I have discovered that menu planning makes my week flow so much smoother. I've been a bit lax this summer and haven't made up weekly menu plans regularly and I have seen the ugly results ... we've resorted to eating out way too often, which messes with our (hubby's) budget. And our meals made at home have been haphazard and thrown together at the last minute.
So when I realized that I have to work next week, I figured a menu plan was in order. I've spent the last few weeks cooking ahead for when I officially go back to work in September and I ended up with a few extra meals so I am going to use them this coming up week to make my transition back to work a bit easier.
Here's what we will be eating:
Monday
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Tuesday
Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
(Using pre-cooked ground beef in the freezer)
Wednesday
Rotisserie Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Ranch Beans
Thursday
Chicken w/Salsa and Cheese, Pasta w/Garlic Sauce, Broccoli
(Such an easy way to make chicken, top chicken breasts with 2 tablespoons of salsa and a sprinkling of cheese and bake - Yum!)
Friday
Mexican Penne, Salad, Rolls
Saturday
I'm thinking a big salad w/tomatoes, cucumbers, and leftover chicken from Wednesday
Sunday
We will either eat out or have leftovers
All of the main dishes are already prepped and in my freezer as I write this, which is a real relief knowing how easy my meals will be to prepare. And my grocery bill for this week will be really small as I only have to buy the veggies and a few other things like milk and fruit.
I will be linking this to Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. Check out her post to find tons of great menu ideas from all the different people who link to her blog.
Aug 15, 2010
Aug 11, 2010
Freezer Cooking Continued
Okay, I will start this post by saying that I should be cooking. Right. Now.
Instead I'm laying in bed messing on my laptop.
And it is 1:30 pm. Ugh.
Anyway, I've been continuing working on my new 4-month freezer cooking plan. I wrote about the chicken part here. I did pick up the rest of the chicken breasts I needed and finished that part.
I think Safeway got the 'memo' that I was gonna be cooking 'cause they are nicely accomodating me by putting the meats I need on sale for me. :)
This weekend, they had ground beef on sale for $1.69/lb. It was the 80/20, which is higher in fat content than I like to buy, but hey, $1.69/lb. Need I say more?
So I picked up 25 lbs. of ground beef. I used 12 lbs. and made up a big huge - really big - bowl of meatloaf mix. I then packaged up three bags of mini meatloaves and four larger meatloaves. I wasn't really meaning to make up so much meatloaf....it just kinda' expanded on me.
I've also made two meals of Enchilada Casserole and two meals of hamburgers. I found this cute tupperware patty maker that I bought way back when people used to actually have tupperware parties. Do they have those anymore? I haven't been invited to one in years. Come to think of it, I haven't been invited to any home parties in a long, long time. Hmmm....maybe it is something personal?
So...what I should be doing right now is the following:
Two of each:
Mexican Penne
Lasagna Roll-ups
Sue Sue's Casserole
Crockpot Chili
Then I'll have to head back to the store for more meat. Hubby is beginning to grumble. Yes, it does add up cooking like this.
But it saves us way more than it costs. Last time I was able to cut our grocery bill down to $60 a week. That was with four freezer meals a week. Now I'm cooking for five meals a week and expect our bill to drop even more. Not too shabby.
I am going to post my menu plan calendar next with links to all of these great recipes in case any one else wants to jump on the crazy cooking train!
Edited to add:
Okay, I pried myself out of my bed and did do some cooking. I made up the Chili and ended up with four freezer bags worth. I usually double the recipe for one meal as my family tends to eat a lot of this, but a double recipe wouldn't fit in one freezer bag. I'll have to make a note to myself to pull out two at a time if everyone is gonna be home.
I also made up the Sue Sue's Casserole (this is the only dish my kids will eat that has peas and mushrooms in it). This too makes a lot, so I reserved some for tonight's dinner.
And, I cooked up the beef for the lasagna roll-ups.
Then, I found another five pounds of hamburger in the fridge. I guess I bought more than I thought. I'll have to figure out what to do with it tomorrow.
Instead I'm laying in bed messing on my laptop.
And it is 1:30 pm. Ugh.
