Menu for Sunday, October 24-Saturday, October 30, 2010

Good Afternoon All,

Feeling slightly better today and wanted to get this week's dinners started. Our sweet treat for the week will be snickerdoodle cookies and I will be making those tomorrow, but will include the recipe today in case anyone wants to get started. Below is our menu for the week, these are the days that these dishes work best for me, but feel free to move things around.

Sunday-Green Turkey Chili
Monday-Pasta Salad
Tuesday-Enchilada Casserole
Wednesday-Leftovers
Thursday-Maple Syrup glazed Salmon, red potatos, and asparagus
Friday-Ham, broccoli and Swiss Cheese quiche
Saturday-Leftovers

Grocery List for the week
2 32 oz boxes veggie or chicken broth
Large bottle extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound tomatillos
2 brown onions
2 heads of garlic
1 pound turkey meat ground
1 pound lean ground beef meat (not the leanest)
2 packages trader joe's taco seasoning
1 large can pinto beans
2 large can diced green chilies
1 medium jar green salsa verde
4 bunches fresh cilantro
1 lb grated jack cheese
1 large container sour cream
tortilla chips
1 package whole wheat rotini
1 can red kidney bean
1 can garbonzo beans
1 bag green and yellow string beans
2 can sliced black olives
1 tomato
2 persian cucumbers
Italian or ranch dressing (see blog for more info)
1 can diced tomatoes
paprika
chili powder
ground ancho chile powder
cumin
brown sugar
4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets
maple syrup
1 pound red potatos
Fresh rosemary
2 pounds broccoli (organic, bagged)

2 cups milk

6 large eggs

ground black pepper

Pinch cayenne or paprika

Canadian Bacon

Swiss cheese

2 sticks of butter, room temp
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
Flour
vanilla extract
cream of tartar
baking soda

I know this sounds like a lot of ingredients, but remember you are making dinner for 6 nights plus a treat for the week. Also, go through the list before you actually get to the store and anything you already have enough of you certainly don't need to buy. Things like brown sugar, flour, etc. are probably staples in your house so you shouldn't buy more unless you really need it. Also, make sure you take this list to your local farmer's market first, many fresh items from this list can be purchased there and will taste so much better than what you can get in the grocery store.

Also, regarding salad dressing. There is NOTHING I can find on the store shelf that I consider good. They are all filled with preservatives, fillers, etc. Certainly, you may make your own salad dressing, but I have not been able to make a homemade dressing that I like yet. Instead I have found the most wonderful homemade salad dressing at a local restaurant. It is made from all natural ingredients and it is made fresh daily. Once a week I pick up a pint and use on everything from green salads to pasta salads. Make sure if you a find a restaurant who has a dressing or condiment that you love that you ask them what the ingredients are, is it made fresh and do they sell it? Most restaurants are more than happy to do this for you. Below is the Snickerdoodle recipe and I'll put up the Green Turkey Chili receipe tomorrow. Have fun and enjoy your weekend!

Snickerdoodles
2 sticks of butter, room temp
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Mix dry ingredients together and add to the butter & egg mixture. Roll about a tbsp of dough between your palms until it forms a ball then drop into a bowl with half sugar and half ground cinnamon. Roll until the entire ball is coated. Place on an ungreased sheet pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375.