Menu Plan Monday

I'm so excited to get back with Menu Plan Monday! I actually had a plan a few weeks ago, and then with Curt getting his appendix out, I sort of stopped planning the few weeks he was off of work. This week I've made a real plan and did real grocery shopping yesterday - so here is what I've come up with...

Sunday - Ravioli Lasagna - this recipe makes 2 so I was able to freeze one to have in the future.

Monday - Steaks on the grill, twice baked potatoes, veggie

Tuesday - Chicken and bowtie pasta (already made and in the freezer)

Wednesday - Roast, Emerald Rice

Thursday - Turkey Spinach cheeseburgers - makes 8 burgers so I will freeze a bunch for the future

Friday - Pasta with Alfredo sauce

Head over to Orgjunkie.com for more MPM ideas!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week we had leftovers instead of our Tomato Tortellini Soup, so that is back on the menu for this week.

Monday: Soft tacos

Tuesday: Runza Casserole (recipe below)

Wednesday: Tomato Tortellini Soup

Thursday: Salisbury Steak (I would like to provide this recipe as it is easy and made in the slow cooker, but my husband found it, told me what we needed to buy, and then put the cookbook back on the shelf. As soon as I locate it I'll post it here)

Friday: Parmesan Chicken with Spaghetti

Runza Casserole

2 lbs hamburger

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 c chopped onion

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1 pkg mild shredded cheddar cheese

2 tubes crescent rolls

Brown hamburger, onion, salt, pepper. Drain and add chopped cabbage. Simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cream of mushroom soup. Grease 13x9 in pan. Layer 1 tube crescent rolls on bottom of pan. Top with hamburger mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with remaining tube of crescent rolls. Bake 30 minutes at 350. I've also split this into 2 square pans, cooking one and freezing the other. This week though I'll cook the entire thing and use leftovers for lunches.

Menu Plan Monday

We managed to stick to our plan last week, and have a pretty easy plan for this week.

Monday: Round Steak baked with Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sweet Potato Chips

Tuesday: Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Wednesday: Soft tacos

Thursday: Roast and Baked Potatoes

Friday: Blackened Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo (Schwans)

Head over to Orgjunkie.com for more Menu ideas.

Menu Plan Monday

Last week went according to plan except we skipped Little Joes and picked up Subway one night. We'll have the Little Joes tonight instead.

Monday: Little Joes (recipe on last week's post)
Tuesday: Eating out (got a gc to red lobster for Christmas)
Wednesday: Easy Chicken (recipe below)
Thursday: Oven baked pork chops
Friday: Turkey spinach cheese burgers (recipe below)

Easy Chicken
4 lbs chicken legs/thighs (we are using only half this though, I couldn't bring myself to pay for 4 lbs of chicken)
1 bottle bbq sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low 7-8 hrs.

Turkey spinach cheese burgers
2lbs ground turkey (also good with beef)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 c shredded cheese
1 10 oz pkg spinach, thawed and drained dry

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Press into 8 patties and cook to your liking. We've found they cook better on the Foreman grill and the regular grill.

Menu Plan Monday

Since my "theme" for 2008 is Organization, what better way to stay organized with dinners than trying to post MPM each week. I'm going to give it my best.

Sunday: Steak, Avocado, Bean Salad (Recipe Below)

Monday: Roasted Chicken Drumsticks and Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Schwan's)

Tuesday: I'm out to dinner with friends, the boys are having Fish Sticks and Tater Tots

Wednesday: Little Joe's on Brown Rice (Recipe Below)

Thursday: Hamburgers with Baked Beans

Friday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Steak, Avocado, and Bean Salad (from Mexican Cookshelf Cookbook) Serves 4
12 oz tender steak
4 garlic cloves
juice of 1 lime
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
¼ t mild chili powder
¼ t ground cumin
½ t paprika
pinch of sugar (optional)
5 scallions, thinly sliced
about 7 oz crisp lettuce leaves, such as romaine
14 oz can pint, black or red kidney beans
1 avocado, pitted sliced and tossed with a little lime
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
¼ fresh green or red chili, chopped
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
8 oz can corn, drained
generous handful of crisp tortilla chips, broken into pieces
salt and pepper

Place the steak in a nonmetallic dish with the garlic and half the lime and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then leave to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.

To make the dressing, combine the remaining lime juice and olive oil with the vinegar, chili powder, cumin and paprika. Add a pinch of sugar to taste. Set aside.

Pan-fry the steak, or cook under a preheated broiler, until browned on the outside and cooked to your liking in the middle. Remove from the pan, cut into strips and reserve: keep warm or allow to cool.

