2/6/12 Meal plan

Bold Recipes are on the blog
Underlined recipes are new.

Rachel's Lake Brisket -Crockpot
Roast -Crockpot
Roast stew- Crockpot
Chili Cheese Fries Casserole - Company
Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts -Company
Italian Omelette - Breakfast for Supper $Penny pincher$
Salmon with a Raspberry glaze
Indian Corn
Fish
Black Bean Burgers from AnnieEats.com


Other: I also plan on making Grandma Key's rolls, Granola Bars, and Nutty Granola.


Check out my disorganized recipes tab at the top of the page if you want to try any of these bolded recipes.

Meal Plan

Meal Plan: so I'm definitely NOT posting every single one.  Obviously.  Or maybe you thought we were just eating out a lot.  Anyway, I can thank Pinterest for all my new recipe ideas.   There are only 2 previously made recipes on this plan, the brisket and the pizza.

Katy's Lake Brisket served with Honey Roasted Red Potatoes
Creamy Grilled Chicken on Piccata--where does one find Capers?  And what are capers exactly? I've heard of them, but that's about it.
Baked Penne with chicken, broccoli and smoked mozzarella
Spicy Honey Chicken
Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Crock Pot Kalua Pork
Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and potatoes
Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin
Sweet and Spicy Honey Grilled Shrimp
Shaved asparagus pizza with chicken

Meal Plan

I only have one meal left to make on this meal plan and that's to grill chicken.  I was in the mood to try new recipes this time so several are ones that I found online.


Meal Plan


Crustless Quiche
Pizza Penne Bake
Baked Spaghetti Casserole
Shaved Asparagus Pizza
Slow Cooker Pesto Spinach Lasagna
Calzones
Ham & Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Italian Omelet
Hamburgers
Grilled Chicken


It's been so hot lately (it was at least 100 today) and I've been so hot (poor Kyle is hearing much more than his fair share of whining) that I've been making TONS of smoothies, especially for lunch.  And they're good and good for me so I guess that's what's known as a "win-win" situation.

Meal Plan? huh? What's that?!?

You all probably thought meal plans were a thing of the past, but I assure you...I HAVE been keeping up with them, I just haven't been keeping up with blogging about them.

Today Kyle turns 2 3's.  33.  Luke is very excited since he's three and daddy's two threes.  Exciting manly stuff.  We'll be having homemade Polynesian pizza for supper with strawberry shortcake for dessert.  There might be a present or two for Kyle if he behaves himself.  He already got a vegetable pan for the grill for his birthday.  He's excited to take it to the lake house.


Now, on the the important stuff, right?


Meal Plan
Spaghetti
Breakfast for supper (I'm thinking waffles)
Grilled Chicken
Grilled Steak
Shish-K-Bobs
Pizza and Strawberry Shortcake
Greek Chicken Pasta
Poppyseed chicken
Cheater Chicken Divan
Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

I was in the mood for grilling when I planned this menu.  We'll see if I'm in the mood for grilling when it comes to be supper time in the next few weeks =)

The Last Meal Plan of 2010

I found a lot of new recipes to try in my latest issue of Taste of Home. However, they must have had some "ham" theme going because ham is about all we're going to be eating for the next month!  We'll probably end up cured before it's all over with!


Roast
Leftover Roast Stew (my favorite!! And the best part of this is...don't be grossed out here...1 crockpot, two meals and only 1 washing!!)
Chinese
Creamy Pasta Shells with Broccoli and ham
Ranch Ham and Cheese Pasta
Asparagus Ham Dinner
Shrimp and Tortellini Soup in tomato cream
Chicken Swiss Bundles
Fontina Ham Stromboli
French Toast
Slow Cooker BBQ Turkey Meatballs.


Maybe with all my new recipes I'm trying I'll have some good ones to post for you all.

2 Meal plans in 1!

Because I'm just that far behind.  I didn't ever get around to posting my last meal plan.  There were no comments or questions about the lack of meal plan, so I have to assume that all 3 of my readers really enjoy this aspect of my blog. But somehow, if I post my plans I feel like I'm giving my suppers a little bit more validation and the effort of cooking every night is not "wasted". ha!!


Anyway.  Previous meal plan.  All I have left to make on this one is the mini meat loaves tomorrow.  Thursday night will be the biggest grocery shop EVER!


Grilled Chicken with Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves
Baked Ziti
Fajitas
Calzones
Broccoli Tuna Casserole
Mongolian Beef
Country Style Pork and Rice
Chicken Pesto French Bread Pizza
Taco Salad


Tonight we had French Bread Pizza.  I had gotten a recipe for french bread a while ago from my SIL, Audra, but had never gotten around to making it.  I did tonight.  Easy and SO GOOD!  It makes 2 loaves so I used 1 tonight so the other is in the freezer for next time.


French Bread
2 T active dry yeast
2 c warm water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
4-5 c flour
1 tsp cornmeal


In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add the salt, sugar and 2 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Sir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.  Urn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.  Punch dough down.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.  Shape into (2) 12" long loaves.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf.  Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.


New Meal plan!!


Sweet and Sour Chinese
Italian Omelette 
Microwave lasagna
Ship Wreck Casserole (New!)
Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Creamy Pasta Primavera
French Toast
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Shepherd's Pie
Chicken Bundles


Extras: Marinated Cheese, candy corn cupcakes, play dough

Meal Plan!

