Week 29 Recipes & Shopping List

NOTES:
• 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.

Recipe 1: Corn & Potato Chowder

Modified from The New Basics Cookbook

NOTES:

• This was delicious and made great leftovers for lunch. I used frozen corn but cooked it in the microwave before adding it to the soup.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 c. chopped onions
• 3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 6-8 c. (depending on how much soup you want) chicken broth
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 c. half-and-half
• 4 c. cooked corn kernels, drained
• ¾ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• Salt, to taste
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 3 green onions, cut into ¼-inch slices


DIRECTIONS
1. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot over low heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the butter and allow it to melt.
2. Add the onions and wilt over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, another 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock and potatoes. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the potatoes are just tender, 12-15 minutes.
4. Add the half-and-half, corn, black pepper, salt. Cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the bell pepper and scallions, adjust the seasonings, and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Recipe 2: Slow-cooker Shredded Beef Tostadas (or Tacos)

Original recipe from: fortheloveofcooking.blogspot.com

NOTES:
• This shredded beef has tons of flavor! I used frozen fresh-roasted green chilies from this summer because 1) I had them in the freezer and 2) they have a lot more flavor than canned (but canned will work fine).


INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/2 lbs of round roast or chuck roast, trimmed
• 1 7-oz can of whole green chiles (reserve the juice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 2-3 cups of beef broth
• Corn tortillas or tostada shells
• Spray oil
• Toppings: black beans, black olives, shredded lettuce, sour cream, avocado, cheese, sautéed red onion, chopped tomatoes, etc.


DIRECTIONS
1. Heat a few tbsp of oil in a large pot. Combine seasonings and rub onto the meat thoroughly. Sear (cook until browned) the meat in the olive oil on all sides.
2. Place the meat in your slow cooker and spread the green chiles over the roast. Add the beef broth, reserved green chile juice and chopped garlic. Cook on low until beef shreds easily, 6+ hours (mine was on from 7:15 am – 5:30 pm). Or cook on high for a shorter amount of time until beef shreds easily.
3. Spray some oil on the corn tortillas (if not using tostada shells) and cook on a baking sheet at 400 degrees about 5 minutes on one side. Flip and cook on the other side until lightly browned.
4. Top shells with shredded beef and desired toppings.

Recipe 3: Greek Pizza

NOTES:

• This pizza is full of flavor!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup refrigerated pesto (unless you’re lucky enough to still have some in the freezer from summer)

• 1 pizza crust, homemade or otherwise (click here for my fav recipe)

• 1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes or 1 diced fresh tomato

• 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts

• 1 cup wilted spinach (heat a saucepan to medium heat, add spinach and sauté just 30 seconds to 1 min or until wilted)
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
• 4 oz grated feta cheese
• 4 oz mixture of grated asiago, mozzarella, and provolone cheeses (or a pre-shredded Italian blend)
• Olive oil


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Roll out pizza dough and place on greased pan. Brush the pizza crust with olive oil and spread pesto over the crust, leaving a ½ inch border.
2. Top with tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, and spinach.
3. Cover with cheeses.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until cheeses have melted. Cool for a few minutes then slice and serve.

Make Ahead (and freeze!) Bean & Rice Burritos

 NOTES:

• Don’t be afraid to double this recipe if you have the freezer space. Individually wrap burritos in foil and then remove however many you need for easy future meals!

• There are several ways to cook these burritos, depending on if they’re frozen, fresh or thawed so see directions below.
• You can start the assembly process by pre-making the rice and bean mixture and refrigerating until ready to assemble burritos.


INGREDIENTS
• 1 ½ c. dried rice, cooked according to pkg directions (I used brown rice)
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drain (or cook 1 – ½ c. dried black beans)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1-2 c. cooked corn
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• Shredded cheddar, Monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese
• Flour tortillas



DIRECTIONS
1.Cook rice according to package directions.
2. In a large pot, sauté onion in oil on low heat until tender. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices and stir until incorporated.
3. Add cilantro, cooked rice, beans, green chilies, tomatoes, and corn to onion mixture. Stir and heat through.
4. Heat tortillas wrapped in a damp paper towel or kitchen hand towel in microwave until warm. Fill with bean and rice mixture, a sprinkling of cheese, and other desired toppings (if eating immediately). If freezing, do not add sour cream or avocado.

5. Fold in sides of burrito then roll up starting with the end closest to you. Serve immediately or if freezing, lay each burrito, seam-side down diagonally on a rectangular piece of foil. Fold the foil over the end of burrito then roll up. Store wrapped burritos in a freezer ziplock bag.

6. To cook frozen burritos:


- Thaw overnight in fridge then bake at 350 for 25-30 min or until heated through.

