January 24-30 Meaplan

Spent $79. Saved $120. Here’s the plan-
*Crab Shack Night
Roll out the butcher paper! Snow Crab legs were on sale today for $2.99/lb. So we’ll have the legs and some steamed shrimp (from my freezer) with some really spicy cocktail sauce and baked sweet potato chips. Hmm…I think this is our first Crab Shack night in our new house… This calls for beers.
*French Onion Soup, Mixed Baby Green Salad with an Orange Vinaigrette and Chocolate Croissants
My baby brother is coming into town tomorrow and I’m having the whole family over for dinner in his honor. (OK, so he lives 30 minutes away but still-I never see him!!) I wanted to do something fancy, (because something tells me he doesn’t get fancy too often), and I wanted it to be a make-ahead type of meal so I could have more time to spend with him. The onions are sweating as we speak so all I have to do tomorrow is turn it into a soup. I love French onion soup. If it’s on a menu, I’m ordering it. And I love making it at home because it is incredibly easy. And since my brain was on a French theme, I found these adorable, baby croissants on special, so I thought I’d make it into a dessert by melting a really good, dark chocolate bar I have in my pantry and dipping half of each croissant into it. Then serve them along side a big bowl of whipped cream, flavored with a bit of homemade coffee liqueur. Fancy, yet simple. Perfect.
*Roasted Chicken with a Carrot and Sweet Potato Puree and Roasted Broccoli
We haven’t had roasted chicken in a while, so I was so pleased to find some on special today. For some reason I can’t seem to serve roasted chicken in my house without carrots. But I didn’t want the normal roasted or sauteed carrots, so I thought it would be a great idea to mash them with some sweet potatoes. A dinner of roasted chicken always makes me feel at home.
*BBQ Chicken Pizza with Orange Slaw Salad
I was able to get some Pillsbury tubes of pizza dough today for free so I thought I’d put them to good use… I love ‘out of the box’ pizzas, this being a house fave. Chicken (leftover from Roasted chicken night), cheddar cheese, green onions, homemade barbecue sauce and cilantro. The salad will be shredded cabbage (I have half a head leftover from our beach trip) and sliced onions, softened in a orange juice, white vinegar, sugar and oil dressing. A new spin on BBQ and slaw-
*Tomato and Chocolate Braised Short Ribs with Pappardelle
The addition of dark chocolate and cinnamon to tomato-meat sauces is an old Sicilian tradition. And that’s how I’ve always made my chili-I add broken up pieces of a dark chocolate bar and some cinnamon to the pot. It really adds a wonderful flavor to the stew. So I thought I’d braise some short ribs (I have quite a few stocked up in my freezer) with a can of tomatoes, red wine, some dark chocolate and a pinch of cinnamon. Then, shred the meat and turn it into a thick, pasta sauce for some pappardelle, my and my husband’s favorite pasta. I may even break out the pasta maker for this one…
*Greek Flatbreads
A couple of weeks ago I found some chicken sausages with feta and spinach for a really good price, so I put them in my freezer until I knew what to do with them. Then today I found some whole grain flatbreads for really cheap…that got me thinking of Greek sandwiches. I’ll caramelize some onions, sautee some spinach, slice a Roma tomato, and crumble some good feta. Then I’ll make a tzaziki-style sauce out of sour cream, minced garlic and lemon zest and pile it all on the warmed flatbreads with the sliced sausage. Yum Yum Yum.
*Red Wine and Tarragon Pork Roast with a Wild Mushroom and Spinach Risotto
I’ve had a center cut pork loin roast in the freezer for a bit, it’s time to bring him out. I love the combination of red wine and tarragon (My mom always made her Beef Over Rice using red wine and tarragon, so the combination makes me think of my childhood). I think I’ll sear the pork on all sides, then place it in a roasting pan with some pearl onions, then when it’s done I’ll deglaze the pan with some cabernet, allow it to reduce and add some tarragon to create a yummy sauce. And what better bed for a saucy meat like this? Risotto, always risotto.
That’s it for this week. Happy Eating, Everyone!