I don't know if I even posted my last meal plan. I'm surprised I didn't get flooded with emails claiming all your lives had come to a screeching halt. I mean, how do you people even plan your meals without me?!?

I have several new recipes that I'm going to try this session, so I'll let you know how they turn out.

So, here's the low down:

Baked Salmon

Chili Cheese Fries Casserole

Creamy Pasta Primavera (new!)

Orzo and Chicken (new!)

Poppyseed Chicken

Tacos

Chicken Bundles

Black Bean and Quinoa with Chicken (new!)

Grilled Chicken

Creamy Baked Mostacoli

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves (made with ground turkey)

No new recipes to include with this plan, but hopefully my next post will have several. Since I went to Crest last night I got some Salmon which we will have for supper tonight. Yummy! I haven't made Salmon in a long time, mostly because it's hard to get good salmon here and frankly, I don't think the Salmon at Walmart would be that great so I usually pass.

Meal Plan and New Recipes!

I know you've seen this picture before, but I just love it.

Luke is feeling better but is not over his ear infections. He was up last night and then was all off kilter today. He said his ears don't hurt, but he can't leave them alone and had a very low grade fever tonight, so we're not in the clear yet. Leta is still stuffy and has a runny nose and slightly congested, but that is the extend of her ails.

We're having more crazy weather here tonight. Not so much in the city yet (or it may miss us) but just north of us and in the Stillwater area. But the weathermen are having a field day. Sunday there was horrible hail (we didn't get any here) but I kept seeing picture on facebook where people had so much hail it looked like it had snowed (in the Quail Springs church of Christ area--where we were married--if you're familiar). In fact, the wind blew so hard for some that there were actually drifts of hail. I had never heard or seen such a thing before. We had some friends who had their picture window broken by the hail. We were lucky to have the hail miss us, for sure. We just got quite a bit of rain.

New Meal Plan

Tater Tot Casserole

Chicken Bundles with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert

Greek Chicken Pasta

Creamy Baked Mostaccoli

Oven Macaroni and Cheese

Chinese

Scallop Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Chicken Penne Italiano

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Oven Baked Mac n Cheese

1 can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cups skim milk

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 1/2 c Parmesan

1 cup Mozzarella

1 lb short cut pasta

Cook pasta according to directions. In a separate large bowl, mix all other ingredients. Stir in cooked pasta. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

*Made the mac n cheese tonight. I added 1 lb diced ham, pepper, and garlic powder. And a sprinkle of nutmeg. YUMMY!! I really liked the addition of the ham. No need to add salt, and I felt like it was a more complete meal.

Creamy Baked Mostacolli

1/2 lb short cut pasta

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 (15oz) cans tomato sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella divided

1 lb cooked ground beef

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Cook pasta just shy of el dente. Put in large skillet and add cream cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add tomato sauce. Stir. Add beef and seasonings. Combine and transfer to casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Greek Chicken Pasta

2 cups uncooked short cut pasta

1/4 c butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/4 c flour

1 (14oz) can chicken broth

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 (7oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1 c feta

1/2 c chopped, oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1/3 c sliced Greek olives

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter. Sauté onions. Stir in flour. Let cook 1 minute. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil, let thicken. Add remaining ingredients, stir and heat through.

New Meal plan that I'm half way done with already!

Luke has become quite possessive lately. Here he is NOT sharing his Cream of Wheat with me. "These are mines, Mommy. You can get your own in the pantries." I hear this every time I ask for a bite of something he has.

Leta dying Easter Eggs

Here's the latest meal plan. I'm 4 recipes into it and just now getting around to posting it. I guess I should also add, that Luke is awake from his nap and playing (i.e. thumping LOUDLY) around in his room...and Leta is awake from her nap and... well...crying on and off in her crib. And here I sit, blissfully ignoring both of them and blogging. Does that say something about my priorities? Or maybe that my 45 minute break from both of them at once, just wasn't quite enough today!!!

Kyle left for the lake house this morning. He's getting the boat serviced today for the summer (yea!!!!!) and he's going fishing tomorrow with Fireman Paul (his workout friend from the gym). So I'm home alone until Monday! I've been considering early retirement from motherhood. Both kids have colds.

Chili Cheese Fries Casserole (from the last meal plan...I didn't make it, so I just carried it over)

Creamy Chicken Penne

Greek Chicken Pasta

Crockpot Chicken Burrito

Creamy Pasta Primavera

Audra's Beef Strogonoff

Ham and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

Feta Stuffed Chicken

Hamburgers

French Toast

Extras:

Granola Bars, Pizza, Chicken Strips, Guacamole, Strawberry Shortcake

We had some friends over for supper and I made the Crockpot Chicken Burrito. For some reason I CANNOT estimate accurately how much of that stuff to make...I made WAY to much. It was ridiculous. We had the guacamole to go with it and I made our first Strawberry Shortcake of the season.

