This Week's Menu

Sunday: Beef/Potato Tacos
Monday: Leftover Pizza from Tristen's b-day party (i ordered way too much)

Options for the rest of the week: Chicken & Dumplings (made from scratch), Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto Chicken, SOS, Spaghetti, French Toast & Eggs, or FFO Chicken.

This Week's Menu

Monday: Chicken Tortilla Soup and Nachos

Tuesday: Chili

Wednesday: Chili Dogs (w/leftover chili) & french fries

Thursday: Baked Potatoes and Soup

Friday: Fend For Yourself

Menu Plan________

This week it was Menu Plan Saturday and not Monday. Most weeks it will be Saturday since that is when I plan our meals before going to the grocery store.

Sunday: Breakfast - Baked French Toast
Sunday: Dinner - Crockpot Chili
Monday: Foil Packet - Salsa Chicken
Tuesday: Sub Sandwiches (baseball game & football game)
Wednesday: SOS (baseball game)
Thursday: either Cream Cheese Rigatoni or BBQ Chicken
Friday: Hot dogs/Corn Dogs/Sandwich.....AKA FFY (Fend For Yourself)

SOS

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. Crisco or oil
salt and black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons flour
2-1/2 cups milk (more if you like it thinner)
Bread

Add the teaspoon of oil or Crisco to hot, deep skillet along with the ground beef. As beef begins to lose raw look, add the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until meat is completely cooked. Sprinkle flour over top and stir into meat and onion mixture until totally absorbed. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, until thickened. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Serve with Bread

Review: This is a very simple, inexpensive, and tasty meal. Great for busy nights. I've had this recipe for years now and it is one the recipes I whip out when we need dinner made quickly after a late night of baseball/football/softball/whatever else we have going on.

BBQ Smothered Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
3/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
3/4 cup fat free ranch dressing
1/3 cup cheese, shredded
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Directions:
Mix BBQ sauce and ranch dressing together and pour over chicken in a skillet (I used a nonstick skillet). Simmer for about 30-35 minutes, turning and basting occasionally.
Place chicken on a plate; drizzle with dressing, and sprinkle cheese, bacon and onion on top of chicken.

Oven-Roasted Potatoes

2 potatoes, washed and diced into even pieces
Lemon juice
Lawry's seasoning salt
Paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Pepper
Parsley
Cooking spray

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 375.
2- Sprinkle lemon juice over the potatoes, toss to coat.
3- Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients over the potatoes until nice and evenly coated, tossing to ensure all seasonings are evenly distributed.
4- Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, add potatoes.
5- Bake for 1 hour or until cooked through. Take out every 20 minutes and stir to ensure all sides brown.

Source: Stephanie Cooks

Recipes and Reviews

I've started adding more and more recipes to this blog. Most of the time I find them on a message board I frequent, and so I use this as my 'recipe box'. I have started tagging all of the recipes we've tried with 'review', so that they can be accessed by clicking the 'review' label on the right hand column.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

When making casseroles, which I do a lot b/c they are easy, tasty, and quick. Most of the time they call for Cream of ______ Soup. I'm glad I found a recipe that I can make homemade Cream of Chicken, as it is the one I use the most often, without all the additional crappy ingredients that are in the can of Cream of _____ soup.

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

Instructions:
1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).
2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

Yields: 3 cups (about 2 cans)

Source: Tammy's Recipes

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti

1 lb. spaghetti, fully cooked and drained
1 – 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
salt & pepper, to taste
2 c. chicken stock
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. hot sauce (more or less, depending on desired intensity. 1/4 c. will be mild to medium in flavor.)
1 c. Ranch or Bleu cheese dressing

Directions:
1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a skillet with chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken and reserve 1/2 c. cooking liquid.
2. In a saucepan, combine the cream cheese, hot sauce and reserved cooking liquid. Cook over medium-low heat until the cream cheese is completely melted. While the sauce is cooking, shred or cube the cooked chicken.
3. Add the dressing and chicken to the saucepan, stir to combine, and then toss with the cooked spaghetti.

Source: Cooking During Stolen Moments

Cream Cheese Rigatoni

1lb of Rigatoni Pasta
1 lb of ground beef
1 jar of seasoned spaghetti sauce
1 tablespoon Parsley
1 cup sour cream
1 cup softened cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cook pasta according to directions on package or until al dente; drain.
3. Brown beef in skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.If you like, you may add onion or garlic if to suite your palette.
4. In a bowl, mix together sour cream, egg and cream cheese.
5. Stir in spaghetti sauce with the cheese mixture. (You will want to use as seasoned spaghetti sauce. I used a garlic, basil, oregano. If you are using a plain marinara, you can season it) Do not use mixed for this, hand stir. Add in 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella. Stir in ground beef. Mix together.
6. Place pasta in casserole in dish. Mix cheese/sauce mixture in casserole dish with pasta. Sprinkle cheese on top and sprinkle parsley on top. Cook for 25-35 in preheated oven until cheese is bubbly.

