Weekly Menu Plan

Friday:
*Lunch*
Leftover Sausage Stuffing


*Dinner*
Ranch Hamburgers & Parmesan Herb Green Beans


*Dessert*
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies



Saturday:
*Lunch*
Leftover Sausage Stuffing & Green Beans


*Dinner*
Chipolte Turkey Sausage & Whole Wheat Rolls & Sweet Corn on the Grill




Sunday:
*Lunch*
Leftover Sausage Stuffing & Green Beans


*Dinner*
Cheesy Potato Chicken Quick Meal


*Dessert*
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies





Monday:
*Lunch*
Tomato & Mozzarella with Basil Pesto Sandwiches

*Dinner*
Ultimate Meatball Hoagies & Salad


Ingredients:
1 package of meatballs
1/2 jar of tomato sauce
1/2 cup green peppers & onions
2 Tbsp basil pesto
2 Bakery hoagies (we like the whole wheat kind)
2 Tbsp of garlic butter
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Heat the meatballs following the package directions.
• Add tomato sauce to the meatballs.
• Combine the peppers and onions in a shallow skillet and saute them.
• Combine together the sauteed peppers & onions with the basil pesto.
• Cut open the rolls and spread the butter on the inside of the rolls.
• Place meatballs and sauce in each roll; top with the pepper mixture and then cheese.
• Place hoagies on a baking sheet and bake 7 minutes so the cheese melts & the bread is toasted

Tuesday:
*Lunch*
Leftover Sausage Stuffing & Green Beans


*Dinner*
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients

In the crockpot:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp chile powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dried cilantro

Before Serving:
tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

• Put chopped onion, cans of beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and spices in CrockPot and stir to mix. 
• Add chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. 
• Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. 
• Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). 
• Return chicken to CrockPot, stir to combine.

• To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips if you like.

Wednesday:
*Lunch & Dinner*
Leftovers



Thursday:
*Lunch*
Tomato & Mozzarella with Basil Pesto Paninis


*Dinner*
Italian Sausage & Tortellini with Alfredo Sauce



Friday:
*Dinner*
?Questionable?

Weekly Menu Plan

With the recent changes in our house, our menu plan is a bit in the air until things get more comfortable and calm.

Monday:
*Dinner*
BBQ Shredded Beef Sandwiches & Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

BBQ Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 pkg. pre-packaged Shredded Beef in BBQ sauce (due to short time for dinner prep due to errands)

1 pkg. Hawaiian sandwich rolls

• Prepare & heat the meat according to the package
• Add to the Hawaiian rolls & Serve.
• *You may need to add a little more BBQ sauce; which we recommend Sweet Baby Ray's*

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

Non-stick Cooking Spray

1 pkg. Velvetta Shells & Cheese

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

2 cups skim milk

1 Tbsp sage, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup panko

• Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 3 qt. rectangular baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. 
• Cook pasta according to directions; including adding cheese sauce.
• Spread 1/2 of pasta in the prepared dish.
• In medium saucepan, combine pumpkin, sage, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to boiling while stirring occasionally.
• Pour 1/2 of the mixture evenly over the pasta.
• Sprinkle 1/2 of the cheese. 
• Repeat layers, then sprinkle panko over pasta mixture.
• Bake, uncovered for approximately 35 minutes or until top is lightly browned and heated through.

Tuesday:
*Dinner*
Skinny Chicken Parmigana & Spaghetti

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) chicken breasts, sliced in half (horizontally, or butterflied but cut all the way through. You will end up with 4 pieces of chicken)
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings (I don't necessarily like a lot of Italian seasoning, so add more if you like it!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (This does not have to be fresh. In fact a use the stuff in the green bottle more times than not)
1 1/2-2 tbsp butter, melted 
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara or your favorite spaghetti sauce
cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 450°. Line large baking sheet with foil (easy clean up) and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings in a bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave in another bowl (this is usually melted after about 20 seconds, so watch it closely.) Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of chicken.
• Lightly spray a little more cooking spray on top (this makes it nice and crispy) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Spoon sauce over each piece and top with mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Wednesday:
*Dinner*
Leftovers



Thursday:
*Dinner*
Leftovers



Friday:
*Dinner*
Italian Sausage & Cornbread Stuffing


Ingredients:
1 pkg. of Italian sausage
1 pkg. of  cornbread stuffing

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Prepare the package of stuffing, according to the box directions.
• Split open the sausage casings and cook as ground sausage.
• Prepare and brown the sausage as usual; making sure to break it apart and crumbled.
• In a medium bowl, mix ground sausage and stuffing together.
• Layer in 13x9 baking dish and cook for 15 minutes until stuffing is browned and slightly crisp.