Anyway, I've been continuing working on my new 4-month freezer cooking plan. I wrote about the chicken part here. I did pick up the rest of the chicken breasts I needed and finished that part.
I think Safeway got the 'memo' that I was gonna be cooking 'cause they are nicely accomodating me by putting the meats I need on sale for me. :)
This weekend, they had ground beef on sale for $1.69/lb. It was the 80/20, which is higher in fat content than I like to buy, but hey, $1.69/lb. Need I say more?
So I picked up 25 lbs. of ground beef. I used 12 lbs. and made up a big huge - really big - bowl of meatloaf mix. I then packaged up three bags of mini meatloaves and four larger meatloaves. I wasn't really meaning to make up so much meatloaf....it just kinda' expanded on me.
I've also made two meals of Enchilada Casserole and two meals of hamburgers. I found this cute tupperware patty maker that I bought way back when people used to actually have tupperware parties. Do they have those anymore? I haven't been invited to one in years. Come to think of it, I haven't been invited to any home parties in a long, long time. Hmmm....maybe it is something personal?
So...what I should be doing right now is the following:
Two of each:
Mexican Penne
Lasagna Roll-ups
Sue Sue's Casserole
Crockpot Chili
Then I'll have to head back to the store for more meat. Hubby is beginning to grumble. Yes, it does add up cooking like this.
But it saves us way more than it costs. Last time I was able to cut our grocery bill down to $60 a week. That was with four freezer meals a week. Now I'm cooking for five meals a week and expect our bill to drop even more. Not too shabby.
I am going to post my menu plan calendar next with links to all of these great recipes in case any one else wants to jump on the crazy cooking train!
Edited to add:
Okay, I pried myself out of my bed and did do some cooking. I made up the Chili and ended up with four freezer bags worth. I usually double the recipe for one meal as my family tends to eat a lot of this, but a double recipe wouldn't fit in one freezer bag. I'll have to make a note to myself to pull out two at a time if everyone is gonna be home.
I also made up the Sue Sue's Casserole (this is the only dish my kids will eat that has peas and mushrooms in it). This too makes a lot, so I reserved some for tonight's dinner.
And, I cooked up the beef for the lasagna roll-ups.
Then, I found another five pounds of hamburger in the fridge. I guess I bought more than I thought. I'll have to figure out what to do with it tomorrow.
Aug 6, 2010
Freezer Cooking - A new plan
In January, I took on a somewhat crazy project of planning/cooking/prepping our weekday meals for the four month period of February – May.
I wasn’t sure if I was going slightly crazy as I purchased all of the food needed. Yikes. But over several days, I surged forward and filled my brand new freezer with approximately 70 meals. I planned out a calendar with meals for every Monday – Thursday (my work days) and each weekend I pulled out that week’s dinners.
I have to say it was a huge success! There were days when I was so tired and had no desire to cook dinner. How wonderful it was to know that dinner was either ready to pop into the oven or already in my crockpot.
That being said, I have decided to do it again! I work for a small community college, so my busy work times are during the Fall and Spring semesters. September will begin the Fall 2010 semester and I want to be prepared for it so I have been planning and cooking.
I am about half way through and I believe that the hardest part is done. Here’s my progress so far:
Safeway had whole chickens on sale last week for .79/lb. This is about the lowest they go, so I picked up five of those babies. One was for Sunday’s dinner, so I threw it into the crockpot with some random seasonings. The other four were to be cooked up for shredded chicken for various meals. Sunday night I threw all four into my nesco roaster (I don’t use my roaster very often, but I sure am glad I have it for projects like this one). I slow cooked them all night and Monday morning I separated the cooked chicken from the broth and threw it all in the fridge. And I proceeded to ignore it all day. :)
Instead I went to Safeway Monday and bought four more chickens. My husband began to wonder if the eggs were hatching in the fridge.
Tuesday, I pulled out the cooked chicken and spent a few hours separating meat from bone, skin, and all the other gross stuff one gets from a whole cooked chicken. This was/is my least favorite part of freezer cooking, but once it was done, I had about 24 cups of cooked chicken! All ready to assemble for the freezer.
