Menu/Recipe Blogs

I am trying to come up with a "30 Day Meal Plan" Binder. (An idea I saw on a website.) I am not a good menu planner and it is one of my goals to be better. I save more money and do better about cooking at home if I have a plan. Usually I fail to have a plan. So in my attempt to do better, I have come across several menu/recipe blogs. They are helping me in my quest! I thought I would pass them along to you. Hope y'all find them useful. (Also, many of these blogs have links to other menu/recipe sites that are great!)

here they are:

http://dinnersonme.blogspot.com/
http://thematzats.blogspot.com/
http://fullbellies.blogspot.com/
http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/

Crispy Ranch Fries

I found these in the Paula Deen magazine for this month (Aug '09)and served them last night with hamburgers from the grill. They were really good and the sauce was yummy too (I even put a little of the sauce on my burger). They were an easy, fun treat!

1 (26 oz) bag of frozen extra-crispy fast food fries
1 (1 oz) package of dry ranch dressing mix, divided
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mayo

Preheat oven to 450. Spray a rimmed baking sheet (I used my pampered chef stone cookie sheet) with cooking spray.

Place fries in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Spring evenly with 1 Tablespoon of dry ranch dressing mix. Bake for approx 12-15 minutes or until fries are lightly browned and crispy.

In small bowl, combine ketchup, mayo, and remaining ranch dressing mix. Serve with hot fries.

Chili Verde

O.k., I know it's a little hot for Chili, but I found this recipe online in a section of slow cooker recipes and I wanted to try it. I think it's a keeper, but I will make a few minor changes next time (like possibly waiting for colder weather!)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C salsa verde (the salsa verde I found was "Medium" next time I will definitely look for Mild!)

1 4oz can chopped anaheim chilies

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 1b boneless pork loin (I used chicken)

1 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 14 oz can white beans, drained & rinsed

Hot, cooked rice

~Sour Cream * (optional)

Instructions:

Place 2 cups of the salsa verde in the crock pot. Stir in the chilies. Add meat.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Take meat out of crock pot & shred. Add back to crock pot along with remaining salsa and the 2 cans of beans. Stir and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over rice.

*when I taste tested this it seemed really spicy so I added in cream cheese & a tiny bit of milk to try and dilute(?) it...the cream cheese was actually good and made it very creamy (obviously); I think next time I will use sour cream--it was a nice consistency when placed over the rice.

Pleasing Cheesy Potatoes with Sausage

This is the Potatoe and Sausage breakfast dish I served at our first Supper Club (Sunday brunch). Everyone liked it a lot and it is mine and Casey's favorite breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
1 (32 ounce) package tater tots
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1 can chopped green chiles
1/4 cup chopped onion (or I use 2 Tbsp of dried minced onions)
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Arrange Tater Tots in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, soup, sour cream, green pepper and onion until blended. Stir in the cheese. Pour over Tater tots. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

In all the cookbook proofing I have done over the past several weeks (Harding Kojies are putting out a 70th Anniversary Edition cookbook this October at Homecoming), I have seen lots of good recipes. This one I tried out tonight and it was DELICIOUS!

1 pork tenderloin
1 pkg. bacon
(4-oz.) cream cheese
jarred jalapenos to taste (I used about about 1/3 of a small can)
skewers

Mix the cream cheese and add jalapenos to taste. Cut the pork tenderloin most of the way open long-ways. Stuff the pork tenderloin with the cream cheese mixture. Wrap the bacon around the pork tenderloin covering ALL of the tenderloin with bacon. Stick skewers sideways through the bacon and tenderloin to hold it together. (If you use wooden skewers make sure you soak them for 30 minutes in cold water first). Put the tenderloin on the grill for 20-30 minutes flipping once. 1 tenderloin serves 3-4 people.

Paula Deen's Cheesy Garlic Grits

Kevin and I had been talking about grits for a few weeks and wanting some...so I made these last night. They were good and Sam & Seth even ate them! I served them with grilled shrimp on top -- yum!

6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups regular grits
16 ounces Cheddar, cubed
1/2 cup milk
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-quart casserole dish.

Bring the broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in the grits and whisk until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the grits are thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cubed Cheddar and milk and stir. Gradually stir in the eggs and butter, stirring until all are combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the white Cheddar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake

I found this recipe in Southern Living and had to try it; it was quite tasty--I think it would be great to make again for a brunch or a shower, etc. The only thing I would do differently next time is poke the fruit down further into the batter; it was good on top, but would've been better had there been more fruit inside the cake.

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C sugar

2 eggs

2 C flour

2 tsp baking pwd

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 C milk

2 tsp vanilla

2 C peeled & sliced fresh peaches (about 2 lg peaches)

1 C fresh blackberries

Powdered sugar

(it also requires a springform pan)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare Streusel Topping* (see recipe for this below)

2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan; top with sliced peaches and blackberries. Pinch off 1-inch pieces of Streusel Topping, and drop over fruit.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until center of cake is set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will not come out clean.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours). Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish, if desired.

Streusel Topping (*this recipe makes way too much--next time I will half everything below)

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C firmly packed light brown sugar

2/3 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Add flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat just until blended.