Weekly Dinner Recap #5 - all the sparkle

Not a super exciting week but there were a few interesting recipes to share…

Sunday – Puffed Apple Pancake

Monday – Out

Took a surprise overnight trip to Virginia Beach and got to stop by Fresh Market for dinner! I picked up half of a honey roasted chicken with fresh cornbread and their amazing cranberry chutney. It was FABULOUS. I wish we had more interesting grocery stores around here…*sigh*

Tuesday – Spaghetti and Meatballs

Monday’s trip was literally about a 16 hour round-trip so I was pretty wiped out by the time I got home just in time to teach group lessons. Luckily we had some frozen spaghetti sauce and meatballs to throw together for a quick meal. It’s just about time for me to make another batch of sauce…

Wednesday – Chicken and Apricot Slow-cooker Stew

I adapted an old recipe of my mom’s for my slowcooker and was thrilled that it turned out beautifully. It’ll definitely be a keeper. I believe it’s from Cooking Light but I’ve changed quite a bit of the ingredients over the last few years and these are the adjustments I made for the slowcooker.

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs (cut the breasts into pieces similar in size to the thighs)
2 tbs oil
1 sweet onion, cut in wedges
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 dried apricots, cut into quarters
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and divided into 1/4 cup measurements
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp ginger
4 tbs honey
2 cups of chicken stock

Heat oil in a skillet and brown chicken pieces. Then add the chicken to the slowcooker and add the rest of the ingredients (only 1/4 cup of almonds). Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with couscous or rice and garnish with toasted almonds. It’s not the prettiest of meals but it’s really flavorful and perfect for a chilly night! And as a bonus, it smells fantastic as it’s cooking all day!

Thursday – Cheesy Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole with Popovers

I adapted this recipe from a breakfast casserole recipe that I received from one of our church members. The recipe calls for little pieces of torn bread that soak up the beaten eggs and make a custardy breakfast dish. I wanted to make popovers so I didn’t want the extra bread in the recipe. Instead I layered thawed hash brown potatoes on the bottom of the dish and it ended up more like a frittata but was quite tasty.

4 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb loose sausage, cooked and drained
1 small onion, chopped and sauteed
1 cup of cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup of thawed hash brown potatoes
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
dash of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Layer potatoes on the bottom of the dish then put the sausage and onion on top. In a small bowl mix the beaten eggs with 1/2 cup of cheese, milk, and the spices. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and sausage layers then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the center is cooked through. Serve warm.

Friday – Pork Katsudon

Another family favorite but it’s not terribly healthy so it’s a rare treat.

1/2 lb pork cutlet, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 1/2 cups short-grain rice
2 onions, sliced
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
4 slices ginger
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, to taste
2-3 cups panko
1 egg, for broth
peanut oil, for frying

Prepare rice and set aside to keep warm. Saute onions until golden brown then simmer onions, broth, mirin, soy, and seasonings in a large pan over low heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a plate and pour panko in another plate. Dredge pork in flour, dip into eggs, dip into panko— then dip into eggs again and back into panko. Double dipping insures a nice crust but that extra step can be skipped. Fry in oil until browned on both sides, drain on paper towels. Keep pork warm in a 175F oven until all the pork is ready. Add beaten egg to simmering broth and let cook. Slice pork and arrange over rice. Pour broth on and around pork.