Review of Menu 4

REVIEW for the Menu for Week 4:

*There were some really YUMMY meals to think about making!

·         Pad Thai

o   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/a-pad-thai-worth-making/detail.aspx

o   REVIEW:  This was my first attempt at making this much loved dish.  We have had our fair share of Pad Thai from a range of restaurants.  I figured buying the specific ingredients for the dish would pay off since I would most likely try the dish again.  Overall, I think I will get better at the timing of cooking the dish.  As with many “stir fry” dishes, the hot wok makes for some quick cooking.  I didn’t have everything quite set up to just throw in as I went (and I had to keep referring to the recipe) which ate up time and ended in up my chicken and shrimp to be over cooked. 

o   Did we like it?  YES!  Will I make it again?  YES!  I think that I will get better at timing the dish and it will go more smoothly next time.

·         Crockpot Italian Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

o   http://www.crockadoodledo.blogspot.com/2012/04/italian-chicken.html

o   http://amandathevirtuouswife.blogspot.com/2012/03/garlic-parmesan-pull-apart-bread.html 

o   REVIEW:  The crockpot chicken recipe was delicious and different than most of the typical creamy dishes that I end up making in the crockpot.  I added celery and mushrooms to the recipe because I am a sucker for veggies.  I didn’t have Italian dressing on hand, so I made my own powder mix which I then mixed with oil and vinegar and added it to the crockpot.  The Italian dressing recipe made more powder than needed, so I have it saved in a little container in the spice cupboard for future use.  The bread was different enough, and very simple that I would probably make it again as well.

o   Did we like it?  Yes.  Will I make it again?  Yes.

o   CHANGES:  I made my own dressing to add to the crockpot chicken. ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE: 

·         1 tbs garlic salt

·         1 tbs onion powder

·         1 tbs white sugar

·         2 tbs dried oregano

·         1 tbs black pepper

·         1 tbs dried basil

·         1 tbs dried parsley (which I didn’t add bc I didn’t have it)

·         ¼ tbs celery salt

·         2 tbs salt

Use 1-2 tbs of the mixture and add to ¼ c white vinegar, 2/3 c oil (veg or canola), and 2 tbs water.  *Store the rest of the seasonings in a dry, sealed container.

·         Chicken Fajitas

o   REVIEW:  A staple in our house since it is so easy and we often have the ingredients on hand.

·         CHEAP AND EASY:  Tuna Melts and Kraft Mac and Cheese

o   REVIEW:  Really!?!?!  Yes, we always enjoy our cheap and easy meal!  J

·         Macaroni and Beef and Cheese 

o   http://ruhlman.com/2010/05/macaroni-and-beef-with-cheese-%E2%80%94-childhood-love/

o   REVIEW:  I actually made this dish after work (which was a concern because I was pushing time to get it done for dinner).  I got the meat browned and tossed it all together pretty quickly and then was able to sit down and play with my daughter for a bit before dinner time while it cooked in the oven.  Overall, we enjoyed this for two nights in a row.  I changed the spices; I just couldn’t decide what flavor I wanted, so I made it up!  It was great.  My husband said that the meat tasted like meat pie. 

o   Did we like it? YES!  Will I make it again?  YES!

o   CHANGES:

·         SPICES:  I added 1 tbs salt, 2 tbs chili powder, 2 tbs dried basil, 1 tbs cumin, and 1 tbs curry powder was added to the browning meat.
  

·         Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust Pie

o   http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2012/03/peanut-butter-pie-with-pretzel-crust/

o   REVIEW:  OH MY GOSH!!  This pie is killer!!  I made it and took it to a friend’s house for dinner.  Everyone loved it!  It is so worth making and really wasn’t difficult.  SO WORTH IT!!!

Week 4 Menu

Menu for Week 4:

*Weekly menus plan for one meal out and one night of leftovers.

·         Pad Thai

o   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/a-pad-thai-worth-making/detail.aspx  

·         Crockpot Italian Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

o   http://www.crockadoodledo.blogspot.com/2012/04/italian-chicken.html

o   http://amandathevirtuouswife.blogspot.com/2012/03/garlic-parmesan-pull-apart-bread.html 

·         Chicken Fajitas

·         CHEAP AND EASY:  Tuna Melts and Kraft Mac and Cheese

·         Macaroni and Beef and Cheese 

o   http://ruhlman.com/2010/05/macaroni-and-beef-with-cheese-%E2%80%94-childhood-love/

·         Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust Pie

o   http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2012/03/peanut-butter-pie-with-pretzel-crust/

Shopping List:

*Print this off and check off the items that you already have in your pantry.  Then either take this list or create a simpler one to the grocery to shop for the week of dinners.

