Menu of the Week

 

Another week of delicious meals brought to you by Home with Mandy! We began our week with one of Jim's most favorite sandwiches, the Marlboro Man Sandwich. I created a copy cat recipe from a local restaurant - probably cost me a quarter of the price to recreate. Lots of great ideas this week, enjoy!



 

 

Sunday: Marlboro Man Sandwich

There has never been a more "man pleasing" sandwich as this one from Pioneer Woman. Jim loves it and it's super easy to pull together.

 



Monday: Scallops in Asiago Mornay Sauce with Onion Potatoes and Asparagus
Jim and I had a nice dinner out and I ordered this dish for around $26. It was delicious and as I was eating it I kept saying to myself, I can do this?!? So I did. I tasted and took notes to myself on how they may have created it. I'm pretty sure I got raised eyebrows and a "wow" from Jim when he tasted my version the following week - for a fraction of the cost.

Be sure to buy sea scallops, the larger of the two options at most grocery stores. I made an asiago mornay sauce by first creating a roux and adding milk and shredded asiago cheese. I seared the scallops quickly and then covered in my cheese sauce and put under the broiler to continue to cook and brown for two minutes. Done. Don't overthink this, don't overcook the scallops. The onion potatoes were made my boiling new potatoes and mashing with caramelized onions, milk, salt and pepper. I cooked the asparagus on the stove top in a pan with a little olive oil.

Tuesday: Butter Chicken with Carrots, Zucchini and Rice

I used a pre-made jar of Butter Chicken sauce from the Indian food section of my grocery store. I wanted to try something new and this was a quick way to introduce my family to flavors from Delhi, India and get dinner on the table fast. With jarred sauces like this you add the veggies and proteins you want and let is simmer until the meat is cooked through. This mildly spicy curry dish was served over white rice to help fill everyone up.

Wednesday: Salmon with Tarragon Leek Sauce over Smashed Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus
I'm always looking for a new way to cook Salmon and this tarragon leek sauce caught my eye. This tasted rich and was yummy but the leeks were expensive and it was a lot of work for what the result was. I would recommend serving this for a dinner party, but it wasn't "wow" enough for a Wednesday in my opinion.  I'm looking for easy, fast and big flavors.

The leeks are sautéed in butter, deglaze pan with vermouth (or white wine like I did), add cream, parsley and tarragon.

Unlike the recipe, I put my salmon in the oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes. I added the asparagus to the same pan to save me time.

One thing I would do differently is to add chicken stock to the sauce so it would be thinner and that might also cut down on the richness and add more flavor.

Friday: Homemade Pizza with Garlic Knots
These are no ordinary garlic knot, I took a can of biscuits and stretched each one around an inch of string mozzarella cheese, then pinched closed and placed seam side down on my baking sheet. While they baked in the oven according to the package temp and time, I melted some butter in a small saucepan and added a healthy pinch of Italian herb blend, chopped garlic and salt.

As soon as these came out of the oven, I brushed liberally with the seasoned butter. These are warm and gooey and help "stretch" a meal if the entrée is light. In this case I made one pizza and served the whole family, so these helped fill every one up.

Saturday: Fried Pork Chops with Kale Salad
My dear husband added this meal to the list himself. As I start to cook meals that all four of us will eat, I was asking Jim about his favorite childhood food. He remembered loving his Dad's Fried Pork Chops so we texted Grandpa to ask how he made them. Lucky for me, these were tasty and easy to make. I treated this much as I do pot roast. Season the meat with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, then dust with flour. Fry in a skillet in a quarter of an inch of hot vegetable oil. Drain on a paper towel lined plate while you make the rest of the meal.

The Kale Salad was first introduced to us after I had Harper and my friend Paulina brought this by for us to enjoy. The recipe includes dried cranberries and raw almonds and can be found on the blog. It's wonderful!

Enjoy your week!