Sarah’s Weekly Menu
08. Mar, 2010 
7 Comments
Print This Post
Like Angie, I usually do a weekly menu, but I don’t assign nights for the different meals, partly because our evenings are almost always in flux, since I don’t know when Hubby is going to come home, and partly because I might not be in the mood for whatever I assigned. I love it when Past Sarah does Present Sarah a favor, but I don’t like it when Past Sarah gets all dictatorial with what Future Sarah has to eat for dinner. Makes perfect sense, right? Of course.
So this is the weekly menu listing for this week:
Monday: Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker.
I already prepped this one, and it’s cooking now so I presume that’s what I’m having for dinner: Slow Cooker Whole Chicken.
Whole chickens were on sale at the grocery store when I placed my order online on Saturday night, so with this recipe, I’ll have chicken for dinner, then I’ll use the leftovers to make chicken soup one night this week.
One note: the recipe says to put the chicken in the slow cooker breast side up, but the pictures are breast side down. I left mine boobs-up but we’ll see what happens. Recipe below for easy printing:
Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker.
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3.5-4 lbs)
2 Tbsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder or 3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Place all of your ingredients in a small bowl and stir in water by the teaspoon until a paste forms. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray and place the chicken in, breast side up. I hate the look and feel of raw chicken, but trust me- it will be good when it’s done!
Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours or on high 3.5-4.5 hours. Make sure the thickest part of the thigh registers at 180 degrees.
The rest of the week we have some flexibility. One night, either Tuesday or Wednesday, I’m going to make a big pile of rice in Poseidon, my rice cooker, and make Cashew Chicken. I’ve made this recipe before and holy smoke is it good. You have to stir up the sauce that collects under the chicken as you serve, though – that’s where all the good flavor is.
Cashew Chicken
Everyday Food (September 2009)
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons dry sherry (or cooking wine, or leave out)
2 tsp. minced, peeled, fresh ginger
3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
coarse salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup unsalted cashews, toasted
2 green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
Directions
In a medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Set sauce aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a covered plate. Add 1 teaspoon oil to skillet and cook remaining chicken (reduce heat if chicken is over-browning). Transfer to plate.
To same skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, cashews, and green onion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cook until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with green onion greens and serve with rice or noodles.
We also have some halibut in the freezer, and Hubby is going to make halibut tacos. He owes you a write-up of his guacamole recipe, so I’ll ask him to write this one up, too.
As I mentioned, another night we’ll have the leftover chicken, probably as a soup, and then Friday is family dinner night, and usually when we do some takeout. I’ll be heading to central Jersey for the Liberty States Fiction Writers conference, so I probably won’t cook anything majestic that night.
So, what’s on your menu this week? Where do you like to go recipe hunting?
Author Info
Hi Sarah! You’re right, it should be breast side up, but I wasn’t paying attention when I was making the recipe and taking photos and I put the chicken breast side down. It turned out great though!
Emily from Busy Mom
Sarah, here’s my menu for the week. Thank goodness for Angie for making this so easy by doing menu plans. I had never done them before.
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: Crusty Potato Wedges, Asparagus Casserole, Couscous
Wed: New Brunswick Stew, Kale-Orange Salad, Arroz Con Leche
Thurs: Garbanzo Red Lentil Swiss Chard, Leftovers
Fri: Okra Apricot Prunes, Leftovers
Sat: Eating at relatives’
Sun: Beef Tips New Potatoes, Broccoli
I hadn’t really thought about trying to cook a whole chicken. I just got my slow cooker out for the first time today since the end of winter, but I think I might try this at the weekend as long as it hasn’t warmed back up again.
Apparently my family (of two) are hogs. We never have leftovers. Ever.
I am babysitting my daddy this week. Mama cooks for him every night (yes, they are divorced but they live next to each other and are bestest friends) but she is on vacation so to keep him from starving to death…
Monday: Frozen Pizza (What? They don’t have pizza delivery here in the country!)
Tuesday: Fried Chicken and Salad
Wednesday: Mexican Chili and Mexican Cornbread
Thursday: Daddy’s buying!
Friday: Home & DH is buying!
Saturday: Veggie Plate (Corn, green beans, cabbage, corn bread)
Annmarie, I cook in quantity, guaranteeing leftovers.
But. But. Sarah is cooking a chicken and is planning leftovers around it. We never have leftovers from a whole chicken. Ever. I’d need to cook 2 or more.
Just thought I would come back and mention that I am cooking this today. The best part was that my 11 year old son loved mixing the paste up and smearing it all over the chicken, so I didn’t even get messy hands!