Sunday
Sausage on hot dog buns
Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) can Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
2 1/2 slices American cheese slices, quartered
10 large hot dogs
Cooking spray
Mustard or ketchup, if desired
Dill spears
Chips
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Crescent Rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perforations creating 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Recipe Creations: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
3. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
4. Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with cooking spray.
5. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. Serve with pickle and chips
Monday
Slow cooker lasagna
Ingredients
1 (1 pound) package Bob Evans® Italian Sausage Roll
1 (9 ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles, broken into 2 pieces
12 ounces ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 (26 ounce) jars pasta sauce
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Directions
1. Spray interior of slow cooker with non-stick vegetable spray.
2. In medium skillet over medium heat, crumble and cook sausage until brown. Place in slow cooker. Add noodles, ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, pasta sauce and parsley. Stir gently to combine.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. 5 minutes before serving, top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover to melt cheese.
Italian Vegetable Sauté
Ingredients
2 medium green pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup seasoned croutons
Directions
In a skillet, sauté the peppers, garlic and Italian seasoning in butter until peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with croutons if desired.
Tuesday
Sweet and Spicy Stir Fry with Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
3 cups broccoli florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch strips
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon chile paste
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/8 cup chicken stock
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
Directions
1. Place broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the chicken, green onions, and garlic until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Stir the hoisin sauce, chile paste, and soy sauce into the skillet. Season with ginger, red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the chicken stock and simmer about 2 minutes. Mix in the steamed broccoli until coated with the sauce mixture. Serve over rice.
Wednesday
Savory Pork Chops
Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
MUSTARD SAUCE:
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Directions
In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Dredge pork chops in flour mixture. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chops in oil on both sides, about 8 minutes. Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over chops. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 20 minutes. Spoon sauce over chips when serving.
Mashed cauliflower
Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat. Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels. In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base, and pepper until almost smooth. Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter
Sautéed spinach
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Lemon
Sea or kosher salt, optional
Directions
Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it's very clean. Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves. In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it's browned. Add all the spinach, the salt, and pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes. Uncover the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the spinach is wilted. Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.
Thursday
Fully loaded mac and cheese
Ingredients
200 g. of macaroni1
100 g. of belly bacon2, chopped
2 tbsps. of butter
1/3 c. of chopped onion
1/3 c. of chopped bell peppers3
1/3 c. of chopped carrot
1 c. of cream
125 g. of cream cheese, cut into small cubes
125 g. of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
125 g. of shredded Parmesan or Edam cheese
1 tbsp. of chopped parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
bread crumbs
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce. Heat a skillet or frying pan and cook the bacon with adding any oil. The bacon will render fat and that’s all the oil it needs. Cook until the bacon bits are browned and crisp. Scoop out with a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl and set aside. It is up to you if you want to pour off the bacon fat. Some people are fussy about it but, personally, I use it because it is very, very tasty. Melt the butter in the pan. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper and carrot. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are quite soft. The pasta should be done at about this time. Drain it. Meanwhile, pour the cream into the pan. Add the cheeses. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the cheeses are melted and the mixture is bubbly. Turn off the heat. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, as needed. Add the cooked pasta and bacon to the sauce. Toss to coat each piece of pasta with sauce and to distribute the bacon and vegetables evenly. Toss in the parsley. Divide the mixture among individual ramekins or pour all of it into a large baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan or Edam. Then, sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and crisp, and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot with buttered toast on the side.
Friday
Pepper gazpacho
Ingredients
1 (46-oz.) bottle vegetable juice
1 (12-oz.) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup banana pepper rings
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Toppings: sliced cucumber, fresh basil leaves
Preparation
Process half of vegetable juice and next 7 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in remaining vegetable juice and olive oil. Serve immediately with toppings, or cover and chill until ready to serve.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
4 slices white bread
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 slices Cheddar cheese
Directions
Preheat skillet over medium heat. Generously butter one side of a slice of bread. Place bread butter-side-down onto skillet bottom and add 1 slice of cheese. Butter a second slice of bread on one side and place butter-side-up on top of sandwich. Grill until lightly browned and flip over; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining 2 slices of bread, butter and slice of cheese.
Saturday
Gobi Manchurian Recipe
What I Used:
2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
Oil to deep fry
For the batter:
5 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder (optional, depending on heat level preferred)
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 garlic clove, minced
A pinch of salt
About 1/4 cup water
For the sauce:
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green chillies/jalapenos, slit midways (use to taste)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp green chilli sauce (optional but recommended)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tbsp water
Salt, check before adding
How I Made It:
1. Let's start with the sauce. Heat oil and fry the onions, capsicum, green chillies, if using, and garlic until the onions turn golden brown.
2. Add the ketchup and the green chilli sauce to the onions and mix well. Fry for 30 seconds.
3. Turn the heat to high and add the soy sauce and vinegar. Mix well for 5 seconds and lower heat back down. Fry for 30 more seconds.
4. Now add the cornstarch-water mixture and mix until the sauce thickens. Check salt and add more only if necessary, since the soy sauce and chilly sauce may have salt. Set sauce aside.
5. Mix ingredients for the batter until you get a slightly loose batter of pouring consistency. Heat oil until its just short of smoking hot, coat each cauliflower with the batter and drop it into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and drain on kitchen towels. Repeat.
6. Once all the cauliflower florets have been fried, add to the sauce and mix well. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves or green onions.
Note: this recipe is for the dry version of gobi manchurian that's usually served as an appetizer. You can stick toothpicks into the florets and serve as an appetizer or add more water-cornstarch mixture and make the sauce looser to serve with fried rice.
