Menu Plan Monday

This week is going to look a lot like last week because for some reason or another we skipped a few of the meals.  (I blame McDonalds for practically giving away their Southern Chicken Sandwich on Thursday.  It was free with a purchase of a drink.   After trying it I can see why they needed to give it away.  If I wanted a chicken sandwich that tasted like Chick-Fil-A then I would just go to Chick-Fil-A!  I don’t even like Chick-Fil-A that much anyway, so I’m annoyed that they tricked me into eating their knock-off.)

There were two new recipes that we did try last week that were AWESOME!!  The first one was a new stirfry recipe from Allrecipe.  The chicken was so moist and I know the secret is coating it with cornstarch.  Please don’t tell me that it is unhealthy because I really liked this and I don’t want to feel a bunch of guilt when I make it again. Oh yeah, this one will definitely be repeated often around here.  

Another recipe that we tried that was really easy and everyone loved was the Mexican Turkey Skillet. It was so good that I thought I’d share the recipe with you. 

**I printed this recipe months ago and it didn’t have the name of the website where I found it, so I can’t give a credit.  If you are the cooking genius that invented this delicious concoction, I’d love to know you and hug you and tell you how much I love you for your recipe writing skills.  How is that for a credit?**

 

Mexican Turkey Skillet

8 oz. shell pasta (cooked accord. to pkg. directions)
1 lb ground turkey
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can corn (undrained)
1 pkg. taco seasoning (I used Mild. - It also has lower sodium!)
2 T. cilantro (from tube)
1 T. chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste   

Mexican Cheese (1cup shredded)

Brown turkey in skillet coated with nonstick spray. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Heat for 5 minutes.  Top with some Mexican cheese and cook five more minutes or until melted.  Enjoy!

Here is my menu for this week:

Monday:  Ham, Cabbage, Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday: Tangy Chicken Fajitas, Spanish rice, corn

Wednesday:  Pork BBQ Sandwiches, spinach, mac n cheese

Thursday:  Pizza Casserole, salad, broccoli

Friday-Sunday:  Memorial weekend fun–no cooking at home!!

To view more menus for this week and to join in on the fun, head on over to Organizing Junkie.

 

May 18, 2008 | Filed Under Menu Plan Monday, Recipes | 4 Comments 

Menu Plan Monday

After the rave reviews from the family on last weeks’ Cuban Sandwiches, I’ve decided that we should have  sandwich night once a week.  I made them on the Foreman grill and they turned out great.  They were easy to make and really tasty–who could ask for anything more?

Monday-Steak, broccoli, potatoes

Tuesday-Easy Grilled Fish (Marinate in italian dressing, top w/mushrooms, grill.  Add cheddar cheese during the last few minutes), rice, peas

Wednesday-Sandwich Night–Sloppy Joe’s, french fries, spinach(Baseball again, so its got to be fast and easy!)

Thursday-Baked Teriyaki Chicken, rice, stir fry veggies 

Friday-Pizzas (Homemade crust for bread maker–trying Laura’s Recipe)

Saturday-Tangy Grilled Pork Tenderloin, couscous, beans

Sunday-Pasta w/ Shrimp, garlic and olive oil sauce, salad

April 28, 2008 | Filed Under For The Love of Food, Menu Plan Monday, Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Monday Mish Mash

Too many carnivals, too little time.  So I thought I’d be real annoying efficient and put all 3 in one post.  So if you are here from “Make Me Laugh Monday” or ”Countdown to Earth Day” scroll down past the boring menu for a little Monday morning humor. 

I’ll start with my menu for the week (cause you know if I didn’t post that on here my family would go hungry for the week).

Monday–Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, corn

Tuesday–Honey-Sesame Chicken Skewers, cous cous, peas

Wednesday–Hot Dogs and Beans (I know, yuck, but it has to be super easy because we have baseball practice and a school concert tonight; still not sure how we’re going to manage to be in two places at one time, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out)

Thursday–Shrimp Creole, Rice, Beans

Friday—-Cuban Sandwich,  Soup (some canned variety)

Saturday–Angel Chicken Pasta, Broccoli, Salad (This was on the menu last week but we never got to it, so here it is again.)

Sunday–Mom’s House

Ok, now that we got that over with, on to the good stuff…

 

 I consider myself to be mildly “green”.  I do a lot of the typical stuff–recycle, switched all bulbs to cfls, unplug my phone chargers when not in use, conserve gas by carpooling, yada, yada, yada.  I know that I could do better, but its a start.  My two main goals to do more are to purchase more produce from the farmer’s markets this summer and  start using canvas grocery bags.  I really do feel like every little bit counts and if we all make small changes, we can start to reverse the damage we’ve caused on the earth.

While we are on the subject of Earth Day,  I thought this video was a funny parody on Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth (which btw I didn’t love.  I thought I would but I didn’t.  So there, I admit it. Maybe I’ll enjoy watching The 11th Hour a little more because its narrator is a little easier on the eyes and cuteness is so very important when trying to get my attention.)

  So anyway,  I present to you:  An Inconvenient Youth  

Here’s where I give credit where credit is due:

For more menus visit:  Organizing Junkie

For more laughs visit:  Absolutely Bananas

For more earth day musings visit: Seattle Moms Blog

April 20, 2008 | Filed Under Make Me Laugh Monday, Menu Plan Monday | 6 Comments 

Easy Marinades for the Lazy Cook

I really didn’t intend on this blog being all about food, but now here it is day 2 and I’m yapping about what I’m going to eat again.  Well, I looked at my weekly menu from yesterday and saw that I was to have Marinated Grilled Pork Chops tonight.  When I went to the pantry to see if I had one of those 20 minute marinade (ie Lawry’s, McCormicks, Mrs. Dash) I came up empty.  So I had to do one of my least favorite things–go to the grocery store.  After plopping down $2.50 for a bottle of Mrs. Dash’s Zest Garlic Herb marinade it hit me that it would be much more cost effective to make my own marinades from scratch.  I’m pretty sure it would be a lot more healthy as well. 

Off to the internet I went to look for some good homemade marinade recipes.  Here is what I came up with:

A Marinade to Die For  This one has steak sauce, lemon-lime soda, brown sugar, butter and a few other ingredients you most likely have around the house.

The Perfect Marinade Italian dressing is the main component of this one, but it also contains soy sauce, lemon juice and few other ingredients.

Amazing Chicken Marinade This one is mainly for chicken, but does indeed sound amazingly good.

Spiced Herb Marinade for Fish I’m always looking for a new way to cook my fish, so I’ll definitely be trying this one soon.

April 15, 2008 | Filed Under Lazy Cooking, Recipes | Leave a Comment