Weekly Meal Plan #19

February 13 - February 19

I am sooooo excited for this week's meal plan!  I discovered a new blog: Skinny Taste.  The blogger, Gina, offers "skinny recipes" and she organizes them not only by dish type, or ingredients, but Weight Watcher Points!  I've been browsing her blog all week and it has me drooling every time.  I think that is a good sign, because healthy dishes don't normally have me drooling just by the sight of them.  So, I decided this weeks plan will be composed of all meals from this blog.  Enjoy!

Sunday - Lighter Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Monday - Arroz Con Pollo, Lightened Up
Tuesday - Shrimp Quesadillas with Tomato Avocado Salsa
Wednesday - Turkey Stuffed Zucchini
Thursday - Chicken Enchiladas
Friday - Shepard's Pie, Lightened Up
Saturday - Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach

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The Grocery List

3 medium onions
1 shallot
1 bunch of spinach
2 bunches of green onions
1 1/2 lbs of potatoes
1 small bell pepper
4 medium zucchini
2 tomatos
1 avocado
1 line
1 bunch of cilantro
1 celery stalk
8oz mushrooms
Garlic
1 package frozen mixed veggies
10 oz frozen spinach
8 skinless chicken thighs
2 skinless chicken breasts
1lb ground turkey
1lb lean ground beef
16 large shrimp
12 oz high fiber elbow pasta
1 lb high fiber ziti
2 packages of low carb, whole wheat, flour tortillas
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Long grain rice
1 packet Goya Sazon
1 packet of Goya Sazon Tropical
Adobo Powder
Chicken bouillon cubes
1 small can chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
2 cans tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
28 oz crushed tomatoes
Worcestershire sauce
Pam spray - butter flavored
Butter
Light Butter
Flour
Skim milk
64oz Fat Free Chicken Broth
1 small can of fat free beef broth
16 oz Sargento 2% reduced fat mild cheddar
16 oz shredded low fat mexican cheese
8 oz fat-free ricatto
8 oz part skim mozzarella
Sour cream
Parmesan cheese
White wine
Eggs

*Check for spices!!!

Weekly Meal Plan #18

February 5 - February 11
 
Hello fellow mayhem-ers!  What a crazy week, huh?  Well, you know what I mean if you've got 2-3 feet of snow piled up in from of your dwelling.  We teachers scored 2 snow days this week.  Being that I took a personal day on Monday, I only had a 2 day work week!  haha.  It was nice, but also got me antsy and anxious.  See-we are still waiting to hear back from the sellers of the house we bought on how they are going to respond to our home inspection requests.  We have a few semi-serious issues that need to be addressed.  With the snow, though, the letter from our attorney didn't get sent until Thursday, so it was a long week in which my brain kept brewing and brewing.  What it was brewing was not very sweet or yummy either....it was brewing the worst case scenario.  But, we did finally hear "something" on Friday.  The sellers are beginning to work on the issues on their end (from afar-they are out of town looking for new housing themselves).  It will be a few more days before we hear anything more as to the extent they are willing to address the issues we found, but at least we heard something.  It makes for a much more relaxing, less brain-brewing, weekend. 

This morning I slept in late and immediately sat down with my breakfast and coffee to work on this week's meal plan.  There are a couple new, yummy looking ones included, and of course, a couple repeats.  I'm especially interested to see how the Black-eyed Pea and Chorizo Soup turns out.  I'm a big fan of chorizo.  Mmmmmm.  Enjoy!

