What's For Dinner? 30-Minute Menus For 2009 - 28th Edition

!±8± What's For Dinner? 30-Minute Menus For 2009 - 28th Edition

This is the 28th edition of the weekly 30-minute menus. These are published on a weekly basis; I like to develop the weekly menus on Friday, grocery shop on Saturday, and start the week's menus on Sunday.

School is starting for many of us so the meals this week are quick and easy - so you can put your energies into getting your children settled in school. The menus are also easy on the budget which is a great help this time of year!

I am serving Shrimp Scampi on Saturday night just for the fun of it! This ever-so-simple meal is great for busy weekends especially if you have invited dinner guests to your house.

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday:
Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells (vegetarian; jarred marinara sauce, shredded cheeses)
Mixed Greens and Pear Salad (bagged salad greens, canned pears)
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes (boxed cake mix, canned crushed pineapple)

Monday:
Kung Pao Chicken (chicken tenders)
Fried Rice
Melon Salad with Apricot Dressing (apricot jam, yogurt, shredded coconut)
Ginger Ice Cream and Fortune Cookies (purchased ice cream and cookies)

Tuesday:
Dilled Tilapia Bundles (puff pastry)
Asian Stir-Fry (frozen stir-fry veggie mix)
Cranberry-Apple Salad
Tuilles with Ice Cream (purchased tortillas and ice cream)

Wednesday:
Lemony Pork Chops
Angel Hair Pasta (boxed pasta)
Fresh Broccoli Spears
Rice Krispy Treats (rice cereal, mini-marshmallows, chocolate morsels)

Thursday:
Speedy Chicken Divan (cooked chicken if available, frozen broccoli and cheese mix)
White Rice
Tossed Salad (bagged greens, jarred salad dressing)
Apple Pie a la Mode (purchased apple pie and ice cream)

Friday:
Meatball Stew (frozen meatballs)
Bread Bowls (refrigerated biscuits)
Fruit Salad with Yogurt Dressing (purchased yogurt, canned Mandarin oranges, pear slices, and pineapple)
Buckeye Chocolate Chippers (prepared cookie dough, canned chocolate frosting)

Saturday:
Shrimp Scampi (cleaned and devined shrimp)
Angel Hair Pasta
Asparagus
Cheesecake Tarts (prepared graham cracker tart shells, cheesecake pudding mix)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

What's For Dinner? 30-Minute Menus For 2009 - 28th Edition

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Cooking With Kids - How to Make Chocolate Covered Rice Crispy Treats

!±8± Cooking With Kids - How to Make Chocolate Covered Rice Crispy Treats

How would you like an idea for a fun activity to do with your children? How about something that will give your kids a sense of accomplishment that will make them feel like a grown up? Baking is just that activity. It gives kids practice to improve their invaluable skills in the kitchen, which they'll need later in life. The best choices for recipes should be easy to make and allow for some creativity such as shapes, colors or toppings, and of course, the most important "ingredient", they should taste great! So what's something that your kids will love to make and eat?

You got it- rice crispy treats. There are 3 different approaches that we'll take in this article, but with some twists. We will make normal rice crispy treats, mixed ones and chocolate covered. You've all made rice crispy treats before so let's have some fun with the normal kind and discuss shapes. You can do the traditional squares by filling the rice crispy treat mix in a square or rectangular pan and cutting out the pieces, but you could also have some extra fun. Get some cake pans with different shapes. You can find a variety of many different shapes, anything from their favorite characters, seasonal shapes, for example, Halloween or Christmas, as well as various small normal shapes like stars or mini bundt cakes. The cake pans come big or small and can be found at any store that sells baking supplies or online.

Before you finish up all the mix take half of it and blend in your favorite hard candies to add flavor and a contrast of texture, whether they're M&Ms, Reese's Pieces or cinnamon candies. Have some more fun, why not try soft candies too? Try some multi-colored chocolate chips or your favorite gummy candies, maybe Sour Patch Kids.

Want some more unique ideas? Mix in chocolate flavored rice crisped cereal with the mix to create multi-flavored treats. Just have the kids help with stirring the mix after it's removed from the heat (microwave or stove top), mixing in the candies and pressing the mix into your choice of pan. Your kids will love their rice crispy creations and can take them to school to share with their classmates and they also make great teachers gifts. But the fun is just beginning. You could combine all these elements for the "grand finale".

Now we are going to create chocolate covered rice crispy treats!

I prefer to use a double boiler to melt my chocolate which is one pan sitting inside a bigger pan. You heat up the water on medium heat in the bottom pan and place grated milk chocolate or milk chocolate chips in the top one. You can also use the microwave by melting chips in a small microwavable bowl. First, heat up the chips for one minute and 10 seconds stir and then again in 10-second intervals. The chips will not melt to a liquid form just by heating the chips up. You must stir them with a metal spoon once they show signs of melting. No matter the shape of treat, dip it into the chocolate at least half way over the treat and place on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Add some sprinkles or colored sugar or even use white chocolate!

Your kids will love all the different varieties. Let their creativity run wild and make sure to take their works of art as gifts to their teachers, friends, grandparents or relatives. Let your "little chefs" boast how good their treats look and taste!

Cooking With Kids - How to Make Chocolate Covered Rice Crispy Treats

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