Strawberry Shortcake

1lb strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered

3T powdered sugar

1 c heavy cream

---

2 c flour

1/4 c sugar

1 T baking powder

pinch of salt

1 c heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a baking sheet. To make the shortcakes, sift flower into bowl. And sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Gradually add cream, stirring with a fork. Gather clumps, but don't knead. Shape into a 6" log. Cut into 6 slices. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Mash 1/4 of the strawberries with the powdered sugar and the rest of the cut berries. Let stand at room temperature for an hour. Serve with whipped cream.

---Notes: I made a double batch of the shortcake. I don't recommend doing this. They turn out better if you just do two batches separately. I had a hard time stirring that amount, and as a result, I think I over-worked the dough. The cakes came out not quite as well as normal. Not bad, just not my best work. So it could be the double batch or that I let Luke help and he spilled some of it and maybe more baking powder got spilled than should have etc. Who knows. Anyway..they were still good and no one complained! But when it's company and a husband whose taste buds only say, "yummy!" who would complain?!? ...I guess that would be me =)

Okay....off to get the kids from their naps.

Meal Plan and New Recipes!

Leta has forgotten what a good nap is. She's doing the whole, sleeping for 45 minutes at a time. If I leave her in there...she'll lay there and be quiet/fuss off and on for an hour, but not go back to sleep. It's not hunger...tried that one today. So we're on to waiting it out. She always gets 15 minutes to go back to sleep. Luke did this for a year. Hopefully she'll wise up. She slept well last night (a little over tired from lack of naps, perhaps???) and didn't wake to eat until 6:45. We'll give it tonight and see how she does. If she does that again, then I'm adding in my 10:30pm feeding and expecting her to sleep all night.

Needless to say, a 2 yr old who hasn't been going down for his naps so well lately, and a 2 month old sleeping in 45 minute increments isn't lending itself to me learning the new Body and Soul routines. Just finished rehearsing again. I can't go too late at night or I won't be able to go to sleep.

Here's the latest meal plan I've been working on. I've got some new recipes and some old 'uns for you.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Chinese
Pesto Chicken French Bread Pizza

Creamy Baked Mostacolli

Asian Wild Rice Salad

Chili Cheese Fries Casserole

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Chili Skillet

Ricotta and Ham Stuffed Chicken

Ravioli Lasagna

Hamburgers

Extra: Granola Bars, Cookies, Granola Balls x2

Poppy Seed Chicken (we got this meal brought to us a couple of times after Leta was born...yummy!)

4 Chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup (Healthy Request)

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

3/4 sleeve reduced fat ritz crackers

Sprinkle poppy seeds over top of all.

Cut chicken into bit size pieces and cook with poultry seasoning and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix together with soup and sour cream. Pour into 9X9 pan. Crush Ritz crackers and spread over top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Serve with brown rice.

Pesto Chicken French Bread Pizza

1 jar pesto

loaf of french bread

3 chicken breasts

Olives

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cut bread in half length ways, and then again to form the size pieces you want. Slice and cook chicken through. Spread 1 T of pesto on each, top with chicken, olives and cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Chili Skillet

1lb ground beef, browned

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

1 cup tomato juice

1 can kidney beans, undrained

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice

4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 can corn

1/2 cup sliced olives

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat sauté onion and pepper. Add beef and rest of the ingredients minus olives and cheese. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes until rice is tender. Stir in olives and top with cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is melted.

Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, salsa etc.

Catch Up!

Kyle: Kyle has been very busy lately. He has a few really big projects going currently. He is also considering a partnership with Traver on a Timeshare website. His "no compete" clause from selling Vacation Timeshare Rentals expired and so he's now free to do so. However, this is FAR from a done deal, so who knows if it will materialize or not. He is also back into running competitively, which I think I mentioned earlier. He has run in...3? 4? meets now. There are a few upcoming that he plans on running in as well. The next one is in Overland Park, KS. I think it's next weekend. Anyway. That has been keeping him busy, too and he's really enjoying it, although there are many reasons for me telling him that he's old now =) He was plagued with injuries and issues early on, but they seem to be improving and not occurring as frequently. He just completed our gathering information for our taxes today and will take them to the accountant. We are pretty sure it will be bad news and that we'll be paying more than we anticipated. So. Anyone wanna come over for some Ramen Noodles?

Rachel: My update isn't nearly as exciting as anyone elses...so feel free to skip =). I'm still trying to get into the swing of things with two kids and get everyone on a manageable schedule. I think I'm doing pretty well myself. Current schedule (because if I don't write it, there will be nothing else for me to say!) 7:30: Wake up time for Leta 8-8:30 Wake up time for Luke 10:30 Leta's morning snack 11:30 Lunch for Luke and I 12:30 Luke's nap 1:30 Leta's early afternoon snack 3:30 Luke's nap time is over! 4:00 Leta's late afternoon snack 5:30 Supper time for the Fam! 6:30 Leta's early evening snack 8:00 Bed for Luke 8:30 Leta's bedtime snack 10:30 Leta's late night nursing. I'm also back at Body and Soul MWF. It feels so good to exercise again. And with Luke's behavior lately I NEED the stress relief! I tell ya...being pregnant and then taking 5 weeks off postpartum will get you OUT OF SHAPE!!! So I'm working on that. Leta is "pulling a Luke" and staying home with Kyle while Luke and I go to Body and Soul.

