Weekly Cooking and Recipes: April 15-21

I thought the same thing.

Most of my meal prep recipes come from a Meal Plan that I pay for, so I don't feel it's a good idea to share them for free. But, I found this one in the "Carolinas Food" flyer that got put in our mailbox and I'm trying it out for breakfasts:

Reprinted from "Cook to Thrive: Recipes to Fuel Body and Soul" by Natalie Coughlin

Asparagus and Sweet Onion Frittata

1lb Asparagus, trimmed

2 TBSP Olive Oil

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

10 large eggs

1 (5.2oz) package Garlic & Herb Boursin cheese

1 TBSP butter

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced (about 2.5 cups)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with a hefty pinch of each of salt and pepper. Roast until the spears are cooked through but still have some bite, about 10 minutes (if the spears are quite, fat you may need to cook them longer). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Coarsely chop the asparagus into bite-size pieces.

Reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, 3 tablespoons of the Boursin cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper (the Boursin will be pretty chunky, that's fine).

Heat a large cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. When the foaming subsides, add the onion. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and the egg mixture to the skillet and cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the eggs are just barely set and jiggle slightly when you shake the pan, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and use an offset spatula or knife to release the frittata from the sides of the pan.

Let the frittata cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a large platter. Slice and top with 1oz of Boursin per slice.

I bet this would be amazing with some cooked salmon mixed in.

I am making a version of chicken green Chile casserole today. This is how I plan to make it.

1 bar of softened cream cheese

1 can of chopped hatch green Chiles

1.25 lbs chicken breast sliced thin, seasoned with your favorite spices for taco style dishes

Sargento mrxican cheese blend

1 can hatch green Chile enchilada sauce

combine the chopped green Chiles and cream cheese

in small, baking dish, layer sliced chicken to cover bottom ( use your anti-food stick of choice on the dish first, bottom and sides,I use olive oil)

spoon Chile cream cheese mixture over top, repeat layer if needed

Pour enchilada sauce over top, top with Mexican cheese blend

bake at 350 for 40 minutes

This sounds super tasty!

It came out a little more liquid than I expected but it was good. Next time I will probably skip the enchilada sauce and just go with the Chile peppers.

Ok...this not-a-cook-just put the ingredients, for this casserole, on her shopping list, minus the enchilada sauce

Awesome! It's super easy...the hard part is remember to take the cream cheese out and sit on the counter to soften before you mix it with the green Chile's

While the meals I'm cooking this week aren't changing, I think I'm going to have to move them all around! I forgot that I won't be home Thursday night because I'm having a uterus procedure on Friday morning and staying in a cheapo hotel close to the hospital the night before as a result. Then I worry that I might not be interested in cooking on Friday night due to said procedure. So I think I'll have the end of the week go like this:

Wednesday - Moo Shu Pork (with chicken)

Thursday - FFS

Friday - Pastrami, rye bread

I can make the dough earlier in the week so it'll be ready to bake on Friday, which is the super easy part. The pastrami just needs to be thawed and heated up (or not), so that's also super easy!

I try to make most of my meal plans to be flexible so I know I'm not committed to making one specific thing on one specific day - I just need to cook everything I have planned by the end of the week so I use the ingredients!

Here's one I'm making today. It's a variation on what we used to call the ALS (Access Ladies Special) at the bagel ship across from my first office. I'm leaving off the bagel but it used to be on top of an Asiago bagel.

slice of tomato

2 oz ever roast chicken, shaved

1 slice provolone

assemble tomato, chicken provolone, put under broiler until merry

Top with sprinkle of lemon pepper (I don't know why but the lemon pepper makes the dish!)