May 11-15, 2014

**  I will be taking 2 weeks off from the blog for a little family time in Florida! **

Sunday:  Monterey Chicken with Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus

Monterey Chicken with Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

·          Both of these delicious recipes are from the same blog post.  This was actually Mother’s Day, and we had my mom over for dinner that night.  Chad grilled the delicious chicken that I had marinated a few hours earlier (just like the blogger posts), and I took care of the sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus inside.  Everyone loved it!  The sweet potatoes were a little “Thanksgiving-ish,” but they were so yummy that none of us minded!

Monday:  Macaroni and Beef with Cheese with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

Macaroni and Beef with Cheese

·          I haven’t made this in a while, but I went back through some of the first blog posts for recipe inspiration this week.  This is a very family-friendly meal.  It’s completely homemade and tastes so much better than anything boxed from the store.  I actually made a half recipe and it still made a ton.  I only used 1 lb. ground beef, but I did use about ¾ of the can of tomatoes to make sure there was enough sauce for the macaroni.  I made ours with half a box of whole wheat elbow macaroni.  It was a tasty lunch leftover to have a during the rest of the week.  J

Tuesday:  Crockpot “10 Chicken” with Roasted Broccoli and Garlic Bread

Crockpot “10 Chicken”

·          I originally planned for us to have leftover Macaroni and Beef with Cheese for dinner, but since Chad and I both had it for lunch, I decided we should have something else for dinner.  I had some “10 Chicken” in the freezer.  It’s the simplest, tastiest chicken!  We use bone-in chicken thighs, but if dark meat isn’t your thing, feel free to use white meat.  Put chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in some soy sauce, Italian dressing, and garlic powder.  That’s it!  It can be refrigerated if you plan to have it within a day or two, or it can be stuck in the freezer for later use.  This chicken is GREAT on the grill or crockpot.  What’s nice about freezing it is that it can go straight from freezer to crockpot.  I cooked it on low for about 6-7 hours, and it was perfect!!

Wednesday:  Dinner with Mom  J

Thursday:  Rudy’s BBQ for Chad’s Early Birthday Dinner!

May 4-10, 2014

**Not a week when I cooked much, but here it is anyway!**  :-)

Sunday:  Market Street Dinner

·          After small group we picked out dinner at Market Street and brought it home to eat.

Monday:  Dinner with my Mom for Payton’s Birthday!!

·          Chad was out of town, and it was our girl Payton’s birthday.  So we went and celebrated with Nonnie!

Tuesday:  Dinner Out

·          We had some unexpected things come up with some of our family, and I needed to be with them.  So, we grabbed a quick dinner out before heading to my mom’s house.  The kids stayed the night while I went up to the hospital.  Everything is good now!  I’m so grateful for my mom and her willingness to be with us and help us absolutely anytime.  J

Wednesday:  Breakfast for Dinner

·          Chad was still out of town, so we had one of our stand-by dinners…breakfast!  This time it was omelets and pancakes.  Yum!

Thursday:  Incredible Hulk Sliders with Ninja Turtle Macaroni & Cheese and Fruit

Incredible Hulk Sliders

·          My friend, Meredith, made these for us last week, and we had some extras that I stuck into the freezer.  I pulled them out and cooked them in the skillet.  Since I didn’t make them, I’m not exactly sure what she put in them.  It was ground chicken that she seasoned and mixed with tiny, diced veggies like spinach, carrots, and broccoli.  They really are green!  The kids thought they were fantastic!  I served ours on whole wheat slider buns.  We had seen some Ninja Turtle mac-n-cheese at the store earlier in the day, so that made a fun addition to dinner for the kids.

Friday:  Chad in Charge!

·          I was gone all day to the Homeschool Book Fair, so it was Daddy Day!!  The kids were absolutely thrilled to have all day with Daddy since he had been gone all week.  Chad took care of all of the meals all day.  J

Saturday:  Honey BBQ Turkey Meatloaf with Steam Veggies and Toast

·          Ranger had a 5:00 tball game, but I didn’t want to eat out AGAIN this week.  So, earlier in the day I put together our family fave…Honey BBQ Meatloaf!  Before we left around 4:35, I put the meatloaf in the oven and set the “Delay Start” feature.  The oven came on at 5:35, and when we arrived back home around 6:25 or so, it was perfectly done!  I used microwave steam veggies for this meal so that we could be eating as soon as possible.  As with most of our meals lately, we enjoyed it on our back porch.

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf

Adapted from:  http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/03/09/honey-barbecue-meatloaf/

serves 4

1 lb 90% lean ground turkey

1 slice white bread, ground to crumbs in food processor -or- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs or oatmeal

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided

2 tablespoons honey, divided

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss one slice of soft white bread in your food processor and grind it into crumbs.

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon of the worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, egg, salt, and black pepper.

Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.

Bake for 45 minutes. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce

April 27 - May 3, 2014

*This week we did a bit of unexpected traveling because my sweet Papa passed away.  So, I’m simply putting on the few things I did make when we were home, rather than our whole weekly menu.*

Asparagus, Feta, & Prosciutto Frittata

·          I made breakfast one night, but wanted to change it up a bit.  I found this recipe for a White Cheddar, Ham, & Asparagus Frittata on Pinterest from Erin’s Food Files.  I actually made mine with some Proscuitto, Feta, & asparagus because that’s what I had on hand.  It was delish!  A frittata is a great way to change up breakfast night, so I’ll be making them again (with various ingredients, I’m sure).

Crock Pot Chicken, Corn, & Black Beans

·          We had Payton’s birthday party on Saturday, and most of our family and a few friends were with us for dinner.  I made this great, easy recipe, and we all had more than enough food for the celebration!  (I actually made 2 crock pots of this.)

4-5 Chicken Breasts

1 Can Black Beans (drained)

1 Can Corn (drained)

1 Cup Salsa

½ block Cream Cheese, cubed

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of your crock pot.  Top with black beans, corn, and salsa.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 4.  About an hour before you want to eat, shred the chicken and mix everything together.  Mix in the cream cheese and cover again.  Cook on low (or even warm) until you are ready to serve…yum!  This is great alone, inside tortillas, or over chips.  It’s also a pretty economical way to feed a large group of people.

I want to say a BIG thank you to my sweet friends, Meredith and Sharon.  They both brought over dinner for my family after we arrived back in town from my Papa’s funeral.  Both meals were delicious, and even more so, incredibly appreciated.  I have some of the most amazing friends!