Menu for this week...

We are pretty broke this week (as my Mom used to say: Why is there so much of the month left at the end of the money?) so the menu is a s-t-r-e-t-c-h version with the theme of making more with less. In that vein...

1. Mexican chicken and rice casserole, with a black bean and corn salad
    We have one pack of chicken breast tenders, so I used 3 of them for this meal, and the other three for the Thai noodles dish. I usually make my own sauces, but I picked up (on sale!) a Rick Bayless tomatillo-based enchilada sauce to use in this dish. I cooked the chicken in the sauce, made white rice in chicken stock, then layered the rice and chicken mix with shedded cheese and sour cream. I covered it and baked it at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, then took of the cover, sprinkled some leftover semi-crushed corn chips over the top mixed with more cheese and a small bit of the last of some pico de gallo and let it brown about 10 more minutes. 

The corn and bean salad is/was excellent; 1 can of whole black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 can of corn (drained), lots of finely chopped green onions, cilantro, a couple of pinches of salt and some pepper, 1 crushed garlic clove, some cumin, chili powder to taste (You want it favored, not spicy). If I have it, I also add sliced or diced jicama and some finely chopped jalapeno pepper. Lastly, add some olive oil and red wine vinegar, and lime juice to taste. Delic!

2. Thai noodles, with chicken and tofu

3. Fried tofu with greens and rice

4. Go green! GF pasta with pesto

5. Scrambled eggs and home fries (also called breakfast for dinner!)

6. Grilled cheese sandwiches with french fries