I usually write my menu plan monday post as I go along… I don’t actually begin with a plan. Sad but true. This week is not different. I do know what I have on hand so that is part of what determines what we’ll have for our meals. I have two big bags of frozen chicken breasts. I am thinking chicken a couple of nights… some sirloin burger patties from Sam’s. So we’ll grill burgers one night. The salmon for matt… I made that for his Sunday lunch. I want to try a new recipe from a bloggy friend. I don’t really have any of the ingredients so it will require a trip to the store!

Monday… Marinated/grilled chicken, rice, green beans, salad

Tuesday… grilled burgers, salad, pretzels

Wednesday… Baked potato for me and kids (with toppings of choice), Salmon and salad for Matt.

Thursday… Beef Lombardi from Jenileigh

Friday… Chicken & potatoes layered in the crockpot. I saw the idea on this site!

I’d like to try this out over next weekend, I saw it at Sandra’s.

I guess that does it. Have a great week!

This weekend was pretty nice! I got to accompany Matt to take his final. Got to shop (tax free) at the mall… got to be there for his test results which were awesome! Had one of the teen girls over to do her hair for her. Had a fun cook out and swimming. Church was great. Me & the girls ditched class and ran to the donut shop, they read our lesson in the car and we had time to finish up while eating our donut holes back in class. I’m such a rebel. We had a nap today and tonight we had a potluck dinner at church. I picked up some pizzas while picking up a car load of teens. Talk about noise! I made delicious pork chops grilled for lunch…

This week I plan to utilize the grill.

I’m going to make the sticky chicken meal again (thanks Kim!)

Sticky Coconut Chicken

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts)

1 cup canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Marinade chicken in coconut milk, ginger, pepper and red pepper flakes at least one hour (I let mine marinade four about four to five hours). Grill on barbecue.

Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

While the chicken is grilling, bring above ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. But once it starts getting really thick, immediately take it off the heat! Glaze both sides of chicken the last few minutes of grilling and serve chicken over rice.

We’ll have burgers one night. Grilled.

Steak one night. With corn on the cob. You guess it. Grilled.

That leaves one night open… I’ll leave it that way to make room for a pizza or maybe leftovers.

Visit Orgjunkie.com to link your menu up and view hundreds more!

My birthday is this weekend! Hopefully I’ll get a day or two off from cooking :), doubtful.

One last thing… today (Aug 4) is Izzy’s favorite therapist’s birthday!

I haven’t played along with sct in forever! I’ve been reading Sandra’s posts about going home to visit South Africa… Great pictures too! Visit Sandra to join in or to see more sc recipes.

• 2 cups cooked diced chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (7 oz.) can Herdez Salsa Verde
• 16 corn tortillas, each cut into 4 wedges
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend

Preparation:

Combine chicken, soups, sour cream, and Salsa Verde. Alternate first mixture with layers of tortilla pieces and cheese. Sprinkle top with chili powder or paprika. Cook in Crock Pot on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Serve chicken casserole with garnish of guacamole or sour cream and chopped tomatoes and green onions, along with a tossed salad.

Monday … taco chicken!

Tuesday… Black bean burritoes!

Wednesday… Quesadillas!

Thursday… chicken & rice

Friday… pizza.

We pretty much had quesadillas half the nights last week. Emelia has become the #1 quesadilla maker around here. I need to go buy more cheese and stuff for them soon. The black bean burritoes were so good I am going to make a bigger batch and freeze some for later. They will be great for healthy snacks and quick lunches.

There’s been some questions about how we came to get the horse “Pinky,” for FREE! Well, around the fourth of July there he was on our property. There are acreages behind us, sometimes we will have a few cows out there and then they are gone… I thought maybe the horse was spooked from the fireworks. Matt said, “Jesus brought you a pony.” On Wednesday as we were leaving for church we noticed a car driving slowly in front of our house. Mom called (she was here with Iz) and said that a man had come about his horse. We talked on the phone and he mentioned that he had a stud that was twice Pinky’s size that was biting Pinky so he was looking for a new home for him and that that was probably the reason Pinky had run away. I told him we would love to keep him so he said, “he’s yours!” He said he would bring his bridle and stuff over and leave it on the fence sometime but hasn’t yet. We went and bought him a bridle, pull rope, feed, feeding bucket, brush and scoop etc… Emelia has been with me for all these purchases and because we have recently remodeled her room all pink she of course wanted all horse supplies to be pink. That’s how the horse got his name. Yes, it’s a little odd to have a brown boy horse named Pinky, but oh well! It works. The kids have ridden him once. Bareback. We haven’t bought a saddle yet. I guess that’s next. He is nice and calm. The goats must think he is a big dog because they pretty much run from him. I think eventually they’ll all be great friends.

