Week 2 Menu

Monday

Taco Salad

Prep Time and Cooking Time: 30 minutes

1 pound, lean ground round or ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

½ package taco seasoning

6 ounces (1/2 of a large bag) of taco flavored Doritos, crushed

Romaine Lettuce, chopped into small slices (I use 2-3 large heads for my family and it really tastes better chopped rather than torn)

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 cups, shredded cheddar cheese

1. Brown meat and onion until cooked well. Add taco mix and stir. Set aside.

2. Mix other ingredients in a large bowl and add meat (meat should be warm when you add it)

3. Add an amount of dressing that suits your taste and toss well (if you make the recipe below, you will have left over dressing).

For the dressing: you can use bottled Italian dressing or mix together:

¼ cup wine vinegar

¾ cup oil

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon each, salt and pepper

½ teaspoon garlic and onion powder (or 1 clove garlic, minced)

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon mustard

Tuesday

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

Prep Time: 25 minutes. Cooking Time: 6 hours)

4 chicken breasts or thighs (boneless, skinless preferred)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon each, salt and freshly ground pepper

1 medium onion, diced

1 (16 ounce) can, diced tomatoes

1 Tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

Place olive oil in a fry pan placed on the stove over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in pan and brown on both sides while seasoning each side with salt and pepper (if it splatters a lot, either turn down the heat or tent with foil). Once chicken is golden brown on both sides, remove chicken and place in the bottom of a Crock Pot™ or Slow Cooker. Drain any oil from fry pan (dab with a paper towel if needed) and add diced onion. Sauté the onion for 1-2 minutes without browning. Add diced tomatoes including the liquid from the can to the onions and add oregano and sugar. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Pour tomato mixture over chicken breasts. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Check to assure chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over rice or pasta.

(Serves 4) 

Wednesday

BBQ Onion Burgers

1.25 pounds ground beef (80-85% lean) or use pre pattied boca or morningstar burger

2 Tablespoons bottled Barbeque Sauce

¼ large onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

4 slices cheese, if desired

Place ground beef in a medium size mixing bowl.Add remaining ingredients. Use a spoon or your hands to mix. Divide the meat mixture into 4 equal portions. Loosely shape each portion into a 1” patty. Try not to press or pack the meat too tightly. Grill on one side, with the lid down, 3-5 minutes, flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes or until done to your liking. During the last minute of cooking time, place sliced cheese on top, if desired, and allow to melt. Serve on buns with desired condiments.

Serves 4

Thursday

Harvest Tuna Melts

(Prep Time 10 minutes Broiling Time 2 minutes)

¼ chopped onion (3 Tablespoons)

2 stalks celery, diced

½ apple, chopped

2 (6 ounce) cans water packed tuna, drained

5 Tablespoons Mayo or Miracle Whip

¼ teaspoon, freshly ground black pepper

4 English Muffins split in half

1 Tomato

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine onion, celery, apple, tuna, salad dressing and black pepper in a medium sized bowl. Place English Muffin halves on a foil lined baking sheet and broil for 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven and top each English muffin half with 1/4 of the tuna mixture. Top each with a tomato slice and cheddar cheese. Broil for 2-4 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serves 4

Friday

Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:

1 medium green pepper, cut into a 2" long strips (about 1½ cups)

½ Cup thinly sliced pepperoni

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup pitted ripe olives, cut in half

3 cups rotini pasta, cooked and drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the pepper and pepperoni in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until the pepper is tender crisp, stirring often.

2. Stir the spaghetti sauce and olives into the skillet. Heat to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the pasta in mozzarella cheese. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Makes 4 servings.

 Saturday

Coca-Cola Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, flattened to ¼ inch thickness 

1 12-ounce can Coca-Cola

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. Cover and turn heat to medium.

3. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Uncover, and cook an additional 10 minutes until done. Serves 4.

Herbed Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes 

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 

1/2 teaspoon oregano 

1/2 teaspoon thyme 

1/2 teaspoon sage 

1/2 teaspoon rosemary 

2 Tablespoons oil 

celery salt, to taste 

garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Place the potato slices on well greased shallow baking pans.

4. Combine pepper, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary in a small bowl.

5. Brush the potato slices with oil and a sprinkle with the herb mixture.

6. Bake the potato slices for about 20 minutes or until they are well-browned and crisp.

7. Sprinkle with combined salts and serve. Serves 4.

Sunday

Fish Nuggets

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes

1 pound white fish (I use tilapia or halibut) cut into 1-2” chunks

1 sleeve Ritz crackers (about 35 buttery crackers)

3 eggs

3-4 Tablespoons Canola oil

Place the crackers in a zip style bag and crush the crackers into medium fine crumbs using a rolling pin, set this aside. Beat the eggs in a pie plate or medium sized bowl and set this aside as well. Cut the fish into 1-2 inch squares (or ask the store to do this). Heat the canola oil on low in a large non-stick skillet. Place the cubed fish first in the beaten egg and then in the cracker crumbs. Place the breaded fish into the hot pan so that each piece of fish is touching the bottom of the pan (you may need to do a couple of batches so the fish isn’t overcrowded in the pan.) Cook over low heat approximately 5-6 minutes per side for a total of about 10 minutes or until fish nicely browned. You may want to blot off any excess oil off of the nuggets with paper towel before serving.

Serves 4