Well this week’s menu is a crazy as this past weekend…*G*

If you read my last looong winded post you’ll remember this past weekend was my hubby’s birthday…really it was there, way towards the end after the equating the election to child birth (bet that’s a first…*ggg*)…anyway the weekend turned into a feeding frenzy of celebrating a milestone that we don’t talk about cause well hubby pretending he’s not getting any older…*g*. So how do you top off a weekend like that and follow it with a mini celebration again on Tuesday for Vetrans day?

You shop for enough recipes that anything you decide on you are ready to fix. Yup, that’s what I did…I have the fixin’s for several recipes and I have no clue what I’m going to fix or in what order I’m going to fix them…*g*.

I do know tonight I’m making Red Beans, Sausage and Rice (recipe will follow) and I’ll serve cole slaw made with cabbage, carrots, green onions, red and green bell peppers all rough sliced (not too thin) for a chunkier~crunchier slaw…and I cheat by using low fat Marzetti’s slaw dressing sparingly.

As for Veterans Day tomorrow…I really don’t know what I’ll make. Hubby will be home and we don’t really have any plans. I wanted to make something celebratory but my mind was totally blank. So I decided to just go with the flow tomorrow and fix what ever our taste buds want.

Here is the list of recipes I can make with the things I have on hand (in no particular order)…

~Impossible Chicken and Broccoli Pie
~Impossible Ham, Mushroom, Onion, Pepper and Swiss Cheese Pie (I love omelets made with ham, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper and Swiss cheese so this pie comes from that origin)
~Chicken, Potatoes and Peppers Hash
~General Tso Chicken Broccoli with Rice
~Southwestern Chicken Soup
~Chicken Layered Tortilla Dip
~Teriyaki Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry with rice
~Chicken Salad (think Waldorf salad with chicken…and crasins for an extra fall feeling)
~Tuna Salad (think tuna salad with macaroni and green peas so it’s a casserole)

So you see I have quite a choice for this week’s menu. Even writing it down hasn’t helped me decide what I’m going to fix tomorrow or later in the week. These were just the things that sounded good at the time I was making my grocery list. It all sounds good but I have a feeling later in the week when it’s possibly rainy I’ll use that as my angle for choosing each nights menu.

As promised above I’m listing my recipe for tonight’s Red Beans, Sausage and Rice.

2 cups dried red kidney beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced ½ inch pieces
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black,
½ tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
¼ tsp dried leaf marjoram
1 bay leaf
½ tbsp sugar
8 oz beer
hot cooked rice
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

Sort, rinse and set beans aside.

Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic to pan and cook 3 minutes or until tender. Add sausage and cook about 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

Stir in broth. Bring to a simmer, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Stir in beans, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, marjoram, bay leaf, sugar and beer. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are soft and juice has thickened, about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more broth or water if necessary. Discard bay leaf.

To serve spoon rice on each plate and ladle beans and sausage with liquid over top. Sprinkle with green onions.