April 12-18, 2015

Sunday:  Chicken Sausage, Macaroni & Cheese, & Spinach Salad

·          Chad was on a hunting trip all weekend, but he was coming home on Sunday evening.  We were all pretty excited, so we stayed home from small group so we could be here when he arrived.  I pulled out some chicken sausage that we had cooked and frozen a few weeks ago.  It thawed out in a couple of hours, and then I just warmed it.  I also added in mac-n-cheese and a spinach salad, and our quick, easy meal was ready to go!

Monday:  Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever, Steamed Broccoli, & Rice

Best Chicken Enchiladas Ever

·          Our boys have swim lessons this month on Mondays and Wednesdays until 5:20.  These are also Callen and Payton’s preschool days, so everyone is feeling a little tired by dinnertime.  I had some of these enchiladas in the freezer from making them last month.  They were still delish!  I just put them in frozen, covered and baked them at 400 degrees for about an hour and 20 minutes, while we were gone to swim lessons.  After trying a bite, I remembered that this batch was a little spicy, so I called an audible and made the kids some chicken nuggets to go with their broccoli & rice.  Everyone made a happy plate!  J

Tuesday:  Dinner at Mom’s

Wednesday:  Sweet Chili Lime Chicken with Rice & Sautéed Zucchini

Sweet Chili Lime Chicken

·          This is one of my favorite dishes…it’s actually one of the first recipes I pinned on Pinterest!  We haven’t had it in a long time, and it’s pretty quick to prepare and have on the table.  Before we went to swim lessons, I cut up the chicken, which is the most time consuming part.  So, when we came home, everything was thrown together pretty quickly.  I doubled my recipe, except for the sugar.  I used the amount for just one recipe…it’s pretty sweet.  I also diced up some zucchini and sautéed it in a skillet with a little olive oil, butter, kosher salt, and pepper.  I sprinkled on some freshly grated Parmesan cheese once it was done.  Yum!

Thursday:  Brisket Tacos with Fresh Guacamole

Brisket Tacos

·          I found this recipe for pork carnitas on Pinterest from The Weary Chef blog, and it looked delicious, so I knew I wanted to try it.  I had some green tomatillo salsa in the fridge that needed to be used, so I altered the recipe for it.  Also, my Aldi didn’t have a pork shoulder roast, so I decided to buy a beef chuck roast, and we had brisket tacos instead!  I also didn’t add the diced onion and used dried instead because it’s what I had on hand.  My house smelled AMAZING all day having this in the crock pot!  When it was time for the last instruction, I was a little skeptical….I mean, I’ve never poured milk on top of meat and then stuck it in the oven before.  But, it was incredible!  Definitely don’t skip out of this step if you can help it. 

I tried it, and decided because of the salsa I used, it was a little too spicy for my kids.  I had some fresh whole wheat tortillas from our Kroger, so I made the kids cheese quesadillas with a spinach salad and diced avocado on the side.  For Chad and me, we had the yummy brisket inside the tortillas topped with cheese and a little Ranch dressing made with Greek yogurt.  I also made The Weary Chef’s 5 Minute Guacamole, and it did not disappoint.  It may be the best guacamole I’ve ever made.  Seriously.   This meal was a hit for all of us, even though the kids didn’t eat the brisket.  I’ll absolutely make this again and try it with green taco sauce like she recommends so that it wouldn’t be quite so spicy.

Kid plate...

Chad and I also enjoyed the wonderful leftovers for lunches for the next few days!  J

Saturday:  Family Pizza and Movie Night!!