September 29 - October 5, 2013

Sunday:  Grilled Chicken & Kale Salad with Feta, Strawberries, Pecans, & Raspberry Vinaigrette

·          We had a make-up soccer game this evening, so I fed the kids an early dinner before the game.  When we arrived back home, Chad grilled us some chicken while I made a fresh kale salad.

Monday:  Chicken Nacho Bake with Roasted Green Beans & Carrots

Chicken Nacho Bake

·          I found this recipe from a Kraft Foods magazine years ago (in our no-kid days!).  It’s really delicious and SO easy to prepare.  I made the kids’ chicken breasts without any salsa since they don’t like spicy foods.  Everyone was happy with this simple but tasty meal!

Tuesday:  Spaghetti Pie with Caesar Salad

·          This is a fantastic recipe from my sister-in-law, Amber.  It’s easy to prepare, and can even be done ahead of time if need be.  It’s also just as delicious as a leftover meal the following day!  I used mild Italian turkey sausage.

Spaghetti Pie

(Amber Smith)

4 oz. spaghetti noodles

1 Tbsp. Butter

1 egg

¼  cup parmesan cheese (grated)

½ cup mozzarella cheese

½ lb Owens Italian style sausage

½ jar spaghetti sauce (I use Bertioli brand)

1 small package of cottage cheese

cooking spray

Brown sausage. Drain and add spaghetti sauce.

Boil pasta. While hot, mix with butter, egg, and parmesan cheese. Press into a greased pie pan, making it look like a pie crust. 

Put cottage cheese on top of pasta “crust”.  Pour meat sauce over cottage cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. 

Wednesday:  Pizza Night!

·          Sometimes you just need a pizza night, right?  J

Thursday:  Leftover Pizza

·          Chad was gone this evening, but we had plenty of pizza leftover for the kids, my mom, and I to eat for dinner.  I added a salad to our meal, which kept this a super easy and low-key meal!

Friday:  Chicken Taquito Enchiladas with Spinach Salad

Chicken Taquito Enchiladas

·          This recipe is from a wonderful class I was part of called “Apples of Gold.”  It’s been over 5 years now, but the church where we were members has a wonderful group of Godly women who started this class to mentor young wives and mothers in the church.  We met each week for an amazing meal and wonderful lesson.  When the 6-week class was over, we were filled with knowledge from some fantastic women, and we also had a little book full of delicious, new recipes.  This is one of them, and it is ridiculously good & easy!

18 chicken taquitos

1 pint sour cream

1 can green enchilada sauce

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare the taquitos according to the package directions.  Place in a sprayed 13x9 baking dish.  Mix together the sour cream and enchilada sauce and pour over the top of the taquitos.  Top with the shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and sauce is heated through.  Enjoy!

Saturday:  Pinto Beans and Cornbread

·          I love this time of year when comfort foods can really come out of summer hibernation.  Beans and cornbread is such a delicious, economical, & filling meal that hits the spot on a fall day!  I tried The Pioneer Woman’s Beans, and I must say, they are wonderful (as most of her recipes are)!  I ended up adding 2 teaspoons of salt at the end (she recommends 1) because my bacon wasn’t all that salty.  I also added onion powder and garlic powder.  The greatness of her recipe is that you cook the beans over the stovetop for 2 hours, without soaking them first.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to make beans, but have forgotten to soak them overnight.  With this recipe, there is no need!!  Yay!!  I made enough for a small army, so we will eat off of them and add them to our meals for a few days, I’m sure.  J