What to do Friday-Saturday?

Well, my first week of meal planning is down and I am so excited about the support I have received. This has been so much fun for me as it combines a lot of things that I really love--cooking, researching, writing and teaching.

I really hope that you will be able to use some of these recipes to put the "family dinner" back in your family. I know that life is hectic with work, housework, kids' schedules, etc but even if it is just one night a week, maybe you'll find something on here that your whole family can sit down and enjoy.

I usually don't do much cooking on the weekends unless you count the occasional pot of chili on football Sundays. If you are like me, you will want a break from cooking, as well. I know that I had quite a few leftovers this week so if did, too, then just have a potluck of your own! Pull everything out of the fridge and eat away. Of course, most of my leftovers went for lunch the next day!

I'm going to try a recipe from my friend, Jane, this week--the onion roasted sweet peppers. If you have a recipe that you want to share, please send it to me!

I thought I would go ahead and post the Shopping List and Recipes for next week's meals.

Remember to always go through your pantry and refrigerator to check for items. Check your local grocery store ads and coupons to see if you can buy the items on sale.

Shopping List

1 package of Angel hair pasta
Olive oil
1 large container of fresh mushrooms
1lb shrimp (deveined)
Shallots (green onions or chives)
2 plum tomatoes
1 container heavy cream
Parsley (fresh or dry)
Parmesan cheese
2 medium onions of your choice
Green peppers (squatty and enough for each member of your family to have at least 1)
Green pepper (for another recipe)
1lb thinly sliced deli roast beef
1 package part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 jar of beef bouillon
1 package hoagie rolls (or rolls of your choice)
1-1 1/2lbs of 93/7 ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 box dirty rice mix such as Zatarain's
1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 bay leaf
1 jar chicken gravy
2 celery stalks
1 box original Bisquick mix
Milk
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 lb sweet potatoes (5-6 large ones)
Vegetable oil
1 bag of Steam Fresh broccoli
1 can of corn (or your choice of side veggie)
1 bottle of Asti Spumont champagne (or a cheap sweeter champagne-not a brut)

What's for dinner next week?

Champagne Shrimp and Pasta with steamed broccoli
Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches with onion roasted sweet potatoes
Stuffed Green Peppers with corn (at least at our house it will be corn)
Slow Cooker Upside-Down Chicken Potpie

Baked Ziti

You know, sometimes Mommy just needs a break and has to get her hair done. On nights like these it usually means that the hubby and kiddos are either making a run through McDonald's or they are ordering in pizza. Well, not this time. Since I already had the meal planned and the food bought, I was determined to go ahead and make the meal ahead of time and then just have Scott pop it in the oven when they started getting hungry.

 I was excited to try this recipe because I thought that it sounded like something that my children would eat. It is a lot like a mostaccioli recipe that I make which is a very popular dish around here. I planned this meal earlier in the week: http://mealsforreal.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-meal-plan-1.html

Here is what I started with:

Baked Ziti Recipe:
1 box dry ziti noodles
1 chopped onion
1lb lean ground beef
2 (26 oz) jars of spaghetti sauce
6 oz provolone sliced cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Modifications:

-There are a lot of things that you could do differently with this meal. I couldn't find ziti noodles that were on sale so I used Penne Rigate. You could use any type of tubular noodles. I also did not use an entire onion but about 3/4 of one. You could also probably make this with spaghetti squash if you wanted to get really healthy and carb-conscious.

-I think you could substitute the sour cream with either buttermilk or cottage cheese for a healthier version.

-I didn't use a full 2 jars of spaghetti sauce. I had about 1/2 jar left from a previous meal so I just used that and then another full jar.

-You could also substitute the 93/7 ground beef with either ground turkey or ground chicken.

-You could use fat-free or low-fat cheese.

How I did it:

#1 Chop 1 onion (I only used 3/4 of an onion)

#2 Brown the ground beef

#3 Drain the ground beef, even if it is 93/7

#4 I added the onions to the meat.

#5 I added the 2 jars of spaghetti sauce.

#6 I let the meat, onions and spaghetti sauce simmer for 15-20 minutes.

#7 I put the entire box of noodles in boiling, salted water.

#8 I drained the noodles after about 8-9 minutes, when the noodles were cooked al dente.

#9 I put half of the pasta down in a greased 9x13 baking dish.

#10 I then covered the pasta with 6 slices of the Provolone cheese.

