Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Beef enchiladas, ginger potstickers, spaghetti

This makes: beef enchiladas verdes (6 meals), ginger beef potstickers (6 meals), meatballs and spaghetti (3 meals), with sides of spinach-pecan salad, Waldorf salad and apple-cheddar snacks.


(Could make after Cream tacos, thereby utilizing the extra half-and-half and shredded cheese)

Cost: Low
Flavor: High.... everything here is good.
Labor: High
Yield: Good; 15 meals

Fancy store: Potsticker wrappers

Regular store: 2.5 lb ground beef, red & yellow apples, orange, ginger, garlic, green onions, spinach, corn tortillas, Newman pasta sauce, Hatch green enchilada sauce or Herdez salsa verde, taco seasoning packet, whipping cream, cheddar, grated jack/cheddar mix

Have on hand: lots of chicken broth; spaghetti; soy, rice wine, sesame oil; fennel, garlic salt and Italian bread crumbs; pecans and salad dressing.

Day 1 (est. 1 hr)

Chop spinach, green onions, garlic, and grate ginger for potstickers; add 2T soy, 2t rice wine, 1t sesame.
Grind fennel for meatballs and blend with garlic salt and Italian breadcrumbs.

Divide the ground beef and season it:
--- 1 lb into the spinach mix for potstickers
--- 1 lb into the frying pan, then cook with taco seasoning mix
--- 0.5 lb into the fennel/breadcrumbs for meatballs.

When done cooking the taco meat, store in plastic container, then fry the meatballs.

Cook the spaghetti and divide up with the meatballs and sauce.

Day 2 (est 1.5 hr)

Assemble potstickers. Cook a dozen or so at a time: fry quickly on all three sides, then fill pan 2/3 full with chicken broth and simmer a half-hour or so till most of the liquid has cooked off.

Assemble the spinach salads.
Slice apples and toss with pecans in a little cream/sugar/lemon juice/mayo.

Assemble enchiladas: Spoon some taco meat into a tortilla, roll, press flat, top with sauce and cheese. (Microwave 1 min to reheat.)


Nutritional trivia -- This works out, surprisingly consistently, to about 2.6 oz. beef per serving, which is even less than the recommended 3 oz. servings (RDA is two 3oz. servings per day).