Sunday - Creamy Burrito Casserole
Monday - Shrimp Fritters
Tuesday - Turkey and Tomato Panini
Wednesday - Butternut Squash Orzotta
Thursday - Black-Eyed Pea and Chorizo Soup
Friday - Tater Tot Casserole
Saturday - Meatball Subs w/Caramelized Onions (See note below)

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Meatball Subs w/Caramelized Onions

I will not be making the meatballs from scratch.  Aldi has a Fit & Active brand of frozen turkey meatballs that I've been wanting to try, so I'll be getting these this week.  Therefore, I have not included the "meatball" ingredients to the grocery list.  If you want to make them from scratch, see the recipe! :-)

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The Grocery List

1 large tomato
2 medium onions
2 large onions
1 medium shallot
1 bunch green onions
1 small butternut squash (3/4 cup pureed)
1 bunch of cilantro
1 large lime
Garlic
Romaine lettuce
Fresh Basil
2 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 lb peeled/deveined cooked shrimp
1 lb chorizo
8 oz thin sliced deli turkey
8 oz whole wheat orzo
Flour tortillas
Whole wheat bread
Tortilla chips
4 sandwich rolls
1 can refried beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can chipotle chiles
3 15oz cans black-eyes peas
16 oz cheddar cheese
8 oz pepper jack cheese
8 oz gruyere cheese
Parmesan cheese
8 oz container sour cream
Eggs
Flour
Honey
Lemon juice
White wine
Milk
1 small container plain yogurt
Seafood seasoning blend
Mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 32 oz containers chicken broth
18 oz tater tots
1 bag frozen meatballs

Weekly Meal Plan #15

January 16-January 22

So, did anyone end up making those Beef Carnitas Empanada meal?  Well, I did.  And I decided to make the beef myself, instead of buying some pre-made fajita mixture or something.  What I failed to do was calculate how long the meal was going to take to make when trying to do it all in one fell swoop.  Do you know how long it took?  2 hours!  Holy Cow.  Never again.  But you know what?  It...was...awesome!  Ok...the beef was the awesome part.  It was so tasty!  The "empanada" part wasn't the greatest.  I didn't buy saffron, thinking I could do without it.  I have a feeling it needed that special flavoring, whatever it is.  But still...despite the time it took, it turned out pretty great.  Next time, though, we are just going to make the beef and turn them into fajitas or something.  Estimated time to make that?  Half the time it took to make the Beef Carnitas Empanada.  Phew!

So this week, I focused on trying to make sure the meals in the plan didn't take as much time, or that you could actually do something else while it was cooking.  I couldn't with the empanadas...I spent an entire 2 hours standing and cooking.  Ugh!  Hope you find this week less involved! 

Sunday- Italian Vegetable Enchiladas 
Monday- Spicy Shrimp and Fettuccine 
Tuesday- Easy Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie 
Wednesday- Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ 
Thursday- Cream Cheese Potato Soup 
Friday- Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta 
Saturday- Pepsi Pot Roast 

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Italian Vegetable Enchiladas

Easy Meals in Minutes, Time Life Books
 
Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium green bell pepper
• 1/2 lb mushrooms
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp basil
•  1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 8 flour tortillas
• 3 tbs shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
   
2. In a food processor, coarsely chop garlic, onion and bell pepper.  Remove to a large bowl.  In same bowl, chop mushrooms.  Chop mushrooms and add to bwol.  By hand, coarsely chop tomato and add to bowl.
3. In large skillet, warm oil over medium-high heat.  Ad chopped vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes, until onion is slightly softened.  Cool slightly.
4. In medium bowl, combine tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp oregano and 1/4 tsp black pepper.
5. In another bowl, combine cottage heese with remaining basil, oregano and black pepper.
6. Place tortillas on a working surface and spread each evenly with 2 tsp of tomato sauce. 
7. Spread 2 tbs of cottage cheese along the bottom third of each tortilla.
8. Dividing evenly, spread sauteed vegetable mixture over cottage cheese.  Roll the tortillas up.  Place rolled tortillas in a single layer in a baking dish.  Top with remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella.
9. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tortillas are heated through and cheese is melted.  If desired, place enchiladas under broiler to lightly brown them.

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Pepsi Pot Roast 

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb pot roast
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 package dry onion soup mix
• 16oz Pepsi, or other cola 
  

 Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker.
2. Top with mushroom soup and onion soup mix.
3. Pour in Pepsi.
4. Cover.  Cook on high for 6 hours.

