New Recipes for the Week!

Happy Good Friday! We will be between Goldsboro and Colerain the next few days so I wanted to go on and post the recipes. Have a wonderful Easter weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather! I’m looking forward to possibly taking the little man on his first cruise on the Chowan!

Monday – Chicken Tetrazzini

I’ll actually make this on Sunday for us to have Monday night. This is a recipe I got from the January 2009 issue of Southern Living. It is usually what I deliver to my friends who have just had babies. Meal deliveries to a new mother are lifesavers. I always looked forward to the Tuesday and Thursday night deliveries the first few months we were home with Colin. We would have been living off peanut butter and jellies and Dominos had it not been for our wonderful friends. After being the recipient of such gourmet meals, I can’t wait to return the favor. The site mealbaby.com is great for organizing such meals. It allows the friends to write what they’ll be delivering so the parents won’t OD on any one dish.

I’m just making this one for Colin and me, so I’ll divide it into two casseroles and freeze one for later.

I’ll try the coupon strategy too using southernsavers.com: http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/03/harris-teeter-weekly-ad-331-46/

Recipe:
1 – 7oz package vermicelli
3 c chopped chicken – When I make this, I usually do so on Sundays. Rotisserie chickens are $2 off at Harris Teeter each Sunday. And sometimes, you may even get an additional $2 off if it’s a little later in the afternoon and there are some left. The pulled chicken from one rotisserie chicken is perfect for this recipe.
1 c shredded parmesan, divided (I have one package left in my fridge from last week’s buy one, get one) – but Sargento cheese is 2 for $4. Southernsavers.com says that you can get an additional $1 off if you have the coupon from the 1.31.10 SS (super saver). I don’t because I’m not that organized, but I think the gist for coupon cutting is to keep a folder with the main sources of coupons (Red Plum and Super Saver inserts from the paper or mailings), and then group and date with the day received so you can easily retrieve them.
1 can cream of mushroom –These are 3 for $2. After consulting southersavers.com, saw that there were $1 off printable coupons for this -- Makes each can of soup only $0.33! If you have the other coupons referenced it would be less.
1 container refrigerated Alfredo sauce – Buitoni has a really good reduced fat version
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained – I skip this for simplicity’s sake. Don’t miss them either
½ c chicken broth
¼ c dry sherry
¼ t freshly ground pepper
½ c slivered almonds – I substitute bread crumbs for the almonds. Just more likely to have bread crumbs in the pantry.

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pasta according to directions. Meanwhile combine chicken, ½ c parmesan, soup, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, chicken broth, sherry and pepper. Stir in pasta. Spoon into casserole dish and top with remaining parmesan and almonds/breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Tuesday – Five Spice Pork Chops with Grilled Plums
This is another “Real Simple” recipe and comes from the July 2007 issue. It’s an easy pork dish and a little out of the ordinary with the grilled plums. We love to have it on warmer nights so we can enjoy being outside while it cooks. It calls for 4 pork chops, but you can adjust that based on how many you are planning to serve. I’ve used pork tenderloin instead of the pork chops, and it is equally as good.

Recipe:
1/3 c low sodium soy sauce
2 T honey
¼ t five-spice powder – I use Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (I guess that qualifies??)
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick – $2.97/ lb for value packs. Use what you need and freeze the rest.
2 plums, pitted and quartered – I really like grilled plums so I do more.
12 scallions, ends trims – are these the same as green onions? I use green onions…
1 T olive oil

Heat grill or pan to medium-high. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, five-spice powder, and a ¼ t pepper for the sauce. Season the pork chops with 1 t salt and ¼ t pepper. Grill for 10 minutes, turning once. Using a brush, baste the chops with the sauce and grill until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Meanwhile toss the plums and scallions in the olive oil until coated. Grill the plums for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Grill the scallions for 2 minutes. I also like to drizzle a little sauce on plums and scallions while cooking, but be careful b/c it could cause some flare-ups. Divide the pork chops among the individual plates and serve with plums and scallions. Drizzle with extra sauce.

Wednesday – Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot
This is a recipe from, “Make it Easy.” My mother-in-law contributed it, but gives credit to her friend, Patti Farless. So thanks Jaquelin and Patti! It’s another easy crock pot meal. It calls for a bone-in turkey breast, but I have always made it with chicken, mainly because I couldn’t find a bone-in turkey breast. But when I saw they were on VIC special, I thought I would finally be able to make it with the turkey. I went to HT and looked and looked for the turkey breast, but couldn’t find it again. Then I realized what I thought was a whole turkey, was actually just the breast. It’s way too big for just Colin and me to enjoy, so I will probably just stick with the chicken – I’ve been substituting 5 pieces of chicken (either bone-in, split chicken breasts or a combination of bone-in split and boneless, skinless) for the turkey. It is probably less expensive that way too. The family size HT chicken breasts are a great deal and you can always freeze what you don’t need. Five is about the maximum my crock pot will hold though, and it makes a ton! Will have more than enough for lunch and dinner tomorrow. A friend from work said she strained her leftovers and made chicken salad.

The vinegar in the recipe makes it almost seem like barbecue chicken. After cooking all day, it falls off the bone and goes great with roasted veggies and rice.

Recipe:
1 bone-in turkey breast – I used 5 chicken breasts
2 T black pepper
2 T salt
3 gloves garlic, minced
¼ c parsley, dried or fresh (I used dry and it was great)
¼ c vegetable oil
¾ c apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. I really, REALLY love a crock pot.

Thursday – Leftovers

Friday – Date Night – Steaks or Tenderloin

Colin and I have been doing a lot more cooking at home the past 8 months. Either by ourselves or with friends. We are heading to the beach this weekend with my parents, so we’ll grill the tenderloin. If we were cooking just for the two of us, we’d just do the filets and freeze the tenderloin for later. The tenderloin price on special is just too great to pass up.

I just do a basic rub for the steaks – kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. Just pat the rub on the filets and grill to your liking. I have never cooked a whole tenderloin before. Definitely not an expert in that department, but my Dad just explained to me how he does it. I’m sure there are ways to cook it in the oven, but he always grills it, He’s a grillmaster. Even grills an entire turkey on Thanksgiving! On charcoal! So…do the same rub on the tenderloin then place it on the grill. He’s always very particular about making sure the top of the grill is not off for very long while it cooks. For medium rare, take the steak off when the middle is 117 degrees (you’ll need a meat thermometer). We got one of the digital remote thermometers as a wedding present, and it’s awesome for this type of thing. Then “let it rest” on a plate for about 15 minutes. He also said you can “tent it” which means to cover with aluminum foil. But, I think that will make it cook a little more, and I like mine on the rarer side of medium rare.

Then serve with your favorite sides. Grilled asparagus would be great (it’s on VIC special). Just drizzle with olive oil and fresh minced garlic and grill. The thin, aluminum pans are perfect for grilling veggies. Just put the asparagus on that and it will be done in no time. My mother-in-law, Nancy does an elegant "Supper Club Salad" that would go well with this too. It calls for granny smith apples, grapes (I use strawberries if they are in season), walnuts, red and green leaf lettuce and blue cheese. If it were just me, I would use blue cheese or goat cheese, but Colin turns his nose up to those, so we'll use feta. The dressing calls for 1/2 c. cider vinegar, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 t. dry mustard, 1 t. paprika and 1 c. olive oil. Just mix in blender beforehand and refrigerate. It's tangy and delish!