Monthly Menu

I will admit that I have stopped planning a menu for breakfast and lunch. It just didn't work with my little guy. I would have planned for grilled cheese sandwiches and he would want chicken nuggets. It just wasn't working. So now we have the basics for breakfast and lunch and play it a little more by ear. It makes my meal planning a lot easier. I just have to keep a closer eye on my pantry to make sure I still have those kid favorite foods in the cupboard.

Our menu for the month includes a couple of my favorites that I posted on another of my menu planning posts. Zippy Beef Casserole and Bruschetta Chicken are on the second meal planning post, so be sure to check out those recipes. We have been trying some new recipes this month, and most of them have been wonderful, but we've had a few that my sweet husband kindly told me were skipable. Yep, that's a new word. Created just for you. Here are my keepers for the month and the recipes. I will take pictures from now on to show you all the tasty goodness, but until then, you will have to take me at my word. Also, my family usually makes each of these meals last two nights. It's one of the perks of having really little kids, so realize that a normal family of four would probably go through this menu in two to three weeks instead of a month.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco's
1 1/2 lbs. Chicken
1 med. can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1- 4 oz. can green chilies, diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Put all ingredients in a crock-pot. Cook on low for most of the day. Shred chicken with forks before serving. Serve with your taco favorites.

Spanish Spiral Pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can (28 oz)diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups rotini, uncooked
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

In a skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, rotini, salt, sugar, chili powder and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until rotini is tender. *Note- I can my own tomatoes. I usually can them whole in quart jars. For this recipe, I used the quart jar and just gently crushed my tomatoes instead of purchasing store tomatoes. They taste so much better when I can them myself.

Cherokee Casserole
I found this recipe online and thought I would try it. I would love to give credit where it is due, but to be honest, I've had the recipe long enough, I don't remember where I got it.

1 green pepper, diced
1 lb. hamburger
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. ketchup
2 cups cooked rice
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
salt to taste
3 cups tomato juice (again, I used my own canned)
3 c. shredded cheese, any variety

In a skillet, brown hamburger and saute onions and green pepper. Add chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and ketchup. Stir. Add tomato juice. Simmer on low heat until it thickens slightly. Mix cooked rice into the hamburger mixture. In a large baking dish, layer the hamburger mixture, then cheese. Repeat the process, ending with the cheese layer. Cook at 350 until heated through.

We like to serve this with a small scoop of sour cream. It is so yummy!

Onion Turkey Meatballs
This recipe had mixed reviews. I enjoyed it and thought it was pretty good. My little boy loved the meatballs and "noodles", but the hubs wasn't super fond of it. He said he would eat it again, but wouldn't choose it. Here it is for you to decide.

1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup onion soup mix, divided in half
1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
3 cups water, divided
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
Hot cooked noodles or rice

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and half of the soup mix. Crumble meat over the mixture and mix well. Shape into one inch balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs until browned on all sides and a meat thermometer reads 165. Stir in 2-1/2 cups water and remaining soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with the noodles or rice.

*Recipe found in Taste of Home-The busy family Cookbook*


Bacon Chicken Crescent Ring
2 tubes (8 oz) crescent rolls
1 can (10 oz) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked (I used 2 chicken breasts instead)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup finely chopped onion.
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp. dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 cup alfredo sauce

Grease a 14 inch pizza pan. Unroll crescent roll dough; separate into 16 triangles. Place wide end of one triangle 3 inches from edge with point overhanging edge of pan. repeat, overlapping the wide ends (dough will look like a sun when complete). Lightly press wide ends together. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over wide ends of dough. Fold the points of triangle over the filling and tuck under the wide ends. The filling will still be visible. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Spaghetti
Okay, this recipe is courtesy of my amazing Mother-In-Law. One of the things I discovered quickly about their family is their love of spaghetti and the necessity for Guacamole to make every holiday dinner complete. I know if my husband has had a really bad day, it's time to whip up a batch of spaghetti. If there are leftovers, he has been known to eat it for breakfast the next morning. Yes, it is that good.


Brown in a pan:
1 lb. of ground beef 1 small onion, chopped

Add:
2 large cans (32 oz) tomatoes ground in a blender OR 1 large can of tomato juice
1/2 to 2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground marjoram
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. mustard seed

Simmer all of this together until it thickens into a sauce. Serve over hot noodles.
*Sometimes, when I'm feeling the need for a spicier sauce, I throw in some red pepper flakes. I usually do 1/2 tsp., but try it to your family's taste.

