Weekly Meal Plan - Feb 19-25 and a recipe

I'm a day late w/ this. Had it figured out for the most part Friday night. Then I had to go back and switch things around since I remembered that we have a Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper at our church tomorrow night. So here is the (semi) finalized meal plan for the week:

Sunday

• Lunch - Hot Hammies
• Dinner - Sausage Stuffed Shells

Monday

• Shrimp Scampi Bake w/ Rice

Tuesday

• Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper @ Church

Wednesday

• Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Thursday

• Leftovers (might bring Pizza home as I have a hair appointment)

Friday

• Meatballs Burgandy over Egg Noodles w/ Cheesy Baked Veggies

Saturday

• Lunch - Leftovers/Sandwiches
• Dinner - Burgers w/ Seasoned Tater Wedges

I am definitely doing better with Meal Planning, it helps when I post it here (and also on the CFYF board on Babycenter). I have more of a tendency to hold myself accountable to actually cook meals (and now that I'm home by 4:30 I really shouldn't have any excuses right?). Let me know if you want any recipes that you don't see posted, I'm more than happy to share my recipes (or sometimes methods)!!

The recipe that I want to share with you this week is one that came from my MOPS group, it is Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings. It is incredibly easy and fool proof! This recipe can be tailored to your likings - I've added cream of mushroom soup to it, you could also whip up a roux and add that in to thicken it up.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

3-4 b/s chicken breasts (I start off w/ frozen)
1 box chicken stock (plus some water if needed)
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1 can refrigerated biscuits, quartered
seasonings to taste (I use salt/pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and sometimes a pinch of dried sage).

Place chicken breasts and veggies in crock pot. Pour in chicken stock (the liquid should cover the breasts & veggies, may need to add a bit of water to achieve this). Add in seasonings, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Pull chicken out and shred (I use my kitchen aid mixer for this), place back in liquid. About 45 minutes before serving place quartered biscuits in crock (be sure to push down under liquid, they will pop back up which is ok). Cover and cook an additional 45 minutes (30 minutes for a more doughy 'dumpling'). Enjoy!

Notes: This recipe can be done in 4-5 hours, I only say 6-8 because I generally throw it in the crock pot in the morning before leaving for work so it's cooking all day long. The chicken is usually cooked through at the 5 hour mark. 

Weekly Meal Plan: February 12-18

Here is the meal plan for the week. We won't be going out to celebrate Valentine's Day on the 14th, instead we will go to Johnny's Italian Steakhouse on Friday night so that we don't have to deal w/ the crazy crowds and price markups at restaurants....

Sunday

• Lunch - Fried Egg & Ham Sandwiches
• Dinner - Frozen Pizza

Monday

• MOPS! Taco Pasta

Tuesday

• Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday

• Beef Stroganoff over Mashed Potatoes w/ Green Beans

Thursday

• Stuffed Shells

Friday

• Out for Valentine's Day

Saturday

• Lunch - leftovers/sandwiches
• Dinner - Hot Hammies

Weekly Meal Plan: February 5th to February 11th

Whoops! Here is the meal plan a day late and I have already switched a few things up haha! Hopefully I'll be able to get on sometime this week to post a few recipes.

This week is going to be a bit crazy! I started a new job today and with that new job comes new hours. I start a whole hour earlier than my old job (but I get out 30 minutes earlier than I used to)...so we will be establishing our new routine this week.

I tend to make meals that are easy and quick during the week, I save the more in depth meals for the weekend.

Sunday

• Lunch - PB & J, fruit
• Dinner - Superbowl snacks: Quesadillas, guacamole, fiesta ranch dip, pita chips, hummus

Monday

• Bean & Cheese Enchiladas w/ Salad

Tuesday

• Chili w/ Cornbread or Biscuits

Wednesday

• Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

Thursday

• Wings @ Bowling Alley

Friday

• Leftovers

Saturday

• Lunch - PB & J or Mac & Cheese
• Dinner - Orange chicken w/ brown rice & veggie

Meal Planning Challenge...The overview

I think that the Meal Planning Challenge was a success although if you were to look at my inventory - it's still pretty full...but that only means that I can continue to challenge myself to plan meals around what I have on hand. I have saved so much this month just by utilizing all that food I have sitting around and even though I was still shopping every week, I was only picking up things like milk, fresh fruits, a few missing ingredients and household supplies. Lane even tried some new things and loved them!

