Menu #4

We are about a month into school for me, and now many of our Fall activities are kicking in. This sometimes makes for some shorter lists of meals as we are at a ballgame, out before choir practice at church, out of town, or are having leftovers. That is the case with this menu. We have a weekend trip during these two weeks. This menu also encompasses part of Labor Day weekend. Because of all of that, it is a bit shorter than some of the others since we have so many plans. I hope it is still helpful for you and maybe inspires some ideas of your own.

Smoked pork loin, instant potatoes, English peas

Can you tell that this is definitely a meal for being back at school and getting back into the swing of things??!! I literally have no prep for this one. Once again, this is a pork loin that my husband smoked previously and we froze it. When I say that we do a lot of different meats when he uses the smoker, I mean it! Obviously not everyone is going to have smoked pork loin in their freezer. You can always buy a seasoned pork loin to bake or grill or just move on from this meal. These are just meant to give you some ideas for your own planning. I will be using instant potatoes for this, instead of making my own, which I usually do, and a can of Le Sueur peas. Nothing fancy to see here, but the great flavor of the pork offsets the mundaneness of the other.

Grilled Pork Chops, Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes, frozen green beans

This meal is planned for Labor Day since we are home that day. The pork chop recipe is from bunnyswarmoven.net. Be aware that these do need to marinate, so you need to plan ahead. I like to marinate the night before. The potatoes are from noshtastic.com. I bought a bag of red potatoes at the store the previous shopping trip and I only used about half of them, so I planned this side dish so that I could use the rest of them. They do take a little bit of time, so plan accordingly. We like the Great Value fine frozen green beans from Walmart. They are small and thin and we really enjoy them. I just cook them with some onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but you can prepare them as you like. They can just be steamed in the bag as well.

Chicken Street Tacos, Mexican rice

I can’t say that I have an actual recipe for this. I basically just made it up so that I could use some ingredients that I already had. I will use some shredded chicken that I already have in the freezer. This came from some of the rotisserie chicken pieces that I bought at Sam’s. (There will be more info on that at some point – just check out my ramblings). You can also cook your own chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken or already cooked chicken at the store. If using frozen, thaw that out and heat it up on the stove and add a packet of taco seasoning – I like the Taco Bell one. You will do the same with whatever chicken you choose to use. Just follow the directions on the package but with the cooked chicken. I have some corn tortillas in the freezer as well that I will thaw and heat up. I do them one at a time on a cast iron skillet so that they get a little browned on each side. Use/purchase what you like. You can add some cilantro and chopped onion, and you have street tacos. I like a few other “typical” taco ingredients, so I use those as well. I have posted before about that. I like to use Rice-a-Roni brand Mexican Style Rice as a side.

Chicken and Noodles, pudding

I have posted about this before. When you see this on the menu, you know it is DKG night and my husband is cooking for himself. If you want the full story, see Menu #2. Remember that this is basically another made-up recipe. Here is is:

Place some bone-in chicken (or a whole chicken, depending on the amount you are making) in an oven-safe dutch oven and cover with water. Place a lid on the pot. Cook the chicken in the oven at 350 degrees F until it is cooked through, usually about an hour or longer based on the size of the chicken or chicken pieces. Remove from the oven and move the pot to the stove. When the chicken is cool enough, remove the meat from the bones and add it back to the pot with the liquid that is still in there from cooking the chicken. Bring it to a boil and add chicken Ramen noodles. The amount depends on how many you are feeding. When it’s just for my husband, he just uses a couple of packages. Pour in half of the seasoning packets and cook until the noodles are done. 

Pinto beans and sausage, rice, cornbread, fruit

This is a recipe that my son requests. He likes these “semi-homemade” beans and rice rather than homemade ones. Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan. Add in a couple of stalks of chopped celery and a tablespoon of minced garlic. Let that cook until it is soft. Add about a half-pound of chopped sausage – andouille is best – and let that cook for a few minutes. Then add three to four undrained cans of pinto beans. Add Creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere’s) to taste. Let that cook on low for about 30 minutes until it’s hot and the seasonings have had time to meld. That’s it for that! Cook some rice to go along with it. You can use whatever kind you prefer. I also cook a pan of cornbread. I don’t make it from scratch. I use a mix. My favorite is Gladiola Yellow Cornbread mix. We prefer a savory cornbread over sweet. Many times I add some chopped jalapenos to the batter before I pour it into the pan to cook. One trick I do recommend – try to use a cast-iron skillet if you can and heat it in the oven or on the stove with some oil in it before pouring in the batter. It will sizzle when you pour in the batter and will create a great browned bottom to the cornbread. 

Pork chops and potatoes, English peas

My family doesn’t call me the Pork Queen for nothin’!! I guess I do have quite a few pork recipes for these two weeks. One is a roll-over from another week because I had to adjust my menu. The others are because I bought a family pack of pork chops and want to use them a couple of times these two weeks. 

This is another family favorite that I learned from my mom. You can use bone-in or boneless pork chops. Either is fine. You will also need to peel four or five russet potatoes and slice them into thin slices. In addition, slice up a yellow onion into thin slices. Mix up a can of cream of mushroom soup with a can of water. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Season your chops with salt and pepper. Place them in the skillet and let them brown on both sides. Remove them from the skillet.

Place the potatoes in the skillet and top with the onions. Salt and pepper everything. Put the pork chops on top of the potatoes. I do it this way so that the pork doesn’t burn or get too dry while you are waiting for the potatoes to cook. Pour the soup/water mixture over the top of everything and put a lid on the skillet. Turn the heat to medium low. It should take about 25 to 30 minutes for the potatoes to cook until they are soft and falling apart. Check them occasionally and give it a little stir so that the ones on the bottom don’t burn or stick. As I have told you before, if we have green peas, I only use Le Sueur. This is a good weeknight dinner because it is pretty quick and easy.

Sorry this is such a short menu this time. That’s just how it falls for us since we have several activities during these two weeks. It just happens that way sometimes. Next time I should have a few more suggestions for you. Hopefully you are getting ideas of your own now and are maybe doing some of your own searching and planning. Teach a man to fish………😊