#11 Next, I added 1 1/2 cups of sour cream on top of the cheese.

#12 and I spread it around.

#13 On top of the sour cream, I then covered the dish with the meat mixture.

#14 More noodles

#15 I added the rest of the meat and sauce mixture.

#16 I covered it all with about 1/2 of the bag of shredded mozarella cheese.

#16 I topped everything with Parmesan cheese.

#17 Finally, I covered it with tin foil and left the hubby with instructions to bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

These are Scott's pics:

Success!

Review:
When I called on my way home from the hair salon I asked Scott how the "ziti" had turned out and his exact words were, "It was some of the best, if not the best, baked ziti I have ever had". Wow! I wish that I could get that kind of reaction after every meal. You can believe that I drove a little bit faster to get home and try it.
The only thing that he said he would have done differently is serve it with the garlic bread from last night.
I mentioned earlier that this recipe was a lot like a mostiaccoli recipe that I make. I think what made this so good was the sour cream and the use of the sliced Provolone. That cheese just melted down in between the noodles, along with the mozzarella, and the result was yummy.
While I different serve anything except leftover salad from last night with this meal, you could easily add some steamed broccoli or asparagus.


I will definitely be making this dish over and over.

Easy Chicken Stroganoff

I was kind of leery to try tonight's recipe. I have made other stroganoff dishes in the past and they always seemed to have several different herbs in them and they made the dish have a weird taste but the recipe sounded easy enoughso I thought that I would give this one a shot. Check back to the beginning of the week for this recipe: http://mealsforreal.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-meal-plan-1.html

Here's what I started with:



Easy Chicken Stroganoff Recipe:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 lb chicken breasts
2 cups mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
4 cups egg noodles
Modifications:
The recipe actually calls for 2 cups of mushrooms but I used 2 cans of mushrooms.
I used 1/4 of a medium onion.
I used 2 large chicken breasts.
You could add peas.
You could make this with beef instead of chicken.
How I Did It:
#1 I seasoned the chicken with Paula Deen's Home Seasoning (that I actually made myself). It is 1 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup pepper, 1/4 cup garlic powder.

#2 I cut the chicken into good bite-sized chunks.

#3 I preheated the oven for the garlic bread

#4 After browning the chicken in 1 Tablespoon of butter, I removed it and sat it aside. I then added the chopped onions and the canned mushrooms to the same pan the chicken had been cooking in. (I think the baby was crying so I forgot to take a picture of the chicken sizzling)

#5 While the onions and mushrooms were sizzling away, I cooked the egg noodles.

#6 Since the bread takes 9 minutes to cook, I popped it in the oven.

#7 The Cream of Chicken soup and the 1/2 cup of sour cream went in with the onions and mushrooms.

#8 Once it started bubbling, I put the chicken back in the pan.

#9 I decided to add a bag of some Steam Fresh broccoli.

#10 Drained the noodles and put them in a serving bowl . . .

#11 then added the chicken mixture.

I premade a garden salad and served it with the garlic bread.

Review:

On the other meals I used my son, Kanin, as the thumbs up/thumbs down guy. Well, today was just not the day for him to cooperate. I think I could have put McDonald's, Jimmy John's, Imo's and Green China (all his favorites) in front of him and he would have said "thumbs down". So, I just decided to do the review myself.

I absolutely LOVED this meal. I had to stop myself from eating more and more. It was SO good. I think 1 can of mushrooms would have been plenty. I loved the broccoli added to this recipe. It gave it a good texture and it was extra veggies that I was able to sneak in. I will most definitely use this recipe again.

How much did it cost?

1 can Shop-N-Save Cream of Chicken soup on sale for $0.98 from $1.28

1 bag Creamette egg noodles on sale for $1.93 from $2.00

2 cans Shop-N-Save mushrooms on sale for $1.16 each from $1.27 each

2 large chicken breasts, I already had these from a previous visit to Costco

Butter, I already had

Daisy Lite Sour Cream $2.48

1 head of lettuce (only used 1/2) $1.48

1 jar Lindsay olives (only used a few) on sale for $1.77 from $2.17

left-over cheese from the Mexican lasagna for the salad

Pepperidge Farms garlic bread on sale for $2.00 from $2.27

Total Price: $11.80

TOTAL SAVINGS: $1.15

New Blog

I guess I shuld have explained this new blog before I jumped right in with the recipes.

