Lentil Burgers

Prep:  10 min/Cook:  20 min/Serves: 6

Ingredient List

6 1/2 oz dry lentils

1 1/4 cup water   

1 item Vegetable Bouillon Cube

 1/2 medium uncooked carrot

 1/2 rib uncooked celery, chopped   

 1 medium uncooked onion,chopped   

1 tsp dried oregano   

1/2 tsp dried thyme   

1 1/2 cup dried plain bread crumbs   

1 tsp olive oil   

6 burger rolls 

 Instructions

Combine lentils, water, bouillon cube, carrots, celery, onion, oregano and thyme in a saucepan. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup bread crumbs. Shape mixture into 6 patties and sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs.

Heat oil in a nonstick pan, add patties and cook until browned on both sides. Serve patties on rolls.

Pasta alla Vodka

Prep:  15 min/Cook:  14 min/Serves: 4

Ingredient List

1 tsp olive oil   

2 clove garlic, minced   

1/2 tsp dried tarragon   

 14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes   

 8 oz canned tomato sauce   

2 oz vodka

1 tsp cornstarch   

 1/2 cup fat-free skim milk   

1/4 cup basil, fresh, chopped   

8 oz fusilli cooked to box direction

 Instructions

Cook pasta to box instruction. Set aside and keep hot.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add tarragon and stir to coat. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and vodka; simmer 10 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in milk and whisk until blended. Add mixture to skillet and simmer 1 minute, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Transfer pasta to four individual shallow bowls. Pour vodka sauce over top and serve hot.

Pork Chops with Apple Cider Sauce

Prep:  17 min/Cook:  25 min/Serves: 4

Ingredient List

 1 pound uncooked red potatoes

3/4 pound uncooked cabbage, cut into wedges   

2 tsp canola oil   

1 pound lean boneless pork chop, four chops   

2 1/2 Tbsp dill

3/4 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

 1 medium fresh apple, cut into 12 wedges   

1 1/4 cup chicken broth   

1/2 cup apple cider   

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour   

 1/4 cup uncooked scallion, sliced   

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard   

Instructions

Fill a large, deep skillet with a small amount of water; set a steamer basket on top and bring to a boil. Steam potatoes until almost tender, about 6 minutes. Add cabbage wedges and steam until potatoes and cabbage are both tender, about 3 to 4 minutes more. Drain and remove potatoes and cabbage to a serving platter; cover to keep warm.

Drain and carefully dry skillet. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with 1 tablespoon dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; gently press to adhere seasonings to pork.
Add pork to skillet and cook, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes; remove to serving platter.
Add apples to skillet; sauté 1 minute. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together broth, cider, flour and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add broth mixture to skillet and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in scallions; simmer until sauce is slightly thickened and apples are tender, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in mustard and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons dill.
 Lift apples with a slotted spoon onto platter; spoon sauce over top and garnish with remaining chopped dill or dill sprigs.

Greek Eggplant and Chicken Casserole

Prep:  25 min/Cook:  75 min/Serves: 8

Ingredient List

cooking spray   

2 medium uncooked eggplant cut into slices length-wise

table salt or Kosher   

 1 pound uncooked extra lean ground chicken breast   

 1 cup onion, sliced

2 clove garlic clove minced   

2 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped   

1/3 tsp dried parsley   

1/3 tsp chives, dried   

1/3 tsp dried tarragon   

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon   

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg   

1/2 tsp table salt   

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

 28 oz canned diced tomatoes   

2 Tbsp canned tomato paste   

6 oz grated parmesan

[And to tell you the truth I never measure the herbs when it comes to cooking (when baking ALWAYS MEASURE)]

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle with the table/Kosher salt; let stand 20 minutes to draw out moisture.
Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; set pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until browned, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 3 minutes more. Add fresh parsley, dried herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper; stir to coat. Cook until herbs and spices are fragrant. about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
Off heat, coat surface of same skillet with cooking spray; set pan over medium-high heat. Wipe salt from eggplant slices with paper towel and add eggplant to hot skillet. Cook, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
Arrange half of eggplant slices on bottom of prepared baking pan, slightly overlapping pieces to cover entire surface of pan. Top eggplant with chicken mixture; top with some of the grated topping. Top with remaining eggplant slices and remaining of the grated topping.
Bake until top is golden brown and filling is hot, about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, slice into 8 pieces and serve.

A bit behind

This is "late" I know. But this is this weeks menu:

Monday:Greek Eggplant and Chicken Casserole

Tuesday: Pork Chops with Apple Cider Sauce

Wednesday: Fajitas (no recipie)

Thursday: Pasta Alla Vodka

Friday: Lentil Burgers

Saturday: Fish and Chips (no recipie)

Sunday: Easter dinner...still working on this day


My goal will be to post the weekly menu with recipes on Sunday and then post a picture hopefully by the end of the night of that meal with some extra comments. This might change, but I will always try to get a picture..my picture not some fancy professional one that leaves you deflated when yours doesn't come out that way.

Purpose Statement

I am also a grad student so forgive me for the title. But really I do want to explain why I am doing this, what I hope to do with it, and how this will hopefully be set up.

First though let me explain the name. Dinner Something. It's a bit of a joke with my husband and I. I didn't always plan dinner. Most nights it was, what we call, Chicken Something. Which was a fancy way of saying chicken with some seasoning. Every night the seasoning would change...maybe. Anyway it was getting old fast and well we were getting tired of spending a lot of money at the store for little turn around. I was also getting tired of spending all that time at the store. I hate food shopping. But we all have to do it. Then one day I just got this idea....and well it works.

Every Sunday I sit down and plan out a weeks worth of dinners. Then I create a grocery list for the dinners (then add all the things that are not dinner related) and then go food shopping. It's that simple. I have a great little food list thing I got from Target. The link for it is at the end. Its just a preprinted grocery list that you can just check off what you need. The back is blank that that's where I write out the menu. Keeps it all together.

My format for planning is the same every week and serves a purpose in our home. Let me explain. Monday night is always a casserole. Casseroles make great leftovers. Now guess who's husband doesn't need to make a lunch for the rest of the week? Tuesday and Wednesday nights are flexible. Some Tuesday nights I'm not home so something easy on these nights is the norm. Thursday night is a pasta night. My husband has PT (military workout) Friday mornings so he likes the carbs. Friday tends to be a vegetarian meal (it keeps us from overloading on meats and when Lent rolls around we are already a head of the game). Saturday and Sunday are also flexible nights.

This is a flexible menu. Nothing is ever set in stone. We will move one day, PT day will change. It's fine. So allow for this to be a guide and not your be all to end all. These are also just the main meals and not the sides so you will need to plan for those based on your own tastes.

This is also not a cooking lesson so if you are not a great chef...sorry I can't help you. I will post our menu for the week as well as the recipes and if I remember the pictures of the meals after they have been cooked. Remember I am not a professional chef so these are not my own recipes they are ones I have found. Many are Weight Watcher approved (and if they have a points value I will try to remember to post them as well.) I also bake cupcakes (not Weight Watcher approved) and I will post them from time to time.

Well that's it I think I covered it all. If you have any questions along the way let me know. If nothing else lets dig in.

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