The Week in Review: September 16-21

Here's a summary of last week's dinner menus:

Sunday:

Red Currant-Glazed Pork Chops; Gratin Dauphinois; Steamed Asparagus; Country Apple Pie

Monday:

All-American Burgers; Onion Rings*; Watermelon

Tuesday:

Teriyaki Turkey Kabobs; Pineapple Rice; Steamed Green Beans (recipes follow)

Wednesday:

Herbed Ham and Vegetable Quiche; Simple Green Salad; Spiced Peach Muffins

Thursday:

Schezuan Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli**; Cantaloupe

Friday:

Grilled Fish Tacos; Corn, Tomato, and Black Bean Salad

*I used frozen onion rings.  Two brands I recommend are: Alexia Onion Rings or Ore Ida Gourmet Onion Rings.  (Ore-Ida makes two styles of onion rings, and the regular ones are not nearly as good as the gourmet ones; in fact, I wouldn't say they're good at all.  They are sold in packaging that is nearly identical, however, so you have to read the label carefully.)

**I made some modifications to this recipe.  I made so many modifications that you might say I didn't actually make this recipe at all.  First of all, I cut it in half, which was more than plenty for four people.  I used 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves, and they took more than 35 minutes to cook -- I would say about 45 minutes.  I still used the whole bunch of broccoli, and I used one whole red pepper, and omitted the yellow one (instead of using 1/2 of a red and 1/2 of a yellow).  I also used linguine instead of spaghetti because I thought it would look nicer.  Then the number of ingredients required to make the sauce started to give me an anxiety attack, so I purchased an 11.5 ounce bottle of House of Tsang Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce and used that instead.  Sorry Ina, I kind of hacked your recipe to pieces.  But everybody still really liked it, and that's all that matters. Right?

Teriyaki Turkey Kabobs

(This is a recipe that has stood the test of time.  I've been making it for almost 20 years and it's still a favorite.)

 

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoon ketchup

1 clove fresh minced garlic

1 ½ lbs. fresh turkey breast, cut into 1 ¼ ”pieces

1 large red pepper

1 large green pepper

1 Vidalia or other sweet onion

1. In a medium bowl combine lemon juice, soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, ketchup, and garlic. Stir in turkey pieces. Cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Cut vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Alternately thread turkey and vegetables on skewers. Bring any remaining marinade to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

3. Grill kabobs for 15 to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with marinade.

Pineapple Rice

 

1 cup long-grain converted white rice

½ teaspoon salt

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons canola oil

1. Cook rice with salt according to package instructions.
2. To cooked rice, add pineapple chunks, scallions, ginger, and oil. Season to taste with pepper and additional salt if needed, and fluff with a fork.