Then I took the other four whole chickens, skinned them and rubbed them down with the spice mix I use for Easy Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken. They went straight to the freezer. I’ve found this chicken is great for those times you want to take a meal to a family…I plop one in my crockpot and deliver it, crockpot and all, to the family and they have a nice cooked chicken ready to eat in a few hours. I’ve been known to throw the chicken into the crockpot frozen and it still comes out wonderful.
With the shredded chicken meat, I assembled the following meals over the next few days (two of each):
Chicken Enchiladas
Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
Poppyseed Chicken
Chicken Ziti
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Oops, I forgot to mention that Saturday I also made up a ton of meatballs. I ended up with six meals worth of meatballs. We will use them for Meatball Sandwiches, Swedish Meatballs, and maybe pasta w/meatballs.
Back to the store I went on Wednesday, ‘cos they now have boneless/skinless chicken breasts on sale for 1.88/lb. I absolutely love that the sales are matching up with my cooking plan! I bought a ton of these and have put up the following:
Ranch Chicken
Italian Chicken
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken
Garlic Dijon Chicken
Honey & Soy Chicken
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Chicken w/Salsa
Parmesan Chicken
BBQ Chicken
I ran out of chicken so I need to run back and pick up four more packages to finish up the following:
Chicken & Beef Fajitas
Crockpot Chicken ‘n Stuffing
Rice & Chicken Bake
And that will finish up the Chicken part of my meal plans….next I’ll move on to the pork and beef. Looking at what I have left, the chicken was definitely the hardest part, so I should finish up next week and will have meals ready to get us through ‘til Christmas time! Wow, I am so excited to be getting this done!
I wasn’t sure if I was going slightly crazy as I purchased all of the food needed. Yikes. But over several days, I surged forward and filled my brand new freezer with approximately 70 meals. I planned out a calendar with meals for every Monday – Thursday (my work days) and each weekend I pulled out that week’s dinners.
I have to say it was a huge success! There were days when I was so tired and had no desire to cook dinner. How wonderful it was to know that dinner was either ready to pop into the oven or already in my crockpot.
That being said, I have decided to do it again! I work for a small community college, so my busy work times are during the Fall and Spring semesters. September will begin the Fall 2010 semester and I want to be prepared for it so I have been planning and cooking.
I am about half way through and I believe that the hardest part is done. Here’s my progress so far:
Safeway had whole chickens on sale last week for .79/lb. This is about the lowest they go, so I picked up five of those babies. One was for Sunday’s dinner, so I threw it into the crockpot with some random seasonings. The other four were to be cooked up for shredded chicken for various meals. Sunday night I threw all four into my nesco roaster (I don’t use my roaster very often, but I sure am glad I have it for projects like this one). I slow cooked them all night and Monday morning I separated the cooked chicken from the broth and threw it all in the fridge. And I proceeded to ignore it all day. :)
Instead I went to Safeway Monday and bought four more chickens. My husband began to wonder if the eggs were hatching in the fridge.
Tuesday, I pulled out the cooked chicken and spent a few hours separating meat from bone, skin, and all the other gross stuff one gets from a whole cooked chicken. This was/is my least favorite part of freezer cooking, but once it was done, I had about 24 cups of cooked chicken! All ready to assemble for the freezer.
Then I took the other four whole chickens, skinned them and rubbed them down with the spice mix I use for Easy Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken. They went straight to the freezer. I’ve found this chicken is great for those times you want to take a meal to a family…I plop one in my crockpot and deliver it, crockpot and all, to the family and they have a nice cooked chicken ready to eat in a few hours. I’ve been known to throw the chicken into the crockpot frozen and it still comes out wonderful.
With the shredded chicken meat, I assembled the following meals over the next few days (two of each):
Chicken Enchiladas
Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
Poppyseed Chicken
Chicken Ziti
Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Oops, I forgot to mention that Saturday I also made up a ton of meatballs. I ended up with six meals worth of meatballs. We will use them for Meatball Sandwiches, Swedish Meatballs, and maybe pasta w/meatballs.
