Weekly Menu

 Hired Hand Macaroni Casserole
Nothing To It Chicken
Slow Cooked Meat Loaf and Potatoes

Weekly Menu

Produce
2 medium potatoes
3 large onions
1 green pepper
1 red pepper

Groceries
1 bottle CreamyParmesan
1 can chicken broth
1 bottle  Dijon-style mustard
1 bottle ketchup
1 sleeve butter-flavored crackers
1 bottle yellow mustard
1 bag brown sugar
1 box macaroni
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 bottle Worcestershire

Meat
1 2-3lb chicken (I will probably use chicken breasts instead)
3lbs ground beef (I use 93/7)
1/2lb hot Italian turkey

Staples
Salt
Black pepper
Basil
Oregano

Dairy
2 eggs
1 bag grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Slow Cooker Bean and Cheese Burrito

Slow Cooker Bean and Cheese Burrito adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (4-ounce) can roasted green chiles, undrained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
8 flour or brown rice tortillas (brown rice tortillas are GF; read packing carefully)
4 cups cooked pinto beans (three 15-ounce cans, drained)
4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
optional garnishes: sour cream, sliced avocado, etc.

Directions:  Use a 4-quart slow cooker. If you only have a large one, that's okay--but reduce cooking time a few hours.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, chiles, and spices.
(hey steph, can I just use Rotel instead of the tomatoes and chiles? Yup. The volume will be slightly different, but I really don't think that this will be a big deal while it's cooking.)

Put a layer of tortillas into the bottom of your cooker---you may need to tear them a bit to get good coverage. Add a scoop of the onion/tomato mixture and layer on a healthy spoonful of beans and then a layer of cheese. Repeat layers until you've run out of ingredients. Top with a healthy dose of cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours (if using a 6-quart, do 3 to 4 hours on low, then let it click over to warm--there's nothing really to cook--you're just heating thoroughly and getting the cheese to get that yummy crust).

Top with desired toppings.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up a green pepper.

Chop up an onion.

Add the diced tomatoes and herbs.

Add the diced green chilies and mix.

Drain the beans.

Lay a tortilla on the bottom of a crockpot.  You may need to tear a second one in two to cover the bottom.

Scoop some of the tomato mixture onto the tortilla.

Add beans.

Cover with cheese.  Repeat until crockpot is full or you run out of ingredients.

Cook for 5-6 hours.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Scott and I really liked this dish.  Beans and cheese are two of my favorite things and this dish didn't disappoint. 

I was a little worried about putting the tortilla in and cooking them with the rest of the stuff because I didn't want them to be overly soggy.  While they were wet and moisty, they weren't so soggy that the texture distracted from the great flavor of the dish. 

You could always serve this with some tortilla chips if you wanted an extra crunch.

Hope you enjoy!

April



Weekly Menu

Veggie Frittata
Chicken Florentine Rice Bake
Hired Hand Macaroni Casserole
Slow Cooker Bean and Cheese Burrito

Shopping List

Produce
1 head of garlic
8 oz mushrooms
1 bunch spinach
3 onions
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers

Meat
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1lb 93/7 hamburger meat

Groceries
1 cup brown rice
3 can diced tomatoes
2 cans (15oz) chicken broth
1 can roasted green chiles
Flour or brown rice tortillas
4 cans pinto beans
1 box macaroni
1 can tomato sauce

Staples/Herbs
Olive Oil
Parsley
Oregano
Dried Basil
Garlic Powder
Ground Chili Powder
Black Pepper
Salt

Dairy
1 C shredded Italian cheeses
4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
8 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Butter

Frozen
1 bag chopped broccoli, frozen, thawed

optional garnishes: sour cream, sliced avocado, etc.

Spicy Goulash

Spicy Goulash adapted from Debbie Does Dinner
1 lb. ground turkey
2 cans (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups beef broth
1 onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

In a large skillet, cook ground turkey, peppers and onions until done. Transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, beef broth, vinegar, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or until heated through. Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until macaroni is done.

Modifications:
-I did not cook it in the crockpot but on the stove.
-I used stewed tomatoes with Mexican-style herbs instead of Ro-Tel because that is what I had.
-I added some shredded cheese at the end.

Here's what you'll need:

Put the ground turkey in a skillet to brown along with a chopped pepper and onion.

Once browned, add 2 cans of rinsed beans to the mix.

Add a can of tomatoes or Ro-Tel to the mix along with the beef broth.

Add all of the herbs and the pasta.

Once all of the ingredients are in the pot, cover and cook on medium-high until the pasta is cooked.

Here's what you'll end up with:

I sprinkled some cheese on top at the very end.

Our Thoughts:
I thought this was a great pantry meal.  I already had everything on hand and didn't have to go to the store for anything.  Even if you don't have the fresh green pepper on hand, you could still make this meal.

The herbs, worcestershire and the herbed tomatoes really made this dish have a ton of flavor.  The different textures of the beans, pasta, onions and peppers was great, as well.  As weird as this may sound, when I tasted it I almost wished that I would have sprinkeld just a touch of cinnamon to finish the dish.  For some reason cinnamon kept coming into mind.




On a totally separate note, I served this with a Hidden Valley Salad Kit.  Have you seen these?  They have 2 or 3 different flavors and they can really enhance ordinary salad greens.  The kits come with toppings and dressing.  This one was the Original Ranch version and came with:  Cheese Garlic Croutons, Tomato-Basil Pita Bites, Dried Shallots and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.  Yummy!