Menu for December 8-14

This week, I’m taking food to the Bullios on Monday and Saturday. And I’m going to be very ambitious and try five new Pioneer Woman recipes! (Why do I do this to myself? Oh yeah, I like good food…) And I’m going to make more divinity this week. I made some a couple of weeks ago…sooo yummy. I got that recipe from AllRecipes.com.
Note on the brisket: That was the most money I've ever spent on a hunk of meat in my life! Except for Chad... Oh well, it's going to feed us AND the Bullios. And it's going to be scrumptious.

Monday: Brisket, crash hot potatoes, green salad
Tuesday: Nachoes using the leftover brisket meat, sliced apples
Wednesday: Beans, Cornbread, and rustic spinach salad
Thursday: Italian tuna sandwiches (I was going to make that last week, but didn’t end up doing it)
Friday: take out
Saturday: sweet citrus chicken (an old favorite), broccoli
Sunday: Chinese chicken fried rice

Brisket (a Pioneer Woman recipe) Save the leftovers to make nachos.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/brisket_baby/

Crash hot potatoes (a Pioneer Woman recipe)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Nachos (a Pioneer Woman recipe)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/cowboy-nachos/

beans and cornbread (a Pioneer Woman recipe)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/recipes/beans-and-cornbread.pdf

Rustic Spinach Salad
8 cups baby spinach leaves
2 small apples, thinly sliced and cut in half
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup peanuts or cashews
½ cup Italian dressing
Toss all ingredients in bowl just before serving.

Italian tuna sandwiches (makes 1 sandwich)
When we went to Italy in 2004, we order a tuna sandwich from a stand, expecting it to be mixed with mayonnaise. But it was more like this, and it was delish!
2 slices bread, toasted
½ can of tuna, drained
1 slice of mozzarella cheese
mayonnaise
mustard
¼ avocado, sliced
sliced onion
sliced tomato
Spread mayonnaise on one piece of toast and mustard on the other. Lay the tuna on top of one piece of bread. Add the slice of cheese. Add slices of onion, avocado, and tomato.
Serve with carrot sticks and/or cucumber slices.

Sweet Citrus Chicken
1 2/3 cup boiling (or near-boiling) water
1 pkg stuffing mix for chicken
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
Add boiling water to stuffing mix; stir until just moistened. Set aside. Place chicken in 9x13 pan. Mix juice, sugar, and butter. Pour over chicken. Top with the prepared stuffing. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 Onion
1 1/2 pounds cooked, cubed chicken meat
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup fresh pea pods, halved
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
6 cups cooked white rice
2 eggs
1/3 cup soy sauce
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, then add chicken and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, pea pods and green bell pepper and stir-fry another 5 minutes. Then add rice and stir thoroughly. Finally, stir in scrambled eggs and 1/3 cup soy sauce, heat through and serve hot.

Divinity
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans or candied cherries for holidays
Be sure to make divinity on a dry day; candy will not harden on a humid day. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, heat sugar, salt, syrup and water to boiling, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking over medium low heat, not stirring, until the temperature reaches 266°. When the temperature reaches 260° beat the egg whites with electric mixer at high speed, until stiff peaks form. While beating, pour the hot syrup slowly into the egg whites. Beat for about 2 to 3 minutes, until mixture isn't glossy. Add vanilla and turn to low speed. Continue beating until the mixture holds its shape when dropped from a spoon. It will probably be too thick for the mixer at this point. Stir in pecans or chopped candied cherries with a wooden spoon. With a lightly buttered teaspoon, drop onto waxed paper. Work as quickly as possible. If mixture gets too thick to work with, add a few drops of water. Let stand until dry. Store in tightly covered containers.