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.
February 5, 2012
January 29, 2012
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.
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
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.
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
- 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.
January 23, 2012
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.
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
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.
Week of January 22-28
Sunday
- Lunch - Frozen Pierogies
- Dinner - Easy Chicken Taquitos
- 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.
January 19, 2012
Leftovers and a Recipe :)
I had leftovers on the meal plan tonight only there are no leftovers!
My husband will be happy as he is not a fan of leftovers, and to be
honest I'm picky about what I'll eat for leftovers. So it's looking like
either Pizza night or Alfredo Tortellini & Sausage.
I tried a new recipe this week, Honey Sauced Chicken. I wasn't sure if the picky one (Lane) would eat it, but I dished up a Chicken breast, some brown rice and a small serving of salad w/ a tiny bit of dressing. Lane was digging into his salad and the next thing I knew, he's gobbling up the chicken! Yippee, a new recipe that he will eat...success!
I didn't make the recipe exactly as stated since I was missing one ingredient...ketchup. I'm still not sure how I feel about ketchup in the recipe but I should at least try the recipe once as it was written. Also, I started out w/ whole frozen chicken breasts, so I baked this at 350 for 40 minutes covered in foil, then I removed the foil, turned the chicken over and baked an additional 30 ish minutes. Next time I will definitely use more chicken as there was a lot of sauce.
Honey Sauced Chicken
1.5 pound chicken (of your choice)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:
Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
I tried a new recipe this week, Honey Sauced Chicken. I wasn't sure if the picky one (Lane) would eat it, but I dished up a Chicken breast, some brown rice and a small serving of salad w/ a tiny bit of dressing. Lane was digging into his salad and the next thing I knew, he's gobbling up the chicken! Yippee, a new recipe that he will eat...success!
I didn't make the recipe exactly as stated since I was missing one ingredient...ketchup. I'm still not sure how I feel about ketchup in the recipe but I should at least try the recipe once as it was written. Also, I started out w/ whole frozen chicken breasts, so I baked this at 350 for 40 minutes covered in foil, then I removed the foil, turned the chicken over and baked an additional 30 ish minutes. Next time I will definitely use more chicken as there was a lot of sauce.
Honey Sauced Chicken
1.5 pound chicken (of your choice)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:
Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
January 14, 2012
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.
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.
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