Menu Plan Monday Week of 10/19/09

Last week's menu was written and posted, although not followed very carefully.  I believe the vegetable count was quite low except for the Peanutty Pork recipe.  My problem with cooking this week can all be blamed on traffic.  I know hard to believe, right?  Well, there was a traffic incident that just so happened to cause a blackout in our area for about three hours.  When I got up this morning, all of the electronic devices were flashing as usual and then I glanced at my oven.....it had a message for me.  The code that means that the door is locked was showing plus some other letters behind.  I attempted to clear the message but it did not work.  Considering that it was 6:45 in the morning and I had to leave for work, I figured that I would take care of it as soon as I got home.  Guess what?  I forgot and didn't even look at the oven when I came in after work.  I proceeded to chop, season, and place on a cooking sheet the numerous vegetables that I wanted to cook for dinner.   I then tried to turn the oven on to cook them and the darn thing refused to clear.  I turned off the breaker box (they are hard wired wall ovens) and let it "rest" for a few minutes and turned it back on, that didn't work.  At this point, I had pressed every button on the keypad, and consulted the owner's manual, so I decided to wait for the husband to get home.  When he arrived he tried everything --it didn't work.  Then he found a number on the inside of the oven--called it and spoke to a representative.  That didn't work.  At this point, I decided to resign myself to becoming a prodigy of baking/roasting on the grill.  Needless to say, canned vegetables for dinner this night.  We searched on the computer for any information but it seemed that we were actually going to have to call a repairman to make our error code go away.  The next day I mentioned what had happened to my friend who in turn mentioned it to her husband.  While I was at their house (picking up my roasted vegetables that she had so kindly cooked for me) her husband told me he was going to fix my oven!! I absolutely DID NOT believe that it could be done ,thinking that some secret code must be typed in by the certified repairman.  Do you know that he called me a mere 10 minutes later and all that it required was pushing two numbers at the same time.  Now these numbers were not the same as the two numbers the manual said to push at the same time.  Hmmm.  Anyway, I was ecstatic!  I never thought that I would be thrilled over an oven repair.  Easily amused, I guess.  A very long story to give an excuse for the reason we ate no vegetables this week.  Whatever works to ease the Mom guilt, I guess.

Okay, here goes my Menu Plan for this week.  If you are in need of any ideas for meals, look up http//orgjunkie.com.
SUNDAY--Chili with cornbread
MONDAY--Chickpea, Bacon, and Spinach Pasta (recipe below), green salad

TUESDAY--Pesto Chicken Pizza with broccoli, leftover green salad.  Trying new crust recipe, will post later in the week if its good.

WEDNESDAY--Beef Roast in the crockpot, rice, veggies
THURSDAY--Creamy chicken pasta (recipe below NEW).  The recipe is a bit vague so I will review and add my own helpful hints after making.

FRIDAY--Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, lima beans, biscuits

Chickpea, Bacon, and Spinach Pasta

Printed from the internet would credit the source but have no information.

5 slices bacon chopped

1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less as desired)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 large onion chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic pressed or chopped fine

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp salt

2 tbs butter

spaghetti noodles

parmesan cheese

Place bacon in large skillet, cook until crisp.  Remove bacon grease from pan.  Place onions and garlic with 2 tbs butter and cook until the onion is soft.  Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to pan.  Mix  the spices well with the onion and garlic and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat.  Add the garbanzo beans and the spinach, cook stirring constantly until the spinach is wilted.  Add the chicken stock and simmer until the liquid is thickened.  I use homemade chicken stock, so I do add approximately 1 tsp of salt. Serve with whole wheat spaghetti noodles and top with parmesan cheese.

CREAMY CHICKEN PASTA

found on I believe Right At Home blog

2 cups chicken

1 clove garlic

1-2 tbs olive oil

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta

3 cups whole milk

3 tbs butter

1/2 tsp salt

grated parmesan

Cook pasta in large pot with milk, butter, and salt.  Stir constantly until sauce is thickened. Stir in chicken serve immediately with parmesan cheese. 1/2 cup shredded cheese along with 3 oz cream cheese can be added and stirred in prior to adding the chicken.