Menu Plan Monday 10/1

As usual, I've done my menu planning on Sunday, so I'm posting this a little bit early! :)

NOTES FROM LAST WEEK: It was a good week in my kitchen- all the new recipes I tried were good! :) The Oriental Baked Chicken and Beef Meximelts were both wonderful. The Flaky Chicken Wraps were good- I was surprised at how much flavor they had with so few ingredients.

I didn't do all the Weight Watchers points this week as I'm still trying to clear out some of the pantry and freezer, and 99% of these meals come from there. So, until I use up what we've got on hand, I'll have to just watch my portion control.

• SUNDAY: kielbasa , corn, parslied noodles
• MONDAY: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
• TUESDAY: new recipe: Quick Chicken Divan (Thanks for the recipe, Barb!) and biscuits. This meal was held over from last week-- we wound up eating out one night.
• WEDNESDAY (soccer night): Ham Steaks, Peas, & new recipe Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Stewed Tomatoes
• THURSDAY: family favorite: my Mom's Crockpot BBQ Ribs, with mini ears of corn on the cob and sugar-free applesauce
• FRIDAY: family favorite: crockpot Chicken for the Gods with wild rice and steamed broccoli
• SATURDAY: I always leave Saturday open for meals we skipped during the week.

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to share your menu or see what others are eating this week!

My blog is PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness month!

Broccoli Salad

I made this last week to go with our Flaky Chicken Wraps... yum! I might try Splenda next time to cut down on the sugar/ calories a bit more.

MARVELOUS BROCCOLI SALAD

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo (I used fat-free)

1/4 cup sugar

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.

Combine the following in a large bowl:

1 bunch broccoli, washed and chopped

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used precooked)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used the mixed cheese crumbles)

1 medium purple onion, chopped

Combine all of the above, then fold in dressing and stir well.

Chill before serving.

My husband and 4 year-old daughter both liked this one... I'll definitely be making it again! :)

Menu Plan Monday 9/23

OK, so I'm actually posting this Sunday afternoon... close enough! :)

No notes from last week, as we didn't eat much of anything that wasn't a heat-and-eat kind of meal... I definitely didn't feel like doing any cooking. We're back to feeling healthy this week, though, so I'll be doing "real" meals again! :)

Weight Watcher points are included when I have the nutritional info available to calculate them. Some of my meals are a little high on points this week, but I'm trying to avoid going to the grocery store, so I'm using up what's on hand.

SUNDAY: new recipe: Oriental Baked Chicken over white rice (4pts) with steamed broccoli (opts) and pineapple chunks (1pt) *Note: the points for the chicken as written would be 14! But, I'll be using half the chicken and making other adjustments to reduce points to less than half that amount.

MONDAY: new recipe: Copycat Taco Bell Meximelts (5pts each) with stewed tomatoes (0pts)

TUESDAY: new recipe: Flaky Chicken Wraps (8pts) and mini ears of corn on the cob (2pts)

WEDNESDAY (soccer game night): family favorite: meatball subs in the crockpot (10pts as written- I'll sub lean meat and less cheese to lower points) and chips

THURSDAY: new recipe: Quick Chicken Divan (Thanks for the recipe, Barb!) and biscuits

FRIDAY: pot roast in the crockpot with gravy, mashed potatoes (2pts) and green beans (opts)

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to share your menu

or see what others are eating this week!

Hot Soup

Around my house, this soup recipe of mine is simply called Hot Soup. Hot, as in a little spicy. It's developed from a "Six Can Soup" recipe I found years ago-- this is just my take on that. I serve it with some taquitos or sandwiches if we're having it for supper- for lunch it's enough to stand alone.

Amy's Hot Soup

• 1-2 cans chicken broth (OR water + chicken bouillon cubes, OR chicken rice soup)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice (or the kind that includes chili peppers, like Rotel)
• 1 large can cooked chicken with juice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can corn with liquid
• leftover cooked rice there's any on hand
• several shakes of Hot Shot (red + black pepper combo)
• two shakes of Spicy Mrs. Dash
• about a tablespoon of dried cilantro
• about a teaspoon of garlic pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large pot on stovetop and simmer until heated through. From start to finish, this whole recipe probably takes about ten minutes.

I'll be making a pot of this for lunch today-- it's great for sore throats! :) Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday 9/17: quick/sick edition

Notes from last week: The spicy chicken subs were good, though messy!

This will be a super quick menu, subject to lots of changes, as we're all sick in my house right now. If you've been here before, you'll notice this isn't nearly as detailed as my normal menu, and there aren't any new recipes, and there's nothing spicy. LOL- I almost didn't post a menu because this is pretty boring! I'm going for the very quick and easy meals this week, and I haven't even bothered to calculate any WW points yet. I'll also be making jello in large batches for the sickos. ;)

MONDAY: hamburgers (per DH's request) and homemade baked fries

TUESDAY: my chicken and dumplings

WEDNESDAY: sloppy joes, tater tots, baby carrots

THURSDAY: roast in the crockpot with veggies

FRIDAY: dinner out with friends

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to share your menu
or see what others are eating this week!

Recipe for cloudy glasses & a clean dishwasher

My Works for Me Wednesday tip this week is a "recipe" for cleaning your dishwasher and ridding yourself of cloudy glassware. It's over on my main blog-- check it out.

Menu Plan Monday 9/10/07

It's been a busy couple of days here, and it's now almost 4:30pm on Monday and I haven't had time to sit down and make my normal detailed menu plan. (I usually do it on Sunday afternoons.) So, here's the quick version-- it definitely reflects the busy week ahead! I'm higher than I'd like to be on WW points, so this menu might get changed later in the week to get the points down some.