Basic Pantry/Kitchen Items:

·         Olive oil

·         Garlic

·         Vegetable oil

·         Chicken stock

·         Butter

·         Grated parmesan cheese

·              Sugar

·         Eggs

·               Salt

·               Milk

Baking/Seasonings:

·         Carmel Topping

·         Peanut Butter

·         Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

·         Fajita Seasoning Packet

Dairy/Refrigerator Items:

·         Heavy Cream (large container)

·         Shredded Cheddar Cheese

·         Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

·         Slices of American Cheese

·         Sour Cream

·         Grands Biscuits (not flaky)

Pasta/Rice/Bean Items:

·         Elbow Noodles

·         8 oz Dried Flat Rice Noodles

Can/Dry Good Items:

·         Unsalted Dry-roasted Peanuts

·         28oz of Canned Tomatoes

·         Italian Dressing

·         Fish Sauce

·         Oyster Sauce

·         Asian Chili Pepper Sauce

·         Soy Sauce

·         Italian Seasonings

·         Kraft Mac and Cheese

·         2 Cans of Tuna

·         Pickles

·         Bag of Pretzels

Meat:  (plan on purchasing at least one serving of meat for each member of your family unless noted for multiple meals)

·         Shrimp

·         Chicken Breasts  (used in 3 meals)

·         2 lbs Lean Ground Beef

Produce Items:

·         Limes

·         Bean Sprouts

·         Green Onions

·         Onions

·         Cilantro

·         Potatoes

·         Mini Carrots

·         Bell Peppers

Bread:

·     Tortillas

·         Sliced Bread

Dinner:  Pad Thai

o   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/a-pad-thai-worth-making/detail.aspx

Dinner:  CHEAP AND EASY:  Kraft Mac and Cheese with Tuna Melts

·         I mix 2 drained cans of tuna with chopped pickles, onion, and miracle whip and put it in the center of a typical grilled cheese sandwich.  Always easy and so good!

Dinner:  Crockpot Italian Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

o   http://www.crockadoodledo.blogspot.com/2012/04/italian-chicken.html

o   http://amandathevirtuouswife.blogspot.com/2012/03/garlic-parmesan-pull-apart-bread.html 

Dinner:  Chicken Fajitas

·         Cut up chicken breasts and cook in a large skillet or wok with fajita seasonings and a little bit of oil.  When almost cooked, add slices onion and bell peppers to the skillet.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are slightly soft.

·         Serve with tortillas, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. (salsa optional)

Dinner:  Beefy Cheesy Macaroni

o   http://ruhlman.com/2010/05/macaroni-and-beef-with-cheese-%E2%80%94-childhood-love/

Dessert:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust Pie

o   http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2012/03/peanut-butter-pie-with-pretzel-crust/

I'm BAAACCKKK!!!

After almost 2 months, I am starting things back up again! 

When I last left, I was sitting in the hospital after my husband had surgery wondering what in the world I was going to do.  The two weeks that followed were the most difficult and trying weeks I have every gone through.  There were times when I didn't know how and when we would ever get back to living our lives the way we had.  Once my husband was back on his feet, the financial toll of almost 1 month without his paychecks hit us...hard.  I was embarrassed to come back to my blog to post that we couldn't afford the meals that I had been planning.  We were eating the many items we had in the house--hamburger helpers, mac and cheese, freezer meals, etc--so we were doing just fine, but I didn't want to make that one of my "weekly menus".  We are getting back on our feet, still, but with the encouragement and support from my friends, I've decided that the show must go on.

I have made a few more tweaks to my plans since we can't go out and buy a ton of groceries every week.  I am only having 1 or 2 "fancy" meals a week, a CHEAP and EASY meal (which is a meal that we usually have the supplies for in the house and make when in a bind), and watching the meals I select to try and keep the ingredient lists low on most recipes.  I don't feel like I've done any damage to my meal planning ideals, but rather I've made it work for our finances, time, and life style right now.  I have also cut out the breakfast items for the time being until I feel like we can do more than just an egg and toast or bowl of cereal for daily breakfasts. 