Source: For The Mommas

Foil Packet - Potatoes

1 potato per person
1/2 an onion per person
Sheets of tin foil
2 T. butter per person
1 or 2 T. milk
Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 F. Slice each potato into chunks. A medium-sized dice is what you're looking for. Dice up each onion half into a smallish dice.Grab your tin foil and roll up the sides a bit to create a boat. Add the potatoes and onions to the packet and top with pats of butter. Season generously with salt and pepper, and splash in milk. Sprinkle on thyme.Roll up sides of the packets and seal the edges tightly. Bake in oven for 45-60 minutes and serve right on the plates.

Source: Adventures in Home Cooking

Menu Plan Monday

• Sunday: Pasta w/Cream Cheese Basil Sauce & Chicken
• Monday: Beef & Potato Tacos
• Tuesday: Sub sandwiches
• Wednesday: Creamy Pork Chop Bake
• Thursday: Pancakes & Bacon
• Friday: Grilled Cheese / Hot Dogs / FFY (Fend for yourself)

Foil Packet - Meat & Potatoes

1lb ground beef (or whatever meat you'd like)
2 large baking potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large onion
2 carrots, sliced
Salt & Pepper
4 large pieces heavy duty foil

Preheat oven to 350. Slice onion into 1/2 inch rounds. Make patties out of ground beef. Lay onion on foil, place ground beef patty on top of onion, place potatoes and carrots around the patty, sprinkle with salt/pepper/favorite seasoning. Fold both sides of foil up to the top and crinkle down. Roll the opposite sides up to finish off packet. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Review: My grandmother use to make these for us all the time. You can subsitute the meat with chicken, pork, stew meat, etc. You can add also add additional veggies. I love making these b/c the clean up is essentially NONE! Cheap and tasty! :)

Foil Packet - Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breasts (or equivalent, I used chicken tenders)
4 tsp Taco Seasoning Mix
3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Chunky Salsa
1/4 cup Sour Cream
4 sheets of foil


Heat oven to 400°F. Place a chicken breast in the center of each sheet. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix. Top with salsa and cheese. Fold foil into packets, leaving room for heat circulation inside (i.e. not too tight!). Place packets in glass 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is done. (Chicken tenders will be cooked in about 25 minutes!) Cool 5 min. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening. Top with sour cream.

Baked French Toast

1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 cups milk
6 eggs
15 slices of bread

Directions:

melt 1 stick of butter then add in 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 t. cinnamon and stir together.

pour into a 9x13 pan covering the bottom. then layer slices of bread on the sugar mixture with the crusts removed. i used 15 pieces of bread. fill in the holes with smaller pieces. n a mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups of milk and 6 eggs. pour over the bread.

put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. when it looks baked and golden, pull it out and drizzle syrup over the top. put it back in the oven under the broiler until brown and bubbly.

Source: Whatever

Review: Very good and very easy to make. The boys thought it looked strange as it came out of the oven, but they liked it. I didn't make any changes to the original recipe, and not sure that there is anything I would change. Definitely a keeper!

Country Chicken Casserole

3 cups shredded hash brown potatoes
1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions, divided
6 slices processed American cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size pieces
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I use 2 cans)
3/4 cup milk
1 (15 ounce) can corn (I omit the corn)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir hash browns and 1/2 of the onions together in a 9x13 inch baking dish, then lay cheese slices on top and layer chicken over cheese. In a small bowl, mix soup and milk together and pour mixture over chicken.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Pour corn onto chicken and stir to combine all ingredients, then bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining onions over all and bake for another 5 minutes, or until onions are golden brown. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Serving size: 6

Source: AllRecipes.com

Creamy Pork Chop Bake

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 pork chops
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 (20 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups French-fried onions, divided

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and saute until browned. Remove from skillet and drain on paper toweling. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl mix together soup, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in potatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 cup onions. Mix together and spread mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange pork chops over potato mixture.

Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Remove cover; top with remaining cheese and onions and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.

Source: AllRecipes.com

Review: It was good, but rather bland. I topped it with more than 1/2 cup onions and more cheese, but it was still rather bland. I substituted chopped up boneless pork ribs for the pork chops b/c that is what I had on hand. Next time, I'd probably use a can of cream of chicken instead of the cream of celery and perhaps some additional seasoning as the salt and pepper didn't cut it. I had a ton of leftovers and will halve the recipe the next time I make it. One last note, you could easily sub chopped up chicken for the pork.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

2 cups rotini pasta
1 (12 ounce) can chicken chunks, drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the rotini, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

Stir together the rotini, chicken, and mozzarella cheese in a large casserole dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the pasta mixture; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is entirely melted, about 35 minutes.

