So how was your week? The answer to that will determine dinner.

   If it was one of “those” weeks — by which I mean all you want to do by Friday evening is hunker down and forget the previous four days — then dinner is Beef Patties in Onion Gravy. And mashed potatoes. Lots of mashed potatoes.

Beef Patties in Onion Gravy

Patties:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
½ envelope (about 2 tablespoons) dry onion soup mix
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Gravy:
2 cups water, divided
½ envelope (about 2 tablespoons) dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons flour

Combine patty ingredients; mix thoroughly with hands and shape into four patties. Spray a non-stick skillet and brown patties on both sides.
Add remaining dry onion soup mix to 1½ cups water; stir to combine. Add to skillet, cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes. Remove patties to a plate.
Combine ½ cup water with 2 tablespoons flour, stirring well to combine. Stir flour and water mixture into onion gravy in skillet. Stir constantly with a whisk until it comes to a boil.
Boil 1 minute. Return patties to pan. Serve with mashed potatoes or hot cooked noodles.

360 calories; 19.5 g. fat; 990 mg. sodium; 19 g. carbs; 1.4 g. fiber

   If it was a pretty good week, and you feel like a bit of fun, try Wild Boar in Groundnut Sauce. Okay, so it’s not really wild boar (it’s pork in peanut sauce), but it’s very tasty and the kids will get a kick out of the name. And if you’re really ambitious, try your hand at making FuFu to go along with it (or just stick with mashed potatoes — see above).

Wild Boar in Groundnut Sauce

Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ½ pounds wild boar or boneless pork loin, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup water
salt and black pepper to taste
2 medium onions, chopped
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup natural peanut butter

Heat oil in a deep skillet. Add pork and brown on all sides. Reduce heat. Add water, salt, and pepper; cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add tomatoes and onions; continue simmering until onions are soft and meat is tender, about 10 more minutes.
Remove some liquid from skillet and mix it with the peanut butter to make a smooth sauce. Add to the meat-tomato-onion mixture. Continue to simmer on a very low heat until the meat is very tender.
Serve with fufu or rice.
From congocookbook.com

Note: I used boneless country-style ribs; worked fine. This was great with both fufu and rice.
591 calories; 40.5 g. fat; 156 mg. sodium; 11.1 g. carbs; 2.8 g. fiber

  If it’s been a really, really good week, go straight to the steak. Here’s a recipe that the family deemed “magnificent.” 

Beef Filets with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions  

Serves 4

2 large Vidalia onions (or any sweet onion)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Splash of red wine
4 4- to 6-ounce beef filets
1 ½ cups crumbled blue cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut the onions into pieces ½-inch wide (cut from root end to stem end). Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the olive oil. Sauté the onions, starting with a medium-high heat for the first 10 minutes or so, then on medium heat up to another 30 minutes, or until caramelized (completely cooked down, browned and softened). During the last 5 minutes, add a splash of red wine.
Season filets with salt and pepper and grill to desired doneness (160 degrees for medium). Arrange filets on serving platter, sprinkle with blue cheese and top with caramelized onions.

323 calories; 27 g. fat; 770 mg. sodium; 9 g. carbs; 1 g. fiber

  Put away the bottled Italian dressing. Here’s an easy grilled chicken with a honey-dijon glaze. Its sweet, cinnamony flavor is way more interesting than dressing-drenched recipes.

Apple Honey Glazed Chicken

Serves 4

1/3 cup apple jelly
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat grill to medium high. In small bowl combine all ingredients except chicken; mix well. Oil grill rack. Brush chicken with apple jelly glaze; place on grill over medium heat.
Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear, turning occasionally and brushing frequently with glaze. (Discard remaining glaze.)

268 calories; 2 g. fat; 424 mg. sodium; 21 g. carbs; 0 g. fiber

 After accomodating everyone else’s schedules and requests so far this week, I feel the need to make a little something special for me (since I’m frying bacon, I’ll make some waffles and scrambled eggs for the kiddos and call it a breakfast supper — they love that). I bought a couple of avocados yesterday, and I’m hoping they’ll be ripe enough this evening for me to make this wonderful sandwich. I love BLTs anyway, but the addition of avocado puts it over the top. I believe this is from epicurious.