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The Grocery List

Garlic
2 small onion
1 medium green pepper
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 medium tomato
5 plum tomatos 
4 large potatoes (red or baking) 
1 package frozen vegetables
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined 
2lbs chicken breasts
3-4lb pot roast
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste 
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
Bisquick baking mix
1 package flour tortillas
8 oz fettuccine 
1lb penne pasta12 oz BBQ
Italian dressing
Worcestershire sauce
40oz chicken broth
8oz container low-fat cottage cheese
8oz container sour cream 
1 package shredded mozzarella cheese 
8oz cream cheese 
Parmesan cheese 
Brown Sugar 
Milk
Eggs
Flour 
Butter (or margarine) (or SmartBalance?)
16oz Pepsi (or other cola)

Pictures to entice you!

There will be no official meal plans created for the next two weeks due to all the yummy goodness that will be taking place of said meals during the holidays.  Therefore, this weeks post contains pictures of some of the meals I have made over the past few months. Make sure you have eaten, or you might be hungry when you are done looking.  I know...I need to do this more often. 

 Bahama-Mama Pork Chops  Yum!

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 Chicken, Shrimp, and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya 

It was so good, and we have major left overs!

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In the spirit of the season, I've made this sweet and tart cranberry sauce for
two years now.  It's perfect for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!

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From a fellow Recipe Nest blogger, this Chicken Broccoli Casserole really hit the spot!

 

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Cream Cheese Potato Soup

Shhh....this is a knock off of Panera's potato soup, and it is almost spot on! 

I made this last week, then went to Panera over the weekend and had their potato soup.  

The only difference was mine had more spice due to a few more crushed red 

pepper flakes.  Other then that, it was totally the same.  Plus, it is totally easy to make!

If you didn't end up using these the week of their original meal plan, 

now is the time to try them!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Weekly Meal Plan #11

December 5-December 11

Happy winter!  December sure did come in with a snowy bang here in Chicago.  With 5 inches on the ground, it's hard not to be in the holiday spirit!

A quick shout out to my brother-in-law and his new wife!  Congratulations Jason and April!  They were married just yesterday in St. Johns.  With the snow here, they certainly planned that well!

Here is your meal plan for the week!  Enjoy! 

Sunday- Turkey Barbecue Meatloaf
Monday- Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese (see below)
Tuesday- Shrimp Fritters with Romaine
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Thursday- Bourbon Chicken
Friday- Southwest Flank Steak with Salsa
Saturday- Swiss Enchiladas

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Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

I found an adaptation of this recipe that added slices of cheddar bratwurst.  Sounds pretty darn good!

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The Grocery List

2 onions
1 carrot
garlic
1 bunch of green onions 
1 lime
Romaine lettuce
1 bunch of kale
1lb of ground turkey
2 1/2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts
1lb peeled/deveined cooked shrimp
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 lb flank steak
Bread crumbs
Elbow macaroni 
1 pkg cheese tortellini
2 pkgs flour tortillas
2 cans of diced green chilies
1 can of diced tomatos
2 cans Italian-style stewed tomatos
1 can condensed french onion soup
BBQ sauce
Worcestershire sauce 
Hot sauce
Mayo or salad dressing
Salsa
Eggs
Milk
1 can evaporated milk (6 oz)
2 pkgs shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg shredded swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Dry mustard
Flour
Seafood seasoning blend
Fajita seasoning
Honey

Weekly Meal Plan #8 - Crazy Casserole Week!

November 7 - November 13

Hello all!  Welcome back!  I took last week off because of a crazy weekend/week that didn't allow me to plan.  Wow-do I regret not being able to!  I was pulling meals out of my brain on a whim while shopping, and not having a list cost me more.  :-(   I heart meal planning!

This week, as I was searching for recipes, I came across several casseroles I wanted to try and decided to make this week into another theme...Casseroles!  Depending on the number of people you are feeding, you may find that you eat all of the casserole in one night, or have left overs.  If you think you might have left overs, you could plan to stretch those out through the week and not make as many meals, or freeze for future use.  Plan accordingly!

