Saturday menu plan

This is another low key week. I’m not sure what’s gotten into me…maybe its the warm weather and I want to go on vacation. Either way, with all these St. Patty’s things all over the place I’ve had a hankering for shepherd’s pie. Even though that’s more of a British thing. But still, same general region of the world :)

• Monday: Beef shepherd’s pie
• Tuesday: Turkey, swiss, and avocado sandwiches
• Wednesday: Cheese ravioli with vodka sauce
• Thursday: Asian stir fry
• Friday: Homemade pizza

Beef shepherd’s pie

I know this is traditionally lamb, but I have beef in my freezer, so I’ll give it a try. I’ll use this recipe as a starting point. Pretty much most of the recipes I found were very similar, so I may do a rough combination of all. I may add some red wine (reduction) to it for an added richness of flavor since I’m going the beef route instead of lamb. I’ll probably add rosemary as well.

Turkey, swiss, and avocado sandwiches

Pretty self explanatory, served on homemade bread with a side of potato chips or homemade potato wedges (cut potatoes into wedges, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and bake in the oven at 400° for about 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through).

Cheese ravioli with vodka sauce

I didn’t end up making it last week, so since I still have the ingredients (Trader Joe’s ravioli and vodka sauce), we’ll have it this week :)

Asian stir fry with soba noodles

For this recipe I simply buy a frozen Asian stir fry mix, and saute with sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Serve over noodles.

Homemade pizza

Sometimes I buy Trader Joe’s pizza dough (it’s under $2), but this time I think I’ll make it from scratch and freeze half of it. Here’s the recipe I usually use for the dough (from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book):

Ingredients

• 2 ½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp cooking or olive oil

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 ¼ cups of the flour, the yeast, and the salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer (I use my KitchenAid) on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total [I use my KitchenAid for this part too…I use the dough hook, and can tell it’s done when the dough looks smooth and is clinging to the hook rather than the sides of the bowl]). Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.

For pan pizzas: grease 2* 12-inch pizza pans or large baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough half into an 11-inch circle. Transfer dough circles to prepared pans. build up edges slightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double (30 to 45 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Prick dough with a fork. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light brown (I’ll admit it…I sometimes skip this step). Spread pizza sauce onto hot crusts and top with desired meat, vegetables and cheese. Bake about 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Cut each pizza into 8 wedges. Makes 8 servings (2 wedges).

*I usually prepare one pizza and freeze the other half of the dough for another time.