Luke: Is still adjusting to having a sister (whom he dearly loves) and learning how to treat her. He's only thrown her once, which I suppose I should consider a success. He is still more stressed out by life than he was pre Leta. One VERY nice change in him is that he is getting back to being a "Daddy's boy". This has happened within the past week. He was very much one before Leta, but after her he became very clingy to me and didn't want to have much to do with Kyle at all. However, that is changing so it makes is much easier for Kyle to help me out by distracting Luke during Leta's early evening sack. He is in a very challenging parenting phase right now and spends a good portion of his day in time out and recovering from getting "swats". He is singing lots of different songs these days. Some that we sing together and some that he learns in bible school. His current favorites are: Peter, James, and John in a Sailboat and Roll the Gospel Chariot. He also likes them to be sung, "Real Fast". He is also picking up on "grammer rules". He will often pluralize in this way, "carses, trainses, cupses etc." He is also very in to telling Kyle that he missed him when he gets back from the gym. It's so sweet to hear. Luke is very much becoming a little boy and not so much of a toddler.

Leta: Leta is 7 weeks old today. She also weighs approximately 11 lbs. and is wearing 0-3 month clothes. She has outgrown one outfit in this size range so far, but I think it was on the smaller side of things. But they are all fitting her, which probably means our 0-3 month days are numbered. So says our scale when I weighed myself first with her and then without. She smiles a lot. She is big into our crown molding and ceiling fan as Luke was. She also likes "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". She is pretty good at rolling over from tummy to back and does it pretty frequently. She is a good night sleeper. I nurse her at 8:30 and then she goes down to bed. I wake her at 10:30 to "top off her tank". She doesn't eat much and I never see her eyes during this feeding. Then she usually wakes up once in the night to eat. Her latest to wake up to date is 5:15am. Then she goes back down until I get her up to "begin her day" at 7:30. She prefers to sleep on her side and likes to be swaddled. She only has 2 blankets large enough to swaddle her in. However, she's getting so strong...or maybe I'm just not that good at swaddling that she escapes those so I had my Grandma Olson make a swaddle pod like in the pictures in the post below. I got the first one in the mail from her the other day and we have a bit of tweaking to do before it's mastered, but they are large enough for her now and she has room to grow. She can track objects with her eyes, bear her weight on her legs (she doesn't do this as much as Luke did) and lift her head pretty well during tummy time. She is also becoming much less of a "bobble head" as Kyle calls it, but you have to be ready because that huge noggin of hers will take an unexpected dive. She is also starting to get baby acne like Luke did. We can also see some new hair growth on the top of her head. We aren't 100% sure, but we think it looks like she will end up with darker hair.

I'm behind in my recipe plans. I know. Too bad. You'll just have to get over it! We had lots of meals brought to us after Leta was born so you only missed 1 or two. Anyway. Here's the current one.

Meal Plan

Chinese

Shepherd's Pie

Chili Corn bread

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Easy Chicken and Pasta

Poppyseed Chicken

French Toast

Chicken Penne Italiano

Pizza Bread

Chicken Bundles

Extra: Peanut Butter Granola Balls, Granola Bars

Chicken Bundles (we had these brought to us after Leta was born and it was SO yummy. I opted for reduced fat versions, left out 4 T of butter and added poultry seasoning and red pepper flakes)

6oz reduced fat cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp dried chives

2 T milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 pinch red pepper flakes

4 c cubed chicken, cooked

2 (80z) cans refrigerated reduced fat crescent rolls

Cook chicken in poultry seasoning and red pepper flakes. Mix cream cheese, chives, milk, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in chicken. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 8 rectangles. Press portions together. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Bring edges together and pinch to seal. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

Recipes!

Santa came to visit at our Body and Soul fellowship. Luke did better with Santa this time than he did when we went and saw him at the mall. He smiled! Santa did bring the kids little goodie baggies. Luke knows very well that he wants Santa to bring him train tracks this year for Christmas. He was so excited to get the bag from Santa. He opened it right up, and his grin quickly turned to a frown and his eyes teared up and he looked at me and said, "Train tracks?" I had to quickly explain that this was just to tide him over and that if Santa brought him train tracks, he would bring those on Christmas morning while he was sleeping.

I have been a baking fool lately. I've made several batches of Apple Cinnamon Tea Ring and Orange Cinnamon Swirl bread. I've been using my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook and it really makes my life easier, but it's just not big enough to handle a double batch, so I've just been doing one batch of dough at a time. I just delivered my last Tea Ring this morning and tomorrow I plan on making my last batch of Orange Cinnamon Swirl bread, of which we will get to keep one! for our Christmas morning breakfast. The first day I made bread, Luke asked what I was making and I told him. He thought about it for a bit, and then decided that "Want Mommy make cookies."

Both of these recipes are my mom's and I'm sure mine don't turn out as well as hers, so consider yourself lucky if you receive one from her!

Cinnamon Apple Tea Rings

Prepare 4-H Roll Bread. Divide dough in half and roll into 10X15 rectangle. Place 1/2 of filling on each rectangle. Roll jelly roll fashion. Place sealed edge down on a greased pizza pan and form into a circle. Slash into 1 inch slices, cutting almost through to center. Turn each slice on its side. Let rise until double. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until done. Cool. Drizzle with confectioners frosting.

Filling:

3 medium tart apples, chopped fine with skins on.

