Serving This Week 2-8 to 2-12-2021
Come and see what I will be cooking up on Marilyns Treats this week!
This is what I featured the week of 2-8 to 2-12-2021. On Tuesday was Chicken Jerk Salad. Wednesday was Mushroom Lasagna With Béchamel Sauce. Thursday was Vanilla Custard and Chocolate Friday was Ultimate Nachos.
If you missed what I served up last week please click Serving This Week 2-1-to 2-05-2021.
Chicken Jerk Salad
Chicken Jerk Salad consists of mixed greens topped with mozzarella cheese, avocado, grilled green and red peppers, grilled chicken breast all marinated with a slightly spicy jerk sauce.
There are three ways to make your chicken.
First off you can easily buy the Deli strips in your and char them on the grill.
Use your charcoal grill to cook your chicken. That is a good option for cooking other items you want to serve later in the day or during your week. You don’t want to waste a good fire!
Lastly you can use your gas grill. This option is a bit cleaner and faster than using charcoal.
In my home we have always enjoyed using a charcoal grill. And since my husband always does the outdoor cooking we stick with his favorite.
This brightly colored salad is full of a robust flavor bringing out the jerk flavor after teasing your palate with the avocado and peppers.
Chicken Jerk Salad is a treat for any meal. Make it a meal on its own!
I especially love to serve a salad on the back deck on a breezy summer day.
There is something about the birds singing and the movement of the umbrella that makes for a peaceful meal.
The colors and flavors add to the festivity of the meal.
Enjoying the meal with your family is a great way to catch up on the events of the week.
Serving this salad also makes for a great conversation starter for a girls day out, card game, or to just enjoy nature.
Even though I used a spring mix of greens a fresh spinach leaf could also be used.
The spicy marinade adds a just a touch of flavor and is not heavy.
Perfectly balanced in texture, color and flavor, this salad is just the treat for a luncheon or light supper as well.
And when served for a gathering of family the ease of preparation allows you to get to the table and eat all together.
Give it a try! This salad is well worth the wait.
MUSHROOM LASAGNA WITH BECHAMEL SAUCE
What is a Bechamel Sauce you ask? It is a “mother sauce”.
A mother sauce is a sauce used to make other sauces. This is one of the five mother sauces.
In its purest form, béchamel is comprised of butter and flour that have been cooked together (a mixture that’s also known as a roux) and milk, with just a bit of seasoning. The result is a silky cream sauce that can be used either on its own or as the base for countless other sauces.
Béchamel is thick so it clings to your noodles. The first step in making a béchamel is to create a roux, a mixture of flour and fat that acts as a thickening agent. Think gravy.
To make a roux for béchamel, you simply heat the butter and whisk in roughly equal parts flour, cooking it just long enough to get some of the raw flavor out of the flour but not so long that it takes on any color.
Once the roux is properly cooked, the next step is to whisk in milk. To create a smooth consistency you need to gradually whisk in the milk. If you pour it all in at once, it will get clumpy and awkward. So continue to cook the béchamel, whisking it frequently, until it thickens to the degree that we want it.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the steps in this recipe. Everything is simple and basic so take a chance on it!
This dairy and mushroom lasagna is meatless.
Vegetarian Readers can feel free to read on!
Being Italian I have made lasagna for years.
About 45 years.
Meals I can make the night before and then throw in the oven have become very popular in my house.
Serving a meal before a dance recital, game, or running the kids to an appointment can sometimes be tricky.
The fridge does a great job of marrying all the flavors together and the deliciousness of the flavor is a great reward! Especially when cooking a pasta dish.
This Mushroom Lasagna with a Bechemal Sauce was made to be prepared the night before.
And since all the cleanup is done the night before it leaves you with just one dish and a spatula to wash after dinner.
A good, warm, and nutritious meal has been served. The noodles provide stamina needed for a sports game or a good workout such as the dance recital.
And cleanup is a breeze.
This is an awesome go to meal when you find yourself smack in the middle of a busy week!
I warn you to make sure your noodles stay al dente. To keep from sticking keep them in the water until you use each one.
Keep your layers to the recommended amounts.
Since you only have cheeses and vegetables to keep the dish firm, don’t overdo your liquids or your lasagna will be runny when you cut it.
It really isn’t a problem as long as you know this trick.
If you find your dish isn’t firm enough then refrigerate it longer.
I even prepare my lasagna recipes the day before.
The sauces have a chance to marinate and the spices get just a bit bolder.