Here we go!

Sunday- Easy Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie
Monday- Mom's Baked Mostaccioli (see below)
Tuesday- Best Ever Beef Stew
Wednesday- Creamy Burrito Casserole
Thursday- Tuna Noodle Casserole
Friday- Beefy BBQ Biscuit Casserole (see below)
Saturday- Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

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Mom's Baked Mostaccioli

As the name suggests, this is my very own mother's recipe.  Extremely simple.

12 oz cooked penne noodles
16 oz jar of meat sauce
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook penne noodles as directed.  Drain and return to pot.  Mix in meat sauce.  Grease a 9in x 13in glass baking dish.  Fill dish with noodle and sauce mixture.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Serve with garlic bread!

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Beefy BBQ Biscuit Casserole

To make this dish easier, try this:

Once done with beef mixture, grease a 9in x 13 pan and place biscuits throughout the pan.  Pour in beef mixture around biscuits, and bake!  I've only ever had it this way, not in individual muffin cups and it's so easy.

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Grocery List

2 lbs. of boneless chicken breasts
1/2 lb. of cubed stew meat
1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
3/4 lb. of ground beef
1 lb. of andouille sausage
1/2 lb. of shrimp
2 large potatoes
1 small head of cabbage
1 large onion
1 celery stalk
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1 bunch of green onions
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 package of frozen veggies
1 can of green peas
16 oz. of chicken broth
48 oz. of beef broth
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans of albacore tuna
1 can of meat sauce
1 can refried beans
Long grain rice
12 oz .of penne noodles
1 package of egg noodles
1 small pkg. of bread crumbs
Bisquick mix
1 pkg. of flour tortillas
Flour
1 pkg. of 12 ready to bake biscuits
BBQ sauce
Hot Sauce
1 can tomato juice
Brown sugar
1 pkg. of taco seasoning
16 oz. of sour cream
1 pkg. of shredded mozzarella
2 pkgs. of shredded cheddar
Parmesan cheese
Milk
Eggs

It's a long list, but most items are pretty inexpensive, especially at Aldi or Target!  Enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan #4

Hello Mayhem Friends!  How was your week?  Did you especially enjoy any one of the meals?  Hubby and I loved the Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese.  I added parmesan and mozzarella to it.   We love cheese.  We've also become fond of the grilled chicken and tapenade sandwiches.  What about you?


This weeks plan includes a little bit of everything, from pizza and seafood (not together), to soup and beef. Almost all of it includes veggies in some form!  Adding more veggies to your meals is a great way to cut back on the cost of groceries.  They are healthy and filling!  


September 26-October 2 


Sunday – Veggie BBQ Pizza (see below)
Monday – Crispy Baked Cod
Tuesday - Pasta  (see below)
Wednesday – Shrimp Fritters with Romaine
Thursday – Cheesy Vegetable Soup
Friday – Beef Tostadas
Saturday – Garden Style Lasagna (see below)

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Veggie BBQ Pizza

After enjoying one of these at a restaurant several months ago, I attempted to recreate it.  So, here is my version...

1 Boboli Thin Crust Pizza

1 C Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (or any kind you like)

1 C chopped red onion

1 C chopped sweet red pepper

1/4 tbs of crushed red pepper

1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to suggested temperature on the Boboli package.  Spread BBQ sauce over pizza crust.  Top with red onion and sweet red pepper.  Sprinkle with crushed red pepper.  Cover entire pizza with mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese over mozzarella.  Bake for 10 minutes.   

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Pasta

Another one of those, "you know what do!" meals.  Everyone enjoys their pasta differently, so whether it's penne, spaghetti or elbow macaroni, top it with your favorite sauce and enjoy a classic easy dinner.  