I feel a little guilty that I backed down so quickly from sharing my experiences when things got tough.  I will work on that and realize that those are actually the points that need to be shared.  I think that every family struggles at times and has a hard time keeping afloat.  I'll keep planning, sharing, and floating a long...

Chicken Soup to Soothe the Soul

Since I'm taking a small break from planning meals (since I would be the only one eating them and I still have three meals purchase for the cooking from last week's menu), I thought I would post the thing that I am (and just did) cooking for this week's menu....Chicken Noodle Soup for my husband and Chicken Noodles for my daughter.

I started making chicken noodle soup after college for sick roommates, friends, boyfriends and occasionally for myself (isn't that funny how that works out).  I don't know of the medical facts that say what it cures or wards off, but I know that I feel better when eating homemade chicken noodle soup, and I'm really big on trying to make other people feel better when they aren't feeling their best; I don't like to see people not feeling well and there's really not too much I can do....other than cooking or baking them something.  So, with my husband under the weather and not wanting to eat a lot (forever is how long he's thinking he's not going to eat), I decided to soup it up! 

I thought I would explain my "recipe" in case there are any of you out there that haven't made soup enough that you just wing it (like I do now). 

(You don't need everything here....I usually use what I have in the house and pick up minimal things from the store)

Chicken Noodle Soup:

1/2 stick of Butter
2-3 cans/cartons of Chicken Stock or Broth  (If someone is really sick, I go for the stock---I don't know why...I'm crazy and think it will bring them back to life). 
2-4 Cloves of Garlic
1 White or Yellow Onion
Celery
Carrots
Salt
Pepper
*Optional:  Celery Seed, Dried Rosemary, Dried Oregano
1 Rotisserie Chicken (the ones waiting for you at the checkout at the grocery store)
Noodles *Any kind really, but I like the little Stars and Ditalini since they are small (they are usually sold in bags in the noodle aisle. 
*Optional Green Beans, Spinach, other veggies

-Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a pan.  Throw in 1 chopped onion, garlic, chopped celery, carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook for about 5-10mins on medium heat.  Add other seasons if desires (I add probably about a 1 tsp of celery seed, and 1 tbs of rosemary and oregano). 

-Add Chicken Stock/Broth.  (depending on how much you use and the noodle/liquid ratio you desire, you may want to add a couple of cups of water.  You can also do this at the end to get the desired soupy-ness.)

-While the soup is coming to a boil, chop up the meat on the rotisserie chicken and add it to the soup.  (I also use the drippings from the bag/container that had the chicken.)

-Once it reaches a boil, add in the noodles.  Like everything else, I use the amount the occasion or illness calls for (or what I have on hand)

-You only have to cook it for about 10-20 minutes depending on your noodle choices. 

NOW YOU HAVE DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY SOUP!!!


When making soup today, I also made a batch of chicken and veggie noodles for my daughter since it's healthy and I was going to have everything on hand for cooking.  Here is what I did....

Altering the above recipe for TODDLER CHICKEN NOODLES (and a batch of soup, too!):

-I made the butter, onion, garlic, veggie mixture in one deep pan.  Once I finished that step, I transfer about half of it to a stock pot for the soup and left some for the noodles. 

-I added about 2 cups of broth/stock to the pan. 

-I chopped up the chicken and divided it up about even (The soup had about 4 cups of broth/stock and I added water, so it was significantly soup-ier). 

-I added frozen green beans and finely chopped spinach.

-I added noodles (probably about 1/2 cup Stars and 1 cup Ditalini). 

-Simmer on medium heat until all liquid is absorbed.  (if there is too much liquid and you know the noodles are done cooking, just add in some cornstarch to thicken)

*I freeze this healthy noodle deliciousness in ice cube trays (or in silicon muffin cups), then place them in plastic bags in the freezer.  That way I can just throw a couple of chicken noodle cubes in the microwave and we're ready to eat.  My daughter really loves this dish and it is SUPER easy.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.  I'm sure you can see why I don't write more of my own recipes on my blog....I "talk" way too much through them. 

Hope everyone is healthy and well....if not, soup up!

No Way to Plan for Life's Crazies

Just when you think things are quieting down and falling into place (or at least an expected pattern), life blows up in your face!!  I thought that last week was a difficult week since we had a party and more "running around" than usual.  Well...this week beats last week to a pulp!  After 1 visit to the ER, and 2 doctor's appointments, my husband was admitted to the hospital for surgery.  I'll spare the details, but it by all means is one of those things that makes you feel old and VERY uncomfortable.