Back to the store I went on Wednesday, ‘cos they now have boneless/skinless chicken breasts on sale for 1.88/lb. I absolutely love that the sales are matching up with my cooking plan! I bought a ton of these and have put up the following:
Ranch Chicken
Italian Chicken
Stuffed Buffalo Chicken
Garlic Dijon Chicken
Honey & Soy Chicken
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Chicken w/Salsa
Parmesan Chicken
BBQ Chicken
I ran out of chicken so I need to run back and pick up four more packages to finish up the following:
Chicken & Beef Fajitas
Crockpot Chicken ‘n Stuffing
Rice & Chicken Bake
And that will finish up the Chicken part of my meal plans….next I’ll move on to the pork and beef. Looking at what I have left, the chicken was definitely the hardest part, so I should finish up next week and will have meals ready to get us through ‘til Christmas time! Wow, I am so excited to be getting this done!
Aug 4, 2010
Why I Menu Plan
I started making a weekly Menu Plan last summer. In fact, it was last August, so I have been making weekly menu plans for almost a year now. I find there are multiple benefits to this!
- It saves us money!
I find that making a weekly menu plan saves us money! By making a plan for each week of what we are going to eat, I find we eat out less often. Those last minute decisions to grab take-out or fastfood still occur, just not as frequently. That's a big savings.
I also find that if I do my weekly shopping with a complete list of what I need, it cuts down on those smaller grocery store runs to pick up one or two things. Lets be truthful, it's nearly impossible to run into the grocery store for one or two things and not grab about five or six more needed items. Not to mention the wasted time and money on gas.
And if I'm really on top of things, I can plan our menus around the grocery store sales for the week, saving even more.
- It saves me mental anguish!
How many times do you stare into the refrigerator before dinner and feel like you are being given a complex puzzle to put together? Just how can you combine those meager ingredients together and create something great for dinner?
Maybe it is just me, but my creative juices don't kick in when I'm pressured to figure out what to cook for dinner. Spaghetti makes its appearance way too often here!
If I've got a plan, I don't have to think. I pull out what I need (which I have 'cos I shopped from my menu plan list) and dinner is on its way!
- We get to try new recipes!
Because I'm better prepared, I usually can try out a new recipe each week. Not only have we found some new family favorites, we have more variety each week.
So how do I do it?
There are lots of menu plan helpers available on the internet. Lots of different ways to organize your weekly menus. Ideas on how to plan each week.
Some people plan on having a certain type of meal for each day of the week. Like this:
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Italian
Wednesday - Something new
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner
Friday - Family favorites
Saturday - Eat Out
Sunday - Leftovers
Others prefer to stick to a certain main ingredient for each day of the week:
Monday - Chicken
Tuesday - Beef
Wednesday - Vegetarian
Thursday - Breakfast
Friday - Seafood
Saturday - Pork
Sunday - Leftovers
You get the idea.
I don't do either of these, but I do keep them in mind. I try not to plan on chicken two nights in a row (yes, it does happen) or three different Mexican flavored dishes in a week (I love mexican so this is sometimes a challenge).
I do try to plan at least one new recipe to try each week. To make this easy, I keep a word document on my desktop titled 'Menu Plan Ideas'. As I'm browsing around during the week, if I come across a recipe I'd like to try, I copy and paste the URL to this document so I can find it easily when I do my weekly plan.
When I am ready to plan my week, I open a blank document and title it 'Menu Plan 080110'. I then type out my Monday - Sunday and any special plans we have for the week. Wednesdays and Sundays are always busier nights for us due to church, so I plan easy meals for those days. Usually something in the crockpot. Then I check out my new recipe ideas and put in any I want to try for that week. I next check last weeks menu plan and reschedule any meals that never made it to the table. At this point, I'm almost done, but the hard part begins 'cus I have to fill in the rest of the blanks and my mind conveniently goes blank. So I open the folder with all of my saved menu plans and start browsing thru them, picking out meals that we haven't had in a while.
I usually type up my grocery list right on the same document so I know what I need for each meal.
So there you have - the why and the how! And believe me, it gets way easier the more you do it!
- It saves us money!