What an easy meal.  Faster than pizza and just as easy to make to order.

I start with a large pan, brush with canola oil…. lightly.

Lay down a flour tortilla (I use the smaller ones)

sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and then toppings like…

grilled chicken slices

green pepper

sauteed onions

black olives

black beans

jalapenos

Place a tortilla on top and flip over to brown the other side.

Cut in fourths with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa, sour cream, and guac.  YUM!

This is how I make fettucine alfredo…

I take 1 stick of butter and melt, adding pressed garlic, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.

I add heavy cream and parm cheese to mixture.

Let the cheese melt and I serve it over whole wheat linguine.

Yum.

Strombolli
1 loaf frozen bread dough
2 eggs, seperated
1 TBSP parmesean cheese
1 TBSP parsley
1/2 TBSP garlic powder(I’ll press a few cloves of garlic)
1 TBSP oregano
1/2 TBSP pepper
approximately 2 TBSP olive
1/2 lb cooked Italian sausage OR pepperoni
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (I use 2 small cans)
Oil frozen bread dough and defrost 3-4 hours, per package instructions. Roll out with hands to 1/4 inch thickness. Mix egg yolks, seasonings and spread on dough. Top with meat, mushrooms, and cheese. Roll lengthwise & shape into a horseshoe shape. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet. Brush with egg whites. Bake at 350′ for 30 minutes. Slice into 1″ pieces. Serve with hot pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.

Visit ‘overwhelmed with joy‘ for more favorite ingredient friday recipes!

I mentioned the chicken taco quiche in my mpm post yesterday, well I made it last night and it was a HIT. I love when a recipe is just really really good. Everyone (except Bailey who wouldn’t touch anything quichish with a ten foot pole) loved it. I told Matt there was another to be frozen for another day and he said, “Don’t freeze it, lets eat it tomorrow.” You know it has to be a tasty quiche for a man to say that right? I made a quick batch of guacolmole to serve with it too. I think it went well with it. Here’s the recipe.

2 pie crusts (I used frozen)
2 cups cubed chicken
2 packets of taco seasoning
2/3 c. salsa
2 c. cheddar cheese (I forgot to buy this but had a block of sharp cheddar I grated)
8 eggs
2 c. half and half
2 T butter
1/2 c. sliced olives
4 oz. can chopped green chilis

I sauted my chicken breasts in the butter, covered with the first packet of taco seasoning and added just a little water so it wasn’t dry. I let it cook and cut it into small pieces with my spatula. Mix the eggs with the cream and then stir in the chilis and olives.
Bake the pie crusts 8 minutes and then pat them to flatten them back out.
Put the chicken in the bottom of each pie crust, followed by the cheese, and then 1/3 c. salsa in each and pour the egg mixture over the top.
Bake at 400 for 35 minutes. (I turned it down to 375 and then cooked it for another 10 minutes. Be sure and get the deep shell pie crusts because they are really full.

Have a great Tuesday! I’m going to try to get the few presents I have left on my list. I was able to hit a few stores yesterday while Izzy was in school and got a lot done. Still doing laundry. Still enjoying the ability to do laundry.

2 lbs Italian link sausage, browned1 jar of spaghetti sauce1 large green bell pepper, sliced into thick strips1 medium onion, sliced1 tsp garlic powder1 tsp dried basil1 tsp dried oregano

Put all ingredients in slow cooker.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Serve on hard rolls or hoagie rolls. 

Visit Sandra for more slow cooker recipes!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2 cups cooked riceIn a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and spoon mixture over cooked rice.

Do yourself a favor and visit my pal Sandra (Diary of a SAHM) to see more slow cooker recipes, and maybe even share yours~