Dinner Magic Menus January Week 1

Hoppin’ John Black Eyed Peas with Corny Corn Bread

Luau Chicken with Rice Pilaf

Lemon Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli

Lean Steak Pinwheels Baked Yam or Potato Green Salad

Garden Vegetable Pizza with a Bread Machine Crust

Chicken Dinner in Foil

All Day Italian Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

Shopping list for the Dinner Magic January Week 1 Menus.

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Get more recipes and menus from my articles as the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner.

All Day Italian Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

This is as close to the traditional, cook all day marinara sauce as you’ll find. I add crushed garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to my sauce to up the protein content. Serve it up with Barilla spaghetti, angel hair, or any other type of pasta you desire. After trying many different boxed pastas, my family seems to prefer Barilla. You may have another favorite brand.

Just an FYI...this recipe makes a full crock pot of sauce. We had it this week, and we had our spaghetti, then I made a Spaghetti Pie with it, I reserved some of the sauce for my Garden Veggie Pizza, and I still had sauce left over to freeze for another meal. Make sure you have plenty of dishes to store the sauce in before you make it!

Ingredients for all day Italian spaghetti sauce

• 1 onion chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon of basil
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of red wine
• 1 can (28 ounces) of tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 ounces) of tomato paste
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and crushed with a potato masher
• 1 small can chopped black olives
• 1 pound of Italian sausage links

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker.
Cook on low all day. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
In the afternoon, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Fry the sausage. Cut on the diagonal into slices and add to the sauce.
Serve the spaghetti with parmesan cheese and sliced black or green olives for topping.

Photo/Foodista

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Find more recipes and menus in my articles as the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner. 

Chicken Dinner in Foil

This dinner can be prepped in the morning and placed in the refrigerator. Just pop it in the oven when you get home from work.

Ingredients for chicken in foil:

• Bottled barbeque sauce
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1 onion, sliced
• 8 new potatoes, cut into quarters
• Salt and pepper

How to make the chicken in foil:
Tear off a 8 large pieces of foil, (about 9x13.)
Spray the foil with cooking spray.
Place the chicken in the center of the foil.
Place the vegetables around the chicken.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour 2 tablespoons of barbeque sauce on top.
Place a second piece of foil on top. Fold the foil and seal it with double folds. Do not fold it too tightly, you don’t want to squish the chicken.
Place the chicken in foil in a baking dish, (just to protect your oven against spills.)
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Check the chicken for doneness. When pierced with a fork, the liquid should be clear.
If needed, cook for another few minutes until the chicken is well done.
Serve with a side salad.

Photo/JSPatchwork on Flickr

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Find more recipes and menus in my articles as the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner. 

Garden Vegetable Pizza with a Bread Machine Whole Wheat Herb Crust

The ingredients for this pizza crust can be placed in the bread machine in the morning before you leave for work. Set a delay setting to have it kneaded and ready to use when you get home. Just put it in a pizza pan, top it with the vegetables of your choice.

The whole wheat crust makes it healthier than pizza you buy. Do you know you can get whole wheat flour now that is as smooth and light as white flour? Look for it on the baking aisle of your store. It costs a bit more, but the flavor and texture is wonderful.

My recipe has you put a teaspoon of cornmeal on the pizza pan. This helps to prevent the pizza dough from sticking to the pan, and adds a crunchy texture to the crust.

Ingredients for the pizza dough:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups of whole wheat flour (this recipe will work with white flour as well)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons Italian herbs (basil, oregano, and thyme)
• 1 package or 2 ½ teaspoons yeast

Preparation of the pizza dough in the bread machine:

• Place all ingredients for the dough in the machine in the order listed.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients to place the yeast into.
• Do not allow the yeast to touch the wet ingredients.
• Set the bread machine to the dough cycle.
• When the dough is done kneading, take it out of the machine and split into two pieces.
• Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then roll out into a 12 inch circle.
• (If you are only making one pizza, you can freeze the ball of dough for up to 2 months.)
• Sprinkle a teaspoon of cornmeal on a pizza pan and place the crust on it.

Topping for one garden vegetable pizza:

• 1 small bottle or can of pizza sauce
• 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of chopped red and green bell peppers and onions
• 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 small jar of artichoke hearts
• 1 cup of baby leaf spinach or broccoli
• ½ cup of tomatoes, chopped

Spread the sauce on the pizza dough.
Top with the vegetables and finish with the cheese.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.


Photo/Aramand Agasi on Flickr

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Find more recipes and menus in my articles as the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner.

Lean Steak Pinwheels

Baked Yam or Potato

Green Salad with Ranch Style Dressing

Ingredients:

• ½ to 1 pound of breakfast steak or flank steak sliced very thin
• 1 cup of fresh baby leaf spinach
• Sliced provolone cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1 potato or small yam per person
• Iceberg lettuce mixed with 1 cup of spinach
• 1 tomato
• 1 grated carrot
• ½ cup of parsley
• Sunflower seeds

Preparation of the lean steak pinwheels:
Cover a baking sheet with foil.
Lay the breakfast steak on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Spread a layer of spinach on the meat and top with a slice of provolone.
Roll the steak up and secure with wooden picks.
Cut into serving side pieces between the picks. There should be about 8 pieces.
Wash the potatoes or yams.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of oil on a small square of foil for each potato.
Wrap the potato in the foil.
Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Bake the steak pinwheels for 15 minutes.
Mix the salad ingredients together. Serve with ranch dressing.

Photo/Fever Blue on Flickr

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Find more recipes and menus with the Sacramento Easy Meals Examiner.

Lemon Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli

This quick dinner satisfies your cravings for rich food, but still is light.

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen cheese ravioli (1 pound package) or make your own ravioli
1 cup of fat free cottage cheese
½ cup of evaporated skim milk
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 small package of frozen broccoli

Preparation:
Cook the ravioli according to package directions in boiling water.
Cook the broccoli in the microwave.
Put the cottage cheese, evaporated skim milk, and parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy.
Drain the ravioli and keep it in the pot. Add the broccoli to the pot.
Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the juice over the ravioli and broccoli.
Stir the creamy sauce into the ravioli and broccoli.
Sprinkle some of the zest of the lemon over the top of the ravioli.
Serve immediately.

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Photo/Wikimedia Commons

Luau Chicken with Rice Pilaf

This little chicken recipe will feed your craving for sweet and sour chicken, but with a fraction of the fat and calories.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins
• ¼ cup of flour
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 can of pineapple chunks (save the juice)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup rice wine vinegar (white vinegar can substitute)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon dry ginger
• 1 large bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
• 2 carrots julienned (shredded)
• 6 mushrooms, quartered
• Rice (leftover from last night, or cook new rice)
• 2 navel oranges

Preparation:
Spray a pan with cooking spray.
Dip the chicken tenderloins in the egg white, then coat in flour and fry until browned. Set aside.
Drain the juice from the pineapple and add enough water to make 1 ¼ cups.
Steam the bell pepper and carrot in the microwave until just crisp tender, about 2 minutes.
Stir the cornstarch, vinegar, sugar, ginger, and soy sauce into the pineapple juice.
Pour the sauce into a pan. Add the bell pepper and 1 carrot.
Simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
Add the chicken to the sauce.
Cook the second carrot in the microwave.
Warm leftover rice from last night in the microwave, or prepare new rice if needed.
Stir one julienned, cooked carrot into the rice.
Serve the Luau Chicken over the rice and carrots.
Slice the oranges and serve them on the side.

Photo/Roboppy on Flickr