Weekly Menu

I'm keeping it real this week. I'm back to watching 4 children ages 3 and under during the day and we just all caught the same nasty springtime cold. This means that I need recipes that TG can step in and do if I'm down for the count.

The chicken parmesan rollatini's were good, but I should have stuck with my gut instinct, which was Pioneer Woman knows best. Enough said. As for the polenta, well I liked it because I like grits, but TG who is a traditionalist was not a fan. Live and learn. To be fair to polenta I used the instant kind and it was my first go so I told TG not to judge by his wife's surely subpar version of what is thought to be a pretty tasty side dish. Anyone out there have a foolproof recipe that will make my hubs go weak in the knees?

I started my herb garden just in time for Mother Nature to decide that she was going to give us one last wintry blast complete with snow and 20 degree temps all week long. Thankfully, all of my little plants except the parsley (I have bad luck with parsley, why is that???) are doing just fine with some daytime sunshine and the warmth of the garage at night. Thank God I planted them in containers that were small enough for me to move each day.

Enough of my blabbing. On to the menu!

Wednesday: Date Night!
Thursday: Chili with Fritos (my version)
Friday: Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas (my version)
Saturday: Kid's birthday party - we'll probably eat out
Sunday: Pulled Chicken BBQ Sliders with Ranch "Slaw" and potato salad (Framed Cooks)
Monday: Pan Fried Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Corn (shout out Twinnie!)
Tuesday: Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken (Big Oven)

This week's recipe is courtesy of Framed Cooks, who uses recipes from multiple sources and shares her version and notes. You have to check out her blog if you haven't before.

This particular recipe was in the Southern Living's Christmas 2010 magazine. Look at the picture Framed took of her sliders....ahem...sorry I just had to wipe the drool from my mouth.



Tasty as I'm sure the original version is, I had to alter it to meet the picky tastes of my household. I don't much care for pork bbq (I know it's a crying shame), TG doesn't like blue cheese, and none of us like coleslaw.

Ingredients:
3 C shredded coleslaw mix (I'm subbing just shredded lettuce)
1/2 C ranch dressing
1/4 C blue cheese crumbles (I'm subbing cheddar crumbles)
1/8 tsp pepper
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 C warm pulled pork BBQ (I'm subbing a shredded rotisserie chicken)
1 pkg mini slider buns or hot dog buns
1/2 C warmed BBQ sauce (KC Masterpiece all the way!)
Dill pickles

1. Combine first five ingredients in a bowl and mix well
2. Mix meat with BBQ sauce
3. Put 1/4 C BBQ mixture on bottom half of bun, top with 1/4 C "slaw", garnish with pickle slices, top with bun.

What's not to love? Simple ingredient list, yummy BBQ, and NO ACTUAL COOKING TIME? That's the way to a busy working mom's heart!