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Garden Style Lasagna

So, I made this meal back in May.  My husband was not around.  He was out for the night.  That was probably a good thing.  This was the most involved and time consuming meal to make...ever.  But that is because I was stubborn and chose to do everything fresh and in the moment.  Take the advice of the recipe and, buy already chopped vegetables or chop them ahead of time.  Also, you can buy lasagna noodles that you do not have to precook!  I think they are by Creamette.  This will greatly cut down on the time it takes to prepare this meal.  But I want you to try it!  This turned out so good that the headache I had from making it was completely worth it.  I know, I'm making this sound so inviting, huh?  Just do it.  :-)  

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Grocery List

3 large red onion

2 medium sweet red pepper

Fresh parsley

1 lemon (need to grate the lemon rind)

garlic

green onions

1 lime

Romaine lettuce

celery

1 large zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 package of whole carrots

1 large head of broccoli

1 16oz package of frozen mixed veggies

1 10oz package of frozen spinach

6 cod fillets

1 lb of peeled and deveined cooked shrimp

1 lb lean ground beef

1 package of lasagna noodles

ther pasta noodles

1 Boboli thin crust pizza

Panko or regular bread crumbs

Tostada shells

Pasta sauce

BBQ sauce

Flour

Honey

Nutmeg

Mayonnaise (or light)

1 can creamed corn

Chili sauce

Chipotle sauce

Taco seasoning

Guacamole

1 package mozzarella cheese

2 packages of sharp cheddar cheese

1 package of shredded Mexican cheese blend (or just use the cheddar)

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

16oz 1% low-fat cottage cheese

8 oz sour cream

Eggs

Milk

Weekly Meal Plan #2

Welcome to week #2!  I hope you all had a successful week last week and enjoyed the meals.  If you have any comments and stories to share, please do so!  I wasn’t as successful.  I managed to make 3 of the meals I planned for.  Last Sunday we had a family party to go to, so I didn’t make it to the grocery store that day.  Then I was really tired after school on Monday and hubby said to just come home…that HE would go grocery shopping on Tuesday.  So, I took him up on it and we had Chinese.  But, I did manage to make the Red Bean and Orzo, Creamy Linguine and the Cajun Steak Sandwiches.  They were all great!  We had the Red Bean with Orzo and Creamy Linguine as left overs, too.  

While I will probably still make some of last weeks meals that I didn’t get too, I have a new list for you!  With it being Labor Day weekend, you might be going to a BBQ or party, so I’m going to throw in the classic burger meal.   To save time, unless I have adapted a recipe, I will only post the link to where it can be found. 

Enjoy week #2! 

September 4 – September 11

Sunday – Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers

Monday – Chili using McCormick's Chili Seasoning

Tuesday – Baked Chicken in a Red Pepper Sauce

Wednesday – Broccoli-Sausage Pasta

Thursday  - Pan Seared Shrimp over Rice

Friday - Flank Steak with Mole Sauce

Saturday – Grilled Pork Tenderloin with an Orange Marmalade Glaze

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A note about the mole sauce:

When I first made this recipe, it seemed to be lacking some directions.  Unless you want a chunky sauce, I would suggest actually using a small food processor to puree the onion.  Additionally, it did not mention anything about deseeding the chilies.  You do not need to deseed if you don't mind a spicy mole sauce.  If you don't want it to be too spicy, then I would deseed then.  Also, I would try to puree them in the food processor as well. 

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The Grocery List:

2lbs of ground beef

Real bacon bits

2 lbs of chicken breast

1 package smoked sausage

2 lbs of flank steak

1 lb pork tenderloin

1 1/2 lbs uncooked shrimp

Parsley

garlic

1 large head of broccoli

3 red onions

3 large dried chilies

1 sweet red or green pepper

green onions

1 packet of McCormick's chili seasoning

2 15 oz cans of tomato sauce

horseradish sauce

sour cream

chicken broth

cider vinegar

lemon juice

red wine vinegar

soy sauce

honey

unsweetened baking chocolate

orange marmalade

rice wine vinegar

penne pasta

shredded cheddar cheese

4 hamburger buns