November 17-23, 2013

Sunday:  Crockpot Venison Tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice

Crockpot Venison Tacos

·          This recipe is actually intended for a beef brisket, but we have a few venison roasts in our freezer, so I used one of those instead.  I used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven – a blog I really enjoy!  The flavor of this dish was perfect, but sadly, I didn’t account for the lack of fat in venison, so our lunch ended up very dry.  We still made due and added barbeque sauce and made quesadillas for everyone.  But, we were both disappointed.  L  We will try this again, though!  We have plans to increase the cooking liquid and decrease the cooking time.  I’ll let you know!

Monday:  Roasted Chicken & Veggie Tortellini

Roasted Veggie & Chicken Tortellini

·          This recipe is great because you can really add any vegetables you have on hand.  It's a one-dish meal that has everything tossed together.  Using a rotisserie chicken makes it super easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

- 1 rotisserie chicken

- 2 small zucchini

- 1 tomato

- 1 head cauliflower

- olive oil

- Italian seasoning

- 9 oz package of cheese tortellini

- 4 Tbsp pesto

- parmesan cheese

Cube the zucchini and cut up the cauliflower.  Put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet (for easy clean-up!) and toss with a little olive oil and the Italian seasoning.  Roast at 400 degrees until they just start turning golden brown - about 15 minutes depending on size.  Sprinkle with some freshly grated parmesan when done.  Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the bones and dice up the tomato.  Make the tortellini according to package directions.  Toss the chicken, roasted veggies, tomato, pesto, and tortellini together.  Enjoy!

Tuesday:  Grilled Venison Steak, Roasted Ranch Potatoes, & Roasted Green Beans

·          Again with the venison…I know!  But, since Chad shot it, we will eat it!  Chad actually took the lead and seasoned and grilled the venison, so all I did was take care of the sides.  My mom was over for dinner, so she diced potatoes for me.  J  Then I tossed them with a little olive oil and a generous amount of dry Ranch dressing mix.  I roasted those alongside green beans for 20 minutes (our potatoes were diced smaller so they would cook faster) at 425 degrees.  We really enjoyed Chad’s steaks, and I enjoyed a dinner with a very easy clean-up!

Wednesday:  Breakfast Night!  Biscuits, Bacon & Cheese Omelets,  & Fruit

·          Chad was out of town, and I could barely chew food because of a little adjustment to my braces, so it was to one of the boys’ favorite dinners we went…breakfast!  Seriously…this is never a bad idea in my house. 

Thursday:  Dinner at Mom’s!

Friday:  Grilled Kickin’ Chicken with Roasted Asparagus and Seasoned Yellow Squash

Grilled Kickin’ Chicken

·          We love making this chicken, and it pretty much never fails to be amazing.  It’s so easy too, which is a big plus in my book.  The longer it marinates, the better it tastes!

Roasted Asparagus & Seasoned Yellow Squash

·          I washed and trimmed asparagus and placed it on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Then I sprayed on a little olive oil with my olive oil spritzer and sprinkled a little pepper and season salt on it.  Done!  For the squash, I cut two regular sized yellow squash into slices and threw them in a bowl.  Then I drizzled on olive oil.  After that, I added Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  I tossed that all together and added a little more olive oil and breadcrumbs until I liked how everything was sticking to the squash.  I put that on the other side of the baking sheet with the asparagus and roasted them together at 425 for about 15 minutes.  They both turned out great, and I was especially happy with the squash.  My boys really like a crispier zucchini or squash, and this was a perfectly quick way to make that happen!

Saturday:  Kickin’ Chicken Quesadillas with Spinach & Apple Salad

·          We had chicken leftover from the night before, so I diced it up for quesadillas.  I tried a new way of making quesadillas based off of making grilled cheeses in the oven.  I saw a tip on Pinterest several months ago that you could make several grilled cheese sandwiches in your oven at the same time by placing them between two baking sheets.  (I, of course, line mine with foil for easy cleanup!  J) 

I thought that the same method could work for quesadillas, and it did!!  I buttered the tortillas and put chicken and cheese in between them.  I placed a sheet of foil on top of the quesadillas, then another baking sheet over the foil, thus “smooshing” the quesadilla together.  I had the oven going at 425 degrees and let the quesadillas cook for about 12-15 minutes.  They turned out perfectly!  They were golden and crispy, and everything inside was hot and gooey.  I will definitely use this method for quesadillas again!