1/4 c brown sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c raisins, plumped

1/2 c chopped pecans (optional)

1 T flour

4-H Roll Bread (My grandma Olson's recipe)

1 1/2 c scalded milk, cooled

In a cup dissolve 2pkg yeast in 1/2 c warm water.

Mix in a bowl:

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c shortening

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 beaten eggs

Add milk and dissolved yeast. Mix in 5 c of flour, kneading in the final 2 cups for a total of around 7 cups. Knead until smooth and elastic (10-15 min). Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise. Punch down and let rise a 2nd time. Make into rolls or cinnamon rolls or use in the Tea Ring Recipe.

Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread

1 pkg active dry yeast

1/4 c warm water

3/4 cup orange juice, warm

1 c milk, warm

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c shortening

1 T orange zest

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 1/4- 6 3/4 c flour

Filling

1/2 c sugar

2-3 tsp cinnamon

Turn onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl turning once to grease top. cover and let rise, about 1 1/4 hr. Punch down dough and divide in half. Let rest 10 min. Roll into a 15X 7 rectangle. Spread filling. Roll up jelly roll style, starting with short end. Seal edges. Place sealed edge down into 2 greased 8x14 loaf pans. cover and let rise until double. Bake 30 min in a 350 oven.

I'm not done with my last meal plan, but I'm trying to get ahead of the game so I planned my next one out already.

New Meal Plan

Tater tot casserolel

Chinese

Creamy Chicken Noodle Sou

Venison Chili with cornbread

Mexican Lasagna

Feta Stuffed chicken breasts

Easy Chicken Pasta

Pizza Loaf

Spaghetti

Beef Stroganoff

Creamy White Chili

1 lb boneless skinless chicken reast, cut into bite size pieces

1 medium onion chopped 1 12 tsp garlic powder

1 T vegetable oil

2 as great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (14oz) Chicken broth

2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chilis

1/2 (10oz box) spinach

1 can hominy, drained

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 c sour cream

1/2 c cream

1) In bottom of pot sautee chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is done. Add rest of ingredients except dairy items. Bring to a boil.

2) Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cream and sour cream. Serve immediately.

1 cup = 334 cal and 22 g protein.

This white chicken chili is one of my top favorite soups. It's really good.

This n that.

L to R Alyssa, Onawa, Natalie, Tara, Shanna and Me!

Kyle is finishing the paint job in Leta's room tomorrow. YEA! And then I will begin cleaning, arranging, organizing and hanging.

Kyle went hunting with Jeremy up by Pond Creek this past weekend. He didn't shoot anything this time, but it sounded like he had fun none-the-less. He's been a deer jerky making fool since their last hunting trip and so he brought 4 different recipes he's used for them to try.

I also had my Body and Soul winter workshop this past weekend. It wore me out! 6 hours of working out in one evening and morning.... My quads are a little sore thanks to a new move our power strength choreographer likes to call the "Jenga". I presented our boot camp training. I explained how to plan a boot camp etc. step clinic-ed several new moves and then demonstrated a mini boot camp. It went pretty good I think, for my first time to do that anyway. My partner and I had decided which moves she would demo and I would just cue due to pregnancy restrictions, but I missed one! I ended up doing 8 burpees and Leta kept getting squished and didn't like that too much =)

Saturday night was my non-baby-shower Girls Night Out. 5 of my friends took me out to the Melting Pot (my favorite restaurant) and we had a great time. It was fun to hang out with the girls and accomplish nothing but have fun for an evening. And even though there weren't supposed to be gifts, Leta got a gift card, bows, an "L" onsie, a wall hanging and her first doll. Thanks Tara, Natalie, Onawa, Alyssa and SHANNA (who planned it all) for a great night! All of us (except Alyssa) are pregnant or nursing. Quite the group!

Quintessential Luke.

Time for a new meal plan around these parts. I just finished our last one tonight and I need to get to the grocery store, but think that will have to wait until Wednesday since Kyle has a meeting tomorrow afternoon.

New Meal Plan:

Chinese with new sauce (different from last meal plan)

Taco Soup

French Bread Pizza

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Maple Porcupine Meatballs side of Pasta and spinach casserole

Sloppy Joes

Broccoli and Cheese stuffed Chicken breasts

Pepper Jack Mac Cups

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Ham & Ricotta stuffed chicken breasts with a side of horseradish Crockpot scalloped potatoes

Extras: Sugar cookies, beans, french toast, pizza, chicken strips

Chinese was on the list last week, but I'm using a different sauce this time so it'll be almost like it's brand new. And the Ham and Ricotta stuffed chicken is a repeat of last time because out of the blue (without me asking) Kyle said, "This is pretty good." And I still have leftover ricotta to use up.

My last meal plan had several successful recipes so I have lots to share this week!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (this was was so good I'm still reminding Kyle about it almost 2 weeks later!)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp celery salt

1 onion, chopped

2 qt water

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

2-3large carrots, sliced

1 tsp garlic salt

2 celery stalks, sliced

Boil the above ingredients for 1 hr. When chicken is tender, remove and chop and put back in pot. Add

2 cups uncooked noodles.

Boil 20 minutes.

