Christmas Eve

I changed my mind. For Christmas Eve, I've decided to try a crab-stuffed flank steak, grilled marinated tomatoes, potato-stuffed bell peppers, roasted asparagus, and garlic bread. I'm hosting a party for 10, so hopefully this will be enough food!

For the steak:
butterfly a flank steak and flatten with a meat pounder.

Stuff with this crab mixture:
1 lb fresh lump crab meat, shell pieces removed (or, to save time and money, use artificial crab in the flake or lump shape--I've used this before, many times, and it still tastes awesome!)
1 1/3 c. soft breadcrumbs
1/3 c. minced green onions
1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. 2% milk
1 t. hot sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

This link may help if you're not sure how to stuff a flank steak:
http://www.cuisineathome.com/main/videos/50-butterflyingFlankSteak.php

Stuff with crab and roll up, tie with kitchen string and bake at 375 for 40 min, or longer if you like your steak more well done.

Dinner Diva Menu Week of 12/13

Sunday: Out

Monday: grilled steaks, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potatoes

Tuesday: cereal for dinner!!!!!

Wednesday: pork chops and sauerkraut

Ingredients
4 pork chops, approximately 4 ounces each
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
14 ounces sauerkraut, fresh or canned
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 small apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 cup beer
Directions
Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown pork chops on both sides. Set aside. Rinse and drain sauerkraut, pressing excess liquid out. Mix sauerkraut, onion, apple, parsley flakes, and celery seed. Put pork chops in a baking dish, then cover with sauerkraut. Pour beer and drippings from skillet over. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.

Thursday: hot dogs, edamame for the kids, and for me:

Spicy Chinese Noodles (for one)
3 oz pasta
3 T. peanut butter
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
1 1/2 t. honey
dash cayenne
2 T. scallions, finely chopped

Cook pasta; drain. While pasta is cooking, combine in a small saucepan the peanut butter, soy suace, vinegar, honey, and cayenne

Mix together the pasta and the peanut butter sauce. if pasta is too dry, add a little fat-free chicken broth to think the sauce.. Garnish with the scallions.

Friday: herbed chicken and orzo

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken/herbed-chicken-and-orzo/

Saturday: Pizza

Christmas Week Menu

Sunday, December 20: Taco Soup



http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-live/tex-mex-chicken-taco-soup-recipe/index.html



Monday, December 21: grilled pork chops, steamed broccoli, pillsbury biscuits



Tuesday, December 22: beef stir fry, rice, egg rolls



Wednesday, December 23: grilled steak, potato stuffed grilled bell peppers, sauteed asparagus, grilled tomatoes, french bread



http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1056988

I use this recipe for the tomatoes marinade: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1941030 and then I grill them for 20 minutes in a grill basket, instead of roasting them for 7.5 hours. They are FABULOUS!

Thursday, December 24: stuffed pork tenderloin,

Dinner Diva Menu Week of 12/6

Monday: omelettes, fresh fruit



Tuesday: Meal Swap Day, my turn to cook: Chicken Cordon Blue, spring salad, breadsticks



Wednesday: grilled steak, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potatoes

Thursday: Meal Swap Day: Kary's turn to cook

Friday: sloppy joes we didn't have last week, coleslaw, baked beans

Saturday: Pizza Night

Sunday: grilled salmon, steamed green beans, steamed brown rice

Dinner Diva Menu Week of 11/29

Sunday: Grilled chicken breasts, steamed peas, steamed brown rice





Monday: Meal Swap Day, my turn to cook: Grilled Cornish Hens, roasted tomatoes, asiago cheese bread, fruit salad

To grill the hens, rinse inside and out and pat dry. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, inside and out. Place in heavy duty foil roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Place uncovered on preheated grill, over indirect heat (leave center burner on low), for about 15 min per pound.

Tomatoes:

1 T. sugar

1 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. pepper

4 lbs roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise, about 16 tomatoes

cooking spray

Oven to 200. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Arrange tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Roast at 200 for 71/2 hours. 8 servings.

Bread: http://www.ehow.com/how_2159328_asiago-cheese-bread.html

Tuesday: sloppy joes, cole slaw, baked beans





Wednesday: grilled steak, Cauliflower, baked sweet potatoes





Thursday: mealswap day, Kary's turn to cook





Friday: leftovers





Saturday: Pizza

Thanskgiving Day Menu

Grilled Turkey --If you like crispy, golden brown skin, tender, juicy meat, and mouth watering flavor, try grilling your turkey this year. It's really quite easy, easier than oven baking! Plus it frees up your oven for more important things like pies.

Preheat your gas grill on Medium. Spray a large foil roasting pan with cooking spray. Clean your turkey inside and out and place breast up in the prepared pan. Sprinkle inside and out with generous amounts of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place pan on grill over indirect heat (turn off center burner if you can) and close the grill. Turkey takes about 15 minutes per pound (about the same as the oven) or maybe a smidge faster. Check on it occasionally and turn the heat down if you need to.

If your grill is too hot, the drippings will burn off; if you want drippings for gravy, keep an eye on your heat.

Smashed Potatoes
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sara-moulton/smashed-potatoes-recipe2/index.html

Sweet Potato Casserole

http://southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm

Green Bean Casserole
made the traditional way, but with fresh beans

Soft White Dinner Rolls
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/golden-pull-apart-butter-buns-recipe

Pumpkin Pie (libbey's of course!)

Apple Pie
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222144

Chocolate Cream Pie
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222479

Dinner Diva Menu Week of 11/22

Sunday: Meal Swap meal from the freezer: Beef Lombardi (mine is made and frozen, but here is the recipe)



http://www.grouprecipes.com/15012/easy-beef-lombardi.html



Monday: ribs, cornbread, applesauce, celery and dip



Making the cherry-zinfandel bbq sauce for the ribs again. My mouth is already watering in anticipation!



http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1634800

Cornbread:
http://www.delregno.com/recipes/2008/03/quaker-easy-corn-bread.html

Applesauce:
Roasted Applesauce

4 red apples, any variety
4 green apples
1 T. olive oil
2 T. honey
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
pinch cloves
pinch orange zest

Preheat oven to 400. Peel, core and coarsely chop apples. Toss apples in a large bowl with remaining ingredients until well coated. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, or until apples are very tender. Using a large serving fork or potato-masher, mash the apples, leaving some chunks. Serve warm.

(Note, if you like smooth applesauce, blend the apples in your blender after they are roasted instead of fork-mashing.)

Tuesday: The streak continues: hot dogs and edamame. Hey, my kids make dinner for themselves once a week--who am I to complain that it's always the same?

Wednesday: grilled steak, leftover cornbread, steamed green beans

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving! (Please see my Turkey Day Menu post)

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: pizza