*The weekend is a bit up in the air depending on what is going on, but this is the tentative plan*

Saturday:
*Lunch*
Antipasto Salad (?)


*Dinner*
Chicken Empanadas (?)


Sunday:

*Breakfast*
French Toast Bake


*Lunch*
Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwiches


*Dinner*
Leftovers (after league)

Menu Plan Sunday

Due to Husby's family visiting this week, our Menu Plan is pretty boring. This weekend we cooked a bunch of large meals, so we will mainly live off leftovers until Wednesday evening when Husby's mom comes to town.

Saturday:
*Lunch*
Homestyle Chicken Tender Bake
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped chives
4-6 chicken tenders (Tyson)
2 baked potatoes (cooked & mashed)
1/2 cup of milk (for mashed potatoes)
1 jar chicken gravy
1 can yellow & white corn
Aluminum foil
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400.
Chop chives & cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
Boil potatoes and when soft, mash adding the milk to make them creamy.
Spread potatoes evenly into 2-quart baking dish.
Top with chicken, gravy, and then corn; cover with foil.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Remove foil and top with cheese and bake 3-4 minutes longer to melt cheese.
Top with chives and serve.

*Dinner*
Family Dinner @ Sonny's BBQ


Sunday:
*Breakfast*
Apple Streusel Pizza
Ingredients:
Aluminum foil
2 medium golden apples
2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar, divided
1 tube of flaky cinnamon rolls with icing
1 cup vanilla almond low-sugar granola

Preheat oven to 400.
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Cut apples into small pieces and toss with 1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar.
Open cinnamon rolls and unroll the entire dough on baking sheet to form crust about 9x13.
Sprinkle apples over crust and bake 6-7 minutes until edges are golden.
Top with granola and bake 6-7 minutes until center is cooked.
Let stand 3 minutes to cool.
Place icing in microwave-safe dish and microwave on medium for 20 seconds to make icing thin and pourable.
Drizzle pizza with icing, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar.
Slice & Serve.

*Lunch*
Leftover Baked Spaghetti


*Dinner*
Hearty Spooky Stew with Parmesan Bones Breadsticks
Ingredients:
1 pkg. meatballs
1/2 cup broccoli; chopped
1 cup cauliflower; chopped
1 cup carrots; sliced
2-3 potatoes; chopped
1/2 cup celery; chopped
2 cups Swiss Chard; chopped
1 pkg. grape tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans; drained
1 can (32 oz.) diced tomatoes
3 1/2 cups vegetable juice (V8)
4 cups beef broth (substitute vegetable broth)

After cooking:
Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. breadsticks

Add ingredients to crock pot and cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours.
Season with salt & pepper (to taste).
Dish out and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
Follow breadstick directions and then sprinkle cheese on sticks before baking.

Menu Plan Sunday

Sunday:
Grilled Cheese Paninis & Tomato Bisque Soup*
Bowling night, so a quick dinner

Monday:
Baked Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
Ingredients
1 box spaghetti pasta
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced bell peppers
3 large eggs
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups shredded Italian-blend cheese, divided
1 jar tomato basil pasta sauce

1. Cook pasta as directed.
2.  Brown ground turkey, as directed.
3. Combine in large bowl: ground turkey, onions, peppers, 1 egg, oregano, seasoned salt, and garlic powder until well blended.
4. Spread mixture evenly in 13 x 9 baking dish.
5. Wash hands.
6. Drain pasta.
7. In medium bowl, whisk remaining 2 eggs until well blended and then stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
8. Add pasta & toss to coat.
9. Spread pasta evenly over meat & cover with pasta sauce.
10. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese and Bake 30-35minutes or until 165 and meat is fully cooked.
11. While in oven, spread butter on French loaf bread and sprinkle with garlic powder. Layer with cheese and heat until bread browns and cheese melts (~10 mins...but check after 5 mins.).
12. Let dish stand 5 minutes and then serve.


Tuesday:
Chicken & Rice Casserole

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice

1. Place chicken in slow cooker and add the 2 soups and water.
2. Stir and make sure to spread over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on low heat for 4.5 to 5.5 hours.
4. 15 minutes before serving, add thawed peas and uncooked rice to crockpot.
5. Re-cover and cook 15 minutes until rice is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wednesday:

Leftovers


Husby starts a new class this week; so this week is a "quick" week

Thursday:

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients
1 can of Tuna in water (Low-fat/ Low-Sodium)
1 box of Tuna helper
1 cup of Steamfresh peas

1. Follow directions for Tune Helper, adding in the can of Tuna and peas right before serving.

Friday:
Hearty Stew & Bones Breadsticks


Ingredients:
1 package of Italian seasoning meatballs
4-6 potatoes, cubed
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 cups Swiss Chard, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1 can (32 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable juice
2 cups beef broth
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tube of Pilsbury breadstick dough 


1. Add ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 6-8 hours.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Dish out and sprinkle with parmesan cheese on top.
4. Bake breadsticks according to package except shape them into long bones. Right before placing in oven, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.


