MONDAY

French Onion Soup

This was actually made last month and frozen; the recipe is from 3 In Under 3.  Almost exactly a year ago she made it for a soup exchange she had, called a Soup-her Bowl Party. Clever, no?

• 5 lbs onions, unpeeled
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 7 (16 ounce) cans beef broth, divided
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour or instant flour caramel coloring (optional) or Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• French baguettes
• swiss or gruyere cheese

Peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick, preferably in a food processor. Melt butter in a 6-quart (or larger) stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper, paprika and bay leaf; saute over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. Pour in 6 cans broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Dissolve flour in remaining 1 can broth. Stir into boiling soup. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours. Adjust color to a rich brown with caramel coloring, season with salt. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat soup in microwave or on stove top. If desired, pour into ovenproof crocks or bowls. Top with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes.

Corned Beef Sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls.  I have some sliced corned beef in the freezer that I will be using for this.

Some variety of Green Giant Frozen Vegetables I have about 20 of in my freezer. 

TUESDAY

• 2 tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1⁄4 tsp. cayenne
• 12 cloves garlic
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 bone-in skin-on pork picnic shoulder (about 8 lbs.)
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

1. Toast cumin and peppercorns in a skillet over medium heat, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a small food processor along with oregano, cayenne, garlic, and 1 tbsp. salt; process to a paste. Cut about twenty-five 1 1⁄2-wide slits in the pork about 1 deep. Rub garlic paste all over pork, pressing it into slits. Transfer pork to a roasting pan. Whisk together orange juice, lime juice, oil, and 2 tbsp. salt in a bowl; pour over pork. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 18-24 hours.

2. Remove pork from refrigerator 2 hours before you are ready to roast, to allow it to come to room temperature. Heat oven to 325°. Roast, basting every 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of pork registers 160°, about 3 hours total. (Add 1 cup water to pan when liquid evaporates; cover loosely with foil if skin gets too dark.) Let rest for 15 minutes, then carve and serve.

This recipe is from Saveur.

 Saffron Orzo

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 pound dried orzo
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, bringing the stock to a simmer. Add the saffron, stir, and allow the saffron to bloom, about 5 minutes. Return the heat to medium and the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain orzo and transfer to a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Toss to combine.

This is part of a recipe from “Everyday Italian” I saw last week on the Food Network.

Mixed Greens Salad with my husband’s new favorite dressing; T Marzetti Light Honey Dijon

WEDNESDAY

Monterey Jack Burgers

• 3/4 lb ground chicken
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup monterey jack cheese
• 4 slices turkey bacon
• 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
• 1 tomato, sliced

COOK BACON SEPARATELY AND SET ASIDE. Mix together chicken, onion, soy, ketchup, garlic, pepper and cheese. Mix together and form into patties. Grill or fry in pan. Put on bun add 1 strip bacon and slice of tomato.

This recipe is from Recipezaar.

Refried Beans and Meijer Organic Blue Corn Chips.  I had these at a party a few weeks ago and they were SO good. I love the ingredient list: organic corn, expelled sunflower oil, organic sesame seeds, salt. 

Black Bean and Corn Salad.  Recipe is here.

And… a special desert. You’ll hear more about this on Wednesday

THURSDAY

Tater, Ham and Egg Range Top Bake.  Recipe is here, except I am currently somewhat obsessed with making my own hash browns.  The last recipe I used didn’t work so well, and I am on the look-out for a new one.

Blueberry Muffins

• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. oatmeal
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 c. blueberries, washed. I’m finally using some from this summer that are in the freezer.
• 1 egg
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• nonstick spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in blueberries. In another bowl, break the egg and use a fork to beat it just a little bit. Then add the milk and vegetable oil, and mix. Add this mixture to the first mixture in the large bowl. Using a mixing spoon, mix about 25 or 30 times. Don’t mix too much! Your muffin mixture should be lumpy, not smooth.
Line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Spoon in the muffin mix. Fill each muffin cup about two thirds of the way up.
Bake for about 20 minutes.
When muffins are finished baking, remove from muffin tin and cool them on a wire rack. 
 

This recipe is from KidsHealth.

Fresh Fruit

FRIDAY

Top Sirloin Steaks with Quick Garlic Pan Sauce

• 4 (6-ounce) top sirloin steaks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon butter

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and when hot, but not smoking, carefully add steaks. Cook on both sides, turning once, until desired doneness is reached (internal temperature of 140°F for medium). Remove steaks and hold warm. Add garlic to pan and sauté until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, scraping the pan to remove any browned bits. Simmer until sauce reduces by half, about 4 minutes. Finish with butter, swirling into sauce until slightly thickened. Pour over steaks and serve. This recipe is from Cooks Recipes. crusty bread with Dellalo Olive Bruschetta (which was on sale at Horrocks a few weeks ago)

Green Beans (frozen this summer) with honey and soy sauce. 

Sorry, I don’t know the recipe. I just boil the green beans in a little water, but not until they get mushy. Then I put a little soy sauce and some honey and a little bit of sea salt and mix it up.  It doesn’t need to cook longer; just stay in the pan long enough to heat the honey to melting.

For more Menu Plan Monday, head over to “I’m an Organizing Junkie!”.