Just Something I Whipped Up & Menu Plan Monday

Oh! I'm soooo excited! I just found a couple of cute little (wink) blogs called A Girl Creative & Skip to my Lou and I'm in blog love!  There are so many creative ideas all in one place - I hit the blog jackpot with that little stumble (which BTW happened at A Little Tipsy. Anywho!! A Girl Creative hosts a Linky Party called "Just Something I Whipped Up", & Skip to My Lou hosts Made by you Monday so I'd thought I'd join in.  PC made fun of me as I was taking my photos...we had a talk about how I could have worse hobbies...LOL.  So here ya go - this is one of my fav lunches - I just call it "Carol's Pasta Salad" (Carol is the owner of my fav Wine Store - Casa De Vino and she made this on one our Wine tasting trips - that's  her with the pasta bag).

The salad that Carol brought on the trip is not exactly the same as mine - I played with the recipe a little. I added the dressing & the sun dried tomatoes - but it is tasty without them too!

So, you cook the pasta, drain and rinse the pasta.

Then you stir in a splash of dressing, a pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat), a handful of diced sun-dried tomatoes, the whole can (drained) of kidney beans and 8 oz of feta.

YUMMO!

On the Menu This Week:

Breakfast:

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cereal

Peanut Butter & Honey Toast

Egg Sandwhiches

Big Breakfast Sunday (PC's turn - Burritos)

Lunch:

Pasta Salad

Tuna Salad

Cheese & Crackers

Leftovers

Cincinnati Chili - Spaghetti- Hot Dogs

Veggie Burgers - Red Potato Salad

Hawaiian Haystacks

Fillet Mignon - Grilled Corn - Potato Pockets

Bacon-wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, rice, Sesame Asparagus

Linking up with:

Something I Whipped Up

Made by Me Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Thanks for stopping by!

Menu Plan Monday - 3/22/10

It's Menu Plan Monday over at I'm a Organizing Junkie - she has a great post on saving money on groceries this week. Be sure to check her out!

Here's my plan:

Monday: Best Chicken Eva!, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Tuesday: Teppan Steak, Popcorn Shrimp, Baked Potato, Summer Squash
Wedsneday: Aromatic Swordfish ,Jasimine Rice, Sesame Asparagus
Thursday: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Blackbeans
Friday: Leftovers or Soup & Grilled Cheese (Girls Night Out!)
Saturday: Date Night
Sunday: Calico Beans, Marie Calendar's Cornbread

I'll post pictures and recipes the day after I prepare each one!

Yummo - Gotta Love Rachel Ray

Tonight I took a detour from my Menu Plan because I bought the February edition of RR and could not wait to try her Chicken Sandwiches! Cheap, easy and deelish! PC was pleased that I had enough for seconds.

Chicken and Sweet Onion Sandwich (serves 4, prep 10 min, cook 40 min)

6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Sweet Onions (thinly sliced) Hint: the flatter the onion - the sweeter the onion.
Salt & Pepper
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenders (RR called for thighs - but I like tenders)
4 Kaiser Rolls, split and toasted

Heat 3 tbsp of the EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Pour the chicken broth in the pan, scrapping up the browned bits, then pour into a measuring cup. Using the same skillet heat 3 tbsp of the EVOO over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper , add to the skillet and , turning once, until cooked through and golden about 8 minutes; pour in the reserved chicken broth mixture and cook until reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Divide the onions among the roll bottoms: then top with the chicken. Dip the cut side of the roll tops into the skillet then set on top of the chicken.

I served my Sammy with a wedgie! Here's my take on the Johnny Carinos Italian Wedge:

1/2 Head Iceberg Lettuce- cut into 2 wedges

3 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

1 Granny Smith Apple peeled and cut into strips

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 small tomato diced

Feta or Gorgonzola

Brianna' s Asagio Cesar Dressing

Plate the wedge, mix together the bacon, apples, pecans, tomatoes & cheese and place at base of wedge, pour desired amount of salad dressing on the wedge and presto - a deelish side!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cottage Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Tuesday: Chicken Pockets, Pasta Salad, Asparagus

Wedsneday: Aromatic Swordfish, Broasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans

Thursday: Chicken Lettuce Cups, Jasmine Rice, Squash

Friday: Leftovers or Soup & Grilled Cheese

Saturday: Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Sunday: California Burrito, Rice & Beans