Alex is playing on a baseball team this summer that he has played with in years past and practices three nights a week, which makes my menu planning a bit trickier. But not anything I can't handle! ;) I have been trying to plan things he can take with him in the morning to eat after work on his way to practice, but sometimes even with the best of planning, Wendy's ends up being the best option!
But enough about baseball... on to the menu! I think I am going to try a new way of posting and see how it works. My plan is to post on Sundays. In each post I will describe in more detail the meals and menu plan from the previous week. This way I can add recipes, any changes I would make and some yummy photos to make you all very hungry and wanting to rush off to the store to grab ingredients right away! :)
Then, at the end of each post, I will just list the menu for the next week without details, descriptions or pictures. If something tickles your taste buds, then check back the next Sunday and everything you'll need will be there waiting for you!
We really only had three real meals that I prepared last week. (Again, I am still getting this whole baseball practice thing figured out and I had girl's night on Friday so you better believe my kitchen was closed!)
I have told a few people about these fabulous pork chops in the last month or so, making me very hungry for them! They are called Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops and they are AMAZING. And simple!- which makes them even better :)
I think what makes these pork chops so good is that you actually press the shredded parmesan cheese directly on the pork chop instead of mixing it in with the breadcrumbs (which is what I normally see when something is parmesan crusted). So instead of getting an end product that is crusted and tastes slightly like cheese, you end up with a moist, tender piece of pork that has a nice crust on the outside and a beautiful layer or salty, tangy, parmesan goodness on the inside. Delicious.
I have found that if you are preparing the pork chops for more than three people, you will need to cook them in batches. Just place the already cooked pork chops in your oven as low as it will go on cooling racks on a baking sheet. Even if you don't need to put them in the oven, I would still recommend placing them on cooling racks before placing them on plates. Placing them on the cooling racks first will prevent the breading from steaming after it is already crunchy, which eventually causes the breading to just fall off-- no good.
Serve with a sprinkling of lemon juice on the top and whatever veggie you want (and of course bread, my husband is a sucker for a good loaf of chewy bread and butter) and you've got yourself a meal that anyone would go crazy for.
One of our favorite spring-time veggies is asparagus and we love to grill it. But when we aren't grilling and still want asparagus, I've found that you can prepare it the exact same way under the broiler-- Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning (I like Weber's Grind-and-grill Chicago steak seasoning but just plain salt and pepper work as well), and broil on low for 5-10 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your veggies.
One of the meals I had planned to have on a night Alex had practice is one of my favorite summer go to meals. Well I think I have a lot of favorite summer go to meals but this is pretty close to the top of the list. I found philly cheesesteak meat at walmart in the meat section. It is thinly sliced, frozen steak that is practically fool-proof to prepare.
Simply heat a frying plan over medium high heat, add a bit of oil and place the little disks right on in. They almost look like hamburger patties when they are frozen but you will soon find, as the meat begins to thaw and get brown and crispy in the pan, that these patties are made up of paper thin (thinner than paper) pieces of steak that have been rolled into tight little rolls. Four patties come in a package and it only costs $5!! Once the first side is brown, you simply flip them, add any seasonings you wish (I like the Chicago seasoning, once again), break up the meat, cook until no longer pink and -voila-.
I also like to add some sauteed onions and peppers to the mix. Slice, saute, the end. Then you just take your favorite roll (french bread works great). Heat your oven to 350, slice the bread, layer in your meat, veg and some shredded mozzerella cheese. Wrap in tin foil and place in the oven until the cheese is all gooey and melty.
I really wish I would've thought to take a picture of this one but it was late when we sat down to eat and after getting one look at that cheesy, melty, juicy steak sandwich, the only thing on my mind was to eat it. However, have no fear, next time there will be a picture posted... and since just writing about it has made me want to eat one right now, it shouldn't be too long :)
The last thing we had this week, well besides fish sticks and tator tots, tuna melts or chinese food, was something I promised a picture from last week: tilapia! I prepared it the exact same (salt and pepper the tilapia filets, dredge in flour, saute in a little oil or cooking spray over med-high heat for a few minutes per side) and served it with my favorite summer salad (mixed greens, fruit and candied pecans).
I also tried to make a new recipe this week and I think it is safe to classify it as a semi-disaster. Maybe I should make a disaster scale... from a one to ten (one being a tiny disaster), I guess I would say it was a class two disaster-- and it didn't have anything to do with the recipe.
They were called Fried Smashed Potatoes with Lemons and when I saw Giada make them on Food Network I thought they looked really delicious! Basically, you boil red potatoes until they are done, then drain them, let them dry for about 5 minutes, smash them with the palm of your hand so they are little disks and then fry them in a pan. The finished product is supposed to be a delightfully crispy potato cake that is soft in the center and drizzled with a homemade lemon-parsley vinaigrette. Ours ended up as hashbrowns for breakfast this morning-- and these actually were quite good :)
So either my potatoes were too big or I really don't like lemon as much as she does (and she likes lemon A LOT) but they ended up soaking up all the garlic flavored olive oil and burning in the pan before falling apart
But enough about last week, I am already looking forward to next week!! :)
Monday: Chicken gyros with greek salad and homemade tzatziki sauce.
Tuesday (baseball night): Curry Chicken salad croissants
Wednesday: Grilled steaks with black truffle butter, rosemary potatoes, asparagus, sauteed mushrooms.
Thursday (baseball night): Curry Chicken salad wraps
Friday: Creamy Marscapone and Tomato pasta with homemade bread.
Enjoy the sunshine!! We are getting our pool out next week! :)
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