OR

- Thaw overnight in fridge then wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave several minutes or until hot (easy way to reheat at work for lunch).

OR

- Bake frozen burritos (still in foil) on a baking sheet at 350 for 50 minutes or until heated through.

Recipe 5: Sausage & Mushroom Manicotti

Original recipe from: fortheloveofcooking.blogspotcom

NOTES:

• Make two of these while you’re at it and freeze one!
• You can make this ahead of time and store in fridge until ready to bake.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp olive oil

• ½ lb turkey Italian sausage links, casings removed

• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 8 oz button mushrooms, chopped fine

• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

• 15 oz Ricotta cheese

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• 5-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly with kitchen scissors (so as not to damage leaves)

• 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese (divided)

• 1 pkg manicotti shells, cooked per instructions

• 1 jar marinara sauce

• 1 1/2 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large glass baking dish with olive oil cooking spray then pour 1ish cup of marinara into dish and spread out evenly.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the turkey sausage removed from casing. Cook for 1-2 minutes, crumbling the sausage with a spatula. Add the onions and mushrooms then continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Once the meat is cooked through and crumbled and the onions are tender, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Cook the manicotti noodles per instructions and set aside to cool (works best to place them on wax paper sprayed with oil). In a large bowl add the cooled meat mixture, ricotta cheese, parsley, basil, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, then mix thoroughly.

4. Place the mixture into a large zip lock bag and cut a hole in the corner of the bag big enough to allow the meat/cheese mixture to be squeezed out. Pipe filling into each manicotti shells then place into the baking dish. Continue process until you are out of filling and shells. Pour the remaining marinara sauce on top of the manicotti then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

5. Cover the baking dish with a piece of tin foil and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 7-10 minutes.

SHOPPING LIST:

NOTES:
• The shopping list is organized 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 made with veggies) or fruit but NOT found in the fresh fruits and veggie area of the supermarket.

Meat/Fish
• 4 slices bacon (1)
• 1 ½ lbs round roast or chuck roast (2)
• ½ lb turkey sausage links or ground sausage (5)

Veggies/Fruit
• Onion – 2 c. chopped (1), 1 medium (4), ½ sweet yellow (5)
• Potatoes – 2 large (1)
• Corn – 4 c. canned or frozen (1), 1-2 c. cooked (4)
• Red bell pepper – 1 (1)
• Green onions – 3 (1)
• Garlic – 2-3 cloves (2), 4 cloves (4), 4-5 cloves (5)
• Desired toppings for tostadas – lettuce, tomato, sautéed red onion, avocado, etc. (2)
• Green chilies - 1 7-oz can, whole (2), 1 can diced (4)
• Pesto – 1 c. (3)
• Sun-dried or fresh tomatoes - 1 c. chopped (3)
• Artichoke hearts - 1 c. chopped (3)
• Baby spinach – 1 small bag (3)
• Cilantro – 3 tbsp chopped (4)
• Diced tomatoes with green chilies – 1 can (4)
• Desired toppings for burritos that will be eaten immediately – avocado, salsa, etc. (4)
• Mushrooms – 8 oz (5)
• Fresh basil – 5-6 leaves (5)
• Fresh parsley – 2 tbsp chopped (5)
• Marinara sauce – 1 jar (5)

Breads & starches
• Your favorite corn tortillas or tostada shells (2)
• Pizza crust (3) (Click here to see my pizza dough recipe)
• 1 ½ c. dried rice, white or brown (4)
• Flour tortillas (big ones if you want big burritos) (4)
• 1 pkg manicotti shells (5)

Spices/Sauces/Vinegars/Oils/Condiments
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Oil
• Spray oil
• Chili powder – 1 tbsp (2), 1 tbsp (4)
• Garlic powder – 1 tsp (2)
• Oregano – 1 tsp (2), ½ tsp (5)
• Basil – 1 tsp dried (3)
• Cumin – 1 tsp (2), 1 tbsp (4)

Dairy
• Half and half – 1 c. (1)
• Monterey jack, Mexican blend or cheddar Cheese – to top tostadas (2), to put in burritos (4)
• Sour cream – to top tostadas (2), to put in burritos that will be eaten immediately (4)
• 4 oz of mixed grated asiago, mozzarella and provolone (or a pre-shredded Italian blend) (3)
• 4 oz crumbed or grated feta cheese (3)
• Mozzarella – 1 ½ c. (5)
• Parmesan – 4 tbsp (5)
• Ricotta – 15 oz (5)

Other
• Small amt of flour (1)
• Chicken broth – 6-8 c. (1)
• Black beans – to top tostadas (optional) (2), 2 cans (4)
• Beef froth – 2-3 c. (2)
• Sliced black olives – to top tostadas (optional) (2)
• Kalamata olives - ½ c. pitted (optional) (3)