Weekly Menu Plan 11-15-09

Beer Butt Chicken
Mushroom risotto recipe
(We had this tonight and it is FABULOUS)

Chicken pot pie (made with leftover chicken) recipe

Tilapia in a bag recipe


Sausage Tortellini Soup (from Amy)

1 lb Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small onion chopped
4 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups water
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 T chicken bouillon crystals
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup Rose' wine
1 9oz package fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

Crumble sausage and cook with onion and garlic, drain. Mix all ingredients together in crock pot except tortellini. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Put tortellini in the last 30 minutes to 1 hour of cooking.
Original recipe calls to cook on stovetop so you could do it either way!

Thanksgiving....the early version

I'm not posting my weekly meal plan this week because I am having a lovely group of women over to my house tomorrow to cook an early Thanksgiving feast....together. I'm really looking forward to it but feel a little out of sorts because I'm not doing all of the cooking. Here's what's on the menu.

Turkey (duh)
Cornbread dressing recipe
Streusled sweet potato casserole recipe
Easy corn pudding recipe
Cranberry relish recipe
Copper pennies
Pear Gorgonzola salad recipe
Pumpkin pie recipe
Oatmeal pecan pie recipe

I did make the pumpkin pie ahead of time. It's going to be terribly hard not to eat some in the morning....I just LOVE pumpkin pie for breakfast!

Weekly Menu Plan 11-1-09

Better late than never!

Fiesta shrimp recipe
Creamy potato bacon soup (new....recipe later if it's tasty)
Blueberry waffles recipe

Easy Chicken and Noodles:

Skin 1 whole chicken. Place chicken, salt, pepper, and some water in crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Debone chicken and put back in crockpot with juice. Take 24 oz frozen homestyle noodles and 4 cups chicken broth and put in large pan on stove. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles and broth to chicken and cook on high 1 hour. Salt to taste.

I like to serve this over mashed potatoes for a true starch fest.

Pumpkins Pumpkins We Love Pumpkins!

So I was reading Moneysavingmom.com (which is a GREAT blog BTW) and she writes this post on making pumpkin puree from scratch here and makes it sound easy. I get the bright idea that I should make this wonderful puree which will undoubtedly make my Thanksgiving pumpkin pies Superman good. I go to Walmart to buy the pie pumpkins (a whole lot smaller than the ones you carve) and come home thinking this is going to be a breeze! I didn't realize at the time that these little jewels would require a hacksaw to cut through opposed to the serrated knife that moneysavingmom had used! I really wish that I had taken pictures of me with the hacksaw going after these little pumpkins! It all did result in 13 Cups of pumpkin puree (most of which I froze) which I plan on making into an assortment of treats. My first attempt was White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams which are some amazing cookies! Watch out for future additions to the pumpkin saga!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams recipe

Meal Plan Week of October 25th

I'm back in the kitchen this week making cookies and pumpkin puree (more on this later). It's also a good week to use up some things I have in my freezer and take advantage of what's on sale.

Ribeyes, mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus

Best Pot Roast here

Pork Tenderloin (out of new Paula Deen)

Lasagna (going to work on a recipe b/c I usually just wing it!)

Meal Plan Week of October 18th

It's a good thing not too many people read this blog or there might be a mutiny considering this will be another "short" week for cooking! The hubby is heading out of town for a few days and I'm hoping to mooch off a friend one night for dinner and take the girls out another. Here's what's on the menu for the remainder of the week :)

Chili (I really don't use a recipe b/c I make it different each time. I usually start with "Chili Magic" and doctor it from there)

Apricot chicken (this is a new crock pot recipe that I will print if it's successful)

Sausage Breakfast Rolls recipe
Tomato soup

Week of 10-11-09

The Homestyle Meatloaf from this past week was great! I did run out of ketchup and subbed BBQ sauce instead but otherwise followed the recipe.

I'm leaving the hubby to hold down the fort and won't return until Tuesday.....then leaving again on Thursday....I doubt there will be much cooking in my kitchen next week.

Meal Plan Week of October 4th

It's a short week b/c we will be starting fall break....whoo hoooo!!! Looking forward to visiting my family and getting some time to absorb some fall inspiration.

