Weely Menu, August 9-15

Sunday, August 9

French Toast

Quesadillas

Tomato soup

Monday, August 10

Cereal

PBJ sandwiches

Grilled chops

Tuesday, August 11

Cantaloupe

Mac-N-Cheese, hot dogs

Pork Stir Fry

Wednesday, August 12

Cereal

Leftovers

Crock-pot pizza

Thursday, August 13

Scrambled eggs

Lunch out

Veggie pasta

Friday, August 14

Doughnut Day

Salad

Smothered steak

Saturday, August 15

Cereal

Sandwiches, chips

Leftovers

National Sneak Squash Night

August 8 is National Sneak Zucchini on your Neighbor's Porch Day. Truly.

In honor of that, here are my top five zucchini recipes. Try one! You might be surprised by how good it will taste and how versatile the little green veggies really are.

Breakfast: Zucchini Quiche

Lunch: Grilled Zucchini Strips
Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, and grill until tender, turning once.

Supper: Zucchini Lasagne
(see below)

Snack: Zucchini Bread

Dessert: Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies


Zucchini Lasagne

• 3-4 medium sized zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 cups Italian cheese, shredded
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2-3 Tablespoons EVOO
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour the EVOO in the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish.
3. Place 3-4 strips of zucchini in the dish, forming a layer.
4. Sprinkle 1/3 of half-and-half over the zucchini.
5. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over the zucchini,
   
6. Pour 1/3 cup of the bread crumbs over the cheese.
7. Repeat zucchini, crumbs, cheese, and half-and-half layers twice more.
8. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
9. Place the casserole dish on the foil, and put in the oven.
10. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until zucchini is cooked tender and cheese is melted.

Oven Nuggets and Fries

I hate McDonalds.

No, I don't mean in a corporate-you-kill-small-businesses sort of way. I just can't stand their food. And thankfully, neither can my girls.

But, we still love the occasional chicken nuggets and fries meal. This is the easiest and healthiest way I've found to make this kids-favorite. NOTE: If you want the meal to be done at the same time, make the fries first, because they take longer to cook.

Chicken nuggets

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasted, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 2 cups flour
• 2-3 tablespoons of seasoning salt
• 4 Tablespoons of butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and place in a 13x9 casserole dish. Place the dish in the oven until the butter melts, about 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flour and seasoning salt (or seasonings of your chosing) in a gallon sized ziploc bag.
3. Put the chicken in the bag.
4. Seal it.
5. Check to make sure it's sealed.
6. Check again.
7. Hand the chicken bag to your child and let them shake it until the chicken is thoroughly coated. (Or shake it yourself, but then you lose super-mom points.)
8. Take the dish out of the oven and place the chicken in the butter. Turn the chicken once, so all pieces are coated.
9. Put the dish back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees internal temp).

And, while you're heating the house up for chicken nuggets, why not make some ...

French Fries

• 5-6 potatoes, washed and cut into strips
• 2-3 Tablespoons EVOO
• 1 ranch dressing packet, optional

1. Pour the EVOO into a gallon-sized ziploc bag.
2. Add the potatoes.
3. Seal the bag. Make sure. Check a third time.
4. Shake the bag until the potatoes are evenly coated with the EVOO.
5. Open the bag, add the ranch dressing mix.
6. Seal the bag and shake again, until potatoes are coated.
7. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet
8. Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees, turning halfway through.

Not Hansel-and-Gretal-ish

There was/is a cooking show called Kids-a-Cookin' and I always thought it sounded like a tribute to the Hansel and Gretal story. But, I think it's no less harmless than today's recipe, referred to in our house as "Kid Kabobs". *no children were hurt in the making of this meal.

Kid Kabobs

3 cups (more or less) fully cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups (more or less) cheese*, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups (more or less) fresh pineapple**, cut into (you guessed it) 1/2 cubes
a box of toothpicks***

When I serve this, I give each child 5-6 toothpicks, and an equal amount of ham, cheese, and pineapple. The girls love "making" their own supper, and we never have a battle about this meal.

*about the cheese: cheddar, monterrey jack, colby, any kind you like
**about the pineapple: you could use the canned slices of pineapple, but fresh is just SO much better, even in the middle of Kansas
***about the toothpicks: you can use bamboo skewers for older kids or forgo the stabbing utensils all together for toddlers

Ham, Sweet Ham

Growing up, I never liked ham. I thought ham just meant the lunchmeat you put on sandwiches and got in plastic, sealed bags.

Then I married into a pork-raising family.

Now, my favorite ham comes from the meat we have processed in Herrington, KS. Something you may not realize: every meat processor has a different recipe for their ham cure, and it does make a difference. The ham from Herrington doesn't need dressed up.

But, because I can, we dress it up anyway.

My husband makes and sells jams and jellies through Farmers Markets. Two of my favorites are his Peach Jalapeno Jelly and Confetti Jelly. To make ham in our house, I place a strip of aluminum foil in a dutch oven. Then, I place a thawed cured ham on the foil. Pour the peach jalapeno or confetti jelly on top of the ham. Tent the aluminum foil.

Bake the ham at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes per pound of meat, or until the internal temperature reads 160 degrees. If you like the ham edges a little crispy, remove the foil the last 20 minutes or so.

Then, let the ham set at least 10 minutes before carving it. That will allow the juices to soak back into the meat and make for a better tasting ham.

Enjoy!

Weekly menu for August 2- 8

Sunday, August 2
Toast & Jelly
Super Salad
Ham and fried potatoes

Monday, August 3
Breakfast burritos
PBJ Sandwiches
Kid Kabobs

Tuesday, August 4
Cereal
Leftover ham, fruit
Frozen pizza, salad

Wednesday, August 5
Toast and fruit
Frozen lunch
Chicken nuggets, fries

Thursday, August 6
Scrambled eggs
Lunch OUT
Tortilla pinwheels

Friday, August 7
Cereal
Fried chicken salad
Sloppy joes

Saturday, August 8
Cereal
Tater-tot casserole
Tomato soup, rolls

Burritos

Ah, burritos. So good in so many ways!

Our family's version of it is pretty simple. You can spice it up or down to your tastes.

Burritos
1 pound ground beef
1 can refried beans
about 2 cups cheddar cheese
about 12 large to medium flour tortillas
1 cup of your favorite salsa

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Ground beef in a large skillet. Drain.
3. Stir salsa and refried beans into beef. Stir and cook on medium-low until combined.
4. Place a spoonful of the meat/bean mixture on each tortilla, evenly distributing among them all.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top of meat/bean mixture.
6. Add anything else you want in the burritos. (Onions, peppers, cumin, cilantro, lettuce, tomato)
7. Roll tortilla and put seam-side down in a 13x9 casserole.
8. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is melted completely.
9. Serve with sour cream.