Weekly Menu

Last week was an exciting week with the 4th of July. It was also a fun week to try out a new recipe! We had a great holiday and even better food. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday just as much. I need to post some pics of the cute outfits that both my kiddos had, but that will have to wait. Here is the menu that my family used for last week.

Monday
Breakfast: Cold cereal, grapes, milk
Lunch: Chicken nuggets, apple, cheese stick
Dinner: Turkey Crepes, green salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, applesauce
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, milk, carrot sticks
Dinner: Goulash, cooked vegetables

Wednesday (4th of July)
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins, milk
Lunch: Corn dogs and carrot sticks
Dinner: Tangy Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Pasta salad, veggies, and chips

Thursday
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, milk
Lunch: Sandwiches (leftover pulled pork)
Dinner: Bruchetta Chicken, green salad, Cantaloupe

Friday
Breakfast: Cold cereal, apple slices, milk
Lunch: Mac and Cheese, hot dog, and veggies
Dinner: Zippy Beef Casserole, cooked vegetables

Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes and Juice
Lunch: Sandwiches (leftover pulled pork)
Dinner: Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, green salad

Sunday
Breakfast: Cold Cereal, milk
Lunch: hot dogs (leftovers from dinner)
Dinner: Dinner at my husbands cousins house. It was the best Sunday night!

I have to say, the Tangy Pulled Pork sandwiches were my absolute favorite. They were super easy. I just put everything in the crock pot before we did our holiday plans for the day and when I got back, I shredded the pork. We packed it in the cooler and had a picnic at the park while we waited for it to get dark for fireworks. Even my little boy liked them (which is a miracle!). Here are the recipes for main dishes for the week. Enjoy!

Turkey Crepes
Filling:
1/4 c. thinly sliced celery 1/4 c. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup 2 cups finely chopped chicken or turkey
1/3 milk 1/2 tsp orange zest
In a saucepan, cook celery & onion with seasoning in butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until heated through. Spoon on crepes and roll up. Before serving, spoon some of remaining sauce over crepes
Crepes:
3 large eggs 1 1/4 c. milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter 1 c. unsifted flour
1/8 tsp salt. Place all ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until well mixed and smooth. Batter should rest for 2 hours at room temp. or cover and refrigerate over night before using.

Goulash
Brown in frying pan: 1 lb. ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped
Add:
2 cans (32 oz) stewed tomatoes, ground in blender
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic powder.
Cook together until thickened. Mix with cooked elbow macaroni. Just before serving, stir in 1 cup of grated cheese.

Bruchetta Chicken
1 can Italian Diced Tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing 1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Put tomatoes with liquid, garlic, stuffing, and 1/2 c. hot water in a bowl. Stir until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside. Put chicken in 9x13 pan or baking dish. Sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mix. Bake 30 min @400 or until chicken is cooked through.

Zippy Beef Casserole
1 lb. hamburger, browned 4 oz. elbow macaroni
1 can mushroom soup 3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. ketchup 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. green pepper, diced 1/2 small onion, minced
1 tsp salt
Cook macaroni in salted water; drain. Mix all ingredients in an ungreased medium casserole. Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350.

Tangy Pulled Pork
1 Pork Tenderloin (1 lb)
1 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
4 kaiser rolls, split

Place tenderloin in crock pot. Combine other ingredients and pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender. Shred pork and return to sauce. Re-heat if needed before serving.

Meal Planning 101

I have been doing meal planning for years. Back when I was single, I had a job in our church to be the Emergency Preparedness Specialist. They had this great fair and I was assigned to do a booth on meal planning. I took it to heart. From that day forward, I have been doing meal planning. As I got married and had a family, I've discovered how much this helps me to save. It obviously doesn't cover everything, like chocolate cravings that must be given into, but it has cut back our grocery bill and reduces the number of trips to the grocery store, thus saving me even more money! It also gives me the added benefit of knowing what I'm making for dinner and getting to try some really fun recipes.

I start my weekly menu out on a Monday. Monday is always the day I go grocery shopping. I ALWAYS go shopping on Monday. Have I stressed that enough? Having it set for the same day every week helps me to stay on track with our grocery shopping and our spending. Lots of people choose to do grocery shopping on a monthly basis. For me, this doesn't really work. What happens if a family party comes up or you have to take a meal to someone and there isn't any wiggle room? Or what if I had some leftovers from the week before? Doing it once a week allows me to adjust my menu and my grocery list for those changes. I do, however, do all of my menu planning for the whole month at one time. I also print off any recipes that aren't in my cookbook and attach them to my menu for the week they will be used. That way, I always know where to find them and I have them right there when I need to make out my grocery shopping list. Also, I try to buy a lot of our staples when they go on a really great deal. Last week, hamburger was on sale for $1.69 at a local store, so I purchased 30 pounds and had the meat department freezer wrap it for me. Now I don't have to worry about it for several months.


