Inspire me with a Menu

[catiebug]

I think I know what I'm making for dinner tonight!

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

This is my daughter's favorite. My mom makes it for her Elk's Lodge - it's very easy to multiply.

Sante Fe Stew

[UofISigKap]

Oh wow! I used the peanut butter bar recipe and brought them to work. They were inhaled and only one little piece remained by the time it was my lunch. So yummy!

[greekchef]

Benzgirl, I served the Banitsa for lunch today along side chicken souvlaki, tzatziki sauce and pita. It was very popular and very appreciated by our vegetarians. It was actually simple to prepare other than the fiddly nature of the phyllo dough. So thanks for the idea. I've now added some greek to my menu (although I know its not truly greek, but close).

So that make two great ideas from this thread. I still haven't tried the Gooey Buns (sorry Tom), but they may show up soon.

Thanks for the ideas.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by greekchef

Benzgirl, I served the Banitsa for lunch today along side chicken souvlaki, tzatziki sauce and pita. It was very popular and very appreciated by our vegetarians. It was actually simple to prepare other than the fiddly nature of the phyllo dough. So thanks for the idea. I've now added some greek to my menu (although I know its not truly greek, but close).

Thanks for the ideas.

Leftovers are great for breakfast. Once you get the hang of Phyllo, it's not that hard and the filling is very easy.
The girls must love you. I would love to know what you will be serving just prior to Christmas.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by greekchef

Benzgirl, I served the Banitsa for lunch today along side chicken souvlaki, tzatziki sauce and pita. It was very popular and very appreciated by our vegetarians. It was actually simple to prepare other than the fiddly nature of the phyllo dough. So thanks for the idea. I've now added some greek to my menu (although I know its not truly greek, but close).

So that make two great ideas from this thread. I still haven't tried the Gooey Buns (sorry Tom), but they may show up soon.

Thanks for the ideas.

Please see nutritional information for gooey buns. 1400 calories per bun.

Just say no to gooey buns.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Please see nutritional information for gooey buns. 1400 calories per bun.

Just say no to gooey buns.

Drole, you have inspired me!

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

Drole, you have inspired me!

I try

[FaithHopeLove]

Chef - It can be difficult to juggle the girls who are concerned with calorie and fat content with those who are more concerned with taste and don't want a diet menu.

I would recommend considering both points of view. Maybe you could serve lighter lunches and full-flavor dinner. Or, the main dish could generally be healthier, but your sides could be varied. If you make grilled chicken breasts, you could have one side of steamed carrots and the other of creamed spinach.

[mystikchick]

Thai Basil Chicken is relatively easy to make and is a nice variation and adds a touch of exotic to the menu
I also had a really nice recipe for Thai Peanut Chicken Curry (though I'm sure tofu would work nicely as well) that I can get for you if you want, it's from a cookbook.

My mom does a really nice, simple pasta with semi-cooked chopped tomatoes over angelhair pasta - basically you only partially cook the tomatoes, then put them over the pasta IMMEDIATELY after draining so that the heat cooks them the rest of the way. Pour olive oil on top, add a little salt and pepper, and voila.

What about shish kebabs done with tofu/meat?

There's also kao suey, a Thai/Burmese soup that's done at 'stations,' if that makes sense. It's a coconut-based soup to which you add noodles, garlic, cilantro, basil, chilli, meat, etc. The girls can start off with the basic broth and then add what they like. It's tasty and filling. I'm explaining this badly, but you can get a better idea here: http://rasbhara.blogspot.com/2005/12...khao-suey.html.

[greekchef]

The soup you are talking about sounds alot to me like pho, the vietnamese soup filled with noodles and different meats which you garnish with lime, chilis, sprouts, and sauces. I do a take off on pho for lunch making the soup stock from chicken instead of beef. I provide bowls filled with either rice or wheat noodles that the girls can garnish as they choose using chicken, tofu, basil, mint, cilantro, carrot, mushroom, lime, sprouts before covering with the fragrant stock. It goes over very well.

I have also done a Vietnamese Table Salad. Butter lettuce leaves are the wrapper and I provide Lemongrass grilled chicken, rice vermicelli, cucumber, carrots, fresh pineapple, mint, cilantro, basil and a fish sauce based dipping sauce. They load the ingredients of their choice into the lettuce and roll it up to eat. I serve it with fried rice.

[greekchef]

I also tried a new recipe this past week, a Tomato-Coconut Chicken. It was simply sauteed chicken breast with peppers and scallions sauteed along. Coconut Milk, chicken stock, and diced tomatoes were added and simmered down with red pepper flakes. The resulting dish was served with rice and was delicious. For the vegetarians I fried Panko breaded tofu and made a companion sauce following the same recipe but without the chicken stock. Also a hit.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by greekchef

I also tried a new recipe this past week, a Tomato-Coconut Chicken. It was simply sauteed chicken breast with peppers and scallions sauteed along. Coconut Milk, chicken stock, and diced tomatoes were added and simmered down with red pepper flakes. The resulting dish was served with rice and was delicious. For the vegetarians I fried Panko breaded tofu and made a companion sauce following the same recipe but without the chicken stock. Also a hit.

I wish our cook was so accomodating! The ladies you cook for are so lucky!

[mystikchick]

Chef, it's similar to pho but more like a tom yum soup meets pho, if that makes any sense. I looooove pho, good call! If your girls are a fan of Asian-fusion cuisine, Nina Simmonds does great cookbooks with very easy, unfussy recipes that are Asian in origin that can be put into wraps, salads, etc. Her stuff is great, my mom has adapted many of her recipes to the home with great success (i.e. healthy beef stir fry with carrots and broccoli stems, etc).

[SydneyK]

In the DG @ Bama thread, someone posted something about wanting to be the housemother in that beautiful house. For whatever reason, that comment reminded me of greekchef and this thread.

So, I'm bumping because I always liked this thread, and hope it was helpful to greekchef. You still around, chef?

[Betsss]

this post interested me because my chapter is getting a new cook this coming school year. Our last cook was pretty good and here are some of my chapters favorites...

artichoke dip with pita points
turkey and provolone paninis on cranberry wild rice bread
carrot curry soup (personal fav)
bbq meatballs with mashed baby reds
tacos
smoked chicken nacho's with fruit salsa
pasta night- some combo of pesto gnocchi, baked ziti, manicotti, or fettucini.
french dip

I hope I can show this thread to our new cook and she'll get inspired!