kung pao chicken, lemon pepper wings, grilled strip steak, and žemaičių blynai
You picked four whole plates, so this is a full feast: kung pao chicken from the wok, lemon pepper wings from the air fryer, a grilled strip steak dinner, and Lithuanian meat-stuffed potato pancakes. Together that is about 2,900 kcal each, roughly four normal dinners, so plan on lots of leftovers or cooking one plate a night. Everything below is built for doing it all tonight; two cooks make it much easier.
Time1 hour 30 minabout 75 minutes hands on, best with two cooks
People23 works too, see below
Rough kcal2910per person, estimate
Tonight$49.05of $90.65 in packages
01
Balance check
ProteinKung pao chicken, Lemon pepper wings, Strip steak, Beef filling
Green vegetableBroccoli stir-fry vegetables, Snap peas, Green beans, Romaine and cucumber
Balance is fine on every plate. The issue is quantity: about 2,900 kcal each if you eat it all in one night. Four proteins and four starches is a lot, so think of tonight as a feast with leftovers.
About 2910 kcalper person, rough estimate
Kung pao plate680
Lemon pepper wings plate650
Strip steak plate760
Žemaičių blynai plate820
02
Prep order
About 1 hour 30 minutes
0:00
Start firstoven to 425 F. Scrub the 2 baking russets and 2 sweet potatoes, poke with a fork, rub with a little oil and salt, and put them straight on the rack. Take the steak out of the fridge and season it with steak seasoning.
0:05
Peel and quarter about 2.5 lb russets for the pancakes. Cover with cold salted water in a pot and boil until very tender, about 20 minutes. Use hot water from the water heater to get it boiling faster.
0:10
Filling: brown the 0.5 lb ground beef with half a diced onion, salt, and pepper in a skillet, about 10 minutes. Spoon off extra fat and let it cool.
0:20
Dice the chicken thighs, toss with 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix the kung pao sauce. Slice the green onions, cucumbers, and romaine for the salad (do not dress it yet).
0:25
Drain the potatoes well, mash smooth, and spread out to cool for 10 minutes.
0:35
Mix the mash with 1 egg, about 1/2 cup flour, and salt into a soft dough. Shape 6 pancakes with a spoon of filling sealed inside each.
0:45
Wings into the air fryer at 400 F, frozen, in one layer, for 25 to 30 minutes, shaking twice. Start frying the pancakes in butter and oil over medium, 4 to 5 minutes a side, in batches.
0:55
Light the grill. Sweet potatoes and russets should be soft by now; turn the oven down to 200 F and keep them, plus the finished pancakes, warm in there.
1:05
Grill the steak hot, 4 to 5 minutes a side for medium rare (130 F), then rest it. Meanwhile: steam the green beans 3 minutes, then toss in a pan with garlic; brown the mushrooms in butter in another pan.
1:15
Wok on high: kung pao chicken, then the broccoli stir-fry bag, then sauce and peanuts. In the same hot pan after, blister the snap peas for 3 minutes.
Serve
Rice pouches in the microwave 90 seconds each. Toss the wings in melted butter and lemon pepper. Slice the steak. Dress the salad with sour cream. Sour cream on the potatoes and pancakes.
03
Recipes
10 parts
Wok, stovetopServes 2
Kung pao chicken with broccoli stir-fry
Ingredients
About 0.8 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
3 Tbsp soy sauce (1 for the chicken, 2 for the sauce)
1 Tbsp Huy Fong chili garlic sauce
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp water
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bag Birds Eye broccoli stir-fry vegetables, frozen
About 1/4 cup salted peanuts
3 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
Steps
Toss the diced chicken with 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Stir the remaining soy, chili garlic sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water together.
Heat the wok until it smokes, add the oil, then the chicken in one layer. Let it sear 2 minutes before stirring, then cook until no pink remains, about 5 minutes total.
Add the garlic for 20 seconds, then the frozen vegetables. Stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes until hot and bright.
Pour in the sauce and toss until glossy, about 1 minute. Off the heat, add the peanuts and green onions.
Keep the heat high and do not crowd the wok, or the chicken steams instead of searing.
MicrowaveServes 2
Jasmine rice
Ingredients
2 pouches Meijer 90 second jasmine rice
Steps
Squeeze each pouch to break up the rice, tear the vent, and microwave 90 seconds.
Fluff and serve with the kung pao.
Air fryerServes 2
Air fryer lemon pepper wings
Ingredients
About 1.5 lb Meijer frozen chicken wing sections (half the bag)
1 Tbsp salted butter, melted
About 1.5 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
Steps
Spread the frozen wings in one layer in the air fryer basket. Do two batches if they overlap.
Cook at 400 F for 25 to 30 minutes, shaking every 10 minutes, until crisp and at least 165 F inside (175 F is even better for wings).
Toss the hot wings with the melted butter and lemon pepper in a big bowl and serve right away.