*New Homestyle Meatloaf recipe
mashed taters
steamed veggies

Chicken roll-ups (tasted like the Oriental Chicken roll-ups at Applebee's)
2 cups cooked breaded chicken tenders, chopped
10 oz bag shredded coleslaw
1 cup chow mein noodles
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
¼ cup chopped green onion
1 cup creamy poppy seed dressing
Flour tortillas
Combine chicken, coleslaw, noodles, cheese, onion and dressing. Roll up in tortillas.

Greek-sytle Scampi
1 t olive oil
1 T minced garlic
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomato with olive oil
¼ C chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 C feta with sundried tomato
¼ t black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Heat oil in pan, add garlic, tomatoes and parsley. Simmer 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes
3. Pour shrimp mixture into 13x9 pan, sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Serve over rice or pasta

Updates on New Recipes

Beef Daube Provencal: Pretty good for a crockpot meal. A cross between pot roast and beef stew with red wine undertones.

Chicken Spaghetti: YUMMY! And really easy using the leftover chicken from the beer butt earlier in the week. I added some garlic powder as recommended by some of the reviews and I halved the recipe since we will only eat a 8 x 8. This would definitely do really well as a make ahead and also serve well as something to take a new mom.

Almond Stuffed Chicken: Pretty good. Definitely easy. I would recommend using thinner chicken breasts or they won't completely cook in the 12 min.

My Dad's Green Beans

My Dad does this great thing to canned green beans that makes them taste like Texas Roadhouse green beans. We had these last night with dinner and even my picky 5-year old ate all of hers!

1 can kitchen cut green beans
1-2 slices bacon
1/4 C chopped onion
1 T butter
Cajun seasoning

Drain the beans and rinse VERY well. Tear up the bacon and cook it in a saucepan until browned. Add onions and cook until clear. Add beans, butter and cajun seasoning and cook on low till butter is melted and beans are hot.

Yummy and easy....that's my kind of side dish!

Meal Plan Week of September 27th

Yummy week with a couple of new recipes to try!


Beer butt chicken
grilled veggies


Grilled ribeyes
green salad
baked potato


*New*Chicken spaghetti recipe


*New*Beef Daube Provencal recipe
biscuits


*New*Almond Stuffed Chicken recipe
Mashed potatoes (love the Steam n Mash)

Meal Plan Week of September 20th

Marinated shrimp recipe
salad
dessert???

Talapia in foil (This is great b/c it is the main course and the veggies all in one pouch)
4 T butter, melted
1 T Cajun seasoning (you can substitute any flavor seasoning)
1 T packed brown sugar
1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed
4 Tilapia fillets
Variety of veggies (asparagus, matchstick carrots, onion, snow peas, green beans, squash)

Combine butter, seasoning, sugar and bouillon, mixing well. Spray 4 squares of aluminum foil with cooking spray and lay 1 fillet on each square. Spoon butter mixture over each fillet. Top with veggies. Fold foil over, making a pouch and sealing well. Grill for 15 minutes.

Pressed cubano sandwiches recipe

Tex-mex lasagna

Even though this has a long ingredient list it is super easy to make!! However, it does not freeze very well.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

2 C chopped cooked chicken (rotisseri is good)
1 C chopped red pepper
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1 jalepeno seeded and chopped
1 can corn drained
1 can black beans drained
1 (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can Rotel
2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t salt
16 oz sour cream (I use the light version)
8 oz light cream cheese
6 oven ready lasagna noodles
8 oz shredded cheese (either mexi or cheddar)

In a dutch over, combine first 13 ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Combine cream cheese and sour cream.

Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1/3 sauce in bottom of pan. Top with 3 noodles. Spread 1/2 of cc mixture on noodles. Top with 1/3 sauce and 1/2 cheese. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Let rest 10 min before serving.

Meal Plan Week of September 13th

Better late than never right? We don't have too much of a meal plan this week because we had several interuptions to our normal schedule. But here's what's on the menu:

Pork burgers (from a pig I'm splitting with my parents)
chips/dip
fruit

skillet lasagna (this one is new so I'll post the recipe if it's a keeper)

BBQ pork
corn pudding
texas caviar

Meal Plan Week of September 6th

We're having a bigger than normal Sunday dinner this week. My parents are in town and I'm also taking a meal to a friend that had a baby. That's means some yummy dinner for us!

There are several recipes this week that don't have direct links. I will post those recipes separately so this post isn't too long. Have a delicious week!

