Viva Las Vegas

Okay ladies, I need ideas.  I am a frugal mom with not so frugal friends and we have just planned a girls trip to Vegas.  I have never been before and I am going with seasoned veterans.  How do I do Vegas on a budget?  If anyone has any ideas please comment below.



Who doesn't love the lights and scenes of Las Vegas!  I can not wait to go!!!
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Pasta with red onion and roasted broccoli served with Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients

Salt
1 1/2 lbs corkscrew pasta
3 bunches Broccoli, ends slightly trimmed
1 Lg. red onion, sliced about 1/3 inch thick
1/4 c. olive oil
Black pepper
6 Lg. garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 c. Heavy cream
1 c. Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. plus more to pass

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450

Bring a lg. covered pot of water to boil over hight heat.Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta and cook to al dente. Right before draining, remove and reserve 1 1/2 c. of the pasta cooking water.

Once you've got the water going. place the broccoli and sliced onion on a timmed baking sheet. Give them a healthy drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss untill they are well coated. Toast untill the broccoli ends are crisp and brown and the stalks are tender, about 15 min.

Place the pot you cooked the pasta in over med-high heat with the 1/4 c. of EVOO. Add the garlic and cook untill golden:  reserved pasta water, lemon zest and juice , and cream. Bring up to a bubble and cook for a min or 2. Add the past and the roasted broccolini and onions. Cook for 2 min to thicken up the sauce, then turn the heat off, add the cheese, and stir to combine. Serve immediately with more chese to pass at the table
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ORANGE CHICKEN

Last night for dinner we had orange chicken stir fry.  This was a wonderful recipe and easy.  I had finished it in less than a half an hour.  Great for a busy school night. 



Orange Chicken

3 3/4 cups water

1 oranges, zested

2 cups rice

2 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds chicken breast tenders, sliced on an angle into bite-size pieces

3 cloves garlic crushed

1 medium yellow skinned onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced

1 cup shredded carrots

6 scallions, cut on an angle into 2 inch pieces

1 cup snow peas, a couple of handfuls

Satay sauce:

• 4 rounded tablespoonfuls chunky peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons soy
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1-inch ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 orange, juiced

Garnish:

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) chopped peanuts or nut topping, available on the baking aisle
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions

Heat water with orange zest to boiling. Add rice, return to boil, stir. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook rice until tender, 18 minutes. Fluff with fork.

For stir-fry, heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken, garlic and onion, stir-fry 3 minutes. Add remaining veggies and stir-fry 5 minutes more. Heat all ingredients for sauce together in a small pot over low heat, stirring the sauce until all ingredients are combined. Transfer stir-fry to a large platter and pour sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle the platter with chopped nuts, cilantro, and basil.  Pin It

Shrimp on Fettuccine topped with Asaparagus Cream Sauce

 

 I

ngredients

• 1 pound asparagus tips
• 1 pound dry fettuccine
• Salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons plus some for drizzling
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced  
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (14 ounces) 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, (eyeball it)
• Black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 lemon, zested
• Handful parsley, finely chopped
• 1 pound shrimp

Serves 4

Preparation

Bring 1-inch of water to a boil in a large skillet as well as a large pot of water, for pasta. When the water in the skillet comes up to a boil, add salt and asparagus and blanch for 2 minutes, drain and reserve. When the pasta water comes up to a boil, salt it and cook fettuccine to al dente.

While the pasta water comes up to a boil, in the pan which you blanched the asparagus in, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, over medium heat then add garlic and shallot and saute 4-5 minutes. Deglaze with wine, reduce 30 seconds then add stock, tomatoes and a pinch of saffron or an envelope of saffron powder. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cream then season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
While sauce cooks, heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add butter, melt then add the bread crumbs and toast them. Add salt and pepper, lemon zest and parsley, remove and reserve. Wipe pan clean and return the skillet to medium-high heat and pre-heat until very hot. Drizzle shrimp with olive oil and cook until pink.

Chop asparagus into 1-inch pieces on an angle and add to sauce. Drain pasta and toss with asparagus and sauce. Serve pasta with shrimp and top each plate with the breadcrumbs.

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Menu Plan Monday 4/30

Looks like May is upon us..It is another dreary Iowa day today.  I put a great menu together this week.

Monday: Orange Chicken

Tuesday: Turkey cutlets with peppers and basil

Wednesday: tex Mex crunchy fry; chicken, o-rings, and pepper rings

Thursday: Pork chops with pasta

Friday: Lemon Spaghetti/ fish

Saturday:  Sliced steak and salad with lemony parsley potatoes

As always I am linking with orgjunkie.com