cross items out) on the list.
• Under Veggies/Fruit I have italicized anything that is a veggie or fruit but NOT found in the fresh fruits and veggie area of the supermarket.
• For Sides: Add sides to the meals as necessary. Only two meals may be in need of a side this week. Suggestions: Side salad and applesauce (2), good kettle-cooked potato chips and a dill pickle slice (5).
Meat/Fish
• 6 slices bacon (2)
• About ½ lb chicken, turkey or pork sausage (3)
• 1 ½ lbs medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (4)
• 5 6-oz cans chunk light tuna or 4 7-oz packages (5)
Veggies/Fruit
• 3 large baking potatoes (1)
• Onion – ¼ c. chopped WHITE or YELLOW (1), sliced GREEN ONIONS for topping potatoes (1) & 2 c. GREEN ONIONS finely chopped (4), SWEET onion – ¾ c. chopped (2), RED onion – ¼ c. (5)
• Spinach – 1 10-oz frozen package or 10 oz fresh (1), 2 c. (2)
• Mushrooms – 1 c. sliced (2)
• Fresh broccoli – 1 c. chopped (2), 2 c. (3)
• Green bell pepper (3)
• Red bell pepper (3)
• Frozen peas – 1 ½ c. (4)
• Freshly grated ginger – 1 tbsp (4)
• 2 ribs celery (5)
• ¼ c. minced dill or sweet pickles (5)
• Fresh minced parsley – ¼ c. (5)
• 1 lemon (5)
• Garlic – 1 clove (5)
• 2 tomatoes (optional) (5)
Breads & starches
• 1 unbaked pastry shell or make your own pie crust (2)
• ¼ c. yellow cornmeal (3)
• 2 ¾ c. flour (3)
• 4 c. long-grain rice (4)
• High quality sandwich bread (5)
Spices/Sauces/Vinegars
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Crushed dried rosemary (2)
• Low sodium soy sauce – 3 tbsp (4)
• Rice vinegar – 2 tbsp (4)
• Sesame oil – 1 tsp (4)
• Crushed red pepper (4)
• Dijon mustard – ½ tsp (5)
Dairy
• Milk – ½ c. (1),
• Tub-style cream cheese – ½ c. (1)
• Cheddar cheese: sharp shredded cheddar cheese – 1 ¾ c. (1), 1 c. (2)
• 1 5-oz can evaporated milk (2)
• Tomato and basil feta cheese – ½ c. (2)
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded – 2 c. (3)
• Parmesan cheese, shredded – ½ c. (3)
• Slices of provolone cheese for tuna melts (at least 1 slice per melt) (5)
Other
• Oil
• Eggs – 4 (2), 3 (4)
• Small amount of sugar (3), (4)
• Cooking spray
• Yeast – 2 ¼ tsp or 1 pkg (3)
• Your favorite pizza sauce (I like Muir-Glen) (3)
• Mayo – 1 c. (5)
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