Week 4 – Gobble Gobble

Sunday Menu

• Pan Chicken with Lemon Sauce and
• Antipasto Salad

My hubs always says “if you eat pasta and antipasto in the same meal, wouldn’t you still be hungry?” Ha ha!

This recipe is based on a great recipe from The Southern Pantry Cookbook by Jennifer Chandler. Her recipes are so easy & delicious! Used with permission.

Prep

• This chicken dish sounds like it could be hard to make. It’s really not very complicated, and it’s worth every step! I make a batch that serves 4+, so tweak amounts as needed. It’s super leftover, too.
• Start by pounding flat 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5-2 lbs). I put mine in a large Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or rolling pin. Pound until very thin. You may want to cut larger breasts into more manageable-sized pieces. Pat the chicken pieces dry.
• Place ~ 1/2 c all-purpose flour in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the flour to coat and tap excess flour off.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, start your chicken. Cook 3-4 minutes per side. You will likely need to cook in batches. Set cooked chicken aside on a clean plate.
• While chicken is cooking, squeeze the juice from 2-3 lemons (no seeds, please :)) and mix with 1 c chicken stock. Once all the chicken is cooked and removed from the pan, add the lemon juice and chicken stock. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, getting all the browned pieces in the pan. Keep stirring until sauce thickens and then add in 2 Tbsp butter. Mix in butter along with salt and pepper to taste. Now you’re ready to serve your sauce over your chicken.
• Our side will be this delicious antipasto. Since we’re breading the chicken, we don’t have to add a starchy side to our meal, although I do like a good crouton on the salad.
• Place your salad greens on half your plate. Top with drained and chopped artichoke hearts, sliced roasted red peppers, olives, croutons, and shaved Parmesan (I buy it at the cheese counter near the deli at my grocery). Drizzle with olive oil.
• Once your chicken is ready, serve on the other half of the plate. De-lish!

Grocery Items

• Salad Greens
• Olives
• Artichoke Hearts, plain or marinated (jar/can)
• Roasted Red Peppers (jar)
• Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless
• Parmesan shaved
• All-Purpose Flour
• Chicken Stock
• Lemons (3)
• Butter
• Croutons, garlic or your preferred
• Olive Oil

Monday Menu

• Flat Iron Steak with
• Sauteed Peppers & Onions and
• Pesto Penne Pasta

TIME SAVER TIP (TST): Pick up precut & frozen pepper and onion mixtures in your frozen foods section. Just thaw, drain, and they’re ready to use.

Prep

• Start by thinly slicing your onions and peppers into strips. I do 1/4 an onion & 1/2 a pepper per person. NOTE: We’ll use the leftover veggies to load our potatoes on Wednesday, so cook extra. Heat a large skillet to medium heat with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Get the peppers and onions started.
• Get your water boiling for your pasta. Only cook the amount of pasta you need for tonight’s meal.
• Now let’s get our steaks seasoned and grilling. This is such a tasty cut, I’m just going to season with a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. That’s it. NOTE: Make extra steak for Wednesday night. Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium heat. Cook to desired level of doneness (7-10 minutes per side depending on thickness and desired temp). Let rest for 5 minutes then cut into slices.
• This meal should all come together at about the same time. Once peppers and onions are done, turn the heat off and leave them in the pan. Once steak is cut, plate it and top with peppers & onions OR you can mix it all in with your pasta. Mix pasta with pesto sauce (per jar instructions). Top your pasta with grated Parmesan to taste. Dinner is served!

Grocery Items

• Flat Iron Steaks (2 meals)
• Bell Peppers (2 meals)
• Onions (2 meals)
• Penne Pasta
• Pesto Sauce jarred
• Olive Oil
• Grated Parmesan

Tuesday Menu

• It’s Taco Bar Tuesday
• Shrimp Tacos

Let’s make tonight easy before the cooking and other turkey day madness begins :).

Not feeling like doing a taco bar? This could easily be turned into a taco salad. Not feeling shrimpy? Switch it out for ground beef or chopped rotisserie chicken.

COOK AHEAD: Get your potatoes in the oven tonight and tomorrow’s meal will cook even faster.

Prep

• You can use any protein you like, but I’m going to use shrimp because they cook soooo fast! Start with thawed shrimp (about 6-9 per person depending on size of shrimp). They thaw quickly under cool running water. Pat dry and season with chili powder or cumin along with salt & pepper to taste.
• Heat a medium skillet to medium heat with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Pop your shrimp in the skillet. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until done.
• Get your toppings ready while the shrimp are cooking. I like to set up a build-your-own bar: tortillas, leave a spot for your shrimp (or other protein), shredded cheese of choice, shredded lettuce (you can buy shredded ready-to-eat), sliced avocado, salsa, and sour cream. I like to drizzle a line of sriracha sauce on the taco to zing it up, but that’s optional. Dinner is ready!

Grocery Items

• Shrimp, medium, frozen
• Corn Tortillas, small
• Salsa
• Avocado
• Shredded Cheese (2 meals)
• Sour Cream (2 meals)
• Sriracha Sauce (optional)
• Lettuce, shredded
• Olive Oil
• Spice: Chili Powder or Cumin

Wednesday Menu

• Steak and Veggie Loaded Potatoes (using leftover steak and veggies)

You’re probably already planning to do this, but prepping things (like dressing, sweet potatoes, dessert, etc.) can be done today for tomorrow.

Prep

• NOTE: You can use a lot of the same toppings/ingredients from yesterday’s meal.
• Start by getting your potatoes cooking if you didn’t do that last night. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your potatoes and coat them with olive oil, salt, & pepper to taste. You can wrap them in foil or place them on a baking sheet. It doesn’t matter. Cook them for 45-60 minutes or until tender.
• Chop and warm your leftover steak, peppers, and onions from Monday.
• Once potatoes are ready (or rewarmed if you cooked them yesterday), add butter/sour cream, then your steak tips, veggies, and shredded cheese. Yum!

