Week 21 Meal Plan

It feels good to be back!

I've got a full meal plan going this week, there's a food-for-thought post coming this weekend, and photos are currently being uploaded to my computer.

Wednesday
Lime Chicken Soft Tacos, Corn, Green Salad

Thursday
Sweet and Zesty Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Friday
Homemade Potstickers, Rice, Zucchini

Saturday
Go out or eat leftovers

Sunday
Easy Lasagna, Peas, Green Beans

Monday
Gingery Salmon, Pilaf, Broccoli

Tuesday
Melissa's Mexican Soup, Quesadillas, Green Salad

Sweet and Zesty Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, Cauliflower

This grilled chicken recipe is adapted from Bessy's Zesty Grilled Garlic-Herb Chicken on AllRecipes. I've just made a few minor changes.

Sweet and Zesty Grilled Chicken
4 chicken breasts, cut in half
2/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 t honey
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t salt
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried parsley
1 pinch sage

Place chicken in a shallow dish. In a medium bowl, mix together olive oil, sugar, honey, garlic, basil, thyme, cayenne, salt, oregano, parsley, and sage. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover, and marinate 20 to 25 minutes in the fridge (If you marinate any longer, you'll have to pull the chicken out of the fridge a little early to let the olive oil go back to a liquid state). Preheat grill to medium heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Discard marinade, and place chicken on the grill Cook about 10 minutes on each side, or until the exterior is charred and juiced run clear.


Serve with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe a little corn on the cob!

Homemade Potstickers, Rice, Zucchini

My mom learned how to make these potstickers from a Chinese woman in our ward (church group). We grew up making them together, but we always called them gyoza instead of potstickers (which I believe might be the Japanese name? My mom did originally fall in love with potstickers high on pregnancy cravings at a little Japanese restaurant in downtown Provo...but I digress.). Fast forward just a few years to when I met my husband. He had served a church mission in Taiwan and called these little lovelies guo tie or shui jiao or something that I likely don't know how to spell. So although we all love this meal, we have no idea what to call it! I think I've settled on potstickers, just as a neutral territory.

Homemade Potstickers
1 medium head cabbage
1/4 c garlic cloves
1 T sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1 lb ground pork
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t pepper
1 pkg round potsticker wrappers (refrigerated in the store- usually near the produce)

Chop cabbage very fine. Chop or mince garlic. In a large bowl, mix together well all ingredients except wrappers. Let filling sit for 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to overnight. Wrap about 2 tsp filling in each wrapper. There are usually instruction on the package, but here's the idea:

Holding the wrapper in one hand, spoon the filling into the middle of the wrapper. Have a small bowl of water close by, and use your finger to get a little water and wet the edge of the wrapper (you only need to moisten halfway around the circle). Then fold the wrapper in half, forming a semicircle that encloses the filling. Pinch the edges tight to make sure the water has sealed the wrapper shut.

Next, cook the potstickers. Heat 1 T vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Place as many potstickers in a single layer in the pan as you can. Allow to brown and then pour water to mostly cover the potstickers, about 3/4 of the way. Let the water boil down. (The potstickers get cooked through by the steam.) Serve immediately.

Store extra filling in the fridge for a few days. Wait to wrap anymore potstickers until you are ready to cook them, or the wrappers will go gooey.


Rice and Sauce
1 c rice
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T sesame oil
2 T sugar

Cook rice according to package directions.

In a small bowl, make a simple sauce for the potstickers. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Adjust amounts according to taste. Serve potstickers over hot rice and drizzle lightly with sauce.


Zucchini
1 to 2 zucchini
2 to 3 T teriyaki sauce, or other Asian sauce
sesame seeds (optional)

Cut zucchini into thin circles. Saute with cooking spray until tender and somewhat translucent. Top with desired sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Gingery Salmon, Pilaf, Broccoli

We continue on our quest for more omega-3's with this Gingery Salmon recipe. This salmon recipe is adapted from Good Housekeeping magazine. I hope it tastes as good as the recipe sounds!

Gingery Salmon
3 T lower-sodium soy sauce
2 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 T honey
4 skinless salmon fillets
2 T water

Preheat oven to 400. In a 13"x9" glass or ceramic baking dish, mix soy sauce, grated ginger, and honey until well combined. Add salmon fillets and turn to coat evenly; spoon ginger mixture evenly over salmon. Pour 2 T water into baking dish around salmon. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until salmon is just opaque throughout.


Pilaf and Broccoli
1 c. whole-grain pilaf, or 1 box rice side dish
1 lb broccoli florets

Cook pilaf according to package directions. Steam broccoli and season with salt and pepper or garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes.

We thought this salmon recipe tasted fine, but the ginger taste was stronger than we'd prefer to have all the time. It was fun to try, but I doubt I'll be making too often.

Melissa's Mexican Soup, Quesadillas, Green Salad

This soup recipe comes from my sister-in-law Melissa. It has such a bright, fresh taste that it seems like a good soup for summertime.

If you have any diced, cooked chicken on hand, you could add it just at the end of the cooking time for a heartier soup. I've mixed in cooked rice at the end, too. Play around with it, and see what you like!

Mexican Soup
1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans of water
2 (15 oz) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 to 1/2 c salsa verde, to taste
1 1/2 c frozen corn
salt and pepper
1 t chicken bouillon
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t minced onion
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced fine

Combine all ingredients except cilantro in a large pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add cilantro and cook a few minutes more.


Quesadillas
4 tortillas
1/2 c grated cheese

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Place in one tortilla, cover with 1/4 c cheese, and top with a second tortilla. Heat until cheese melts slightly and first tortilla is lightly browned. Flip and brown the second tortilla. Remove to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and cheese. Cut each quesadilla into eighths and serve with salsa or soup.


Green Salad
Prepare a green salad.

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos, Corn, Green Salad

This taco recipe is adapted from AllRecipes. It is one of our family favorites!

1 1/2 lbs chicken, cubed
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried oregano
1 t sugar
flour tortillas
optional toppings: shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, salsa, chopped tomato

frozen corn

green salad


Saute chicken in a frying pan over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, oregano and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes on low. Serve lime chicken in flour tortillas with toppings, if desired.

Microwave frozen corn. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare green salad.

Easy Lasagna, Peas, Green Beans

I got this lasagna recipe from my mom, but she got it from someone in her family years ago (maybe an aunt?).

Easy Lasagna
1/2 lb ground beef
1 bottle spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz) carton cottage cheese
3/4 c water
dried basil
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 (8 oz) bag shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

Brown ground beef and drain. In a large bowl, mix together meat, sauce, cottage cheese and water. Add basil, Italian seasoning, and garlic to taste (I probably use about 1/2 tsp each). In a greased 9x13, pour 1 cup sauce to cover the pan. Then, start the layers: arrange 3 noodles, then about 1 1/2 c sauce, and top with about 1/2 c cheese. Repeat two more times, using all the remaining cheese on the top. Bake, covered with foil, at 375 for one hour. Remove from oven and let sit for 15-25 minutes before serving.


Sides
frozen peas
1 can green beans

Microwave frozen peas. Microwave green beans. Season both with salt and pepper to taste.