Monday-
Breakfast: Cold cereal, apple juice,
Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit and veggie
Dinner: Sour Cream Chicken, Broccoli, green salad,

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, milk
Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit & veggie, cheese stick
Dinner: Meatball Casserole, corn, green salad

Wednesday-
Breakfast: Oatmeal, milk, fruit (we had raisins to make a smiley face in our oatmeal)
Lunch: Chicken nuggets, apple slices, milk
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas (I always have the option of either tortillas or a fajita salad depending on my mood!)

Thursday-
Breakfast: Cold cereal, orange juice
Lunch: Sandwiches, veggie and fruit
Dinner: Copycat Mexican Restaurant Chicken and black beans, salad

Friday-
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, toast, milk
Lunch: Mac and cheese, hot dogs, and veggie
Dinner: Strogonoff w/rice, green salad, cauliflower

Saturday-
Breakfast: Pancakes, milk, and fruit
Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit and veggies
Dinner: Leftovers w/salad (or our date night!)

Sunday-
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, milk, toast, and fruit
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Dinner at my parents house (Yay for Mom's Chirizo meatloaf!)


Sour Cream Chicken
Chicken Breasts (or tenders. I find the chicken tenders better for my kiddo!)
4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2-4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. bread crumbs
2 c. sour cream
4 tsp celery salt
3 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix sour cream, worcestershire, celery salt, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Place chicken breasts in sauce turning to coat. Let marinate several hours or overnight. Roll chicken in bread crumbs. Drizzle 1/4 c. melted butter or margarine over top. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over. Drizzle additional 1/4 c. butter over other side and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Meatball Casserole
1/2 lb. pork sausage 1/8 tsp pepper 1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. hamburger 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 lg. onion, diced
Shape into meat balls. Brown, cover, and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Place in casserole dish. Combine:
1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 c. water
Heat until steaming. Pour over meat balls.
Biscuits:
1 1/3 c. flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt 1/3 c. shortening 1 egg
1/3 c. evaporated milk 1 1/2 c. shredded cheese 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening, add egg and milk. Knead on floured board 10 times. Roll out to 12 inch square. Sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Roll up and cut into 8 slices. Place on top of the meatballs. Place in 400 oven for 20-25 minutes.

Fajitas
Chicken, cut into strips green peppers, sliced
Onion, thinly sliced
Brown chicken, cooking thoroughly. Add green peppers and onions. Add fajita seasoning (or taco seasoning, depending on what you like or have on hand).
Serve with sour cream and cheese with flour tortillas or salad.

Strogonoff
1/2 cube margarine or butter 1/2 chopped onion
1 round steak, cut into strips
Brown steak in butter then add onion and cook until onion is translucent. Add:
3 pkgs brown gravy mix 3 cups water
Simmer 15 minutes then add:
1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp ground ginger
Simmer 10-15 minutes, turn down heat and let sit on low heat for 30 minutes. Boil egg noodles or rice. Add 1/2 c. to 3/4 c. sour cream to sauce and mix. Serve sauce over hot noodles or rice.

Copycat Mexican Restaurant Chicken
5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast 1 T. cumin
1 small bottle zesty Italian dressing 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. chili powder
Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred with fork. Reserve a small amount of liquids and pour over shredded chicken to keep moist. I make this as a salad or you can make it like burritos.

When I am making my grocery list, I go through my cupboards and see what I have on hand before shopping. I buy a lot of things by the case when on sale so my grocery list may be very different than yours. Also, take into account if your family likes to have dessert during the week. We usually have dessert for Family Home Evening on Monday nights and then usually at least one night during the weekend. So, decide what you want to make ahead of time or ensure that you have your family favorites on hand. I am by no means an expert. But I have fun making my meal plans and seeing what my family likes. I keep my menus in a folder for the next time I make a menu and mark down what my family liked. Good luck in your own family menu planning.

As I start out this new blog, I have to admit that I am a little nervous about this. Bruce and I started our little family blog when we got married. I have loved having it and it has been a great way to let our family know what is going on in our lives. But I have this wonderful desire to post a lot more than just family stuff on there and thought that maybe the time had come for me to do my own. So, while you will all get to hear about my amazing kids and husband, you'll probably also get to hear about my daughters Craniosynostosis, her surgery and recovery, my craft projects and ideas or questions that just seem too good not to share. Yep, occasionally I have a good idea and I am always working on new projects. So that is what this blog is about. Watch for the next day or two when my kiddos 4th of July outfits will pop up on here. Hopefully they will look awesome!