Menu Plan Monday: Stir-Fry Madness

Menu Plan Monday

I’ll admit it, Josh and I loaded up on good quality meat at Costco and are branching out from our usual chicken and turkey go-to’s.  We are quite excited about it, as we treated ourselves to some beef and shrimp!!

• Monday: Costco Pizza…that’s right.
• Tuesday: Honey & Orange Shrimp with Udon Noodles
• Wednesday: Mexican Lettuce Wraps with fresh guacamole
• Thursday: Beef Stir-Fry & fried rice
• Friday: BBQ at a friend’s!!  I’m bringing German Potato Salad & Chocolate Bread Pudding
• Saturday: Dinner at a friend’s or left-overs
• Sunday: Crock Pot Chicken, Apples, & Rosemary with brown rice or egg noodles

Honey & Orange Shrimp with Udon Noodles

These udon noodles are delicious and soften up in minutes!

• 1 1/2 # peeled & deveined shrimp
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c fresh orange juice
• 2T soy sauce
• 2T honey
• 1T rice wine vinegar
• 1t chile paste with garlic
• 2T oil
• 1T peeled, minced ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 c chopped green onions
• 2 pkgs. ready to wok Udon noodles

Coat shrimp with cornstarch, toss well, and set aside.  Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.  Heat oil in a wok (or large skillet) over med-hi heat.  Add ginger and garlic, stir-frying for for 15 seconds, careful not to scorch.  Add shrimp mixture, stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Add sauce and green onions.  Cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Finally, add udon noodles and stir-fry a few minutes or until noodles are soft.

Beef Stir-Fry & Fried Rice

• 1/2 t salt
• 2/3 c beef broth
• 2T cornstarch
• 3T soy sauce
• 2T honey
• 1# beef (or chicken or pork)
• 1T oil
• 2 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 c thinly sliced onion
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 c sugar snap peas
• 1 c chopped red bell pepper

Combine broth, 1T cornstarch (reserving the other T), 2 T soy sauce (reserving other T), and honey in a small bowl.  Then, combine beef (meat) and remaining cornstarch and soy sauce in a different bowl, tossing well to coat.  Heat 2 t oil in a wok (or large nonstick pan) over med-hi heat.  Saute meat until browned and almost done and then remove.  Add remaining 1t oil to pan.  Add mushrooms and onion, saute for 2 min.  Stir in ginger and garlic, saute for 30 sec.  Add peas and bell pepper to pan, saute for 1 min.  Add reserved broth mixture to pan.  Bring to a boil, and cook 1 min or until thick, stirring constantly.

Fried Rice

• 1 1/2 c basmati rice
• 3 c chicken broth
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c finely chopped onion
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 c finely chopped carrot
• 2T butter with minced garlic mixed in
• 2T soy sauce
• 1T sesame seeds

Cook rice in broth.  Right when it’s finishing cooking, scramble the egg in a wok over med-hi heat.  Then, add vegetables and maybe a wee bit of sesame oil (any oil will do) to cook just a bit.  Then, add rice and mix it all up, trying to toast up the rice.  Add garlic butter and mix well.  Then, add soy sauce and sesame seeds.  Keep toasting up the rice and then serve!

German Potato Salad {courtesy Grandma Malone via Phyllis Malone}

• 3 or 4 good sized potatoes
• 1 to 2 sliced small red onions
• 2-3 stalks of celery sliced
• 1/4 # bacon
• 1/2 c water
• 1/2 c vinegar
• 1t sugar

Boil your potatoes, but make sure they don’t get too soggy so that they’ll stand up in the salad.  You have several options- you can peel them if you’d like, and you can either chop or slice them.  (I’m thinking of doing red potatoes, skin on, and chopped)

Chop and fry the bacon.  Then add the water, vinegar, and sugar.

Finally, mix it all together and season with S&P as you like.  Leave at room temp until serving time.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Chocolate Bread Pudding

I use Paula Deen’s recipe.  However, it is essential that you cut the amount of extracts. Only use 1/2 t (as in teaspoon) vanilla extract and 1/4 t (teaspoon) almond extract.  I cut the alcohol because I’m cheap (& prudish, I suppose…honestly it’s just that I am not going to spend 12 GBP on something that goes in a dessert).  Also, it’s always good measure to throw in extra chocolate chips.

I really like this recipe because it makes a ton, and is easy to serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream (or, ideally, both!)

Apple & Onion Chicken with Rosemary

• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 bone-in chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom
• 1 can chicken broth
• a handful of Rosemary
• Egg noodles or brown rice

Core, peel, and slice apples.  Slice onions.  Lay both on bottom of crockpot.  Then, place chicken on top of apples and onions.  Then, add soup and broth.  Sprinkle with Rosemary.  Cook all day.  If too runny, thicken with cornstarch last 30 minutes.  Serve over hot egg noodles or brown rice.  I really like it with the rice.

For more great menus, be sure to check out OrgJunkie!

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