I find that making a weekly menu plan saves us money! By making a plan for each week of what we are going to eat, I find we eat out less often. Those last minute decisions to grab take-out or fastfood still occur, just not as frequently. That's a big savings.
I also find that if I do my weekly shopping with a complete list of what I need, it cuts down on those smaller grocery store runs to pick up one or two things. Lets be truthful, it's nearly impossible to run into the grocery store for one or two things and not grab about five or six more needed items. Not to mention the wasted time and money on gas.
And if I'm really on top of things, I can plan our menus around the grocery store sales for the week, saving even more.
- It saves me mental anguish!
How many times do you stare into the refrigerator before dinner and feel like you are being given a complex puzzle to put together? Just how can you combine those meager ingredients together and create something great for dinner?
Maybe it is just me, but my creative juices don't kick in when I'm pressured to figure out what to cook for dinner. Spaghetti makes its appearance way too often here!
If I've got a plan, I don't have to think. I pull out what I need (which I have 'cos I shopped from my menu plan list) and dinner is on its way!
- We get to try new recipes!
Because I'm better prepared, I usually can try out a new recipe each week. Not only have we found some new family favorites, we have more variety each week.
So how do I do it?
There are lots of menu plan helpers available on the internet. Lots of different ways to organize your weekly menus. Ideas on how to plan each week.
Some people plan on having a certain type of meal for each day of the week. Like this:
Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Italian
Wednesday - Something new
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner
Friday - Family favorites
Saturday - Eat Out
Sunday - Leftovers
Others prefer to stick to a certain main ingredient for each day of the week:
Monday - Chicken
Tuesday - Beef
Wednesday - Vegetarian
Thursday - Breakfast
Friday - Seafood
Saturday - Pork
Sunday - Leftovers
You get the idea.
I don't do either of these, but I do keep them in mind. I try not to plan on chicken two nights in a row (yes, it does happen) or three different Mexican flavored dishes in a week (I love mexican so this is sometimes a challenge).
I do try to plan at least one new recipe to try each week. To make this easy, I keep a word document on my desktop titled 'Menu Plan Ideas'. As I'm browsing around during the week, if I come across a recipe I'd like to try, I copy and paste the URL to this document so I can find it easily when I do my weekly plan.
When I am ready to plan my week, I open a blank document and title it 'Menu Plan 080110'. I then type out my Monday - Sunday and any special plans we have for the week. Wednesdays and Sundays are always busier nights for us due to church, so I plan easy meals for those days. Usually something in the crockpot. Then I check out my new recipe ideas and put in any I want to try for that week. I next check last weeks menu plan and reschedule any meals that never made it to the table. At this point, I'm almost done, but the hard part begins 'cus I have to fill in the rest of the blanks and my mind conveniently goes blank. So I open the folder with all of my saved menu plans and start browsing thru them, picking out meals that we haven't had in a while.
I usually type up my grocery list right on the same document so I know what I need for each meal.
So there you have - the why and the how! And believe me, it gets way easier the more you do it!
Jul 28, 2010
Dry Beans in the Crockpot
I've been wanting to try cooking beans from their dry state for a long time.
This obviously isn't something new to most people, but it was uncharted territory for me. I wasn't much of a bean eater as a child and my mother never cooked beans from dry. But the past few years, I have discovered there are lots of different types of beans available and they can be quite tasty. Well, not real tasty by themselves, but I use them in lots of different dishes now.
I have one chili recipe that I double when I make it and it seems like I'm using 246 cans of beans in that one recipe!! If you don't have a stockpile of canned beans that you got for really, really cheap - this can get to be quite expensive.
Therefore, this summer was my summer to try cooking beans from scratch. I had heard of people cooking beans in their crockpot, and since I LOVE using my crockpots, I knew this was the way to go. Can I just say: Too. Easy.
Here's how I did it:
- Buy the bag of dry beans that looks like a bag of little dry rocks.
- Open bag and sort through the beans, discarding any broken or shriveled beans. Also discard any other bits of real rock, etc.
- Rinse well and put in crock pot.
- Fill with water to cover beans by approximately two inches.
- Put in refrigerator overnight. (Some say you can leave it out if it is not too hot, but I didn't want to take a chance.
