Menu for March 1-March 8 Paula Deen Week

Monday--Alana's Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pizza

**This is great with a salad**

This recipe will make 2 whole pizzas, so if there's just two of you....save one of the crusts and 1/2 everything else in the recipe. Or...go ahead and make it and if you have a vaccum sealer...seal it and make your own frozen pizza!!

1 package pre made pizza crust (I like to use Mama Mary's) Publix also has freshly made pizza dough balls in the deli section that are great!

4-5 bonless, skinless chicken breasts

4-5T Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

1C Frank's buffalo wing sauce

1/2 stick butter

1C ranch dressing

1-1/2C pizza blend cheese or mozzarella

Parmesan cheese

Slice the chicken very thinly on the diagonal and cook in about 3T olive oil. (may need to add more as the oil cooks down). While the chicken is cooking, in a microwave or small saucepan, melt the butter and Frank's hot sauce together; stir and set aside. Drizzle the pizza crusts with olive oil. Spread the ranch dressing over the crust. When the chicken is done, add the wing sauce mixture and stir to coat. Place the chicken on top of the ranch. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle the outside crusts with parmesan cheese. Bake at 450 for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Can serve with an extra side of ranch and/or Frank's hot sauce.

Tues-- Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas (from Pauladeen.com)
**These are great alone or get a bag of tortilla chips and salsa to go with them or maybe some spanish rice.**

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds meat (boneless, skinless chicken breast, skirt steak or peeled and deveined shrimp)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, sliced*
1 red bell pepper, sliced*
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 lime, juiced*
for topping: Sour cream*, Salsa*, Guacamole*, shredded Cheddar cheese*
*all of these are totally optional but sure make it delicious!

Directions
In a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, salt, pepper and your choice of meat. Seal and toss the bag around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator. *Cook’s Note: 15 minutes for shrimp, 20 minutes for chicken and 1 hour for skirt steak.
Preheat your cast iron servers in a preheated 400 degree F oven for at least 20 minutes, to get a good sizzle when you plate the fajitas. (if you happen to have these)
Heat the outside grill or a large indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the hot grill, discard the marinade. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, skirt steak about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare and about 2 minutes for shrimp. Slice the chicken and steak into strips if you are using.
In a large skillet heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and fry the onions and bell peppers until crisp-tender with some salt and pepper.
Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven with the servers for 15 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, remove the cast iron servers from the oven and quickly arrange the meat and peppers and onions on it. It will immediately start to sizzle from their fat and moisture. Serve sizzling immediately with the warm tortillas and other accompaniments.



Wed--Shepherd’s Pie (Alana's modified version, taken from Pauladeen.com)
**This doesn't even need side items, it's a whole meal on it's own. Of course, if you wanted you could fix some biscuits or another vegetable side.

Ingredients:

"Beef" Filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I use ground turkey)
16 ounces canned tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked mixed vegetables (peas, diced carrots and corn)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Mashed Potatoes:5 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cups low fat or fat free milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup red fat or fat free sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cornbread Crust:1 (12-ounces) boxed cornbread mix

Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onion in oil. When the onion is soft add the ground meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon and brown. Stir in tomato sauce and mixed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the potatoes about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well and return to the pot. Whip the potatoes with an electric mixer until moderately smooth. Add milk, butter and sour cream and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust consistency with more milk, if desired.
Follow directions on box to make cornbread batter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease 6 (8-ounce) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon the mashed potatoes into the bottoms of each prepared ramekin, spreading them evenly with a rubber spatula. Then add the meat filling, spreading that evenly over the mashed potatoes. Pour the cornbread batter evenly over the meat layer in each ramekin.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the cornbread is cooked through and golden on top.


Thurs--Northern Italian Pasta Shell Stuffing (from Pauladeen.com)

**Pair this with a salad and some garlic breadsticks**

Ingredients:
3 packages frozen, chopped spinach

3 pounds ground round (or ground turkey--or meatless)*

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (go low fat for less calories)

2 large onions, chopped

Grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

2 jumbo eggs

1 (1-pound) package jumbo pasta shells

2 cups tomato sauce (your own or ready-made)

Directions
Place frozen spinach in a strainer and run under hot water until thawed. Squeeze all of the water out and place in a large bowl. In a large saute pan, cook the ground round until browned. *If you're sing turkey you'll have to brown the meat in about 2T of olive oil since the turkey doesn't make it's own fat like the ground beef.*Drain meat, reserving 2 tablespoons fat in the pan, and place meat in the same bowl with the spinach. Stir in the cream cheese until blended with the meat and spinach. Saute the chopped onions in the reserved meat fat until transparent. Transfer onions to the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to combine. Add grated cheese, salt, and pepper, to taste, and combine. Let mixture cool and then add the eggs. The filling can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook pasta shells in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and cool to the touch. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture. Place shells in a large baking pan and cover with tomato sauce. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 hour. Serve. Recipe courtesy of Barbara Plutoni

Fri--Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf (from Pauladeen.com)

**This is great with mashed potatoes and green beans or corn on the cob.**

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chuck (OR ground turkey)

10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (OR turkey bacon)

1 (8-ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted

1/4 cup mayonnaise (can use light mayo)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck and next 8 ingredients, mixing well.
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
Press meat mixture into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.