Cream Sauce:

6 T butter

6 T flour

4 cups skim milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

TONS of pepper

Add cream sauce to soup. Season with salt to taste. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Ricotta and ham Stuffed Chicken Breasts

1/2 c ricotta

1/4 c shredded parmesan

3 tsp dried basil

1 clove garlic, minced

4 chicken breasts

4 slices deli ham

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

1/2 c flour

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

In a small bowl, combine cheeses, basil and garlic. Cut a deep pocket into each chicken breast (without slicing all the way through). Open breast as much as possible and lay one slice ham in it. Spoon 1/4 ricotta mixture in then close and secure with toothpicks. In a shallow dish, season flour with spices. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour until well coated on both sides. In a large skillet heat oil and butter. Add chicken and cook 9 minutes then flip and cook until no longer pink.

Ravioli Lasagna

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 (20 oz) pkg refrigerated cheese ravioli

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup parmesan

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9X9 pan with Pam. Spoon 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of pan. cover with 1/2 the ravioli. 1/2 remaining sauce. All spinach. 1/2 mozzarella. Remaining ravioli, sauce then both cheeses. cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more. Let cook 5 minutes before serving.

New Meal Plan that I'm not quite to yet.

This is Amelia, my niece. Isn't she just the cutest thing you ever saw?!?

I made a meal plan and went grocery shopping last Tuesday because Kyle was going 4-wheeling with Brandon this past Wednesday and Wednesdays are the day I normally try to go grocery shopping on the weeks I need to go. I wasn't quite done with my previous meal plan, but close enough, I figured. Well I STILL have 2 meals left on it. I haven't made the Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup or the White Chicken Chili Enchiladas. They'll be the first to go this week.

I did brown up a ton of beef and venison and I did a turkey breast in the crockpot. I got 9 cups of turkey, so I put it into 4 (2 cup +) baggies for future use. I'll use one of them for the Enchiladas.

I had a friend and her three boys over for lunch one day so I made Shanna's Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert and it turned out GREAT!.

So. This meal plan.

Chinese (using the new sauce I bought at An Affair of the Heart)

Ricotta and Ham Stuffed Chicken

Ravioli Lasagna

Chili (making it with all deer meat)

Beef and Black Been Burritos

Tac-a-roni

Easy Chicken and Pasta

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Calzones

Spaghetti

Extras: cookies to restock my freezer supply.

The baked Ziti from my last meal plan turned out really well. It was a recipe I found through a blog and will be one I'll definitely make again.

Baked Ziti

1lb ground beef

1 c chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (32oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp. oregano

1 (16oz) pkg Ziti, cooked just shy of al dente

2 c mozzarella, shredded

1 c Parmesan, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet brown beef, onions and garlic. Stir in sauce, broth and oregano and simmer for 10 minutes. (I used a 28oz jar of sauce and used water to make up the difference and it still turned out great). Stir 1 c of sauce into cooked ziti noodles ( I used Penne, any short cut pasta would be fine). Put 1/2 of ziti into a 9X13. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/2 c Parmesan. Top with 2 cups sauce, remaining ziti and then remaining sauce. cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Shanna's Pumpkin Cheesecake

Vanilla wafers or graham crackers

1 c ground pecan pieces

1 stick melted butter

___________________

2lbs cream cheese, softened

1 cup brown sugar

6 eggs

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c flour

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crumbs, pecans, and butter. (I used the teddy graham crust recipe that I like instead). Press into a 12" spring form pan (this is a HUGE recipe!!) Mix cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and blend. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add heavy cream. Add flour salt, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. And puree and blend. Bake 1 hr 15 min or until set. Serve with whipped cream.

This cheesecake turned out so well. I only have a 9" spring form so I filled that and still had a ton leftover. I had a packet of oreo crumbs so I made that up into a crust in a glass pie plate and pured the rest of the cheesecake mixture into that. So I had a 9" traditional cheesecake and a 9" "pie" cheesecake. TONS of cheesecake. More than we needed. I wasn't thinking when I didn't even send Sara home with any! (BTW...I met her at Body and Soul and she's from Nebraska...so we're Husker fans together down here!) I also used the pumpkin that I had pureed myself earlier that was in the deep freeze. I still have some left so I guess I'll just have to keep baking =)

New Meal Plan and Recipes

Time for a new meal plan! It seems like the last one didn't last very long. Probably about 2 weeks since I planned 10 meals =). I did make french toast and we had leftovers one night, but other than that, there wasn't anything going on that really threw me off our meal plan or caused me to not have to cook. And I just realized I never posted it. Oh well. You'll get over it, although I don't know how both of you, readers, survived without knowing what we were eating *wink*.

New Meal Plan

Hobo Chicken

Macaroni and Cheese

Michael and Audra's BBQ Ribs

Cin Chili

White Chicken Chili Enchiladas

Baked Ziti

Mini Cheesy Salsa Meatloaves

Chicken Tortilla Crockpot Stuff

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

7-Layer Dinner

Extras: Pumpkin pie (using puree that I'm going to make from the pumpkin I get tonight at the Orr Family Farm), turkey breast, dried beans. Brown beef.

I like to make a turkey breast in the Crockpot occasionally. I get about 6 cups + of all white meat turkey. I then bag it in 2 cup baggies and freeze it. It makes soup, flautas, manicotti etc much less time consuming to make. The manicotti and flautas would be recipes that I would reserve for company only if I didn't have the cooked meat frozen on hand.

