April 15-21 Mealplan

(Holiday weekend+Sick baby=Schedule Craziness!)
I wasn’t able to make it to the store until yesterday, leaving a couple of dinners unplanned. Luckily my kitchen is stocked for eternity so I was able to make some great meals with things I always have on hand. Therefore this mealplan was completely thrown together as Henry was clinging to my ankles.
*Crispy Pork Chops with Roasted Pepper Salad
-Boneless center-cut pork chops were on sale this week, so I got a family-size pack and used 2 last night then froze the rest for another meal. The salad was roasted tri-colored peppers, onions and garlic tossed with rosemary, oregano, red wine vinegar, some juice and zest of an orange and feta cheese chunks. I served the salad on top of lightly breaded and sauteed pork chops.
*Balsamic-Glazed Chicken Breasts with Gorgonzola Gnocchi and Asparagus
-We’re having this tonight. The chicken is from my freezer, asparagus from a big HT sale last week and I’m cheating and using pre-made gnocchi that I always keep on hand.
*Shrimp and Pork Lo Mein
-I’m using Soba Noodles for this because #1-they’re really nutritious and #2-I have them. I’ll use some of the leftover frozen pork chops from this week and shrimp I always have in my freezer when it goes on sale. And a ton of veggies.
*Sage-‘fried’ Chicken and Cheesy Bacon Waffles
–This sounds far greasier than it will be! The chicken will be dusted in flour and bread crumbs, seasoned with sage, and baked. And the waffle batter will be made from scratch using whole grain flour, light cheese and finely chopped center-cut bacon. Chicken and waffles are a classic combo that I discovered when living in LA (‘Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles’-oh yeah!!)
*Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Corn-Avocado Boats
-The avocado ‘boats’ are just halved avocadoes, seasoned with lime juice and s&p, with a corn salad in the center. The tenderloin is from my freezer.
*Chicken Saltimbleu with Roasted Broccoli and Honey-Glazed Carrots
-Saltimboca, the way I was taught, is boneless veal chops pounded thin and stuffed with sage, prosciutto and fontina cheese. And Chicken Cordon-Bleu is breaded chicken, stuffed with ham and cheese. I’ve combined the two ideas into one dish. In place of the yummy, but pricey prosciutto I’ll be using thinly sliced ham. And I’ll use swiss or fontina cheese and dried sage since my sage plant is sick. I’ll then make a honey mustard pan sauce using the drippings from the chicken.
*NY Strip Steaks with Scalloped Potatoes and Asparagus Bundles
–This will be for Friday Night-Steak Night. The strips are on sale now. I’ll make individual scalloped potatoes and for the asparagus bundles I’ll wrap a few slices of bacon around a handful of blanched asparagus and roast it. (I’m using a lot of pork this week, huh?!) And I think we’ll have steamed artichokes* as an appetizer with cocktails when G gets home from work. I love Friday nights!

*Artichokes are on sale this week at HT and this makes me very excited. Artichoke night in my house growing up was one of my favorites! I think it’s only because I got to have my own something. No sharing necessary. And I now know that my mother bought them so infrequently because she only got them when they were on sale, as they can be a little pricey. We always had them steamed, with a dipping sauce of mayonnaise, mustard and curry. (The non-recipe is: more mayo than anything, a good squeeze of dijon and a lot of yellow curry powder…maybe a little s&p if needed) It’s perfect with artichokes and I don’t even like mayonnaise. Also very good with baked white fish..another one of my mom’s creations.