I still have several meals that we didn't get to make due to last minute changes in plans so I am going to continue my planning into the month of February (which means that you will see some 'repeat' meals)! I will keep track of everything in my inventory list. You will see tabs at the bottom for each month, this way I can keep track of what meals we've had and not double anything up too much.

I will be posting our meal plan later on today and possibly a few more recipes. I have lots of food to make for us to snack on while watching the Super Bowl tonight though. We will have Quesadillas, Guacamole, Wings (for Jay), Fiesta Ranch Dip, Cheesy Bread or Garlic Bread Sticks - not sure which. And if I'm feeling really ambitious I may whip up some Hummus w/ a can of chickpeas I have sitting in the cupboard and then bake up some pita chips to go along with.

Meal Planning Challenge....Week 4

Well, this is the last official week of my meal planning challenge. My inventory is slowly dwindling and the truth is that I could probably keep going with this on into February! Last week was  a crazy week and we ate out a couple of nights, so I've got a few extra meals. I was also a bit uninspired by the meals I had planned or I didn't properly prepare my grocery list so there were a couple meals that I couldn't make until I made a trip to the store.

Here is this weeks menu plan. It's not quite the same as what my inventory list was, but that's ok.

Week of January 29 - February 4

Sunday

• Lunch - Rotary Pancake Breakfast
• Dinner - Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Monday

• Salmon Packets w/ Rice & Salad

Tuesday

• Chicken Pot Pie w/ Salad

Wednesday

• Bean & Cheese Enchiladas (with beef) w/ Rice Side

Thursday

• Italian Beef on Kaiser Rolls w/ Corn or Peas

Friday

• Chicken Divan

Saturday

• Lunch - Leftovers
• Dinner - Leftovers/Out

This weeks recipe: Spinach Lasagna Rolls. I found this recipe on www.skinnytaste.com, when I was doing Weight Watchers. We like it so much that I've kept it in the rotation. I modified it slightly, I only make 8 noodles and I add in a little bit of milk to make the ricotta filling a bit creamier. And depending on what I have for cheese, I just place a half slice of mozzarella or provolone cheese on top of the rolls.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

8 lasagna noodles, cooked
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c milk
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32 oz tomato sauce
1/2 c part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 8 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Meal Planning Challenge...Week 3

Well, it's a day late but it's been a little crazy around here! I've already switched around a few meals this week so if you are looking at my inventory list, it might be a bit off.

Week of January 22-28

Sunday

• Lunch - Frozen Pierogies
• Dinner - Easy Chicken Taquitos

Monday

• Waffles & Scrambled Eggs

Tuesday

• Baked Tilapia w/ Fried Taters

Wednesday

• Mexican Taco Casserole w/ Spanish Rice

Thursday

• Out/leftovers??

Friday

• Spinach Lasagna Rolls w/ Cheesy California Veggies

Saturday

• Lunch - Leftovers
• Dinner - Turkey & Stuffing Casserole w/ Salad

The recipe that I am sharing this week is Easy Chicken Taquitos. I was inspired by a recipe from www.allrecipes.com, I gave it my own spin and it was delish! I did have some leftover meat and corn tortillas so I made extra taquitos and froze them for individual use.

Easy Chicken Taquitos

3 cans chicken breast in water, drained
1/4 c taco sauce (I use mid)
large pack of corn tortillas
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/4-1/3 c milk
1 T fajita seasoning
shredded cheese

Mix together first two ingredients (I used my kitchen aid mixer for this). Heat tortilla's one at a time in skillet over medium heat till flexible. Place 1 heaping tbsp of chicken mixture on tortilla and roll up, place seam side down in 7x11 baking dish. Continue process until pan is full. Heat chicken soup, milk and fajita seasoning over medium heat in small sauce pan. Pour over taquitos and then sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Optional - you can serve with sour cream, taco sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. You could also add cheese into the chicken mixture.