I also am going to try my hand at making my own beans from the dried beans, not from cans. Probably better for us, and definitely cheaper. I think I can find a Crockpot recipe that should make it easier. Then I'll freeze the beans in baggies with 1 cans worth each. I'll let you know how it goes for me =). I'm going to try black beans, which we use all the time, and Great Northern Beans, which I don't use as often, but still pretty frequently.

I'm also low on hamburger meat so I'll try to get some on sale at Sams this week, usually about 6lbs or so and I brown it all up with a couple pounds of deer meat from the deer Kyle got last season and stretch a buck that way.

The "Cin Chili" is a chili seasoning mix I saw of the Food Network. I like the show Throw Down with Bobby Flay, where he challenges someone at their specialty and then a couple judges do a blind taste test to determine the winner. It the Chili throwdown, Bobby and his competitor Cindy something tied. It mentioned on the show she sells her seasoning packets so I went online and found them and ordered one. It has directions on the back as to how to then prepare the chili, so we're trying that chili this plan. It'd better be good. She's won tons of chili cookoffs.

We had Grandpa Wilbur and Georgeanne over for supper and made Fierro Chicken. So good, but not so good for you. Perfect for having company though. I linked to the recipe for it above.

I also made Chili Cheese Fries Casserole again last night. It was the first time Traver had had it. It got a 9.8 something something AND a, "This is pretty boo-yeah". So there's the link to that recipe as well.

Meal Plan

We've been watching all the track meets that have been on TV lately. I could watch a good meet at least once a week. Turns out Luke really likes track. He likes to watch people "run fast". He'll get in a standing racing start position and say, "Ready set Go!". Here he is relaxing one Sunday afternoon watching track.

Also, lately Luke has been talking about "Tricky Birds". I don't know where he got that, but it sure is funny. Tricky birds say tweet tweet. Luke informs me of this often.

No "new" recipes this time, for us anyway =) Sometimes I'm "feelin'" tryin new things...other times, not so much. I was just looking over this list and almost all of these are my mom's recipes.

Latest Meal Plan

Pizza Casserole

Easy Chicken and Pasta

Microwave Lasagna

Chicken Manicotti

Fierro Chicken

French Toast

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Pizza Loaf

Beef and Macaroni Skillet

Shepherd's Pie

Extras: Key lime pie dip, marinated cheese, Texas Caviar

We're having a going away for the Lindens, some friends of ours who are going to be Missionaries in Rwanda. So that's what the extras are all for that.

Italian Omelette

2 T olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

4 1/2 oz ham, sliced thin

6 eggs

1/4 c milk

2 cups cooked short cut pasta (or 1 1/4 c before it's cooked)

1/4 c parmesan cheese

1 tsp parsley

3/4 tsp basil

1/2 c cheddar

Sautee onion in oil. Add ham and stir for 1 minute. Set aside. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together then season with salt and pepper. Stir in cooked pasta, parmesan, herbs and onion mixture. Return everything to pan. Sprinkle with cheddar. Cook over medium heat until mixture begisns to set around the edges. Place under a broiler to complete the cooking.

I know pasta in an omelette sounds weird, but it really turned out well and Traver and Kyle both really liked it. It also has to be really inexpensive to make. Eggs...pasta...not exactly pricey ingredients!

Recipe Plan

Here is a picture of Luke Brandon Hayes took. Luke ran right up to the camera instead of standing still. I think he looks so silly in this picture. It hardly even looks like him. It looks like he's looking into one of those crazy mirrors or something. Makes me laugh every time I see it.

I'm finished with the last meal plan. I didn't ever make Quesadilla Pie. The more I looked at it the more it reminded me of the Mexican Lasagna I make, which sounded better than their recipe. So, I'm starting off this meal plan tonight, making that.

New Meal Plan:

Mexican Lasagna

Chicken Fajitas

Italian Omlet

Cannelloni

Chicken with Garlic Tomato Sauce with Spinach Herb Twists

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot tomato basil Chicken

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Cheese Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Grilled Chicken

Extras: Whole wheat pizza muffins, granola bars (didn't get to either of these last week), cupcakes

And of course, I'll make pancakes if I need to, and pizza and chicken strips.

From the last meal plan, I got several new recipes that I know I'll make over and over.

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves (These are better than my other mini meatloaf recipe. Luke ate these pretty well...better than the others anyway =))

1 lb ground beef (I'm trying it this meal plan with ground turkey for a leaner meal)

1/2 c FINELY chopped onion

1 egg

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 1/2 c cheddar or mexican style cheese, divided

1 c salsa, divided

Preheat oven to 400. Mix first 4 ingredients with 1 cup of cheese and 1/2 c salsa. Press evenly into 12 muffin cups, prayed with Pam. Use spoon to make a slight indentation in the center of each. Bake 20 min. Mix remaining cheese and salsa. Top each mini meatloaf with the salsa and cheese mixture, bake 3-5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Fierro Chicken Mom emailed me this recipe and it's great served with brown rice.

5oz softened cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar

1 (4oz) can green chilis

1 T chili powder

3/4 c enchilada sauce

3/4 c heavy cream

6 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9X13 with Pam. Put chicken in bottom of pan. Mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake 40 minutes.