NOTES FROM LAST WEEK: The crockpot Pepper Steak (5pts) was absolutely delicious-- see my last entry for the complete recipe along with my adaptations. We didn't care for the crockpot ranch potatoes & chicken-- we found it too bland, even though I added extra seasonings.

This week:

• MONDAY: It's a "Heat and Eat" night: frozen lasagna (6pts), garlic bread (4pts), green beans (0pts)
• TUESDAY: new recipe: crockpot spicy chicken subs (7pts using chicken breast meat & including buns) and mini ears of corn on the cob (2pts)
• WEDNESDAY: new recipe: baked cube steaks (5pts), mashed potatoes (2pts), green beans (0pts)
• THURSDAY: crockpot salsa chicken (6pts) over rice (3pts) (or in flour tortillas, 3pts) and with stewed tomatoes (0pts)
• FRIDAY: tuna helper augratin (6pts) and peas (2pts) --- This meal in particular is likely to change... but I always keep one "pantry meal" like this on hand for rushed days!

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to share your menu

or see what others are eating this week!

Crockpot Pepper Steak

This was a new recipe on our menu this week, and it was SO good! :) It's definitely a keeper. I'm posting the original recipe (copied from the forums at Boot Camp Buddies- posted by Jacque at this link) along with my notes in red... you know I can't ever follow a recipe the way it's written, LOL! :)

SO-EASY CROCKPOT PEPPER STEAK

2 lbs round steak, cut into strips or cubes (I had one pound of meat, and left the 4 small round steaks whole rather than chopping them up.)

Salt & Pepper

1 14.5oz can Italian Diced Tomatoes (mine were plain)

1 6oz can Tomato Paste (I used 8oz tomato sauce)

1 tbs Hot Sauce (I left this out for the kids... DH spiced his plate up with fresh hot chilis)

16oz bag frozen pepper & onion mix (sometimes called Fajita mix)

Italian seasoning, to taste-- as suggested by the original poster-- I just sprinkled some after the sauce layer.

Put the meat in the bottom of the slow cooker, sprinkle with salt & pepper. In a bowl, mix together diced tomatoes, tomato paste and hot sauce. (I didn't mix anything, just poured it all in the crockpot one on top of another.) Pour over meat. Place frozen vegetables on top. Cover and cook on Low for approx. 8 hours. Mix together and serve over noodles or rice, or your choice. (I had wild rice.)

Divided into 6 servings, would be approx. 6 points, plus noodles or rice. Jacque used 1lb and got 4 servings for 5 points. (I used 1lb of meat also, assuming 5 points per serving.)

This one will definitely be repeated in our house... very tasty and simple, especially for being such a low-points recipe!

The Template Won

After several days of messing around... and messing up... my template, I've gone back to a standard template for now, just using my own header image. I'll try again later to get the custom template working, but right now, I simply don't have time to worry about it, and having a template up with problems really bugs me, so, I had to do something. I'm guessing that nobody but me cares anyway, LOL! ;)

Menu Plan Monday 9/3

NOTES FROM LAST WEEK: I was surprised, but DH and DD both liked the Calzones, so that recipe is going into my "keeper" file. I wound up changing the WW Creamy Chicken & Pasta casserole a lot... here's my version.

Here's this week's plan. WW points are included if I can calculate them.

• MONDAY: DH is eating at work. DD and I will have my homemade potato soup (8pts).
• TUESDAY: new recipe: Crockpot Creamy Ranch Potatoes and Chicken (4pts) with steamed broccoli and red peppers (0pts) (LOL-- this has been held over from several past menus- it always seems to be the meal each week that gets bumped. I really am going to try this one! )
• WEDNESDAY: broiled pork chops (6pts), sliced tomatoes (opts), parslied potatoes (4pts)
• THURSDAY: new recipe: So Easy Crockpot Pepper Steak (1lbs meat, 4 servings= 5pts) over rice
• FRIDAY: chicken fajitas with lots of veggies (guess-timating at 8pts for 2 fajitas)
• SATURDAY: It's my birthday, so we're having a late lunch at my parents' house with some of my sisters & my parents after DD's soccer game. For supper, we will most likely be picking up take-out from our favorite hot wings place. :)

Head on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to share your menu or see what others are eating this week!

P.S. If anyone can tell me how to make the main part of my blog stop floating (I need a fixed width for the template, I think, but I can't figure out where to put the tag) I would really appreciate your help! I know just enough about HTML to get myself into trouble like this. :) EDITED 9/4: I gave up and changed the entire template! :)

Del Monte Savory Sides: Review

I picked up a can of Del Monte Savory Sides Santa Fe Corn last week at the local discount store. It contains corn, black beans, and peppers... it seemed like a great side for the Mexican food we love.

So, we tried it last night along with a tortilla casserole. On the can there's a picture of lovely bright yellow corn with the red peppers making a very attractive plate. Not so much when I opened the can... everything inside had a dark brown color. Definitely not an attractive presentation.

The flavor wasn't bad, actually, but I was the only one who thought so-- neither my husband or my 4 year-old daughter liked it. I tried mixing it with rice to soak up some of the sauce, which did help a little with making it look better. The flavor was about what you'd expect with a "southwest" side dish- a little like taco sauce, but more bland.

So, since I was the only one who ate it, I won't be buying this product again. That's ok, though... I always enjoy trying something new!
P.S. I'm not being compensated in any way for this review... just expressing my personal opinion!