Monday Menus

Hang on to your hats - I have some new recipes!!  Everything I made this week was really good and nothing took longer than 30 minutes in prep time.  The meatloaf recipe took a long time to cook, but still came in under the 30 minutes in preparation. 

Monday:  We had leftover pizza and braised pork from Saturday and Sunday. 

Tuesday:  Jalapeno Rosemary Alfredo - this sounds strange, but it was goooo-ood.  My only complaint was that it could have been just a tad more spicy.  I think the cream really cuts into any heat so if you aren't a fan of hot, but like some extra flavor, this is for you.  I may add another jalapeno the next time I make it or use a serrano pepper instead.

Wednesday:  Marinated Grilled Shrimp, Kale Chips & Asian Salad - I was starting to feel about shrimp the same way I feel about chicken breasts.  I would make it and while it wasn't bad, it definitely wasn't what I consider good.  With both proteins we would bake, grill, throw into sauces with pasta, etc.  However, with every meal, the chicken and shrimp seemed to lose just a little more flavor.  A couple of years ago I discovered brining and my whole world changed - at least in regards to eating chicken.  Seriously - brine the shit out of your meat.  I always thought it was some huge process, but it isn't and it makes a HUGE difference in the taste of the meat.  My brining rant has nothing to do with this recipe, but is just a friendly tip.  So back to the shrimp.  It's marinated, something I had never done before and again - super good!  I was a little too lazy to grill the shrimp, so I just threw the little marinated crustaceans in a pan and cooked them in the marinade on the stove.  The basil is key in this and made it taste very Thai-like.  Here is my recipe for Kale Chips.  If you have never had these, they are delightful, but they do get stuck in your teeth so not ideal for a social event.  I think they taste like roasted broccoli, which I happen to love. 
2 bunches of kale
olive oil
season salt - like Lawry's
Heat your oven to 425.  Tear your kale up into pieces.  Pull the leaves off of the thick main stem.  The little stems that branch out into the leaf are fine, unless they are really thick, then you may want to pull that stem off too.  Wash and thoroughly dry all the kale in a salad spinner or whatever other green drying mechanism you use.
Place your pieces of kale in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  If you get too much, it will be soggy and greasy.  I probably use 1/2 a tsp per baking sheet.  Sprinkle with season salt - again, not too much and then toss it all together and redistribute in a single layer on the pan.  Throw it in the oven for about 8 min or until crisp and enjoy!  Two bunches of kale made 4 different batches.

Kale before baking.

After baking.

The Asian Salad was one of the Dole Salad Kits.

Thursday:  Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf - this was so good.  It didn't taste like turkey at all.  It was very beefy tasting.  The only thing I did differently with this recipe was to cook the quinoa in chicken stock because I had some left over that I needed to use, I doubled the recipe and doubled the cooking time.  Raw ground meat of any kind makes me gag so I may overcook my burgers, meatloaf or any other ground meat entrée - you may want to take that into consideration with your cooking time.  If you haven't had quinoa yet, you need to get your hands on this little baby grain!  It's one of my favorite side dishes and it's really good for you too. 

That's over 2 lbs of meatloaf right there!

Friday:  We had leftover meatloaf - it was even better the next day. 

Saturday:  Sliders - no recipe, just little hamburgers with fries.

Sunday:  Leftover sliders.