Chili Cheese Fries Casserole

2 lbs diced potatoes

1 lb ground beef/turkey (I'll use turkey next time to lean this one up, too)

1/2 onion diced

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 T chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 1/3 c milk

2 cups shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil diced potatoes until fork tender. Put in 9X13 prepared dish.

2. Brown meat with onion. Add tomatoes and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Melt butter in pan. Whisk in flour and cook for a couple minutes. Whisk in milk and bring to simmer until thickened. Stir in 1 1/2 c cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes. Top with chili. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Meal Plan

It's been such a long time since I've posted a meal plan, you all probably thought I fell off the meal planning wagon. Well, I assure you. I have NOT. I merely suffered the cooking doldrums. Also known as first trimester tired/sick. Nothing sounded good, and even if it did, I didn't want to make it anyway!

But I'm feeling better now. I have some new recipes to try out that I found via blogs. I'll let you know if they're any good or not.

New Meal Plan

Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Fierro Chicken

Taco Salad

Quesadilla Pie

Chicken Fetuccini Alfredo

Chili Cheese Potato Casserole

Hubby's Favorite Casserole (not my hubby...that remains to be seen)

Grilled Chicken

Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts.

I'm also making:

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Granola Bars

Whole Wheat pizza muffins

I'll also do pancakes, pizza and chicken strips sometime. We'll see.

Meal Plan

I've already started on this meal plan, but have yet to do the grocery shopping that goes with it, so I'm limited in my choices.

French Bread Pizza

Shish-k-bobs (marinated 24 hrs in Chicago style steak marinade)

Grilled Chicken

Grilled round steak

Audra's Chicken and Rice (had this tonight...made it in the crock pot since I knew I'd be at the Dr)

Audra's Swiss Steak

Spaghetti

Macaroni and Cheese

Cheater Chicken Divan

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Feta Stuffed chicken breasts (doubled) Having the neighbors (Rick and "Dia" Davida) over for supper.

Extras include: cheesecake (rick and Davida), bundt cake (traver's birthday request), cookies (take to a cook out at Travers) and meat for a neighborhood cookout at our place after our neighborhood clean up day.

And I'll probably make pizza sometime. Because it just makes Kyle so happy.

This past meal plan I made pizza, chicken strips and french toast, so I was able to really stretch it out. Normally I buy a couple loaves of sliced sourdough, but I was at Target and the sourdough didn't look large enough so I got white panini bread and it made really good french toast. We had that for breakfast when Doug, JoAnne and Jimmy stopped by on their way home to Houston and JoAnne even asked what kind of bread I'd used, so I might just have to permanantly switch.

New Meal Plan!

My last meal plan lasted a long time...which was good and not so good.  We are now out of so many things, I have a MONSTER grocery shopping coming up.  I think I'll go tonight, if it's okay with Kyle.  I still have one meal left to make...lemon chicken and pasta which I'll make tomorrow (we're having calzones tonight).  I did have to get fuit and milk several times between shops this time too, which is not a big deal at all.  I need to start writing down when I do a big grocery shop so I can actually see how few and far between they are.

I made pizza one night (the night I made it Kyle walked in the kitchen and said, "Oh pizza.  Good.  That's just what I need."  This was the not internet and got a new computer day...so a stressful day for him.  Homemake pizza is to Kyle what chocolate is to me.

Here is the 10 meal plan:

Lasagna Noodle Roll Ups 

Chicken Manicotti (Actually turkey)

Taco Salad

Flautas (again made with turkey)

Mexican Chicken Burrito stuff (double recipe...our new neighbors are to be moving in so I'll make a                                                            double batch and take them supper)

Grill Hamburgers

Easy Chicken and Pasta 

Chinese (Sweet and Sour Chicken)

Beef and Macaroni Skillet

Indian Corn

I bought two turkey breasts on sale and with a coupon at the grocery store a while back so I'll cook one of those in the crock pot and shred the meat and use that to make my turkey dishes.

Extras:  Since I'll be taking a meal and we're having poker night I have quite a list this time.  Guacamole, Texas Caviar, cookies, Veggie tray, Key lime pie dip.

Here's my Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts Recipe:

4 Chicken breasts

1 tub Feta cheese

1/2 box frozen spinach (thawed and sqeezed dry)

1 can petite diced tomatoes

Rosemary, Tyme, Basil, Poultry Seasoning, Minced garlic, pepper and Cayenne pepepr.

Combine tomatoes and some of the spices: Rosemary and whatever else sounds good.  Let sit while you prepare the rest.

Slit 4 chicken breasts making as big of a pocket in each one without cutting all the way through.

Combine Feta, Spinach and spices except Cayenne.

Stuff each chicken breast with 1/4 of feta mixture.  Secure closed with a tooth pick.  Place in greased baking dish.  Sprinkle chicken breasts with Cayanne pepper to taste.  Top with tomatoes.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 min or until done.

This recipe is so easy to make...very quick and simple and it looks very fancy.  It's my go to meal for company. You don't have to tell them it only took 10 minutes to prepare =)

Luke has croup again.  And he's not doing so hot on his second nap.  We might be working our way to just one nap a day.