Week of Dec 7

My dishwasher broke on Saturday, just as it was filled with the breakfast dishes of 14 people. The new one will not be installed until Thursday, so we are having mostly one dish meals this week!!

Monday: Zuppa Toscana soup with bread rolls. Recipe: Brown sweet italian turkey sausage (bulk or take out of the casings) with one onion that is sliced thin, and two cloves of minced garlic. When it is brown, add in 1/2 tsp anise (fennel) seed. In a big soup pot, put in six (or more) cups of water and three bouillon cubes, bring to a boil. Add in to the chicken broth: three russet potatoes sliced thin. Put a lid on and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the sausage / onion mix. Add in half a cup of milk (or cream if you have it.) Add in one bunch of shredded Kale. When the kale wilts, it's ready (and the potatoes are soft!) This is such an easy and yummy soup. I add crushed red pepper flakes to my soup because I like a little heat - but the kids don't like it.

Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie. Probably the easiest thing I know how to make. Get a frozen (double) pie crust. Mix together a can of chunky potato soup, one bag frozen peas and carrots, and one BIG can of chicken breast. (This is by the canned meat section in the store.) Put the mixture inside the bottom pie crust, top the mixture with the other pie crust... press down with a fork the entire seam and slice an "x" in the top of the pie. Bake at 350 until brown. Serve with a salad if you need more veggies.

Wed: Crock Pot beef stew. I honestly just get the McCormick brand beef stew seasoning packet and follow the directions... I do doctor it up a bit with some red wine and beef broth, but other than that, it works great and is soooo easy. Serve with corn bread.

Thursday: Mushroom Dill baked fish, couscous, corn. Recipe for Fish: 2 pounds skinless red snapper fillets (or any thick, white fish will do) thawed and rinsed with water, then pat dry with paper towels. Place in a greased 9X13 baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside. Then add in a very large skillet: 3 T of butter (melt in skillet); 1 container of sliced fresh mushrooms; 1 small red onion, chopped; 2 cloves of minced garlic. Saute until mushrooms are tender. Then add 1 cup of whipping cream and 1/2 cup white wine. Boil gently about 20 mins or until the mixture has thickened a bit. Stir in 2 T of dijon mustard, 1 t dill, and 1 package of thawed, well drained (frozen) chopped spinach. Mix well and pour over fish fillets. Then take 2 T of butter and melt it, add in 3/4 cup breadcrumbs and 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese - stir well - then sprinkle over the top of the sauced up fish. Bake uncovered at 375 for 25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Friday: Sour cream chicken enchiladas with black beans, sauteed zucchini, and rice.
For the chicken enchiladas: boil a couple of large chicken breasts in water till they turn white... about 20 mins or so... then shred them and then cook them with half a package of taco seasoning, about 1/2 chopped onion and just a bit of water. Mix this with a couple of cups of shredded cheese - I use the Mexican Blend. Set aside. Microwave corn tortillas in a damp cloth until the tortillas are soft. Stuff with the chicken/cheese mixture. Top with this sauce: In a pot, mix together a can of rotel, 8 oz lite sour cream, one can of cream of chicken soup. Pour over the top. Top with any cheese you want (you don't have to but I do.) You can add in things to the enchiladas if you feel like it - like black beans, spinach, mushrooms... but since we already had spinach and mushrooms the night before, I am not putting them in the enchiladas. And I like my black beans on the side.

Saturday we have a party to go to. Last Sunday night I made a very easy, thrown together meal: I took frozen italian meatballs and put in a container of refrigerated marinara and cooked them together, then I topped the meatballs with slices of provolone cheese (turned the heat off but put the lid back on so the cheese would melt.) The meatballs were so tasty that way, I made buttered pasta on the side and had a salad with it. So easy, I think next time I will get hogie rolls and stuff the meatballs in there with the cheese on them. It would be perfect that way for meatball subs. You could serve with some coleslaw - get the broccoli slaw in the veggie section of the grocery store and also the refrigerated coleslaw dressing. It's very sweet and the kids like it. Another easy dinner night!

Stay strong!
Mecca