December 2013 Menu & Recipes for Wednesday Swappers
Choice: Jenica- Lucy’s Ham Sandwiches
1 stick of butter
1 T mustard
1 T worcestershire
2 T brown sugar
1 T poppy seeds
Small buns
Ham
Swiss cheese
Prep Day Directions: Bring butter, mustard, worcestershire, brown sugar and poppy seeds to a boil in a saucepan. Set aside. Make sandwiches with small buns, ham, and swiss cheese. I use Hawaiian Sweet Rolls because I think they’re delicious. Place sandwiches in baking dish.
Serve Day Directions: Pour sauce over the sandwiches. Cover and marinate in fridge for 24 hours or overnight. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes covered then 10 minutes uncovered
Bridget- sesame steak
1.5 pounds rump roast sliced into strips 1/2 c soy sauce
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. ginger
3 Tbsp honey
Prep Day Directions: Combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well with a small whisk to distribute honey. Pour marinade into a labeled freezer bag. Add steak strips, Squeeze air out, seal and freeze.
Serve Day Directions: Thaw meat in the marinade for 24 hours in fridge. Grill, broil or sauté meat and serve over rice. (I thought because the strips were kind of skinny it would be best to saute, and you could add peppers or onions as well).
North American/European:
Ashley B- Swedish meatballs
Makes 200 (for about 40 people)
4 lbs lean beef
2 lbs lean pork
2 cups bread crumbs (dry)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons allspice
1/4 cup butter
lingonberries
Prep Day Directions: Combine ingredients, mix throughly. make small balls ( quarter size) and place on jelly roll pan that has been greased with 1/4 cup of butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Put under broiler for a minute or two if they need more browning. Remove from heat. Allow to cool, then freeze in aluminum pan. Optional gravy, drain drippings from meat into large skillet. blend flour and 2 cups water or milk and stir until thick and smooth. or get 2 bags of ikea meatballs and call it a day.
Serve Day Directions: Cook meatballs from frozen. Add 1/2 inch of water to bottom of pan. Bake at 300 for 20-30 minutes or until rewarmed (meatballs are already cooked). Make noodles, rice or mashed potatoes according to directions. Top with meatballs. Serve with lingonberries and/or gravy.
Kirsten-Slow cooker bacon ranch chicken
2 lb chicken, cut into strips
1/4 cup crumbled bacon pieces
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
5 cups wide egg noodles
Prep Day Directions: Cut chicken, mix all other ingredients (except noodles) and coat over chicken in ziplock bag.
Serve Day Directions: Thaw chicken, place contents of ziplock into a greased crock pot. Cook on low for 4-5 hrs. Shred the chicken and serve over cooked egg noodles.
Italian/Mediterrean:
Ashley K- Gnocchi Kielbasa soup
1 turkey kielbasa (fully cooked)
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup onions
1 tsp thyme
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas
1 package potato gnocchi
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Prep Day: Slice kielbasa into pieces. Chop carrots, celery, and onions. Combine kielbasa, carrots, celery, onions, thyme, chicken broth, and water into freezer bag. Freeze. Put peas into separate bag and freeze.
Serve Day: Thaw all frozen bags. Put freezer bag with soup into crockpot and stir in the cream of mushroom. Cook on low for 6 hours or until carrots are tender. Add gnocchi and peas and cook for another 30 minutes. You can also simmer soup for 1 and a half hours on stove and add peas and gnocchi for an additional 30 minutes.
Nicole- Italian Sausage skillet
1 pound(s) sweet and/or hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into thirds (Cut at Everett’s)
1 pound(s) small red potatoes, each cut in half
1 large (about 1 pound) onion, cut into 12 wedges
2 red and/or yellow peppers, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces (used Trader Joe’s tricolor bag)
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
Prep Day Directions: Cook potatoes. Put cooked potatoes, onions and peppers in one bag. Sausage in another bag.
Serve Day Directions: Thaw in fridge. Heat until meat is cooked and potato/pepper/onion is heated with one tablespoon of olive oil.
Asian/Indian:
Kellie- Chicken Pad Thai
1/2 rotisserie chicken cut into small pieces
1 box linguine or angel hair pasta
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup cilantro
1 cup peanuts
Prep Day Directions: Put carrots, green onions, cilantro and chicken in a bag. Wisk together sesame oil, peanut oil, soy sauce and honey and place in chicken mixture and seal (bag 1 of 3). Label bag of peanuts (bag 2 of 3), and label pasta (3 of 3)
Serve Day Directions: Thaw chicken bag. Make pasta and add chicken mixture to hot pasta. Serve, garnish with peanuts Note: I completely omited any red pepper flakes so if you want it spicy, you can add your own.
Kristine- Tangy pork chops with honey curry
6 pork loins chops,approx. 1 inch think
3 slices bacon, diced
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 T honey
1 T curry powder
2 t. chili powder
Prep Day: Cook bacon in skillet until lightly brown. Add onion and garlic; saute’ until tender. Stir in soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, curry powder, and chili powder. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow sauce to stand for 1 hour until flavors are blended. Place pork chops in freezer bag and add sauce.
Serve Day: Thaw Completely. Drain pork chops and save marinade. Place chops on broiling pan and place in oven, 4 inches from heat. Broil 10-12 flip and broil 10-15 or until desired doneness. Brush chops frequently with marinade. Pork chops may also be grilled.
SouthWestern/Latin American:
Erin- Southwest Burritos
Prep Day: Slice steak into strips, place in gallon size freezer bag. Into each freezer bag, add Sprite, lime juice, Tequila, pepper, garlic, oregano, cumin, and cilantro. Slice onions and place into quart size freezer bag.
Serve Day: Thaw burrito kit *I did not add the crushed red pepper, so if you would like it in the marinade, add it now. Remove meat from marinade; do not discard marinade. Heat a large skillet or cast-iron pot over medium-high heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the pan lightly. Add meat and stir constantly. When meat is almost done, add onions and continue stirring. Serve in hot tortillas with toppings (cheese and salsa provided)
Emily- Salsa Verde Pork
Adapted from groceryshrink.com
2.5 lb pork shoulder
15 oz salsa verde
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups chicken broth
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
6 tortilla
Prep Day Directions: Place pork in bag and freeze. Combine remaining ingredients. Label and freeze. Freeze tortillas.
Serve Day Directions: Thaw bags. Put pork in slow cooker season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over it, and cook low 7-9hrs. Shred with fork and serve on tortilla.
Next Swap: Will be at Kirsten’s house on 1/08/14 at 8:30pm. Please submit your finished recipe to the blog on the Monday before swap. Thanks for your cooperation!
January 2014 Rotation:
Your Choice – Emily and Erin
North American/European – Bridget and Jenica
Italian/Mediterranean – Kirsten and Ashley B.
Asian/Indian – Nicole and Ashley K.
Southwestern/Latin American – Kristine and Kellie
Northerly Nosh 