Posts Tagged ‘Meal Planning’
Meal Planning
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
I know you know I do it, but it bears repeating.
Planning my meals once a week saves me so much time it’s just silly.
Once a week, I plan all of my meals on a separate piece of paper.
Then I write the meals on another piece of paper and post it on the fridge.
You can see all of them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helenjane/sets/72057594098854946/
On the back of the first piece of paper, I write my grocery list.
Once a week, I go to the grocery store and buy the things on the list.
It’s only once a week,
the meal planning takes an average of 15 minutes, and
there’s only ONE trip a week to the grocery store.
I’m able to better plan for leftovers, waste less and try new recipes.
Plan your meals for next week! Get to it!
August 15, Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
New menu day!
Since tonight was bocce, we needed something easy.
Since I didn’t make the meal plan until later that night, I needed something prepared.
Since I have a freezer filled with goodies, I found a Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie.
Now this is a beloved recipe, one we’ve tweaked and turned, added and removed. My favorite way to make this is to make 6 at once — 4 individual crock sized ones and two medium baking dish pies. I bake one off and cover the rest liberally with foil before putting in the freezer where it joins its friends Chicken Enchiladas and 12 Pound Lasagna.
One hour before you’d like to eat, heat the oven to 400° and bake the chicken pot pie for about 45 minutes or until the puff pastry is puffy and golden brown.
You just make up all the filling, put it in the dishes and drape your puff pastry over the top. Some folks make a bottom crust but we aren’t that fancy. Just the pie, ma’am, and thankyouverymuch.
Helen Jane’s Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 onion, chopped small
3 stalks celery, chopped small
2 leeks, just the mid parts, chopped small
1 cup flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 roasted or rotisserie chickens (I’ve have been known to roast my own, but you can buy yours) with all the chicken picked off and chopped into roughly 1/2 inch pieces and the carcasses saved in the freezer for future chicken stock.
3 carrots, chopped small
1 package frozen corn
1 package frozen peas
1 package frozen puff pastry. I like Pepperidge Farm or (if you can afford it) Dufour for this.
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper
Directions
Thaw the puff pastry on the counter (it takes about 45 minutes). On a flour-dusted surface, roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Take your containers and turn upside down on top of the pastry and trace around an extra 2 inches with a sharp knife to make a wonderful lid for the baking dish.
Put canola oil and butter in a large stockpot, heat to medium. Add onions, celery and leeks. Stir until translucent or about 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the melty onions and stir fiercely for 3-4 minutes. Stir so all the flour cooks through.
Heat the pan to medium-high. Slowly, ever so slowly, pour in the chicken stock, whisking quickly to incorporate. Keep whisking! Keep whisking until all the flour and chicken has come together in a tasty, creamy sauce.
Continue to stir and add chicken pieces, carrots, peas and corn.
Stir and cook for 10 more minutes until heated through.
While cooking, preheat the oven to 400°.
Brush the insides of the dishes with canola oil.
When the chicken mixture is cooked through, pour into the prepared dishes. Cover with the lid of puff pastry and press on top so that it the lid sticks.
Brush the beaten egg across the top of all the puff pastry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake one container off for roughly 25 minutes.
Tightly cover the rest of the chicken filling puff pastry covered containers with aluminum foil. Freeze.
And husbands and harried ladies will be very, very happy.
August 13, James Rice, Flank Steak Tacos
Monday, August 13th, 2007
James was a little grumpy that I shared this recipe with you, but I love this stuff!
It’s easy, spicy and perfectly salty.
It pairs well with Taco Bar.
Brilliant side dish.
The added bonus?
Your friends, family and countrymen won’t know how easy it was to put together.
We tried adding cheese once, but it turned into a sodden, gloppy mess. I don’t recommend it.
James Rice
1 cup white rice
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup prepared enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Bring the rice and chicken stock to a boil, cover and steam for 15 minutes. Add enchilada and hot sauce, continue to steam for another 5 minutes, salt to taste.
See? It’s perfect.
James, no need to grump.
Flank Steak Tacos
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I like canola)
1 pound flank steak
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Add the oil to the pan. Heat a large cast iron pan to shimmery hot.
Sprinkle 1/2 the garlic salt and pepper over one half of the meat, and 1/2 over the other side of the meat.
Place the meat in the hot pan. Don’t move or touch the meat, except to make sure it’s flat, for about 4 minutes. Then flip it, and cook until the meat is cooked to gentle pink in the middle (not a harsh or hot pink, no. no.).
Pull the meat out of the pan, let rest on the cutting board for no less than 8 minutes and slice thinly on the diagonal.
When I say thin, I’m talking about 1/4 inch, yo.
A good serrated knife can help with this.
Fixins
6 flour or gently fried corn tortillas
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup small diced red onions
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 avocados, chopped and tossed with the juice of one lime, salt and pepper
1/2 cup light sour cream
Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Hot sauce like Tabasco or Tapatio
Add the fixins to the tortilla until it’s to your liking.
Don’t forget to offer everyone bites of your most perfect taco.