Saturday:

Family Day/Night Out

Menu Plan Sundays

Since we typically plan our week on Sundays, including our meals and do our weekly grocery shopping, I am going to try to post our menu for the week. Since Husby & I both work full-time lunch is almost always leftovers and breakfast is either cereal, fruit and/or oatmeal for all three of us, I am only doing our dinner plans.

Sunday:
Italian Sausage & Cheese Tortellini with Rad Sauce and Texas Toast*


We use pre-packaged tortellini boil until the "pouches" float (10-15 minutes) and then stir in a jar of Prego Roasted Garlic Parmesan sauce and then either make Texas Toast with 2 piece of french loaf bread, spread lightly with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder. Right before placing in the oven, Husby covers the top with Italian mix cheese for cheesy garlic toast. Otherwise, I cheat and use frozen Texas Toast again coated with a thin layer of chese.

Monday:
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Baby Back Ribs & Corn Risotto with French Cut Green Beans 
 *Dessert*
Chocolate Pretzel Parfaits

Ribs Ingredients
1/2 cup apple cider
1 1/4 cups Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, divided
3 lbs pork baby back ribs
2 sheets of aluminum foil (# varies on how many 'pouches' you make)
1 Tbsp Cajun blackened seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In small bowl, mix together apple cider and 3/4 cup of BBQ sauce.
3. Place ribs on foil in single layer. Season ribs by rubbing the seasoning into them on both sides. (Make sure to wash hands afterwards).
4. Cover ribs with sauce mixture.
5. Make a pouch with the foil and double-fold seal the pouch.
6. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. (If you like tender, fall of the bone ribs, cook them an extra 15 minutes....it smells sooo good and the meat melts in your mouth).

Risotto Ingredients
1 bag of Steamfresh corn
32 oz. of reduced-sodium/reduced fat vegetable broth
1 cup of risotto rice
1 cup fresh diced onion
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 Tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1. Microwave corn as directed on bag.
2. Place corn and remaining ingredients (except the Parmesan cheese) into large microwave safe bowl and Microwave on High for 10 minutes.
3. Stir once and then microwave 10-15 more minutes until rice is softened.
4. Stir in cheese and let stand for 10 minutes to allow rice to thicken before serving.

Dessert Ingredients
6 coconut macaroon cookies
1/2 cup thin pretzel sticks
1 (3.4 oz.) box of instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread

1. Chop cookies and pretzel into bite-size pieces.
2. Whisk pudding mix and milk together in medium bowl for 2 minutes. Whisk in chocolate spread; and chill 5 minutes to thicken.
3. Layer in dessert dishes, one-half of each of the pudding, cookie pieces and pretzels pieces then repeat layers to finish the layers. Serve.

Tuesday:
Apple Cider Stew & Grands Biscuits


Ingredients
1 lb beef stew meat
8 carrots sliced
6 potatoes sliced
2 apples diced
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp onion minced
3 cups apple cider
1 cup celery
2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and set Crock pot to High for 5-6 hours.
2. Stir occasionally.
3. Ten minutes before serving, preheat oven and follow Grands Biscuit package directions for baking.

Wednesday:


Chicken & Veggie Stir-fry

Ingredients
1lb. Chicken breasts (Diced)
1 cup fresh diced onion
1 package of stir-fry veggie mix (in produce area)
1 cup cut celery
1 cup of rice
1/2 cup Kikkoman Stir-fry sauce

1. Add ingredients to Asian wok pan and heat until chicken is browned and fully cooked and veggies are tender.
2. Using a rice cooker (if you own one), make rice to desired texture.
3. Serve chicken and veggies over rice.

Thursday:


Tuna Casserole*


Ingredients
1 can of Tuna in water (Low-fat/ Low-Sodium)
1 box of Tuna helper
1 cup of Steamfresh peas

1. Follow directions for Tune Helper, adding in the can of Tuna and peas right before serving.

Friday:
Tomato, Pesto, and Fresh Mozzarella Sandwiches


4 slices of thin-sliced French bread
4 slices of fresh mozzarella
1/2 Tbsp Classico basil pesto spread
1 cherry tomato, thinly sliced

1. Spread bread with basil pesto spread.
2. Layer Mozzarella and Tomato onto bread and set in sandwich press.
3. Remove when cheese is melted and bread is lightly brown.
4. Serve with a side Cesear salad.

Saturday:


Family Day/Night Out


*Quick Dinner


This week I also have a batch of brownies and possibly muffins to make, on either Monday or Tuesday depending on weather and outside temperatures.