Notes: You could probably use a 9x13 pan and all the taquitos would fit, I ended up with extra meat since I used a smaller pan.

Meal Planning Challenge...Week 2

Well, I've already had to make a change to this weeks plans haha! Dear hubs came home for lunch today and as he was leaving he asked what was for dinner tonight (Sunday), I told him that Spaghetti was on the menu - which is on the fridge. Apparently he had Spaghetti for lunch at Grandma's yesterday so we had Chicken George for dinner tonight, Lane also requested popcorn (he asks almost every day for popcorn) so we had that to finish off the meal. Tomorrow night I will make Spaghetti w/ Garlic Bread and Salad before my MOPS Steering meeting. Every once in a while we run into these little hiccups in our meal plans and it usually happens when I'm really wanting to make that meal! Most of the time I haven't started it yet, so I can switch - but if I'm mid meal, I'm not turning back...

I have to say, it has been fun coming up with meals for the next 3 weeks. I have a few new recipes that I will be trying out but many of them are already favorites of ours. I was successful this last week in serving the meal I had planned along with a side dish - although I did forget the sweet potato fries to go along with the Crescent dogs I rallied and served peaches!

There are a few things on my inventory list that will probably stay on there like soups and tortellini as they are something quick that I can pull out on short notice or busy nights. Also, the fish sticks and chicken nuggets are in there for Lane - he has hit a picky stage and if I am making something that I know he won't eat then he will have one of those two things instead (or a PB & J sandwich). I have to say though, the kid loves his fruits and veggies which is great for Jay & I! Lane's favorites are grapes, apples, bananas and oranges and I haven't made a veggie that he has turned away :) 

I had planned on making Stuffed French Toast for lunch tomorrow but since we are still eating on the pan of Baked French Toast from Thursday, I think I will rearrange a few things. Here is the menu plan for this week (Sun-Sat). 

Sunday

• Lunch: Fried Egg Sandwiches
• Dinner: Chicken George and Popcorn

Monday

• MOPS Steering mtg - Spaghetti w/ Garlic Bread and Salad

Tuesday

• Honey Sauced Chicken w/ Rice & Salad (new recipe)

Wednesday

• Baked Mac & Cheese w/ Applesauce

Thursday

• Leftovers

Friday

• Goulash w/ Garlic bread & Corn

Saturday

• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: White Lasagna w/ Garlic bread & Salad

I have 2 frozen bags of hot dog buns that I will be using for Garlic Bread (I am so excited that I have an oven w/ a working broiler now!). If you are  wondering what Chicken George is, it is fried chicken breast strips served with this delightfully yummy sauce called Jans Sauce. It comes from The Candlelight Inn, located is in Rock Falls, IL (there is also another location in Sterling). We usually bring home a pound or two each time we visit my grandparents.

Last week I made Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, it was a new recipe and I had made it one other time but improvised and it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. This time I made it almost according to directions with a few minor improvements based on previous experience. For instance, I actually made the roux instead of using cream of chicken soup which made a world of difference! The only improvements I made were to add 2 boxes of Rice A Roni and then I added in the mushrooms along with the celery & carrots. Delish!  This is another recipe that will be added into my rotation!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (Crockpot)

CFYF board, Baby Center

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 pkgs of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 can mushrooms, drained
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1 cup half and half

Mix the broth, water, carrots, mushrooms, chicken and rice seasoning packet (leave out rice until shortly before serving) in the slow cooker. Cook on low for six to eight hours or on high for four hours. About an hour before serving, pull out the chicken and shred it (using your Kitchen Aid mixer w/ paddle attachment works well), add it back and then add in the rice.

