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This Week’s Menu – If There Ever Was A Week To Bake Cookies

This Week’s Menu – If There Ever Was A Week To Bake Cookies

If you’re trapped at home, there is absolutely no reason to NOT bake cookies. It keeps the kids busy for a few minutes AND works as a reward/treat for you them to make it through another day. Oh, and I guess you need to eat actual meals, too. Everything this week comes with lots of suggestions to use what you’ve got instead of taking an extra trip to the store.

P.S. My apologies for the abhorrent pictures this week. Working under these new guidelines is really screwing with my photo session mojo.

How To Use This Week’s Menu

Time is meaningless these days, but I think I would start the week with the Caprese Pasta with Lots of Veggies. Maybe double the batch to eat one and freeze the other for next week.

Use the rest of your veggies to make the Cashew Chicken with Rice on another night. Perhaps pick up some edamame or frozen eggrolls at the grocery and pretend it’s Chinese takeout.

Make the Personal Pan Pizzas for movie night. One bonus of working/living/never leaving from home is that you can prep pizza dough in the middle of a weekday. Get it started around lunchtime for a fun dinner activity. You’ll get two decent sized pizzas out of this recipe, so you can let everyone top their portion with their favorites.

Finally, we have the world’s best Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe makes perfect bakery-style, gigantic cookies. Prep the dough the day before you want to bake (if you can stand it). Then bake half the dough that day and freeze the rest. Then you can have fresh baked cookies when the first half runs out.

[[ recipeID=recipe-8ldav8y7j, title=Caprese Pasta with Lots of Veggies ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8ldavielm, title=Cashew Chicken with Rice ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8ldawdwfj, title=Personal Pan Pizzas ]]

[[ recipeID=recipe-8ldawm235, title=Chocolate Chip Cookies ]]

 

Posted on January 24, 2023
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Caprese Pasta with Lots of Veggies

I love to make this pasta dish with zucchini and cherry tomatoes, especially when I can pick them straight from the garden, but it's also great with whatever you have on hand – peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions, or even a handful of spinach would be great!

Servings:

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  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 12 oz pasta
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 zucchini diced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup pesto
  • 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 leaves basil to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat over to 350°F. Cook pasta as directed.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Add the zucchini and cherry tomatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until zucchini is browned and tomatoes are blistered, around 6 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce, heavy cream, balsamic vinegar, and pesto. Let simmer for a minute or two, then stir in the pasta and 3 oz of mozzarella.
  3. Serve immediately, topped with the rest of the shredded mozzarella or package in a greased casserole pan for freezing.
  4. TO SERVE FROM FROZEN: Thaw in the fridge overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Notes

- Please don’t buy heavy cream just for this dish. Instead, use milk or skip this ingredient all together.

- Same for fresh basil. If you have it on hand, it will really elevate this dish, but a sprinkling of Italian seasoning or straight up dried basil can do the trick in a pinch.

- I like a medium sized pasta like rotini, penne, or bow-tie for this dish.

 

MEAT LOVERS

- Italian sausage would be delish! 

- Did you buy pepperoni to make the Personal Pan Pizzas? Cut the leftovers into quarters and add them to this mix, too.

 

VEGGIE LOVERS AND CARB CONSCIOUS

- Add as much veggies as you wish. This can bulk up the entrée to feed more people or replace these added veggies for some of the pasta. 


Cashew Chicken with Rice

A healthy version of a Chinese takeout staple combining loads of fresh veggies with a simple simmer sauce and, of course, the crunch of cashews.

Servings:

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  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup rice

SAUCE

  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp sriracha

Stir-Fry

  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-in cubes
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3 cups broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large carrots thinly sliced rounds
  • 1 red pepper chopped

GARNISH

  • ½ cup cashews chopped
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • sriracha (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a small sauce pan or rice cooker, prepare the rice according to the package directions.
  2. Stir together all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch and salt. Pat the chicken dry and cut into cubes. Add chicken cubes to the cornstarch mixture, tossing to coat. Set aside and prepare the vegetables.
  4. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once warm add the neutral and sesame oils. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes or until lightly browned but not cooked all the way through. Lower heat to medium and add the broccoli, carrots, and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until the vegetables are barely tender and the chicken is done, stirring frequently.
  5. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Cook for a minute more. Taste and add more salt is necessary. Serve over the rice. Garnish with cashews, green onion, and, if desired, sriracha.

