Menu Plan 10.30.09 (Late Again!)

Just a couple days late this time! Have a few meals left over from the last two week menu because we ate out WAY too much this time around. I'm not complaining though...

1. Grilled burgers (George Foreman grill), corn on the cob, chips

2. Stuffed Green Pepper Soup/Cornbread

3. Fajitas/guac/salad/black beans

4. Tacos

5. Chili (planning leftover chili for chili dogs)

6. Beef Stir-fry, rice

7. Chicken breasts (sauteed or baked), brown rice, veggies

8. Chicken Chow Mein

9. Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

10. Skillet penne with sausage and spinach, salad

11. Spaghetti and meatballs (I have lots of meatballs left from my first batch!!!)

Menu Plan 10.16.09 (Late Edition)

As I was getting ready to cook dinner tonight, I realized I never posted my menu plan last week!

The kids were home at the end of the week and I think it threw me off. Way off.

Anyway...here's the list:

1. White Chicken Chili

2. Tacos

3. Pinto Beans with Bacon, Tomatoes and Cilantro (Made this for dinner tonight...it's SO good!)

4. Quiche

5. Tomato-Basil soup/grilled cheese sandwiches

6. Cheeseburger soup

7. Spaghetti with homemade meatballs

8. Skillet penne with sausage and spinach

9. Pork and Black Bean Chili

10. Parma Rosa Chicken

11. Chicken Spaghetti

12 Meatball Minestrone (my kids LOVE this!)

13. Macaroni grill pasta (from a box--I had a coupon and it's really good!)

14. Homemade pizza

So...we've been eating dinner at church on Wednesday nights, but that ended last night. We'll start up again during Advent. (Kinda nice to have a break).

I planned some extra meals because next weekend (when I would normally do my grocery shopping) is crazy-busy and I wanted to have enough stuff on hand so that I didn't have to stress about squeezing a grocery trip into our schedule!

Oh...I tried making homemade meatballs for the first time. They turned out great. I haven't used them in a recipe yet but I cooked them and put them in the freezer for later. My kids LOVE meatball minestrone and ask for it every time I make a new meal plan. I like it too, but I hate--really hate--store-bought meatballs. Making them was much easier than I thought and it was cheaper too!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Sarah and I made this yesterday...SO yummy. The recipe is from my friend, Callie (I love that name!), and if any of you have the Feed My Sheep cookbook from our church in Arkadelphia, then you can find it on page 264!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup finely chopped walnuts (Sarah said "no" to the nuts)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan (jellyroll pan) and line with wax paper. (The instructions said to grease and flour the wax paper too. So I did both, but I really think you just need to do one or the other.)

Beat eggs on high for five minutes. Gradually beat in sugar until thick and lemon colored. Add pumpkin and lemon juice. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread batter in pan; sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when touched.

Immediately turn out onto linen towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in towel. Cool.

Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Carefully unroll cake and spread filling over it. Roll up again. Cover and chill. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

YUM!!!!

It's so pretty too. Wish I had taken a picture!

Menu Plan 10.2.09

1. Spaghetti/salad/bread

2. Aunt Rosie's Shepherds Pie/green veggie or salad

3. Hot ham and cheese sandwiches/chips

4. Mer's Potato Soup/cornbread

5. Meatball Minestrone/french bread

6. Mexican casserole/salad

7. Susan's breakfast casserole/fruit/biscuits

8. Chicken burritos/salad/refried beans

9. Pizza-takeout!

10. Santa Fe chicken enchiladas/salad

11. Red and Black bean bake

12. Skillet lasagna/salad

The girls were home sick on the day I made my menu plan and they chose most of these meals! I only planned twelve meals because we've been eating at church on Wednesday nights (LOVE that!)

Menu Plan 9.18.09

1. Potato Soup/cornbread

2. Spaghetti/green beans/french bread

3. Chili/fritos/fixings

4. Roast beef/sweet potatoes/green beans

5. Lentil and sausage soup

6. Chicken Stir-fry/rice

7. Pulled pork sandwiches/corn on the cob/coleslaw

8. Pork and black bean chili/rice

9. Fajitas/black beans/fixings

10. Hot ham and cheese sandwiches/chips

11. Meatball minestrone (all three of my kids requested this!)

12. Tomato-Basil soup/grilled cheese sandwiches

13. Creme Brulee french toast/bacon

14. Out to eat!!!

I realized after I made my menu plan that we'll be eating at church on Wednesday nights this fall. I left the extra meals on there because I sometimes like some different options on weekends....thinking the french toast would be a lovely Saturday morning treat!

Roasted Veggies and Rice

I broke the cardinal rule of dinner at my house tonight. I made something different for myself to eat because I just couldn't bear the thought of what I was making for the family. (Tomorrow is grocery shopping day and I had the ingredients for the last meal on my menu...and wasn't at all thrilled with it!)

This was so easy, and SO good.

But I knew it would be because the recipe came from my friend, Shannan, and EVERYTHING Shannan makes is delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Veggies and Rice

1 lb. zucchini
1 lb. yellow squash (I had no squash so I doubled up on the zucchini)
1 sweet onion
1 large red pepper (All of these veggies coarsely chopped - and I also added fresh mushrooms, chopped)
2 T olive oil
1 t seasoned salt
1/2 t pepper
2 pkg Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Medley Brown and Wild Rice (cook 90 seconds in the microwave)
1/2 c. chopped roasted, salted almonds (I buy Wal-mart brand in the orange can)

Preheat oven to 450. Toss first 7 ingredients together and place in a single layer in jelly roll pan. Bake 20 minutes. Add rice and nuts and cook 2 more minutes.

*All the notes in parentheses are Shannan's notes.

*I used zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and green pepper because that's what I had on hand. And I only used one packet of rice but that was the right amount for the amount of veggies I had on hand.

* I used raw almonds and just chopped them very coarsely.

*SO good. Shannan said she scarfed the leftovers a few hours after dinner. I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

Tomato-Basil Soup

I took a standard recipe and tweaked it a bit! Delicious!

1 - 28 oz can whole tomatoes

1 - 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 dozen basil leaves, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-4 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt (I used more but didn't measure)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 stick butter

Puree the whole tomatoes in blender. Add everything (except cream and butter) to stock pot and simmer simmer 30-40 minutes. Add cream/butter and heat through. Serve.