Tex-mex lasagna
Cheddar chile corn muffins
Fruit salad
Mocha cream cake recipe (I do not add the instant coffee to the icing and I put the chocolate chips on top of the cake instead of in it....but those are personal preferences. I think this cake tastes like a hostess ding dong...but better)

Crockpot creole chicken recipe

Ribeyes
Creek fries
asparagus

Beer butt chicken
Pear gorgonzola salad recipe

Zuppa toscana soup recipe (using fresh spinach instead of kale)

Update From New Recipe Week

This past week was "New Recipe" week at our house and the results are in!

The Marinated Shrimp recipe was fabulous!! Definitely a do-over around here!

The Crock pot French Dip Sandwiches recipe falls into the do-over with some adjustments category. It definitely needed more flavor. Next time I will use a stronger beer such as Guinness and add more garlic and possibly some powdered onion soup.

The Mexican casserole was not good. You won't see this recipe posted.

The Chicken pot pie was great! Easy and extremely tasty. Another do-over.

3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen vegetable blend
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COMBINE first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish.
UNROLL dough; place over chicken mixture.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until crust is golden brown.

Anytime that I need chopped cooked chicken I use chicken left over from "beer butt chicken" or a roasted chicken or you can buy a rotisserie chicken at the store. It is much more flavorful than just using cooked chicken breasts.

Weekly Menu Plan 8-30-09

This week is New Recipe week! All of these are untried by myself so it should be an interesting week :) especially since my 5 year old does NOT like to try new things.

For the next several weeks, I am going to try a new crock pot recipe each week to expand my repertoire. Leave a comment in you know of any good ones I should try.

Marinated Shrimp recipe
salad

Crock pot French Dip Sandwiches recipe

Mexican casserole
rice

Chicken pot pie
salad

I'll post the recipes of the last two if they are any good!

Crockpot Mexican Chicken Chili

A friend recently asked for a crockpot recipe that was low fat/low cal. This is a great one...even if you're not looking to cut calories!

Mexican Chicken Chili (adapted from MOPS newsletter)

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 cans petite diced tomatoes (the garlic/olive oil are my favorite but you can use any kind)
2 cans pinto beans, undrained
1 can enchilada sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin

Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Put all ingredients in the cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Shred chicken breasts. If you're not going low cal, you can garnish with cheese, sour cream, corn chips, etc...

Weekly Menu Plan 8-23-09

It's a short week this week for me. The hubby has a board meeting one night and another I'm going out with friends so only 4 nights of cooking this week. I'm using some of the yummy blue cheese that a friend gave me so you'll see that in a couple of different recipes. Hope you enjoy what's on the menu!

Sliders recipe
Blue cheese and bacon potato skins:
5 (12-ounce) baking potatoes
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Preheat oven to 375°. Bake potatoes at 375° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Place potato pulp, buttermilk, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Spoon about 1/2 cup potato mixture into each of 8 shells (reserve remaining shells for another use). Arrange stuffed shells on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Easy Tomato Basil soup:
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (or use paste basil)
Swiss cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in the broth, salt, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Stir in basil.
Place half of the soup in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl, and repeat procedure with remaining soup. Sprinkle hot soup with swiss cheese. Serve with ham and cheese sandwiches.
You can make this soup without the basil if you use basil/oregano tomatoes. It’s not quite as good…but it’s easier!

Ham and cheese sandwiches:
1 pkg refrigerated French bread
Deli ham
Swiss or provolone cheese slices
Cut bread dough into four equal pieces. Unroll each piece. Place a few pieces of ham and one piece of cheese at the end of one slice of dough and roll up. Place seam sides down on a baking pan. Bake according to bread directions until nicely brown.


Fiesta shrimp recipe

Gorgonzola Fettucini recipe

Weekly Menu Plan 8-16-09

Sunday we're going to a birthday party and then to a friend's house for dinner (she is a Fabulous cook) so I get a night off.

Ribeyes on the grill
blue cheese/pear salad recipe

beer butt chicken (seriously...you stick a 1/2 full beer can up a chicken's butt and grill for 1 hour...be sure to generously coat the chicken with cajun seasoning first)....makes great leftovers for any dish requiring "2 cups cooked chicken"
oriental salad recipe


eggplant parmesan recipe
ceasar salad

homemade pizza

Meal Plan Week of August 7th

We stopped at the Farmer's Market at the Streets today so there will be plenty of fresh veggies to make sides this week along with some zuchinni for zuchinni muffins!! Yummy

I'm having trouble getting some of the recipes to load. If you're interested in a particular one, leave a message and I'll email you.

