12 day menu mid summer

Oven baked whole chicken, Mashed potatoes, Green beans

Sausage & Pepperoni pizza, salad

Tortellini primivera

Greek chicken, roasted reds with rosemary, spanikopita

Crockpot ravioli, salad, garlic bread

taco salad

Waffles, bacon, hashbrowns

Baked pancakes, Sausage, eggs

Grilled meats, baked potatoes, steamed veggies

Hamburgers, Macaroni & Cheese, baked beans

Dinner out (2) due to company & travel

Two week menu plan plus alternate (Mid-summer)


Sausage & spinach quiche, yogurt, fresh fruit

B&G, Fruit salad

Pancakes, sausage, eggs, green smoothies

Chicken & Gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed veg

Hamburgers, fries, carrots

Pizza, salad

Taco Bake with avocado & tomato topping

Pasta primivera w/ chicken, breadsticks

Roasted Chicken, Mashed potatoes, Gravy, rolls, broccoli

BBQ pork sandwiches, Veggie oven baked rice pilaf, baked beans

Spaghetti, Beef meatballs, Salad, sourdough bread

Pork carnitas, refritos, chips & salsa

Grill night:  Steak & Chicken, Baked Potatoes, corn on the cob

Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Baked Potatoes, Steamed veggies

Beef stroganoff, Salad, Rolls

Super Easy Sausage, Potato, & Broccoli Skillet

In my pre-baby days I would happily spend an hour or more each night making dinner.  Time is slightly more dear with two under three in our house so I'm trying to find more fast, easy, & cheap meals to add to my recipe book.  This is the first time I've tried something like this but we all liked it.  It's a little high in salt so I wouldn't cook it often but as a speedy meal fix it's pretty hard to beat.

The original recipe was from Betty Crocker and can be found here.  I only made minor tweaks.

Ingredients
1 box scalloped potatoes
2 cups hot water
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp cream cheese
1 rope kielbasa sliced
1 can rotel tomatoes
2 cups broccoli

1) Add potatoes, hot water and milk to a large (3 qt) skillet or dutch oven.
2) Cook until boiling
3) Add sausage, cream cheese, and tomatoes.  Stir well
4) Cover and simmer 20 minutes
5) Add broccoli, recover and cook 4-8 minutes until broccoli is cooked to desired tenderness.

Soda Biscuits

In this house we love biscuits.  The fan favorite was Popeye's biscuits but they are so greasy and expensive I have been on the hunt for a replacement for some time now.  I got close with the copycat recipe from food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/popeyes-biscuits-copycat-50737) that was made with with sprite.  They were deemed okay but the flavor was off and the butter was lacking.  It was like making brownies with black beans instead of all the good stuff and claiming they tasted the same;  acceptable when desperate but not good enough to break the addiction with a Popeye's down the street. Tonight I made some modifications and gave it another try and I think this time I got it!  Here's the finished product:

Sorry Popeye's but you have been replaced in my heart.  These are easy, light, buttery, flaky, and delicious without that cloying feel of grease left over after eating them.  As an added bonus they're also cheap to make.  Let the peasants rejoice!

2 cups bisquick plus some for kneading the dough
1/2 cup sour cream (light is perfectly acceptable)
1/2 cup ginger ale
1/4 cup butter

1) Preheat oven to 400
2) Mix bisquick, sour cream, and ginger ale.
3) Turn onto board covered in bisquick and knead several times until the dough is smooth. If in doubt too little is better than too much unless you enjoy chewy biscuits.
4) Pat to about 1/3 an inch thickness (Do not get out a ruler and get all antsy about it, just guess. You know who you are)
5) Use something round to cut out biscuits.  I use a drinking glass.
6) Melt 2 tbsp of the butter & pour it into the bottom of a 9" round pan
7) Squish the biscuits together in the pan.  Everyone should be up close and personal with their neighbors.  Biscuits stand together or barely rise alone.
8) Bake for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden.  Melt the butter when they're getting close.
9) While they are still hot brush with the rest of the butter.

Makes 10-12 biscuits

Cowboy Casserole

Cowboy Casserole

I haven't made this in forever but it sounded so good this week. Easy, cheap, and great when the nights start getting cool! There's a million variations of this floating about the internet.  This is mine.

Cowboy Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger meat
1/2 onion minced
1 T minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup + 1/2 can of milk
1 cup frozen corn
1 can beans, rinsed & drained (your favorite)
1/4 c sour cream
3/4 c shredded cheese (your favorite)
1 T smoky mesquite grill seasoning
2/3 bag tater tots

1) Preheat oven to 400F
2) Grease 3 qt casserole dish.  Line bottom with 1/3 of the bag of tater tots
3) In large skillet brown beef with the onions and garlic (Add a drizzle of olive oil if you use low fat beef)
4) Add soup, milk, corn, beans, sour cream, 1/2 cup cheese & grill seasoning. Stir
5)Pour mixture into casserole dish
6) Arrange remaining 1/3 of the bag of tater tots on top of the mixture.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top.
7) Bake for about 30 minutes until the tots are brown and the casserole is bubbly.

Serves 4-6

2 Week Menu Plan 1 (Early fall)

Since my last carefully planned menu somehow turned into a crayon and sticker covered masterpiece I am posting my meal plans here now too.  It is safe to say my toddler does not agree with mama's meal choices.

Meal 1: Cowboy Casserole, Green Salad, Soda Biscuits
Meal 2: Bacon-Wrapped Steak or Turkey Fillets, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans
Meal 3: Chicken Enchiladas, Green Salad
Meal 4: Monday Night Football!  Tacos, Chips, & Bean dip
Meal 5: Pork Chops with Apples & Onions, My Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli
Meal 6: Beer Chicken, Smashed Reds, Corn on the Cob
Meal 7: Lasagna *for church group, large recipe*
Meal 8: Tomato Ravioli Soup, Green Salad, Grilled Cheese
Meal 9: Oven Baked Pancakes, Turkey Sausage
Meal 10: Chili & Cornbread
Meal 11: Grilled Burgers, Oven Fries, Salad with veggies
Meal 12: Gyros, Greek Pasta Salad
Meal 13: Potato, Sausage, & Broccoli skillet
Meal 14: Pizza, Green Salad.