Mix the salt, pepper and flour in a small bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add in the flour mixture. Stir well, slowly add in the half and half and whisk until smooth. Stir this yummy mixture into the soup and let it cook for 30-45 minutes. 

Notes:  I used all of the roux the first time I made this and it was more like a thick stew.  Still delicious, but if you want more of a soup consistency then add in about half of the mix to start with.

Meal Planning Challenge - The first week!

I have just completed an inventory of my freezer, fridge and pantry and have realized that I have more than enough food to get us through most of the month of January! For one thing, I have way too much freezer space (2 chest freezers and 2 fridge freezers) and not enough pantry space. I was constantly buying groceries for meals that I didn't have ingredients for and soon started running out of space, non perishable food was/is sitting in bags on the floor of my kitchen because I don't have anywhere to put it. 

My challenge to myself for the month of January is to make as many meals as I can with the food I have and to also make at least 1 side with each meal (unless making a casserole loaded w/ veggies). I will still go grocery shopping as needed for perishable items like milk and fresh fruit and veggies. Here is my inventory list! If something is crossed out, I am using it up in the current weeks menu plan. I do not have all my spices or baking supplies listed, but I have quite the pantry full :) 

I should also mention that I have a [somewhat] endless supply of beef (roasts, hamburger, steaks, stew meat) thanks to Jay's family getting a steer butchered once a year or so. The pork that I have came from Wyanet Locker - I bought 1/2 hog last February or March, so the only meats that I buy at the store are chicken breasts and seafood. So if you see a meal w/ beef, and nothing is crossed off on my list - it's because I don't have all of my beef listed out (but I'm not buying it from the store). 

I usually plan at least 5 dinners and 2 lunches (Sat/Sun) for the week, this allows for leftovers and events or take-out. My meal plan will run Sunday thru Saturday and I have yet to figure out the best grocery shopping day for me. We are really not big breakfast eaters during the work week, Lane eats dry cereal, a fruit bar or toast before we head out. I eat my breakfast at work, and Jay will grab something at Grandma's once he gets chores done. For my lunches, I will either take leftovers or a frozen meal. I am going to try to get better about not buying lunch all the time (which means that I need to actually cook dinner at night!).

Week of January 8th - January 14th

Sunday: 

   Lunch - Grilled cheese & tomato soup

   Dinner - Pork Roast w/ glazed carrots

Monday: MOPS (the boys are on their own)

Tuesday: Crockpot Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup w/ Biscuits

Wednesday: Crescent Dogs w/ Sweet potato fries

Thursday: Pecan Baked French Toast

Friday: Leftovers (I was just informed that this is Henry's Basketball Homecoming and there will be subs)

Saturday:

  Lunch - Leftovers

  Dinner - Hot Hammies

Each week I would like to share at least one recipe with you in this post (may post other recipes during the week). This week I am sharing the recipe for Hot Hammies. These little sandwiches are so delicious and heavenly, I think I could eat them once a week! My amounts are in red, the full recipe makes a ton and since only Jay & I eat these, we don't need that many.

Hot Hammies

from CFYF group on BabyCenter

2 pkgs Kings Hawaiian Rolls (2 dozen total) (4 pk Hawaiian sub rolls) 
1 lb shaved ham (honey ham is good, too) (1/2 lb ham)

8 oz. Swiss cheese – shredded (2 slices swiss cheese, halved)

¾ cup butter, melted (6 tbs butter)

1 ½ tbsp Poppy Seeds (scant 1 tbs)

1 ½ tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (scant 1 tbs)

1 ½ tbsp Dijon mustard (scant 1 tbs)

Whisk together butter, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.  Cut rolls in half and place bottoms in 9x13 pan (8x8 dish).  Layer with ham and then Swiss cheese.  Drizzle ¾ of the mixture on top of the cheese and then cover with tops of rolls.  Brush remaining sauce mixture on the tops of the rolls and then cover it with foil.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (until cheese is melted) then remove foil and continue baking for 5 more minutes.