Last week's menu of all new items went pretty well except for one night. We ended up not liking the Honey Lime Enchiladas. The sweet and spicy combination just didn't work for us. I was nervous about trying the Afghan recipes on my book club girls, but the recipes all turned out very well. The Drunken Jerk Chicken was probably the hit of the week.

This week is going to be a busy one for us as it is homecoming week at Corey's school, he has a cross country meet (and we are hosting the whole team at our house for dinner), and I have parent night at my school. So, I had to pick menu items that I could cook ahead today and have ready to heat up throughout the week. I also cooked a crustless quiche that we can heat up for breakfasts.

Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com. Enjoy, and have a great week!

Sunday - BBQ Beef and Bean Cornbread Casserole, Salad, Fruit
Monday - Pepper Jack Mac Cups, Salad, Fruit cup
Tuesday - Grilling hamburgers for the cross country team
Wednesday - Turkey Medallions with Cider Sauce, Day Before Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Thursday - Cheeseburger Potato Pie, Spinach, Salad
Friday - Homecoming - Eat at ball game
Saturday - Sausage and Cheese Turnovers, Green Beans, Peaches

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1/4 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick
1-1/2 cups skim milk
Dash of salt and pepper
1 cup chopped turkey ham
1 cup shredded 2% milk cheddar

Directions:
Mix eggs, Bisquick, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl with whisk until mixed well . Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour into 9 inch greased fluted pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Ingredients
1 T. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, softened and cut into chunks
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. salt
6 to 6 1/2 c. flour

Directions
1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Add the milk, butter pieces, sugar, potato flakes, eggs and salt to the bowl. Stir just to combine. Add three cups of flour and mix well; stirring until smooth. Add as much of the remaining dough as possible until a stiff dough forms.

2. Knead a few times or mix with a dough hook for an additional minute. Cover dough and let rise for 15 minutes.

3. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a circle about 1/2 in. thick or a little less. Cut each circle into evenly-sized wedges, about 16-18 each. Roll the wedges of dough from the wide end to the point. Curve ends slightly and place on a cookie sheet. Cover and let rise one hour.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes (rotate the cookie sheets from top rack to lower rack halfway through so that they get evenly brown on top and bottom).

The cooked rolls can be frozen and thawed in a few hours on the counter. Or the rolls can be frozen before the second rising.

Recipe Source - Cooking During Stolen Moments

This recipe uses homemade crescent roll dough. The recipe as given makes enough dough to make about 3 dozen of these turnovers and a dozen crescent rolls.

Ingredients
Crescent roll dough, full batch (If you do not have the time or inclination to make the homemade dough, you can use canned crescent rolls. You’d probably need 2 or 3 cans.)
1 lb. bulk turkey sauasage, fully cooked and drained
8 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese
1/4 c. sliced green onions (green parts only)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Directions
1. Prepare and let dough rise fully. Divide into 7 portions.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine fully cooked sausage, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and seasonings. Stir to combine well.
3. Roll out one portion of dough at a time on a floured surface. Roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Divide dough into six or eight sections.
4. Place about 1 tablespoon of the sausage mixture into the center of each section of dough. Fold over the dough and trim of extra edges. Seal the seams with a fork. Continue this process with the remaining sections and portions of dough.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

These can be frozen after being baked. To reheat, do not thaw first. Just place desired number of turnovers on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until heated through.

Recipe modified from Cooking During Stolen Moments

Ingredients
5 T. butter or margarine
1/3 lb. ham lunch meat, sliced thin (I used turkey ham)
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk
2 c. pepper jack cheese, shredded or diced
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked
1 T. butter or margarine, melted
1/4 c. breadcrumbs

Directions

1. In a sauce pan, melt butter or margarine. Add ham and cook for about 5 minutes, until slightly crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Stir flour into pan and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a slow boil and cook just until thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add macaroni and ham. Stir to combine.

3. Grease muffin tins and press about a quarter to a half cup of mac & cheese into each cup. Combine 1 T. melted butter with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly and slightly crisp. Remove carefully once they have cooled a bit.

Recipe makes about 20 cups, depending on the size of your muffin pan.


Recipe Source - Cooking During Stolen Moments

For the beef and bean combination:
1 can pinto or kidney beans, drained
lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. barbecue sauce (homemade or from a bottle - I use bottled sauce to save time)

For the homemade barbecue sauce:
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. honey
2 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 t. pepper
Combine all BBQ sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.


Brown ground beef with onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Drain. Combine beans and beef. Add BBQ sauce and stir to coat all. Pour into a 13×9 casserole dish.

For the cornbread:
3/4 c. corn meal
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil or melted butter

1. Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients until moist.
2. Spoon over beef and bean filling. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Casserole freezes well once cooked.

Recipe modified from Cooking During Stolen Moments

This week's menu features all new recipes (therefore, no photos yet, so be sure to check back later). I'm trying new chicken enchilada recipe on Monday (cooked the chicken ahead of time today). Later in the week, I'm hosting a book club meeting at my house so a group of my teacher friends will be joining me for dinner. We read The Kite Runner this month, so I thought I would do an Afghan themed meal. I'll let you know how the recipes turn out. Afghan food is definitely a new thing for me. :) Last week's hit recipe was the chicken pot pie. It took a lot to get it ready, but it was worth it. It will be a recipe that I have to save for cooking on the weekends since it's a bit time intensive. It does make a lot of leftovers, which is great for our busy family. Here's this week's menu. For more menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday - Drunken Jerk Chicken (moved from Saturday - we ate Frito Pie instead), strawberries, salad
Monday - Honey Lime Enchiladas, Salad, Apple slices
Tuesday - Stroganoff Melts, Green Beans, Salad
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, Salad, Peaches
Thursday - Book Club Dinner: Afghan Chicken Kebobs, Spinach and Yogurt Dip, Afghan Flatbread, whatever sides the girls bring :)
Friday - Camping!
Saturday - Camping!