BLT & G(uacamole)   

Serves 4

2 large, ripe avocados
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
Minced jalapeno chiles, to taste
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
12 slice thick-cut bacon
8 slices whole-grain bread
8 thin tomato slices
4 romaine lettuce leaves

Preheat broiler. Mash avocados in medium bowl. Stir in cilantro, jalapeno (to taste) and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, turning occasionally, about 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
Meanwhile, briefly toast bread slices on 1 side under the broiler.
Spread guacamole over untoasted side of each slice while still warm. Place 3 bacon slices on each of 4 bread slices. Top with tomatoes, then lettuce. Place remaining 4 bread slices atop lettuce.

Note: I love this sandwich; reminds me of one that one of my favorite restaurants calls a BALT, for bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato. They serve it on a soft baguette. Maybe I’ll try that. These do have a lot of fat, but avocados are good fat, right? (Of course, that doesn’t address the little problem of the bacon….)
620 calories; 47.2 g. fat; 918 mg. sodium; 37.5 g. carbs; 9.2 g. fiber

 Let’s see…tonight one kid has play practice, another has soccer practice, and they all have achievement testing in school tomorrow. Everyone needs an easy dinner and an early bedtime! 

Weeknight Meatball Stew

Serves 4

12-ounce jar beef gravy (such as Heinz brand)
14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained
¾ cup water
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper
12-ounce package frozen fully cooked beef meatballs (such as Mama Lucia brand)
20-ounce package frozen vegetables for stew (with carrots, celery, onion, and potato)

Combine gravy, tomatoes, water, thyme and pepper in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in meatballs and vegetable mixture; reduce heat.
Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
Note: Way easy, and it only takes about 30 minutes. It’d be better, of course, with homemade meatballs, but for convenience food, this is pretty darn good (except for all the sodium).
394 calories; 22.2 g. fat; 1382 mg. sodium; 32.2 g. carbs; 3.9 g. fiber 

 This was my best shrimp dish ever, said one of the kids. I wouldn’t argue with him–I was ready to slurp up the sauce myself.

Curried Shrimp with Cilantro, Lime and Garlic
Serves 4
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 ¼ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ cup low-fat sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a simmer.
2. Add the shrimp and lime juice and simmer until the shrimp are bright pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve  over rice.

Note: I loved this, even without sour cream, and I’d double the sauce next time.
223 calories; 8.5 g. fat; 224 mg. sodium; 5.4 g. carbs; .3 g. fiber

It’s suddenly chilly today. The cool weather coupled with chilling memories of the 9-11 terrorist attacks makes this a day for comfort food. I’m trying a new recipe for stew this morning, and it should make for a warming dinner tonight. In fact, that’s its name: Warm Fall Stew.

Warm Fall Stew
Serves 6

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb pork tenderloin cut into into 1″ cubes
1/2 lb kielbasa cut into 1″ rounds
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (3/4 lb) cut into 1″ pieces
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
1 lg clove garlic
1 cup dry red wine
2 cans (15 1/2 ounce each) cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large, heavy sauce pan heat 1 tbsp oil, over medium heat.
Brown pork about 4 minutes on each side, then add kielbasa and cook
4 minutes. Remove both to plate. Add remaining tbsp of oil and cook
chicken for 4 minutes, turning while cooking. Break tomatoes up with
your hands and add along with garlic; cook 3 minutes while stirring
constantly. Add wine, simmer for 2 minutes. Add beans, salt, cayenne,
pork, and kielbasa; simmer for 5 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer,
covered for 10 minutes.

Note: I’ve been tinkering a bit with the recipe, which is from betterrecipes.com. So far I’ve added about a teaspoon of sugar and maybe 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.

Yes, it’s chicken, but it’s not boring, not by a long shot. We love these sandwiches. I use herbed goat cheese for even more flavor.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Serves 4; prepare in about 45 minutes

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, well trimmed
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
½ tablespoon olive oil
1garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 red onion, sliced

4 large French bread rolls (about 4 inches long), cut in half
¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 bunch arugula
2 ounces light soft goat cheese

1.      Pound chicken to an even thickness. Place in medium bowl. Add vinegar, olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

2.      Heat grill to medium high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill chicken  and onion until chicken is just cooked through and onions are golden brown, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes.

3.      Grill cut sides of rolls until golden brown. Spread bottom halves of rolls with chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Top with chicken breast, some grilled onions and arugula. Spread top halves of rolls with about 1 tablespoon goat cheese and place atop sandwiches. Serve.

