Week 50 |
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Notes for this week |
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Day 1 |
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| Kung Pao Chicken | Rice | Egg Drop Soup |
Day 2 |
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| Baked Southwestern Spaghetti | Marinated Cucumber Salad | |
Day 3 |
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| Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings | Caesar Salad | |
Day 4 |
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| Cheese and Onion Enchiladas | Spanish Rice | Spinach Salad |
Day 5 |
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| Apple Cheddar Melts | Grapes | Potato Chips |
🗓️ Day 1
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Rice
- Egg Drop Soup
Kung Pao Chicken
This Kung Pao Chicken recipe is delicious with its easy to make chili-flavored oil. Be sure to start the night before so your chicken has time to marinate for the fullest flavor.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2-4 small dried chilies
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ C peanuts
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 6 tablespoon oil, divided
Instructions
- Marinate chicken overnight in a mixture of 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- To make the sauce, combine the following in a small bowl: vinegar, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon rice cooking wine, sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Set aside.
- Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in a wok over high heat. Cook chicken until cooked through and remove to a plate and set aside.
- Rinse out wok and add 2 tablespoon oil. Heat oil and add chilies. [If you cannot find chilies, you can use ¼ to ½ tsp. crushed red pepper.] This makes chili oil and is what flavors the dish.
- Stir fry chilies until they turn black, add ginger, garlic, and peppers. Stir fry until softened.
- Add chicken to reheat. Add sauce and stir until thickened.
- Garnish with peanuts and serve over rice.
Notes
Be sure to start the night before so your chicken has time to marinate for the fullest flavor.
You can use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 432 calCarbohydrates: 11 gProtein: 25 gFat: 32 gSodium: 915 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 4 g
Kung Pao Chicken Permalink
Egg Drop Soup
I learned this quick and easy egg drop soup recipe when I was living in Japan. It's good for a light appetizer or a comfort food when you have a cold.
Ingredients
- 3 C. chicken broth
- 1 green onion with top, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash of pepper
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
Instructions
- Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs and add onions to beaten eggs.
- Pour eggs into boiling broth slowly, stirring with fork so that egg forms into ribbons. Soup is ready when egg is cooked.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 55 calCarbohydrates: 2 gProtein: 5 gFat: 3 gSodium: 1683 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 1 g
Egg Drop Soup Permalink
🗓️ Day 2
- Baked Southwestern Spaghetti
- Marinated Cucumber Salad
Baked Southwestern Spaghetti
Change up your baked spaghetti by giving it a Tex-Mex flavor with green chilies, black olives, and more.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 26 ounces jar spaghetti sauce
- 4 ounces can diced green chilies, chopped
- 2.25 ounces can sliced black olives, drained
- 10 ounces can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Toppings as desired, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, hot peppers, etc.
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
- While spaghetti is cooking, brown ground beef. When almost done, add onion and cook until onion is tender.
- Drain beef and onion mixture and add remaining ingredients except cheese and toppings. Mix thoroughly and cook over medium heat until heated through.
- When spaghetti is ready, drain and mix with meat mixture.
- Pour into a 9"x13" pan prepared with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
If you have cooked ground beef and cooked onion in the freezer, skip the steps for cooking those and just thaw and heat.
Toppings not included in nutritional data.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 490 calCarbohydrates: 52 gProtein: 34 gFat: 16 gSodium: 893 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 8 g
Baked Southwestern Spaghetti Permalink
Marinated Cucumber Salad
Marinated cucumber salad is a refreshingly light side dish that's easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber, washed and thinly sliced
- ½ small onion, thinly sliced
- 1-½ Tbsp. sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, vinegar, and salt and mix well.
- Pour vinegar mixture over sliced cucumber and onion. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Notes
- If the cucumber is large in diameter, slice it in half lengthwise before slicing crosswise.
- If you prefer, you can chop/dice the cucumber and onion rather than slice it for a different presentation.
- White vinegar can be substituted for apple cider vinegar.
- Keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 26 calCarbohydrates: 6 gProtein: 1 gFat: 1 gSodium: 196 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 5 g
Marinated Cucumber Salad Permalink
🗓️ Day 3
- Easy Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Caesar Salad
Easy Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
This easy and delicious crockpot chicken and dumplings with canned biscuits is a family favorite. The rich, creamy sauce with shredded, tender chicken is a winning combination even before adding the dumplings. Using cream of chicken soup and canned biscuits make this yummy dinner so easy to prepare that makes it look like I'm a great cook with virtually no effort.
Ingredients
- 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoon butter, softened
- 21 oz condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth plus extra for thinning
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 refrigerator biscuits, from can
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- salt & pepper to taste, if needed
Instructions
- Spray a large slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot.
