Monday Meal Planning

Weekend of Parties Edition

This coming weekend is going to be busy, busy, busy. On Friday is my company picnic, and I'm on the planning committee which means I get paid for a day of putting together a party. Talk about my dream job! Then on Saturday we have two more parties - Aaron's company picnic, and a couples' shower for some good friends.

On to the meal plan!

Monday: Skillet Tamale Pie (see recipe below), fruit salad

Tuesday: Kielbasa, Special Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Green Beans

Kielbasa - we usually slice this into 1/4 inch thick pieces and throw them into a skillet to brown.

Special Mashed Potatoes: These are mashed potatoes that I doctor up with whatever I have available in the fridge. Boil potatoes as you usually would to make mashed potatoes from scratch. This time I'll probably add: a dollop of sour cream, 1/4 stick butter, low-fat ranch dressing, cheddar cheese, and sliced green onion tops.

Wednesday: Big Salad and rolls

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner! Dill Feta Scramble, turkey sausage, and apple, grape and celery salad

For the dill feta scramble, scramble eggs with feta and fresh dill, cut a whole wheat pita in half and stuff with the scrambled eggs. for the salad, toss chopped tart apple, halved grapes, and chopped celery with white vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and toasted pecans. (Source of both these recipes: Martha Stewart Everyday Food, September 2007)

Friday: My company picnic - possibly a curry rice salad if I can get the recipe from my aunt (if I can I'll post it here) (**UPDATE: Here's the recipe**), or some black and white cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting. Mmmm....that's for sure a hard decision, because both are delicious.

Saturday: Aaron's company picnic - Apple Stuff (this is just an apple pie made in a sheet cake pan, so it's thinner, and then you drizzle it with a simple powdered sugar glaze and cut it into bars). Also the costume party, but they're providing the food.

Sunday: Chicken Parmigiano Soup and salad

Bake: Aaron wanted something savory this week, so I'll be making cheese straws, his favorite.

SKILLET TAMALE PIE

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen recipe

1 to 2 Tbsp canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground round or sirloin

1 (15 ½ oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

3 oz. 2% cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped fine*

salt and pepper to taste

Cornbread topping:

¾ c. all-purpose flour

¾ c. yellow cornmeal

3 Tbsp sugar

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

1 egg

¾ c. buttermilk**

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 450 degrees.***

For the tamale filling, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion and chili powder and cook until the onion is softened. Stir in the garlic and cook about a minute.

Stir in the ground beef, beans and tomatoes and bring to a simmer, breaking up the meat with a spoon. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir inn the cheese and cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.****

For the cornbread topping, combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring until the mixture is just combined.

Dollop the cornbread batter evenly over the filling and spread into an even layer. Bake until the cornbread is cooked through in the center, about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

*I either omit this or substitute flat-leaf parsley because I’m not a big cilantro fan

**I use sour milk if I don’t have any buttermilk on hand, which can be made by putting 2 tsp lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup and filling it up to ¾ c. line. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes before adding to the dish.

***The woman who shared this recipe suggested instead of 450 you should heat the oven to 400 so that the center of the cornbread topping sets up better. You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

****You can stop here if you want to prepare ahead of time. Just cool, cover, and then freeze the filled dish. To finish, remove the dish from the freezer before work/in the morning and place it into the refrigerator. When you are ready to cook it, mix the cornbread topping and follow the recipe from there.