Source: AllRecipes.com

Review: This recipe was very easy, yummy, and somewhat healthier than actual parmesan chicken.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup + 2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup Libby's pumpkin pie filling
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Whipped cream/cool whip
Graham cracker crust (1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, 5 tbs melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar; mix together and press in greased pie pan)

Preheat oven to 325
In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs, 1 at a time. Remove 1 cup batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside. Add pumpkin & cinnamon to remaining batter and stir until blended. Spread over batter in crust. Bake on a cooke sheet 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate 3 hours or over night. Serve with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Fluff

1 (5ox) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 oz) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (may substitute nutmeg)
1 (16oz) container of Cool Whip

Mix together and chill in refrigerator before serving. Serve with graham crackers. Yum!

Source: Sunshine & Wine

Sour Cream Rice

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.
In the pot with the cooked rice, mix the sour cream, green chile peppers, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, corn, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Source: Carrie’s Sweet Life

Pasta with Cream Cheese Basil Sauce

1 pound spaghetti or fettucini
1/4 cup margarine, softened (i.e 4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons dry basil
2 tablespoons dry parsley
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil or other oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use 1/4 tsp and it needed more)
2/3 cup boiling water

Cook the spaghetti in a big pot of boiling, salted water. While the spaghetti is cooking prepare the sauce. In a big bowl use a fork or a whisk to mash together the margarine, basil, parsley and cream cheese. Mash it until it is smooth and creamy. Add the Parmesan, olive oil, garlic, pepper and salt to taste. Continue stirring it all up until it is creamy again. Now add the boiling water. Use a glass to dip it out of the boiling spaghetti and put it in a measuring cup, (or just dip with a measuring cup). Pour the boiling water in slowly and mix it all up until the sauce is the consistency of thick cream. When the pasta is tender, drain it well, and return it to the pot. Pour the sauce over the cooked spaghetti and toss it all together until it is well mixed. Serve in large bowls with a green salad. Serves 6 or 7.

Source: Frugal & Fabulous

Review: Very easy recipe, and pretty tasty. I probably would add a bit more salt and pepper. I only used 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper. Both the boys and J had seconds, so that is always a sign that it is a winner. Oh, I did add sauteed chicken to it. Pasta with no meat doesn't fly in our house.

Smoothies

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
1 cup strawberry nectar or apple juice
1 cup milk
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup strawberry yogurt

Pour all liquid ingredients into the blender. Add all frozen ingredients. Blend at MIX setting for 30 seconds then blend at SMOOTH setting until smooth. While the machine is running, move the stir stick around counter-clockwise to aid mixing. Serve immediately. Each recipe serves 3-5.

Berry Blast Smoothie
1 cup apple juice
1 1/2 cups lemonade
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup raspberry sherbet

Razzma Tazz
1 Cup rasberry juice
1 Cup sliced strawberries
1/2 Sliced banana
2 Cups rasberry sherbet
1 1/2 cup ice

Citrus Squeeze
1 1/2 Cups FRESH orange juice
2/3 Cup frozen whole strawberries
1 Sliced Banana
2 Scoops nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt
1 cup ice

Strawberries Wild
2 scoops strawberries (approx 10 strawberries)
1 banana
2 scoops frozen yogurt
1 scoop ice
8 oz apple juice

Raspberry Sunrise
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup raspberry sherbet

Strawberry Lemon Surprise
2 cups lemonade
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup strawberry yogurt

Menu for the week....

I haven't gotten to the point where I specify what day we are having what. I just plan for the week and decide the day before or the day of what we'll have for dinner.

• Beef & Mashed Potato Casserole (I made this last night and modified the recipe. I only used 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef and I omitted the onions and green bell peppers due to picky kiddos. It was an 'ok' dinner. Nothing terrible, but nothing extremely tasty that I'm dying to make again. Although, I'm sure I'll make it again.)
• Baked Pasta (see recipe below)
• Chicken & Dumplings (see recipe below)
• Tacos
• Soup and Salad

Baked Pasta

8 ounces of dried pasta
16 ounces of Italian sausage or ground beef 3/4 cup of chopped onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 and 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (combine the cheeses)
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Fresh chopped parsley to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water and prepare pasta. While the pasta is cooking, cook sausage, onions, and garlic in a skillet until meat is done and onions are tender. Drain the meat and pasta.

2. In a 3 quart casserole dish, combine the pasta, meat, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and black pepper. Stir gently to combine.

3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and parsley. Bake another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe from: The Lazy Housewife Cooks