Taco's
Okay, there really isn't a trick to this meat. Just brown the hamburger and prepare it with store bought taco seasoning as you like. I also throw in some diced onion and minced garlic.

When I want to make it go a little further, I also add 1 cup of rice and double the water mixture and taco seasoning. This way, the rice actually cooks in the taco seasoned water and it is great. I actually prefer my taco meat with the rice, but you should refer back to the comment from yesterday about my love of carbs.

Sour Cream Marinated Chicken
This recipe is from my Aunt Karen on my dads side. It's been in the family recipe book for years and I always pull it out for fancier meals, like Sunday dinner.

6 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2-4 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp. salt salt
1-3/4 cups bread crumbs
2 cups sour cream
4 tsp. celery salt
3 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix sour cream, worcestershire suace, celery salt, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Place chicken in sauce and turn to coat. Let marinate overnight (or two to three hours if you are forgetful like me). Roll chicken in bread crumbs. Drizzle 1/4 c. melted butter over top. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and drizzle another 1/4 cup melted butter over other side. Bake for 15 more minutes.

Mexican Haystacks
This is one of my Grandma's recipes. We love it so much that the recipe is actually huge! I've paired it down for you, but it is usually 3 times this large at my house and then I freeze it to pull out for a quick fix when I really need a good reminder of my Grandma.

1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 small onion chopped
4-5 hot peppers (I use the bottled kind found in the mexican food aisle.)
1 quart of tomato juice
7 oz. of ketchup (I had to pair it down, but roughly 1/4 of a 28 oz bottle)
cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce to taste

Simmer until consistency you like and the heat you like. Remove the peppers once it is the spicy heat that your family enjoys. When I make a big batch, I usually simmer somewhere between an hour to two hours.

This is going to be the top layer of your haystack. I will list the rest of the layers how I do it, starting at the bottom

Fritos
Rice
Lettuce
Cheese
Sauce
-I usually put a scoop of sour cream on top. That only started after I married my honey. My grandmother would call for the pure, unadulterated version. It is so good either way!

Chicken Pot Pie
Again, another MIL recipe. I will take a picture of this one when we make it next week and post it for all to glory in.

6 lbs. diced chicken
1 med. onion, diced
1 tsp. salt
2 stalks celery, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. pepper
Cover this with water, simmer until tender. Strain and retain the liquid.

Melt 1 cup butter, add 1 cup flour, cook for 5 minutes. Add 4-6 cups of retained chicken broth until it is a gravy consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook together:
4 cups diced carrots
4 stalks diced celery
2 cups diced potatoes
Combine chicken, veggies, 1 pkg of frozen peas(cooked slightly), 1 pkg. frozen broccoli(I leave this out. I'm not a big fan of broccoli in this, but you be the judge.) and chicken gravy. Place in a casserole dish and cover with a pie crust. Brush with 1 egg and 1 Tbsp. milk whipped together. Prick pie crust with a fork. Bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes, until pie crust is golden brown.

Mostaccoli
This is from my sister, Cheree. It is awesome. Mainly because you just use canned marinara sauce. We made this and added sliced pepperoni to it and it was great.

Cook your pasta. Add the marinara sauce and I add 1/2 tsp of chili pepper flakes. Pour it into a casserole dish and cover with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Taco Soup
My sister-in-law, Sarah, is responsible for this one. I really like it. It is so tasty!

1 can beans (kidney or black), drained
1 can corn
1 quart of tomatoes (blended in blended)
1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef
chopped onion
cumin
salt and pepper
chili powder
garlic powder

Brown the meat with the onions, while browning, heat beans, corn and tomatoes. Add browned meat and onions. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper, and other spices to taste. Heat thoroughly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken Crescents
I make this so often that I don't even have the recipe written down anymore. But I can tell you how much I love them!

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. milk
2 tubes of crescent rolls

Mix the cooked chicken, cream cheese, garlic, parsley and milk. Lay out the crescent rolls on a greased baking sheet. Pout a small scoop of cream cheese mixture in each crescent and roll up. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of milk
2 Tbsp. of sour cream

Heat together and pour over the crescents. Serve with rice.


I hope you enjoy these recipes. I don't do anything too fancy. but I do love making good, sit down meals for my little family. Please feel free to comment and share your family favorites. I would love to try some new recipes!