Recipes for the last week of February

I am not going to have pictures to post until later. However, here is how my week is shaping up as far as dinners go:

Monday: Pot Roast. There is nothing as good and comforting as the basic pot roast in the crock pot. Sprinkle a packet of Lipton Onion Soup on top, add about 1/2 cup water, potatoes cut in big chunks, carrots (I like the mini-carrots), and celery. Add a salad and dinner and how easy can you get!

Tuesday: Autumn Sausage Skillet - from the recipe the other day. It is a great and easy way to get vegetables in every member of the family, and only takes about 30 minutes to fix.

Wednesday: Pork loin or tenderloin, depending on which one you purchased. Marinate the meat in the Stubbs Marinade for Pork for a couple of hours, or all day if you are at work. Grill until a meat thermometer registers 140 degrees. If you are doing a big pork loin, you might want to grill until you get some pretty grill marks, then wrap tightly in foil and finish in a 350 degree oven until the thermometer registers 140 degrees. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serve with raspberry chipotle sauce. I love sweet potatoes with pork. They are on sale this week at Albertsons for $1 a pound. Baked sweet potatoes are yummy with butter and brown sugar. A salad and/or green beans and dinner is served.

Thursday: Hopefully you had leftover roast from Monday. Today is called Quick Beef Stroganoff. This is so easy: cut up the leftover roast and heat it with some of the juice. Stir in a can of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.

Friday: I think we are grilling out. The chicken on sale at Albertson's - leg quarters for 49 cents a pound (10 pound bag) is too good to pass up. So here is the recipe:

In the blender, make a sauce from: 1 stick butter, melted
1 medium onion, cut up
2 cloves of garlic
2 lemons, juiced
3/4 teaspoon thyme or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
10 grinds black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt

Baste chicken on the grill with this sauce, turning often. Cook slowly for approximately 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to check done-ness with a meat thermometer or by making a small slit in the thigh.

Since asparagus was on sale, here is a quick way to prepare: Wash and trim asparagus. Lay on a cookie sheet or toaster oven sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Kosher salt and smashed garlic. Roast at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. That is all! Soooo good.

And for those carrots that were on sale at Market Street: Cook carrots in boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Put the pot back on the heat (low) and add 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat carrots. You may need to adjust the seasonings for the amount of carrots. As taste test will be in order, of course. :-)

That is all for today. Happy cooking!