Menu Plan Monday

Monday:

Steak Fajitas ♦ ♦ ♦
I'm going to saute an onion, red peppers, and the steak fajita strips (from my food co-op share). Then we'll top with cheese, salsa and sour cream and serve with tortillas.

Wednesday:

Toasted Pears with Blue Cheese (from Barefoot Contessa: Back To Basics)

3 ripe but firm Anjou pears

fresh squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

3 ounces coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup apple cider

3 Tbsp port

1/2 cup lightly brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup good olive oil

6 ounces baby arugula

kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375. Slice the peeled pears lengthwise into halves. Remove the core and seeds with a melon baller, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of the pear so they will sit flat in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss pears with lemon juice to prevent browning and arrange in a baking dish large enough to fit them snugly. Gently toss crumbled blue cheese, cranberries, and walnuts together in a small bowl and divide mixture among pears, mounding it on top. Then combine the apple cider, port and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temperature. Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Add arugula and toss. Divide arugula among plates, top with a pear, drizzle some of the basting liquid over the top and sprinkle with salt. Serve.

Chris will be at school on Wednesday, so....I think I might just eat pears for dinner with nothing else. Hey, it's better than eating the whole twinkie box for dinner, right?


Friday:

Fried Tomatoes ♦ ♦ ♦
Butter-flavored vegetable cooking spray

4 medium green, or red, tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Coat tomato slices lightly with flour; cook over medium heat until browned, two to three minutes on each side. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Recipe makes four servings.

I think we'll grill up some Omaha steaks from the freezer and do these fried tomatoes with salad.