Meal Planning- Week 3

Monday: Jason’s on his own- I have a meeting in Cary 4:30-6pm, then a jewelry party @ Jennifer’s afterward!


Tuesday: take-out (family night @ book fair till 7)


Wednesday: whole wheat pasta tossed with parmesan cheese, broccoli


Thursday: Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, unknown green veggie :-)


Friday: Jason will be @ the Blue&Gold Banquet for Boy Scouts


Saturday: BBQ chicken, baked mac&cheese, peas, mixed fruit


Sunday: Beef tips and rice, green beans, peaches

Beef Tips and Rice

Ingredients
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can french onion soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1-2 lbs. cut up meat (roast, steak, etc.)

Directions
Put beef in crock pot. Mix soups and soup mix, pour over beef tips. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve over rice.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey
10 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. mustard
1 (3-oz.) can french fried onions

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey and next 8 ingredients, mixing well.
3. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mix into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
4. 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 load. Bake 40 minutes. Top with french friend onions. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

(recipe from www.pauladeen.com)

What really happened...

So last week's menu didn't really work out as planned- life happens! This is what it looked like in reality:

18 BBQ Roast

19 Taco Rice

20 take-out (family night @ book fair till 7)

21 Jason ate a sandwich at home and I went out w/my friend Angie

22 Spaghetti (whole wheat noodles w/marinara sauce) Green beans Pears

23 Shrimp & pirogies sautéed with onions

24 Leftovers

We did have the slow cooker tex-mex chicken today, but I added and subbed a few things to make do with what I could find in the pantry and to make enough leftovers for at least 2 days worth of lunches! I've updated the recipe link to reflect the changes.

Meal Planning- Week 2

Last week went as planned for the most part- here's our plan for this week:

Monday: Cheeseburger Rice, green beans, pineapple


Tuesday: take-out (family night @ book fair till 7)


Wednesday: Shrimp & pirogies sautéed with onions and broccoli, applesauce


Thursday: grilled BBQ chicken, baked mac&cheese, peas, peaches


Friday: spaghetti, green beans, pears


Saturday: Jason will be @ the Blue&Gold Banquet for Boy Scouts


Sunday: Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken, mixed fruit

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

modifications noted in RED
Ingredients
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch wide strips (2 lbs. chicken, cut into large chunks)
2 tbsp. (1/2 pkg.) taco seasoning (1 pkg. taco seasoning)
2 tbsp. flour
1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch wide strips (omit)
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch wide strips (omit)
1 cup frozen corn (1 entire can Fiesta corn, drained)
1- 1/2 cups salsa (2 cups picante sauce- it's all i had in the pantry!)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can black beans, drained

Directions
Mix flour and taco seasoning. Toss chicken strips in seasoning mixture and place in slow cooker. Stir in veggies and salsa and cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Stir just before serving; top with shredded cheese.

Can be served over cooked rice or in steamed tortillas.

Baked Mac&Cheese

Ingredients
8 ounces elbow macaroni noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces shredded cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
paprika- for topping

Directions
Cook macaroni according to directions on box and drain. Rinse and set aside. Mix remaining ingredients, add cooked macaroni and mix well. Put mixture in a lightly greased dish (2-3 qt.) Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Cheeseburger Rice

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey, chicken, or beef
1 chopped onion
2 cups water
2/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 cups Minute Original rice
4 ounces shredded cheese (I use Fiesta blend for everything!)

Directions
Brown meat and onion, drain if needed. Stir in water, ketchup, and mustard. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and top with cheese. Let stand until cheese melts.

BBQ Roast- as easy as it gets!

Ingredients
1 roast beef
1 bottle barbecue sauce (if roast is large, add more sauce)

Directions
Put roast in crock pot. Add the bottle of barbecue sauce making sure the entire surface of the meat has sauce on it. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

I usually serve this with a potato side dish and green beans. Leftovers can be shredded for sandwiches- this is great for lunch the next day or a quick dinner.

Skillet Chicken with Garlic Butter

Ingredients

2 tbsp. light olive oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
12 oz. mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed and cut in half if small and into quarters if large
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/4 c. chicken stock

Directions
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high. Add the chicken cubes and mushrooms and stir- fry, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes more, stirring constantly, or until the chicken cubes are cooked through. Add the butter, parsley and chicken stock to the pan. Stir-fry for 1 minute and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Serve over rice or mix with pasta. Goes well with steamed or roasted veggies!

Broccoli Chicken Divan

Ingredients
1 lb. fresh broccoli cut into spears, or 1 10 oz.pkg. frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups cubed chicken or turkey (cooked)
1/3 cup milk
1 can cream of broccoli or chicken soup
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 T dry bread crumbs
1 T melted butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 450. In baking dish arrange broccoli and top with chicken. In a small bowl, combine soup and milk. Pour over top of chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. In cup combine breadcrumbs and butter, sprinkle over cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve over rice.

Meal Planning

I won't lie- I am the worst at meal planning. I have the whole couponing thing figured out and I've been able to build up our food storage a good bit over the last year, but a lot of days I come home from work tired and not really motivated to cook. I have taken a stab at planning ahead a few times and it's worked out... for the most part.

In the last week since I've finished up with my NB portfolio I have been really motivated to get our home back in order, and as a part of that start making an effort to plan meals ahead of time. As I write there is chicken thawing in the kitchen that I will boil later this evening so that I will have pre-cooked meat to make at least one dinner with this week and some to freeze as well! I have meetings after work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week, so dinner will be a little rushed (or late one!). I am lucky that Jason is willing to pitch in and cook when needed.

We typically both eat leftovers for lunch the following day, and depending on what's left it might stretch into 2 days.

So far this is the plan for this week's dinners (plus a few days to get started):

Saturday (last night): salmon, wild rice, steamed broccoli

Sunday (today): shepherd's pie

Monday: Skillet Chicken with Garlic Butter, pasta, oven roasted asparagus

Tuesday: Broccoli Chicken Divan, rice, pears

Wednesday: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, sauteed potatoes and onions (Jason's cooking- the breakfast master!)

Thursday: Teryaki Chicken/Shrimp/onion/broccoli/pineapple, rice (Jason's cooking again- yum!)

Friday: date night :-)

Saturday: clean out the fridge

Sunday: BBQ roast, green beans, new potatoes, mixed fruit