When they say that pasta dishes are better the next day, they aren’t pulling your leg.
There is a reason.
Now that I have given you all my years worth of expertise in these tips and tricks I expect you all to start COOKING LASAGNA!
Please come back and let me know what you are cooking.
VANILLA CUSTARD AND CHOCOLATE
So just what is custard and how is it different from puddings?
LET’S TALK CUSTARD FIRST SINCE THAT IS THE DISH I AM HIGHLIGHTING HERE.
Custard is pudding’s close cousin and is typically made of eggs, sugar and milk.
It can be either baked or stirred using gentle heat.
While most custard and pudding recipes typically call for eggs, the main difference is that pudding uses a starch for thickening, where as custard’s thickening agent is the egg or egg yolk n most instances.
Custard’s texture also tends to be firmer than pudding.
NOW FOR THE PUDDING WHICH IS THE MORE COMMON DISH IN THE UNITED STATES.
Let me clarify my answer as to the type of pudding about which I am referring.
First, when we talk about pudding, we’re not talking about the instant, packaged kind that is whisked with cold milk.
I am referring to true puddings. The comforting, old fashioned style dessert that Grandma cooked on the stovetop and was proud to include in her recipe notes.
It is the first way to I learned make pudding. And as my boys were growing up I served it in parfait glasses. I always kept a little in the pan. We all looked forward to eating the skin that formed over the top. The boys fought over whose was bigger.
Spoiler Alert. All the parfait dishes were the same.
An authentic pudding is a sweetened milk or cream based mixture that is thickened with cornstarch or flour, then cooked in a saucepan on the stove.
Both classic pudding and custard have a great versatility as a dessert, as they can be incorporated into a trifle or mixed into another dish.
Instead of finishing off my custard by making the perfect burnt sugar top on like my Creme Brulee or folding into another dish, like a donut, I used it alone to show off the deliciousness of the pure custard.
Whether you’re hosting an elegant dinner party or simply seeking the perfect grand finale to a weeknight meal, pudding and custard always hit the sweet spot!
I serve it mainly at holidays. Like Christmas Eve or birthdays.
Another way to create the perfect custard is to incorporate chocolate into the dessert. Together in a dessert your custard is guaranteed to taste sensational.
Not just any old pudding, or whipped dessert, but homemade custard!
With the chocolate grated over the top, the flavor just wows your taste buds asking for more.
And the best part is that you choose the brands and level of excellence of the ingredients! The choice is yours! It is homemade after all.
The family knows you are going for the best and not settling for the rest.
Ultimate Nachos
Do you ever crave Mexican style food?
I seem to get a craving once in a while that just won’t go away.
You know, the kind of craving where you can eat something for every day of the week?
I am that way about Mexican right now.
There aren’t many vegetables I like to eat warm but refried is one I can eat anytime. Yeah its more of a protein but to me it counts as a vegetable.
The fact that most of my Mexican favorites also have loads of melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, lettuce and cubes of tomato doesn’t stop me either!
I have… Well….confession time….. Been on an anti meat kick lately.
I know. This born and raised met and potatoes girl is swearing off meat for now.
Since I am so picky about veggies this just blows my family away. So what was the point of all that? These nachos are delicious and have altered the way I eat. For now anyway.
You can easily delete the meat or use pork or chicken as you wish. If you go meatless you can also delete the taco seasoning.
Substitute the refried beans for black beans and rally change the flavors.
Make these nachos as spicy or as mild as you like by adding toppings at the table.
My husband and daughter-in-law have a competition when it come to eating hot and spicy foods.
I have seen ghost peppers, Trinidad Scorpion Peppers, gochujang mayo on the table.And the list goes on.
That is when they can find the ingredients.
As for me, mild salsa sauce is hot enough.
The point is you can either dress these nachos up or down depending on your preferences.
And for me, I love anything that hits everyones tastes without much trouble.
I also love the compliments and laughs I hear as dinner or snack time comes around.
Just heat up the beans and seasoned meat, cut up the toppings, provide spoons and plates and the cook’s job is done!
There are many reasons where serving these Ultimate Nachos is a good choice.
When the guys and friends come over to watch the big game or hang out in the man cave, these nachos easily fill up the buffet table. And the guys can graze whenever they want.
Pick the right movie night and the scene for grabbing a snack is set.
I have even served these Ultimate and hearty Nachos for game night when it is my turn for our crowd of friends come to play cards.
The options are endless. And everyone will be satisfied.
Well, until you yell “who wants dessert?”
Then you are on your own.
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