Stovetop or wokServes 2
Blistered snap peas
Ingredients
1 bag (8 oz) sugar snap peas
2 tsp cooking oil
Salt
Steps
Heat a pan or the wok until very hot, add the oil and the snap peas in one layer.
Leave them 1 minute to char, then toss for 2 more minutes. Salt and serve while still crisp.
OvenServes 2
Baked sweet potatoes and baked russets
Ingredients
2 small sweet potatoes
2 large russets
A little oil and salt
Sour cream and butter to serve
Steps
Scrub, poke each potato several times with a fork, rub with oil and salt.
Bake right on the rack at 425 F: sweet potatoes about 45 minutes, russets 55 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in with no push.
Split open, add butter to the sweet potatoes and sour cream to the russets.
In a hurry, microwave the sweet potatoes 8 to 10 minutes instead, turning halfway.
Grill (fresh tier)Serves 2
Grilled strip steak
Ingredients
About 1 lb Certified Angus Beef top sirloin strip steak
About 2 tsp Meijer Grillers steak seasoning
Steps
Season the steak on both sides and let it sit out while the grill heats.
Grill over high heat 4 to 5 minutes a side for medium rare (130 F in the thickest part), longer if you like it more done.
Rest 5 minutes on a board, then slice across the grain.
Steamer, then panServes 2
Garlic green beans
Ingredients
1 bag (12 oz) Fresh from Meijer snipped green beans
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp butter or oil
Salt
Steps
Steam the green beans 3 to 4 minutes until bright green and just tender.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the garlic for 30 seconds, toss in the green beans, salt, and serve.
StovetopServes 2
Butter mushrooms
Ingredients
1 pack (8 oz) sliced white mushrooms
1 Tbsp salted butter
Salt and pepper
Steps
Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium high and add the mushrooms in one layer.
Leave them alone 3 minutes to brown, then stir and cook 4 to 5 minutes more until golden. Season at the end.
StovetopServes 2 (about 6 pancakes)
Žemaičių blynai (beef-stuffed potato pancakes)
Ingredients
About 2.5 lb russets, peeled and quartered
1 egg
About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus a little for your hands
1 tsp salt
0.5 lb 80/20 ground beef
Half a yellow onion, finely diced
Salt and pepper
Butter and oil for frying
Sour cream to serve
Steps
Boil the potatoes in salted water until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well, mash smooth, and let cool until you can handle it.
Brown the beef with the onion, salt, and pepper, about 10 minutes. Drain extra fat and let it cool.
Work the egg, flour, and salt into the mash to make a soft dough that holds together. Add a spoonful more flour if it is sticky.
With floured hands, flatten a sixth of the dough into a round in your palm, put a spoonful of filling in the middle, fold the edges over to seal, and press into a pancake about 3/4 inch thick.
Fry in a mix of butter and oil over medium heat, 4 to 5 minutes a side, until deep golden. Keep the finished ones warm in a 200 F oven.
Serve with plenty of sour cream on top.
Classic Samogitian style is just sour cream on top; some families also add fried onions.
No cookServes 2
Lettuce and cucumber salad in sour cream
Ingredients
2 romaine hearts, sliced
About half a bag of mini cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 or 3 green onions, sliced
About 1/3 cup sour cream
A splash of vinegar, a pinch of salt and sugar
Steps
Stir the sour cream, vinegar, salt, and sugar together.
Toss with the lettuce, cucumber, and green onion right before serving so it stays crisp.
Fresh from Meijer 80/20 Ground Beef, 1 lbSection 11
Meijer All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, Family PackSection 14
AisleA 24
Certified Angus Beef Top Sirloin Strip SteakSection 9
Meijer Salted Butter Sticks, 4 CountSection 31
AisleA 25
Romaine Hearts, 3 ctSection 5
Green Onion BunchSection 19
Aisle and section numbers come from Meijer's product pages. The store map is unknown, so the walk between stops is a best guess: shelf-stable first, cold food last. Pantry items, if you need them, are in Aisle B 14, B 15, B 17 (see Pantry check).
Use about 1.2 lb chicken thighs, 3 rice pouches, the same bag of stir-fry vegetables, about 2.25 lb wings, about 1.5 lb steak, 3 russets plus about 3.5 lb for the dough, 0.75 lb of the ground beef, and a third romaine heart. The single bags of snap peas, green beans, and mushrooms stretch to 3, or grab a second of each for bigger portions. Tonight's share comes to about $62.50.
This is four complete dinners. If you meant to spread them over several nights, the shopping list still works: the wings are frozen, and the chicken, steak, and beef keep a day or two in the fridge or can be frozen. Prices, aisles, and sections are from the Urbana Meijer catalog pages, not checked at the shelf today. Cooking oil, salt, pepper, and sugar are assumed on hand. Nothing was ordered. Meijer, 2500 S Philo Road, Urbana.