So, here I sit, on a futon in the hospital in the dark, hoping that the most recent pain meds will do something and that my husband will catch a few winks of sleep (aww, darn!!  he just said something)  Not only had I hoped to post my menu for this week today, but I hoped to be further along in my weekly cooking.  Instead, I have three meals remaining this week (and it's Saturday) and have my meals for next week selected, but haven't compiled the shopping list or typed it up.  I'm staying here tonight until he falls asleep, am going to head home for a few hours of sleep for myself, and then will be back dark and early in the morning.

With all of that being said, I am going to have to push back my weekly meal planning/blogging meal plans.  I don't think anyone is following our meals, and I don't even really know if any one has made any of the same meals (IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD POST A COMMENT!!!  :) ), but I will try to get things figured out in the next week or so to get back on track.  With all of this crazy stuff going on, I've realized that I've been posting some idealistic (crazy cooking/baking) meals that probably don't fit easily into a "typical" work week.  But if this week has taught me anything, it's that there is no such thing as "typical".  Hope everyone reading is healthy and happy (and not in a hospital room).

Take care, Jessie

Review of Week 2's Menu

Review of Menu for Week 2:

 

Week 2 was a bit more of a push since summertime got the best of me and we had more un-planned meals thrown in (going out to dinner with friends and we had a housewarming party which made LOTS of leftovers).  So, with that being said, I did not complete two of the meals this week--Artichoke Spinach Lasagna and the Grilled Chicken with a Vegetable Tian didn't make the cut or fit the timeline.  Since the majority of the Artichoke Spinach Lasagna are dry or frozen goods, this will be a good meal to use another time since I will have most all of the supplies on hand.

 

So, here are my reviews for the week 2 menu.  The dishes were good and I think there are some keepers here.  Please add comments if you've tried any of the meals listing what you thought of it and/or any changes/suggestions you have for them.  THANKS!!

 

·         Broiled Tilapia Parmesan with Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes:  The tilapia was SUPER easy and could be done very quickly.  The parmesan sauce that you put on top of them and then broil them with was really tasty.  The Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes (as I mentioned before) were delicious--tedious, but company-worthy. 

  Did I like it?  yes.  Will I make it again?  yes.  Changes?  I had to broil the tilapia a little bit longer once I put the parmesan dressing on the fillets to get them to brown and bubble like I wanted.  It didn't cause any problems though. 

 

·         Artichoke Spinach Lasagna:  Did not make.

 

·         Grilled Chicken with Summer Vegetable Tian:  Did not make.

 

·         Taco Pie with Grilled Corn Salad:  I thought this was very interesting since you make the "crust" with mash potatoes.  Overall, I wasn't too impressed, but my husband thought it was one of the best dishes so far. 

 Did I like it?  It was okay....my husband loved it!  Will I make it again?  Yes, since it was enjoyed so much.  Changes?  Not really.  I made a homemade pico salsa to go with it since peppers and tomatoes are prevalent this time of year.

 

·         Crockpot Coca Cola BBQ Chicken with corn bread:  We made this on a night that I knew my in-laws were coming over for dinner.  It was easy and my father-in-law doesn't care for crazy meals or strange foods....he'd prefer to keep things simple.  I added a can of baked beans to complete the meal.  The chicken breasts I used were on the small side and I should have thrown more in there.  It was good enough that people went back for seconds and we didn't have enough...I think we would have eaten more if it was there.  We didn't care for the lemon in it since some pieces or parts of a piece had a very strong lemon flavor. 

Did I like it?  yes.  Will I make it again?  YES!  It was so easy and tasty.  Changes?  No lemon. 

 

·         No-Bake Boston Cream Pie:  I'll be honest....when I looked over this recipe before I added it, I didn't fully comprehend what was going into making this dish.  I didn't realize that I would be making my first custard!  Oh well.  I came, I saw, I tempered, and I conquered!  I thought this was one of the best desserts ever...but then again I'm a dessert girl.  It would be great for a party or gathering.  I would say that it would be best to make the night before serving.  My husband (and his tummy) said that it was a little too rich for him.  Oh well...more for me!

Did I like it?  YES.  Will I make it again?  yes.  Changes?  None.  Yum! 

 

 

*Sorry again about dropping two of the dished on the week's menu.  Please share if you made any of the dishes and what you thought about them.  Enjoy!