This Week’s Meals. All of My Favorites!

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This week’s meals and easy, yet delicious. And, the roasted chicken is perfect as a make once, eat twice dinner.

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What’s On The Menu

Ordinarily I would have saved the whole roasted chicken recipe for a weekend meal, but there is a reason it’s high on this week’s menu. I’ll shred the leftover chicken from this dinner for the chicken enchiladas.

Fettucine with Grilled Shrimp

Fettucine takes sinfully delicious, so it must be hard to make, right? Wrong! Fettucine is easier than you think, and adding grilled shrimp takes it to a whole new level. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 12 oz. fettuccine (I am using egg fettuccine)
• Olive oil
• 3/4 pounds raw jumbo shrimp
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp. grated or ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (the best you can find, it makes a difference)

Instructions:

Pat dry the shrimp and arrange on a paper towel until ready to use.Cook the fettuccine to al dente, according to the package. Strain and toss with a splash of olive oil.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp of the butter. Increase the temperature to med-high, and add the shrimp at once. Without moving them, let them cook for about 2 minutes, until they are pink, then flip them and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove shrimp to a plate to rest.

Using the same pan over medium heat, add 6 Tbsp. of butter and scrape the pan well, as the butter melts. Stir in the heavy cream and nutmeg and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Lower temperature to low and whisk in the parmesan cheese. Add shrimp and pasta to pan and toss well. Serve immediately.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

The key to a juicy, delicious chicken is brining. Just like with a turkey. Creating a brine is simple. It’s just salt, sugar, water, and spices.

Brine:

• 1 gallon cold water
• ¹⁄₂ cup kosher salt (reduce to 1/4 cup if using regular table salt.)
• ²⁄₃ cup light brown sugar

Stir until the salt and sugar are invisible. I usually add spices to the brine, one of my favorites is Herbs de Provence and I might add some grated lemon zest.

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil or melted butter
• 1 Tbsp seasoning of your choice, I prefer Herbs de Provence

Baking the chicken:

Remove whole chicken from package and rinse well. Find a big bowl or special brining bag that will hold the chicken and the gallon of broth. The chicken must be fully immersed in the brine. Brine for at least 1 hour, but not longer than 8 hours. Before baking, remove the chicken from the brine and rinse well, especially the inner cavities of the chicken. Dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush chicken with oil or butter. Truss up the chicken and place in a V-rack or elevated roasting pan breast side up. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the temperature of the breast is 120 degrees and thighs are 135 degrees. Turn off the oven and leave the chicken in for another 25-35 minutes or until the breast if 160 degrees and thighs are 175 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest, uncovered on a carving board for 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

I add mashed potatoes and green beans to round this dinner out. Next up for this week’s meals is…

Ribeye Steaks with Baked Potato and Broccoli Salad

I just love a perfectly cooked steak! And this is something my husband has perfected over the years. We use rib eye because they make excellent steaks, but buy whatever steaks you prefer.

• Steaks
• Olive Oil
• Seasoning, my favorite is Montreal Steak

The night before, remove your steaks from the package, and dry them off with paper towels. Add enough olive oil to lightly cover the steaks. Liberally apply your favorite steak seasoning evenly over the steaks, or spread it with your hands to ensure that it’s evenly applied. My seasoning of choice is Montreal Steak Seasoning. Cover the seasoned steaks with plastic wrap and return them to the fridge.

Grilling:

Remove steaks from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking (but no more than an hour). This allows your steaks to cook more evenly. Preheat your grill to high heat. Set up a two-zone fire.

Place ribeye steaks on the grill and cook over direct heat for 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Do you wonder why you need a two-zone setup? If your steaks are close to being done, you can move them over to the cold side of the grill to finish them off. Use a meat thermometer to determine if you’ve cooked steaks the way you like them. Here are the temperatures you should keep in mind: 120° F = Rare, 130° F = Medium rare, 140° F = Medium, 160° F = Well done

Remove steaks from grill and let them rest for five minutes. The juices will redistribute throughout the meat, producing a tender, juicy result.

I’m serving the steaks with a broccoli salad and baked potatoes. I purchase pre-cut and washed broccoli. For two servings (double for 4): Roughly chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces, add 1/4 cup of raisins or dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds. Drizzle with Poppy Seed Dressing. I have to tell you that I don’t even like broccoli but I love this salad, lol.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

The roasted chicken leftovers are transformed into these chicken enchiladas! And, no one but you will be the wiser.

There are so many ways to make enchiladas. Fair warning, this is not one of the lower calorie versions. But, I’ll include a link below to one like that, if you are so inclined.

I discovered this recipe several years ago and have modified it over time. This is one of those meals that wow people. I made them for my daughter’s bridal shower and they were a hit.

Ingredients:

• 8 flour tortillas (I’m using white flour for my husband and LaTortilla Factory low-carb for myself)
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 3/4 chicken broth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 (4 oz) cans diced mild green chilies

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 pan
2. Mix chicken, 1 cup cheese, and 1 can of chilies. Warm your tortillas slightly in the microwave, either in the package or wrapped in paper towels. 30 seconds should do it. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, on medium heat, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat until thick and bubbly.
4. Turn down heat to low or simmer. Stir in sour cream and the second can of chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream.
5. Pour the sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 20 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Here is a lower-calorie version using just green sauce: https://www.skinnytaste.com/enchiladas-verdes-green-enchiladas/

If you are short a few meals this week, or need other ideas, check out some of my other recipes: 

• Best Ever Pizza Crust
• Carnitas or Pulled Pork