- The next morning, take out beans from fridge and drain and rinse. They will be almost twice their original size.
- Fill again with two inches of water.
- Cook on low until beans are fork tender. (Be careful not to overcook unless you plan on mashing them.)
- Once cooked, I divided them up into freezer baggies and froze them flat. I put about 1 3/4 cups in each bag to be equivalent to one can of beans.
Easy peasy!
I have so far cooked up black beans, white beans, and pinto beans. Lima beans will not cross my threshold. I started with the small bags in the store, but next time I will buy the larger bags for greater savings.
Making beans this way is not only cheaper, it makes me feel like I am giving my family a fresher product.
Here's where you tell me that this is old news and that EVERYONE knows how to cook beans in their crockpot! Oh well, everyone but me, but now I know how too!
May 3, 2010
5.47 lbs. of Ground Beef
Why is it that the grocery store's idea of a max-pack of hamburger equals 5.47 lbs? I mean, really, who has a use for that amount? 6 lbs maybe, 4 lbs sure (at least these sizes would be easy to divvy up). But 5.47 lbs??? I think they do it purposely so that we use more per meal.
What I do is buy 2 packs. Smart huh? Don't you have recipes that call for 11 lbs of raw meat?
So, what do I do with 11 lbs of meat? (I know you're dying to find out.)
I usually cook it up and divide it up into meal sized portions. My favorite way is to boil it. I know that sounds nasty, but I have found it is the easiest way to precook large quantities of hamburger at one time. Here's how I do it:
-Pull out two stock pots (the big pots you cook soup in).
-Divide the meat as you like. I usually do about 4-5 lbs in one and the rest in the other.
-Add enough water to cover the meat by about an inch.
-Turn burner on high and bring to a boil, stirring every so often.
It doesn't take long to cook and the meat will separate as you stir. Once done, drain and return to their respective pots. The meat does separate much more than when you saute it, so be prepared for this. Some don't like this texture, but it doesn't bother my family any.
At this point, I season each pot. The smaller pot gets taco seasoning (1 packet or the equivalent per pound). I sprinkle it on dry and stir to distribute. The larger pot gets garlic and onion powder. I don't measure it, just guesstimate.
Then I bag each up into quart size freezer bags, flatten out, and freeze. I find 2 cups per bag works well for our family. You can experiment to find what fits your family size.
I use the taco seasoned meat for tacos (duh), mexican dishes, burritos, enchiladas, etc.
The garlic/onion mixture works great for spaghetti, pasta dishes, and even mexican dishes if you run out of the taco flavored mix.
If I don't need cooked ground beef or buy more than two 5.47 lb packs, I will also make up some mixes with the remaining raw meat.
I like to make up several meatloaves at a time and freeze. (I figure if I'm mixing one, I might as well mix three.) I will also put together some hamburger patties and if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might even make up some meatballs. These I will either cook and freeze or flash freeze raw and package up.
So what do you do with your 5.47 lbs of ground beef?
What I do is buy 2 packs. Smart huh? Don't you have recipes that call for 11 lbs of raw meat?
So, what do I do with 11 lbs of meat? (I know you're dying to find out.)
I usually cook it up and divide it up into meal sized portions. My favorite way is to boil it. I know that sounds nasty, but I have found it is the easiest way to precook large quantities of hamburger at one time. Here's how I do it:
-Pull out two stock pots (the big pots you cook soup in).
-Divide the meat as you like. I usually do about 4-5 lbs in one and the rest in the other.
-Add enough water to cover the meat by about an inch.
-Turn burner on high and bring to a boil, stirring every so often.
It doesn't take long to cook and the meat will separate as you stir. Once done, drain and return to their respective pots. The meat does separate much more than when you saute it, so be prepared for this. Some don't like this texture, but it doesn't bother my family any.
At this point, I season each pot. The smaller pot gets taco seasoning (1 packet or the equivalent per pound). I sprinkle it on dry and stir to distribute. The larger pot gets garlic and onion powder. I don't measure it, just guesstimate.
Then I bag each up into quart size freezer bags, flatten out, and freeze. I find 2 cups per bag works well for our family. You can experiment to find what fits your family size.