Grocery Items

• Baking Potatoes, medium
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Sour Cream, if you need more
• Shredded Cheese, if you need more

Turkey Day Menu

You likely have your own menu planned, but if not…

• Turkey Breast
• Bacon Almond Green Beans
• Dressing
• Sweet Potatoes
• Rolls
• Cranberries
• Dessert of choice

You got my T-Day recipes two weeks ago, but here they are again (plus a sweet potato dish).

Prep

• When we think we only get T-day foods once a year, we can get crazy with them. I started doing a T-day preview a couple of years ago. You get to test any new recipes you like and have the meal in a more mindful atmosphere (usually).
• Get your cranberry sauce ready if you’re using cooked (and if you didn’t cook it yesterday). I follow package instructions for this classic sauce: 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and one package cranberries. Bring to a boil and let the berries start popping. Keep stirring until desired texture is reached. Remove from heat and cool.
• Get your turkey breast going. This is the recipe I use. It’s basic and delicious, but you may have one you like to use.
• For your dressing…You can use your favorite recipe or pick up some pre-seasoned breadcrumbs/cubes/cornbread. I chop up about 1 cup each of celery and sweet onion and saute them in about 2-3 Tbsp of butter. Once cooked down, I toss them with my bread (6-8 cups) cubes in a large bowl and add chicken stock to moisten (2-3 + c), salt, pepper, and additional dried sage to taste. Mix thoroughly and scrape into a sprayed baking dish. Pop in your oven (at whatever temp your turkey is cooking at). You may want to time it to go in about 45 minutes before your turkey is done.
• I use 1.5-2 pounds whole frozen green beans (you can leave them whole or cut in half) and start by steaming them in the microwave to soften for about 10 minutes (if frozen), stirring halfway. While the beans are cooking, cook 10 strips of bacon until crisp. Set strips aside and crumble. Mix 1/4 c sugar and 1/4 c red wine vinegar into bacon drippings and stir. Now transfer to a baking dish in this order–> 1/2 pan drippings, 1/2 the beans, 1/2 the crumbled bacon, 1/4 c sliced almonds and repeat. Bake about 45 minutes in the oven (with all your other stuff).
• For your sweet potatoes (I do 4-6 medium), I generally bake them and prep the dish the night before. Bake potatoes at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until soft. Let cool and scrape them out of their skin into a large mixing bowl. Add about 1/2 c brown sugar, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 c whole milk OR half & half. Mix & mash together and put into a sprayed baking dish. Top with chopped pecans and a bit more brown sugar. Bake loosely covered with foil at 325-375 degrees (depending on oven temp with your bird) for 45 – 75 minutes or until bubbling around the edges. Remove foil halfway.
• Warm your rolls according to package instructions while everything else finishes up.
• Happy Thanksgiving!

• Grocery Items

• Turkey Breast (plus extra for leftovers)
• Breadcrumbs/Cubes
• Chicken Stock
• Butter
• Garlic (for turkey)
• White Wine/Apple Juice (for turkey)
• Cornstarch (for turkey)
• Green Beans, fresh or frozen
• Sweet Potatoes
• Cranberries/Cranberry Sauce
• Sugar
• Sliced Almonds
• Chopped Pecans
• Bacon
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Milk or Half & Half
• Brown Sugar
• Rolls of choice
• Spices: Paprika, Thyme (both for turkey), Cinnamon, and Nutmeg

Friday Menu

• T-day Leftovers or
• Turkey Cranberry Salads with
• Rolls (leftover)

This is one of my favorite ways to eat leftover turkey & cranberries. Enjoy!

Prep

• Who wants to cook today?!?!? This easy leftover salad will get you on track with veggies and keep the holiday flavors going.
• Place your salad greens (mixed greens or arugula) in your salad bowls. I like the peppery flavor of arugula.
• I like the leftover turkey cold, but you can heat it a bit if you like. Chop the turkey (1/2 c+ per salad) and place on top of salad greens. Add feta/goat cheese crumbles and chopped pecans/walnuts to the salad (~2 Tbsp each).
• I like to mix up my own cranberry goodness dressing for the salad. This will make about 4 servings, so make as much as you like. Combine 1/4 c leftover cranberry sauce, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/4 c olive oil. Whisk, blend, etc. until smooth. Serve on salads with a warmed leftover roll on the side. Mmmm!

Grocery Items

• Salad Greens/Arugula
• Feta or Goat cheese
• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Chopped Pecans/Walnuts

Saturday Menu

• Thanksgiving Panini (using leftovers)
• OR
• Panini of choice if you’re over, or out of, turkey

I don’t have a panini press. I use my grill pan and just press the sandwich down with a spatula.

Prep

• This is the turkey’s last hurrah. I like to get nice bread like sourdough (about 1/2″ thick slices) and make a panini with it. Load the bread with turkey slices, provolone cheese, cranberry sauce/relish, and lots of arugula or spinach. I like to load up the arugula or spinach because that’s the veggie for the meal. I do put a smear of mayo on the bread as well. You can do this as an open-faced sandwich if you prefer or if the slices of bread are big. Just put the cheese on top and bake or broil until cheese is melty.
• Heat up your grill pan, skillet, or panini press. Drizzle sandwich/bread with olive oil/butter and toast it up.
• Sheesh! Enough with the turkey already. Enjoy. 🙂

Grocery Items

• Mayo
• Sandwich Bread
• Meat (if needed)
• Provolone Cheese, sliced
• Arugula/Spinach
• Olive Oil/Butter