I truly enjoy food and cooking but I HATE having the old routine of "What's for dinner?". We used to go through that every night around here so this week I decided to combine 2 things that I really like: cooking and writing.

My goal with this blog is to plan out weekly meals, maybe throw in some tips on where to buy the needed groceries on sale, take pictures and show you how I made the dishes and then give you a review.

I am still trying to determine what format will be easiest to read and easiest to input so bear with me if it changes a couple of times.

Hopefully, you will enjoy this blog as much as I have already enjoyed starting it!

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I have been craving bbq lately so when I saw this easy recipe for bbq'd beef sandwiches, I had to give it a whirl. I have it listed on my meal planner for the week: http://mealsforreal.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-meal-plan-1.html

Here is what I started with:



Barbecued Beef Recipe:
1 bottle bbq sauce
Eye of Round Roast

Modifications:
Different cut of meat
Making your own bbq sauce

Directions: Season the meat. Cut the meat into 1/2 inch sections. Put the meat into the crockpot with a bottle of your favorite bbq sauce. Cook on high for 4-6 hours and then shred the meat with a fork.

How I did it:

#1 I seasoned the meat with home seasoning (mixture of garlic powder, salt and pepper).


#2 I cut the meat into 1/2 inch slices.



#3 Next, I put the meat in the crockpot along with the entire bottle of bbq sauce. I then turned the crockpot on the highest setting (4 hours).



We had baked corn with our barbecued beef. I had never heard of Baked Corn before so when I saw it on http://momswhothink.com/ I really wanted try it.

After the beef cooked in the bbq sauce in a crockpot for 4 hours, I just let it stay in there for another couple of hours on warm. Once we were ready to eat, I tore the meat apart with a couple of forks.

We through some fries in the deep fryer and had a southern style bbq meal.

The Finished Product:

Review:

We loved these bbq beef sandwiches. It was so easy to make and you could cater it to whatever your tastes are. You could use sweeter or hotter bbq sauce or even make your own sauce.

I made it with a wonderful recipe, baked corn.

Mexican Lasagna

Earlier today I planned meals for everyday this week. I then typed up the recipes and created a shopping list. http://mealsforreal.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-meal-plan-1.html


I headed out to Shop-N-Save this afternoon and bought all of the items that I would need for the whole week even though I did forget hamburger buns.

Anyway, today we decided to start off with Mexican Lasagna. Here is what I started with:





Recipe:
1-1 1/2lbs lean hamburger meat
1 container cottage cheese
1 jar salsa
1 package Mexican style cheese
1 can refried beans
1 package lasagna

Modifications:
Taco seasoning for meat
Onion for meat and to layer
Lettuce to layer
Tomatoes to layer
Sour cream to dip
Extra salsa to dip

How I did it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


#1 I browned the ground beef and added some onions to it.




#2 While the hamburger meat was cooking, I let the lasagna noodles sit in hot water. (Got this idea from Nickie at http://newleafnickie.blogspot.com/




#3 After the onions and ground beef were cooked, I then added 1 can of refried beans and 1 jar of salsa and let them simmer together.




#4 After the meat, salsa and beans simmered for 2-3 minutes I pulled it off of the burner and added a container of cottage cheese.









#5 After pulling the meat mixture off the oven, I drained the lasagna noodles and started layering everything in a 9x13 baking dish.





Noodles




Meat mixture (beef, salsa, beans, onions and cottage cheese)

Layered with cheese

After all of the layering, I topped everything with tomatoes, onions and lettuce.

#6 Finally, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Take the foil off and bake another 5 minutes or so.



I served the Mexican Lasagna with a side of Mexican rice.


And now, time for the Review:




Overall, the family gave this meal a thumbs up. Everyone ate it and Scott and I had extra servings. If I were to make this meal again, though, I think I would add the taco seasoning to the meat. It seemed that there may have been a touch of flavor missing. Or, I might add a can of rotel to give the meat a little zing. I followed Nickie's advice in not cooking the lasagna noodles and I think I should have at least blanched them a bit or let the dish bake for a few minutes longer. There were areas of the dish in which the lasagna noodles were a little chewy and hard; however, I have made a similar dish before where the recipe called for tortillas and the tortillas were so soggy after baking that the texture was really off-putting so I would definitly use the lasagna noodles over tortillas.

All in all, I think this was a successful meal. My children ate it and it was something different.