Notes

VEGGIE LOVERS

- Your favorite Asian-inspired veggies will go great in this stir-fry. Add more to bulk up the recipe.

- Frozen veggies will work in a pinch.

 

NUT-FREE

- Skip the nuts. 😉

 

GLUTEN-FREE

- Exchange tamari or coconut aminos for the soy sauce. (Be delicate with coconut aminos – it’s much more flavorful than traditional soy sauce.)


Personal Pan Pizzas

Plan on this dinner ahead of time. It doesn't take a ton of work, but you do need time for the dough to rise. Create a couple pizzas with your favorite toppings or have a build-your-own pizza party!

Servings:

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  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 0 mins
  • Total Time: 0 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

PIZZA DOUGH

  • 1 ⅓ cups warm water
  • 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
  • 3 ½ cups flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar optional

PIZZA TOPPINGS

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • ½ cup pepperoni, thinly sliced
  • 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 green pepper diced

Instructions

  1. Combine warm water and active dry yeast in a large bowl of your mixer. Let sit until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the flour, olive oil, salt, and optional sugar and mix by hand, or on a low speed for 1 minute. If too sticky, add more flour. Knead for 10 minutes, or use the dough hook on a medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl and lightly coat with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1½ hours.
  3. Place two cast-iron skillets in the oven and preheat to 500°F.
  4. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap for 10-15 minutes. Roll and stretch each dough ball into a circle. Carefully remove the skillets from the oven and drizzle 1 tbsp of the olive oil into each skillet. Swirl around to coat. Transfer the dough into the skillet, pressing the dough up the edges and top with sauce. Next, place the toppings (pepperoni and green peppers) over the sauce and top with cheese. Brush the exposed dough with the remaining olive oil and back on the bottom rack until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.

Notes

- If you don’t feel like making the dough, search out 1 lb dough balls from the grocery store or your favorite pizza place. Follow the instructions on the package when it comes to refridgeration and rising times.

- No cast iron skillets? No problem! Round cake pans or pie plates work in a pinch. Be careful with the high oven temperatures, particularly if using glass. Maybe skip the preheat step.

- If you have access to it, Penzey’s Frozen Pizza spice takes the taste over the top!

Use whatever toppings you like, just be sure not to overwhelm your dough with too much.

- Use fancy pizza sauce if you want, but I find the regular jars of Classico to work just fine and then I’m ready for spaghetti night, too.

 

GLUTEN-FREE

- Our favorite, King Arthur, has a recipe for gluten-free pizza crust. Give it a whirl or look for a pre-made dough at your grocer.


Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello. My name is Maggie and I have a chocolate chip cookie problem. I have tried ALL the recipes on the search to cure my addiction. This one is darn near perfect. Try it and let me know if you agree.


The perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. The end.

Servings: 24 cookies

Keywords:

  • Prep Time: 0 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

  • 2 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 ¼ cups brown sugar lightly packed
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs. Add in salt and baking powder and 1 cup of flour. Stir on low to combine. Add the additional two cups of flour and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  2. Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls using a large cookie scoop and lay out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.
  3. TO FREEZE THE DOUGH: Once the cookie dough balls are firm, you can put them in a freezer-safe storage bag and freeze. Place on the counter 10-20 minutes before baking to take the chill off.
  4. WHEN IT'S TIME TO BAKE: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Let dough sit at room temperature while the oven preheats and drop onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes

Store baked cookies in a cookie jar for up to five days. Pop in the microwave or oven for a quick zap to get that fresh from the oven flavor.