 375 calories; 10 g. fat; 458 mg. sodium; 35 g. carbs; 2 g. fiber

I don’t know what I was thinking, expecting to start something new in January. Everyone knows (don’t they?) that the year really starts in September. I just can’t shake that school-year mindset. I love to buy school supplies for myself, fill up the pencil holder on my desk and all the little bins in my desk drawer. Each new school year is a fresh start, a new chance to get organized, at least for a while!

So here is the start of the foodiemom daily recipe. Now you can really “find out what’s for dinner at foodiemom.com.”

And I promise the recipes will always be good. This one was a big hit. Note that you bake the crust, add the toppings, and then it’s done — no further baking time required.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Serves 4; takes about 30 minutes

11-ounce can refrigerated low-fat French loaf (such as Pillsbury)

¾ cup fat-free ranch dressing

½ cup fat-free mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

2 teaspoons dried onion flakes

2 cups diced cooked chicken breast

¾ cup real bacon bits

1 ½ cups finely chopped fresh tomatoes

½ cup finely chopped red onion

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed 10-by-15-inch baking sheet with butter-flavored cooking spray.
2. Unroll French loaf and pat into prepared baking sheet and up sides of pan to form a rim. Lightly spray top of crust with butter flavored cooking spray. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ranch dressing, mayonnaise, parsley flakes and onion flakes. Spread sauce mixture evenly over baked crust. Sprinkle chicken, bacon bits, tomatoes and onion evenly over sauce. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

482 calories; 10 g. fat; 1800 mg. sodium; 62 g. carbs; 4 g. fiber 

Adapted from Pizza Anytime by JoAnna Lund

Here at foodiemom.com, I’ve been busy writing columns and features for the Indianapolis Star (in addition to handling life with my husband, three kids, two cats and a hamster). You can find many of my newspaper stories at www.indystar.com; just find the dining section under the Entertainment heading. You can also find my work in other Gannett newspapers across the country.

I’ve spent a lot of time this past year testing recipes for the paper’s Five in a Fix column–five easy weeknight entrees–so I’ve run across plenty of great dishes. I’ll be posting a new recipe here every day, so if you want to know what’s for dinner, just stop in.

“Find out what’s for dinner at foodiemom.com.”

I actually “dressed” for dinner this past weekend. And for once that didn’t mean “I’ll wear my good jeans.”

We stayed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where, in fact, you’re encouraged not to wear jeans at all (though we did of course). If I hadn’t packed the jeans, my suitcase would’ve been nearly empty, since my foodiemom wardrobe pretty much consists of jeans and whatever goes with the sauce that’s splattered on them. (Okay, so it’s not splattered–I admit it–the sauce is on my jeans because I wipe my hands on them.) And the occasional blazer when I need to be a Serious Journalist.

Though the hotel is indeed grand, with a dining room that goes on forever, what I wanted to do was put on the jeans and blazer and go poking around in the kitchen to see how it’s run.

Actually, I wanted to see the whole set up–kitchen, pantry, laundry. How long does it take to peel, slice and chop all those vegetables? How many pieces of silverware do they have? How long does it take to wash all those tablecloths? Are the fresh flowers shipped over by ferry daily?

I saw someone polishing handrails at 6 a.m. while we were out for a walk on the still-dark grounds. But when did someone stamp the “G” into the sand in all the ashtrays outside the doors?

Like I said, I’d love to see the inner workings of such a classic, old hotel, where part of the appeal is the whole experience. Because it’s not like each individual thing is incredible–I mean, the food was great, but not out of this world; the room was plenty comfortable, but not what you’d call lavish. (I did prefer the Grand Hotel’s fudge over a couple of others we tried, but that’s a whole other posting.)

There’s just something about soaking up the ambience of such a place. It’s nice to know, for some reason, that the hotel is there, that people are dressing for dinner, enjoying drinks in the Cupola Bar afterward or strolling on the lawn where people have strolled since the late 1800s.

Mackinac Island, which doesn’t allow cars (everyone gets around via bicycles or horse-drawn carriages), contributes to the graciousness of the whole Grand Hotel experience. And it doesn’t hurt that the Christopher Reeve movie “Somewhere in Time” was filmed there. But there really is something about the hotel, a sort of faded grandeur, as we heard it described, that I’m happy to have experienced.

Even though for most of my dinners I’ll still be in jeans.