Toss the scallions with the lettuce and arrange on a serving platter. Pour about half the dressing over the leaves, then arrange the beans, avocado, and tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle with the chili, cilantro, and corn.

Arrange the steak and tortilla chips on top, pour over the rest of the dressing, serve immediately.

Little Joes (from Weight Watcher's Light and Tasty Deluxe CDROM)
½ c canned whole Italian tomatoes chopped
1 T brown sugar firmly packed
1 T balsamic vinegar
15 oz lean ground beef
2 medium onions chopped
½ c spinach chopped, washed, trimmed
½ medium jalapeno pepper seeded, deveined and minced
1 t Dijon-style mustard
1 t cider vinegar
1 t granulated sugar
4 oz Kaiser rolls split (we are serving on rice instead)

In small bowl, combine tomatoes with juice, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, combine beef and onions; cook over medium heat, stirring to break up meat, 4-5 minutes, until beef is no longer pink.

Add spinach, pepper, mustard, cider vinegar, granulated sugar and reserved tomato mixture to beef mixture; stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes, until mixture is thickened and flavors are blended.

Place 1/4th of the beef mixture in each roll and serve.

Menu Plan Monday

I hesitate in even posting our plan for the week since it isn't very exciting. I do want to share a great soup recipe I tried this weekend, so I'll post that after the plan.

Monday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches; Alexa oven fries

Tuesday: Hamburger and beans (my husbands old bachelor recipe - simply 1lb hamburger, browned with 1 large can of baked beans and a sprinkling of garlic powder - it is surprisingly tasty).

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Chicken Fajitas

Friday: Goulash

Except for the Tuesday and Wednesday, things we are having are pre packaged meals (horrible I know). I wanted to plan a good menu for the week but on a whim we went grocery shopping on Saturday before I'd made a list or anything. Hopefully next week will be better.

This weekend I will hopefully bake Christmas cookies to give out to friends and family. I'll post recipes next week if something turns out to be worth sharing :)

Now for the soup recipe. I made this yesterday it it was really good, but a little spicy. Definitely got us warmed up on a very cold day. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, it was really easy to make.

Fiesta Chowder (from Southern Living)

3T all purpose flour
1 (1.4oz) package fajita seasoning, divided
4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cubed
3T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1t minced garlic
1 (15 ¼-ounce) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 ½-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles

3c water

1 cup uncooked instant brown rice

1 (2 ¼-ounce) can sliced ripe olives (optional)

1 (10 ¾-ounce) can condensed nacho cheese soup

3T chopped fresh cilantro

1T lime juice

Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Breadsticks (optional)

Combine flour and 2T fajita seasoning in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and shake to coat.

Cook chicken in oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat, stirring often, 4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-high; add onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Stir in remaining fajita seasoning, corn, next 5 ingredients, and, if desired, olives. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove lid, and stir in nacho cheese soup, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Garnich, if desired, and serve with breadsticks, if desired.

A few notes. I used regular brown rice, instead of instant, and just cooked it before adding it to the soup. The friend I got this recipe from used the instant rice and said she had to cook it longer than 5 minutes to get it done.

Menu Plan Monday

A short and easy week here...

Sunday - Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (if you make this read the comments for extra ideas. I added a bag of frozen mixed veggies about halfway through cooking, along with a little corn starch to thicken things up).

Monday - Grill out. Not sure what, either pork chops or steaks.

Tuesday - Tater tot taco salad - never made this before, but seems like a fun way to dress up tacos.

Wednesday - Chili. No real recipe to follow but I use hamburger, onion, green pepper, chili beans, rotel, tomato sauce, chili powder in the slow cooker.

Thursday - headed to the in-laws for the rest of the week. I'm charged with bringing a salad to Thanksgiving dinner. Also I'm going to bring Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies.

Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!

My First Menu Plan Monday

Woohoo! So excited to do this... I usually grocery shop on Saturday morning so I plan my week Saturday - Friday. Here we go. My side dishes are usually on the fly, so I probably won't share unless I know in advance...

Saturday - Pork chops on the grill
Sunday - Chicken calzones (chicken, green onion, green pepper, cheese)
Monday - Sausage and broccoli skillet
Tuesday - Slow cooker Turkey Breast
Wednesday - Chicken Pesto Paninis (made with leftover turkey) and sweet potato chips
Thursday - Black bean and rice casserole
Friday - Roast in slow cooker with mashed potatoes

Sweet Potato Chips (from Simple and Delicious)
2 med sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Oil for frying

Cut potatoes into thin slices, soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
Drain; pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine spices, set aside.
In electric skillet or deep fryer heat oil to 375. Fry potatoes in batches, 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with seasonings and serve warm. Yield: 4 servings.