Next week's menu

Next week’s menu

This week, I’m not buying any new meat. I have a bunch of frozen chicken that needs to be eaten before it gets too old, and I’m going to use the shrimp leftover from one of last week’s recipes.
Monday: Fiesta Chicken Pasta with tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad
Tuesday: curried lentils with endive, walnuts, and blue cheese salad
Wednesday: shrimp scampi with asparagus
Thursday: Greek grilled cheese and tomato soup
Friday: take out
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: chicken enchilada skillet and broccoli

Fiesta chicken pasta
2 cups uncooked spiral pasta (I’ll use whole wheat pasta)
1 Tbsp oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups chopped red peppers
¼ cup Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
½ cup salsa
½ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded cheese, optional (I’ll use mozzarella, since I bought a large 2-pack of it at Sam’s)
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet and cook chicken. Add peppers and dressing, and chili powder; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salsa and sour cream. Toss pasta with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

Tomato, Mozzarella, and basil salad
Slice some tomatoes, however thick you want. Slice mozzarella and layer on top of tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Place fresh basil leaves on top of the mozzarella.

Curried Lentils
(We get lentils free with WIC. I don’t love the taste or texture of them, but they are incredibly fiber-licious, so I eat them. And they are full of protein, so it’s a good vegetarian meal).
2 cups (1 pound) lentils (I use green ones)
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp curry paste
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 clove pressed garlic
1 can tomato sauce (14 or 15 oz can)
Wash lentils in cold water. Put in a pot with water to cover, simmer covered till tender (add more water if necessary). In large skillet, sauté onions in the oil. Combine curry paste, curry powder, tumeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, and garlic in mixing bowl. Mix well. Add curry mixture to onions and cook over high heat, stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and reduce heat.
When lentils are tender, drain briefly. Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

Endive, walnuts, and blue cheese salad
(I’m trying endive, never tried it before. It better be good because its was expensive! The blue cheese crumbles are leftover from last week).
Cut endive leaves to bite size. Sprinkle walnuts and blue cheese crumbles over the leaves.
Serve with the following vinaigrette:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp white wine (I’ll probably substitute rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar)
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp pepper
½ cup olive oil
Whisk all ingredients (except olive oil) together. While whisking, slowly add olive oil until the dressing is emulsified.

Shrimp scampi with linguine
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
1 ½ lbs linguine
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp minced garlic (about 9 cloves)
2 lbs shrimp (I’m only using the ¾ lb that I have leftover from last week)
½ tsp pepper
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
grated zest of one lemon
½ lemon, sliced in half-rounds
½ cup lemon juice
Drizzle oil in pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt. Add linguine. Cook for 7-10 minutes. In another large pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté one minute (be careful; the garlic burns easily!) Add the shrimp, 1 Tbsp of salt, and the pepper and sauté about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon slices. Toss to combine.
When pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and put it back in the pot. Add the shrimp and sauce and toss well.

Asparagus
The trick to cooking good asparagus. Boil water in a large pan. When it comes to a boil, add the asparagus and cook for 2 or 3 minutes ONLY (depending on thickness of asparagus). Drain immediately and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese or salt or whatever spice you like.

Greek grilled cheese and tomato soup (A NEW FAMILY FAVORITE!)
1 ½ teaspoons butter
2 slices whole wheat bread
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 slices mozzarella cheese
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 avocado, sliced
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of
bread. On the non buttered side of one slice, layer the feta
cheese, mozzarella cheese, red onion, tomato and avocado. Top
with the other slice of bread with the butter side out.
Fry the sandwich until golden brown on each side, about 2
minutes per side. The second side always cooks faster.
Serve with tomato soup.

Chicken enchilada skillet
1 Tbsp oil
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can fat-free chicken broth
½ cup Ranch dressing
2 Tbsp flour
6 tortillas, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded cheese
½ cup salsa
Heat oil in skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook about 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Mix broth, dressing, and flour until well-blended; gradually add to skillet, stirring constantly. Add tortillas; stir to combine. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese, cover. Simmer 3-5 minutes, or till cheese is melted. Top with salsa.