Steak, green beans, tomatoes

Pulled chicken http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1197150
Ranch slaw

Shrimp Po Boys
corn

Jagerschnitzel

Layered taco salad

Corn Pudding Recipe

This recipe is a great side dish....easy and light.

Corn Pudding

1 pkg Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
1/4 C butter, melted
8 oz can corn
8 oz can cream corn
8 oz fat free plain yogurt (look for the store brand)

Mix ingredients together. Pour into baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (I use a round Corning Ware dish). Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until set.

fiesta shrimp update

We tried the fiesta shrimp recipe last night and it is definitely a keeper! Just a couple of changes to the recipe...
1. I used 1 lb of shrimp but kept the full amount of corn and beans per the suggestions found on the website.
2. Don't bother putting the cheese inside the packet...it gets lost. Instead top each hot serving with shredded cheese...yummy!

Really easy, quick, and clean-up is great....just throw away the foil!

Meal Plan Week of August 2nd

hot dogs/hamburgers/mac n cheese (we have our Kindergarten ice cream social so dinner has to be quick)

Chicken cakes http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1206203
grilled veggies (olive oil and some "hot rocks" from Harry and David....yummy!)

oven fried chicken http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=380646
roasted potatoes

bbq ribs (boil ribs then grill using your favorite bbq sauce)
corn pudding (I'll post this recipe separately. It's one of our favorite side dishes....light and easy to prepare and the whole family will eat it.)

grilled fiesta shrimp (this is a new recipe...I'll let you know if it's a keeper) http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1906394
rice and veggies

Pecan Pie Squares

I made these for dessert for the July wine club and the ladies pretty much finished the whole 9 x 13 pan! This recipe makes a square pan but is easily doubled.

1/2 C butter, softened (not melted)
3 T powdered sugar
1 C flour
3 eggs
3/4 C brown sugar
3/4 C corn syrup
1/2 t salt
3/4 C chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour. Pat into a sqaure pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes.

Beat eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt until smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake 40-45 minutes more.

Best Pot Roast

Tuesday nights are very busy for us so I usually try to make something in the crockpot or assemble something during nap time and cook later. This is one of our favorites....SO easy and leftovers are great for roast beef sandwiches later in the week. (I don't even measure the salt or pepper and I use bottled garlic....maybe 1 T)

Best slow cooker pot roast:
1 beef sirloin roast (this cut makes the best pot roast but other cuts will do)
1 T. kosher salt
1 T. ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves peeled
1 C beef broth
1 pkg baby carrots
1 pound potatoes (small red or fingerling work best)
1 yellow onion cut into eighths
Sprinkle roast evenly with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker. Add garlic and broth. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add carrots, potatoes, and onion and cook for 2 more hours.

Waffles for dinner

I love breakfast foods for dinner! They are so fast to prepare and such a special treat because I don't usually fix them for breakfast :) This is my grandmother's waffle recipe which I use all the time. Last night I added some blueberries to the mix which made them extra good. It is seriously worth the $20 for a nice waffle maker.

2 C flour
4 t baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 C milk
6 T. butter melted

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Add eggs and milk. Mix well. Add butter and mix well. Bake according to waffle iron instructions.

Wine Club Menu for Sunday:

Chardonnay is the wine this month and the book recommends "cookout" type food.

Pork Tenderloin sandwiches (grill a pork tenderloin 15 min per side and add a sauce that is 1/2 bbq sauce 1/2 ranch dressing)
Coconut Crab and Shrimp salad http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1108286
Creamy French Potato Salad
Chips
Strawberries
Pecan Pie Squares
White Peach Sangriahttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/White-Peach-Sangria/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Weekly Menu Plan 7-19-09

We've got a busy week this week. Schafer's birthday is Wednesday and Sunday is her party. Next Saturday is the MOPS retreat and Sunday is Wine Club....so we won't be eating at home much....but here's what's on the menu.

Monday: Ribeyes on the grill, grilled potatoes, and pear/gorgonzola salad
Tuesday: Slow cooker chicken stroganoff
Wednesday: Dinner at Texas Roadhouse for Schafer's birthday
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: eating out

Soon I'll figure out this blogging thing and I'll post the recipes along with the menu every Sunday.