- In a medium bowl, mix together butter, soup, broth, onions, and parsley. Pour over chicken.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours.
- After cooking time has elapsed, turn off slow cooker and break chicken into pieces using a fork. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut each biscuit into 9 pieces.
- Stir biscuit pieces into hot chicken mixture.
- Turn crock pot back on to high and continue cooking for 30 minutes. If your mixture is too thick when you add the biscuits, add about ½ to 1 cup of hot chicken broth or water to thin the mixture.
- Add salt & pepper to taste if needed.
- Serve hot garnished with parsley if desired.
Notes
You can give this dish some extra color by adding 12 oz. of fresh or frozen vegetables at the beginning (like peas and carrots).
If you like extra flavor, add poultry seasoning at the beginning as desired.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 255 calCarbohydrates: 17 gProtein: 18 gFat: 12 gSodium: 983 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 2 g
Easy Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings Permalink
🗓️ Day 4
- Cheese and Onion Enchiladas
- Spanish Rice
- Spinach Salad
Cheese & Onion Enchiladas
Homemade cheese and onion enchiladas are deliciously cheesy with rich flavor from the traditional corn tortillas and made-from-scratch red enchilada sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green onions, divided
- 2 cups sour cream
- 4 cups Mexican Blend Cheese, shredded
- 8 small corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce
- 22.5 ounces tomato sauce
- ¾ teaspoon oregano
- 2-¼ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1-½ teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine all ingredients for enchilada sauce in a sauce pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering, chop green onions, reserving 2 chopped onions.
- Mix all but the 2 reserved onions with the sour cream and 2 cups of the Mexican cheese.
- Pour ⅓ of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x12 pan.
- Fill each tortilla with an even amount of the cheese mixture, spooning it down the center line of the tortilla. Fold the two unfilled sides to the center, overlapping them, and place the enchilada folded side down in the baking pan. (If the tortillas are too stiff to fold, you can heat them in the microwave under a damp paper towel or carefully steam them for a few seconds over boiling water.)
- Pour the remaining sauce over enchiladas in pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.
- Top with cheese and reserved green onions and bake until cheese is melted over the top (about 10 more minutes).
Notes
If available, make this recipe more authentic by using Oaxaca cheese (also called quesilla), a white cheese that melts easily with a creamy texture that is often used as filling in Mexican dishes. Queso quesadilla, labeled quesadilla cheese in English, is another creamy white cheese that melts easily.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 621 calCarbohydrates: 21 gProtein: 32 gFat: 46 gSodium: 1306 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 7 g
Cheese & Onion Enchiladas Permalink
Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce
This enchilada sauce is quick and easy to make and is less expensive than store-bought enchilada sauce. Serve it with burritos or enchiladas for a delicious inexpensive meal.
Ingredients
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½-1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- cumin to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes to combine the flavors.
Notes
Nutrition data is for entire recipe.
This easy, made-from-scratch enchilada sauce can be made in bulk and frozen in recipe-sized portions. Simply multiply the recipe by the number of batches you would like to make (use the adjustable serving slider to adjust quantities), then divide the bulk sauce by that same number of portions to freeze. Label as follows:
Homemade Enchilada Sauce Date____________________
Thaw and use in place of canned enchilada sauce. Equals one 15 oz. can enchilada sauce.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 138 calCarbohydrates: 30 gProtein: 7 gFat: 1 gSodium: 2258 mgFiber: 7 gSugar: 18 g
Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce Permalink
Homemade Spanish Rice
Making Spanish rice from scratch is quick and easy.
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 4 cups hot water
- 4 Tbsp. oil
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. cumin, plus more to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place rice in a skillet and brown in the oil over high heat, stirring constantly.
- Once browned, add the hot water. Add the remaining ingredients, place a lid on the skillet, and turn the heat down to low.
- Simmer covered for 20 minutes.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 256 calCarbohydrates: 42 gProtein: 4 gFat: 8 gSodium: 598 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 3 g
🗓️ Day 5
- Apple Cheddar Melts
- Grapes
- Potato Chips
Apple Cheddar Melt
Enjoy the taste of fall with open-faced apple cheddar melts made with crisp apples, crunchy sunflower seeds, and gooey cheddar—a perfect fall lunch.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise
- 4 slices whole wheat bread
- 1 apple
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Toast the bread. While the bread is toasting, cut the apple into thin slices and mix the apple slices with lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- When the toast is ready, spread it with the mayonnaise and layer the apple slices on each piece.
- Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top of the apple slices and top with a slice of cheddar.
- Toast until cheese is melted. Cut into triangles and serve immediately.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 406 calCarbohydrates: 22 gProtein: 14 gFat: 30 gSodium: 382 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 7 g
Apple Cheddar Melt Permalink
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