I use the taco seasoned meat for tacos (duh), mexican dishes, burritos, enchiladas, etc.
The garlic/onion mixture works great for spaghetti, pasta dishes, and even mexican dishes if you run out of the taco flavored mix.
If I don't need cooked ground beef or buy more than two 5.47 lb packs, I will also make up some mixes with the remaining raw meat.
I like to make up several meatloaves at a time and freeze. (I figure if I'm mixing one, I might as well mix three.) I will also put together some hamburger patties and if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might even make up some meatballs. These I will either cook and freeze or flash freeze raw and package up.
So what do you do with your 5.47 lbs of ground beef?
Menu Plan Monday 05/03/10
Wow, I have been lazy lately! I plan menus each week, but the weekends seem to get away from me. So we either eat out or I throw something together quickly - instead of preparing what I had previously planned on and shopped for!
So this week's menu plan has a few dinners carried forward from last week....
Monday - CP Layered Beef ‘n Taters
I'm not sure why, but this burned on the bottom and sides of my crockpot. It was still edible, but had a bit of a charred taste. I think my new crockpot cooks much hotter than my old one.
Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Salad
I really like this casserole! I think I will add a bit more buffalo sauce before cooking this time.
Wednesday - Creamy Cheesy Chicken, Veggies, Rice or Pasta
An old standby that is super easy to throw together before work.
Thursday - Creamy Paprika Chicken, Not sure what sides yet
I didn't really care for this last time I made it, so I plan on tweaking it a bit. I have no idea how, but I'll add something to it to before or after cooking.
Friday – Spicy Chicken ‘n Rice
A holdover from last week. I really want to try this so I'm hoping Friday will be a slow day.
Saturday – Crockpot Kielbasa ‘n Dirty Rice
And another holdover from last week. This might not get made as I'm hoping to go see my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. But since I haven't confirmed with hubby, one never knows.
Sunday – Mother's Day
Can I say I'm not cooking? I don't care if we eat at Taco Bell, I'm not cooking! :)
And a recap from last week:
The Balsamic Beef didn't thrill me, but I used a larger chunk of beef than the recipe called for and probably should have adjusted the balsamic vinegar accordingly. My bad.
The Oriental Porkchops were delish! They cooked in the sauce and were so tender they fell apart (oops) but I shredded them and mixed with brown rice and poured a bit of the sauce over it and I think I found a new way to serve these!
If you need more menu ideas, be sure to check out the links at Organizing Junkie's site!
So this week's menu plan has a few dinners carried forward from last week....
Monday - CP Layered Beef ‘n Taters
I'm not sure why, but this burned on the bottom and sides of my crockpot. It was still edible, but had a bit of a charred taste. I think my new crockpot cooks much hotter than my old one.
Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Salad
I really like this casserole! I think I will add a bit more buffalo sauce before cooking this time.
Wednesday - Creamy Cheesy Chicken, Veggies, Rice or Pasta
An old standby that is super easy to throw together before work.
Thursday - Creamy Paprika Chicken, Not sure what sides yet
I didn't really care for this last time I made it, so I plan on tweaking it a bit. I have no idea how, but I'll add something to it to before or after cooking.
Friday – Spicy Chicken ‘n Rice
A holdover from last week. I really want to try this so I'm hoping Friday will be a slow day.
Saturday – Crockpot Kielbasa ‘n Dirty Rice
And another holdover from last week. This might not get made as I'm hoping to go see my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. But since I haven't confirmed with hubby, one never knows.
Sunday – Mother's Day
Can I say I'm not cooking? I don't care if we eat at Taco Bell, I'm not cooking! :)
And a recap from last week:
The Balsamic Beef didn't thrill me, but I used a larger chunk of beef than the recipe called for and probably should have adjusted the balsamic vinegar accordingly. My bad.
The Oriental Porkchops were delish! They cooked in the sauce and were so tender they fell apart (oops) but I shredded them and mixed with brown rice and poured a bit of the sauce over it and I think I found a new way to serve these!
If you need more menu ideas, be sure to check out the links at Organizing Junkie's site!
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