Hey All!

Hope that you will take the time to become a follower!
If you have a recipe that you would like to share and inspire others on their nightly quest to make dinner, please leave a comment or e-mail me!

Eggplant

Hey girls! Thought I'd tell you how I cook up eggplant for those that I know have some this week...
Slice up eggplant into slices.
Put on cookie sheet
Drizzle with evoo
Sprinkle with salt and peppper
Broil in oven approx 10-15 minutes turning half way through
Cover in parmsean cheese and heat until melted
Serve with marinara sauce and I like some pasta to go with it!
There you have it! Eggplant parmasean!

Menu

I thought I would post my last two weeks menus in case any of you can gleen any inspiration! ;)

Monday- BLT's
Tuesday- Stew
Wednesday- Green Bean Chicken Bake
Thursday- Cowboy Spaghetti
Friday- Oh So Tender BBQ Chicken
Saturday- Breakfast
Sunday- Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

Monday- Easy Chicken Mac
Tuesday- Fried Chicken & Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday- Ham & Potatoes
Thursday- Grilled Cheese & Tomato soup
Friday- Rehersal dinner
Saturday- OUT
Sunday- OUT

Inspiration anyone?

Okay, so it feels like fall and even more than that it feels like I should be cooking decent dinners again...So I was thinking it was time to share our menu's again and hope to get inspired by each other. So, here's our week. What are you having?

Mon - Jalapeno popper mac n cheese
Tues - Shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes
Wed - Sweet n sour chicken and rice
Thur - Tamale pie casserole
Fri - tbd
Sat - Hot wing pizza

Frozen Pizza Dough

I haven't actually done this yet, but have wanted to for a while. I'm too cheap to buy pizza dough ready made, but sometimes would like the convenience of having it in the freezer ready to just plop on the counter and roll out. Here's a recipe I found that looks pretty simple. I plan to give it a try this week.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast
3 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for coating
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.

Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.

FREEZING DOUGH:
To freeze pizza dough, punch it down once it has risen, place it in a zip-top bag and freeze it. When you need it, thaw it early in the day, then shape it once it is no longer cold.

To freeze individual crusts, roll the dough and freeze the rounds on baking sheets, then remove and place them in plastic bags. When it is time to assemble the pizzas, simply apply the toppings to the frozen disks.

Jalapeno Popper Mac 'n' cheese

This is SO GOOD!

Ingredients:
Salt and Pepper
1 pound hollow corkscrew pasta such as cavatappi
EVOO
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (we used 2)
2 Serrano chiles, seeded and thinly sliced (used 1)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 cups whole milk
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add pasta and cook to al dente. Drain and return to the pot.

In a skillet, heat a drizzle of EVOO over medium heat. Add the jalapenos, Serrano's and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to the pasta.

Preheat the broiler. In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream cheese and onion over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until smooth, 5 minutes; stir into the pasta. Stir in the jack cheese; season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a baking dish and broil until browned, about 3 minutes.

Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza

This was with an ad for Ragu that I found in a magazine. Turned out yummy!

1 jar Ragu Pasta Sauce (or whatever kind you like)
1 package (10 oz) frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 can (11oz) refrigerated pizza dough (I made my own)

1. Brown ground beef in skillet; drain. Season with slat and pepper. Stir in Ragu, bring to boil. Turn into 2 quart baking dish. (I didn't have broccoli so I stirred in a bunch of fresh spinach to wilt.)

2. Top with the broccoli, then cheese. Press dough over dish, sealing edges.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Menu Ideas

While I'm at it... here's my menu for the rest of the week.

Marinaded grilled Mahi Mahi with Asparagus

BBQ Chicken, buttered noodles, fresh veggies with ranch

BLTs, tater tots, green beans

Chicken Alfredo, side salad

Roast Beef Sandwich Roll

I got this recipes off allrecipes.com. Andrea saw it stuck on my fridge and said if we liked it I should post it. Well... we liked it so here it is.

2 (1lb) loaves frozen bread dough, thawed

3/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper (I always get bags of frozen peppers in the frozen veggie section. It's more convenient and much cheaper than getting peppers fresh.)

1/2 cup red onion

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

8 oz thinly sliced deli roast beef, julienned (I used about 1 1/4 cup diced leftover roast beef)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 egg white

1 T. water

Combine loaves of dough and shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the peppers, onion, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Cover and microwave one minute or until veggies are tender.

Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 15x12 inch rectangle. Combine the beef, cheese and pepper mixture; spread over the dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long edge; pinch seams and ends to seal. Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat egg white and water; brush over dough. Cut a slit with a sharp knife in top of dough. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Grilled Lemon Lime Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta

I found the following recipe online at bigoven.com when Kyle and I were looking for a good pre-race meal to have the night before our big day. This is extremely easy and so incredibly good! I think you will like it!


Ingredients
2 each Chicken breasts
4 tablespoon Olive oil
2 each Lime juice of
2 each Lemon juice of
2 cloves Garlic crushed
2 tablespoon Parmesan for garnish
4 servings Angel Hair
1 tablespoon Butter
3 teaspoon Fresh parsley for garnish
1 teaspoon Garlic salt

InstructionsCombine olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, and the skins of the lemon and limes in a ziploc bag. Marinate overnight, or a minimum of four hours.

Prepare hot grill, and bring large pot of water to boil.

Grill chicken 5-6 minutes on each side.

When chicken is four minutes from complete, place angel hair in water, boil for 2-3 minutes until just done, and drain. Drizzle with olive oil, butter, and add garlic salt. Remove chicken from grill, and slice along bias; 1/2 inch pieces. Arrange on bed of angel hair, top with shaved parmesan cheese, and serve immediately