October 6-12, 2013

Sunday:  Pizza with Small Group

Monday:  Sautéed Spinach & Mozzarella Ravioli

·          Ranger & Chad had soccer practice at 6:00, and then Chad had a softball game at 7:30.  So, I went easy and made sautéed spinach ravioli.  I buy it frozen from CostCo, and it’s delicious!  I melted butter in my skillet and then added the frozen ravioli.  I sprinkled a little of the cheese that comes with the ravioli over the top.  Once it browns on the bottom, flip them over and add another sprinkle of cheese.  Once the other side it browned, dinner is ready!  This was a great meal to make for the whole family, even though everyone ate at different times. 

Tuesday:  Breakfast!

·          Chad was gone, so we had our go-to breakfast for dinner! 

Wednesday:  Dinner Out

·          Chad was still gone, and the kids and I had been gone all day, so we grabbed a little Chick-fil-a for dinner.  J

Thursday:  Swedish Meatballs over Egg Noodles with Roasted Parmesan Broccoli

Swedish Meatballs

·          Ranger has become quite the fan of meatballs.  He particularly likes Swedish meatballs like you can buy at Ikea.  I’ve had this recipe for a while…I was a subscriber to E-Meals several years ago and this was one of our favorites.  It’s so easy, can be prepared ahead of time, and everyone enjoys it!  The gravy really puts this one over the top.

Ingredients:

Meatballs

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t allspice

Gravy

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 c water

2 T flour

1 c milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all meatball ingredients together.  Form into 1″ balls.  Place in 9x13 pan and bake for 30 mins.  In large skillet, mix together the onion soup mix, water, flour, and milk.  Heat until thickened.  Add cooked meatballs to skillet.  Simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.  Serve over egg noodles, cooked according to package directions.

Roasted Parmesan Broccoli

·          Cut up your broccoli into bite-sized pieces and place on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!).  Drizzle with a little olive oil (I use my olive oil sprayer) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, and toss it around.  Roast for 5 minutes more.  The broccoli is ready when the edges become brown and crispy.  Yum!  Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and add a little fresh lemon juice if you have it.  It’s delish!

Friday:  Jeff’s Mexican Tacos

·          I took the boys late in the afternoon to see “Turbo” at the $1 movie theater.  Chad stayed home with Payton, and after she went to bed, he made dinner for us!  I came home after a fabulous date with my boys to a home-cooked meal…a girl could get used to this!  Our friend, Jeff, is a wonderful cook, and he shared this recipe with Chad.  **A bonus of this meal was that we had enough leftover to add with eggs the next day and have breakfast burritos for lunch!**

Jeff’s Mexican Tacos

Ingredients

1 Yellow Onion

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Potato

1 lb. Ground Sirloin

1 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Pepper

3-4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

Tortillas, or chips… if you want to serve as nachos

Brown ground sirloin in a skillet while you dice the onion and bell pepper.  After meat is browned, add garlic, onion, bell pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 6-7 minutes while dicing the potato.  Add potato, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally.  If you want tacos, serve in tortillas.  Chad decided the boys might have more fun building and eating their own nachos on this night, so he served the taco mixture in ramekins with tortilla chips and a mound of grated cheese on each plate.  The boys loved it!  And Chad chose to add Siracha to his nachos… because he likes it spicy!

Saturday:  The Big Orange Pumpkin Farm!

·          Our church went to The Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Celina and served hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner.  J