What we have cooking up this week!

Wipe Off Weekly Menu Board 

Another week?  Already?  Time just seems to go by so quickly these days, and I wish things would slow down, just a little.  My boys are growing up before my eyes and at least one day out of the week I find myself in tears at the thoughts of the oldest almost being through his freshman year of high school and before we know it he will be going away to college, with our second son not far behind him.   This makes me incredibly sad.  However, I am hopeful that they will always remember mama's good cookin' and come home every now and then to visit me.

But for now, my house remains chaotic, loud and full of hungry, growing boys, which brings us to this week's menu.  What do you have cooking this week?

Oh, and I almost forgot!  The picture I posted above came from the blog Make and Takes.  She has a great tutorial on how you can make this very cute Wipe Off Menu Board for yourself!

Breakfast:
Grapefruit
Hot oatmeal with fresh blueberries
Cold cereal
Toast with Apple Butter and banana
Bagel with Nutella and oranges
Waffles with apple slices

Lunch:
Left overs
Deli Meat Sandwich with mixed fruit and pretzels
Mac and Cheese with fruit snacks
Healthy  Choice for mom
Cheese and crackers with orange slices
Soup with crackers

Dinner:
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Roast with carrots and potatoes with a side of spicy roasted cauliflower
Homemade chicken and dumplins, cream biscuits and fresh green bean stir-fry
Sweet and Sour Chicken, white rice, homemade egg rolls
Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, green salad
Kielbasa & Cabbage, mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus

What we have cooking up this week!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Yesterday, as I was getting my meals planned for the week, I realized I had failed to blog a very delicious Broccoli and Cheese Soup that my family absolutely loves.  I have some broccoli that I need to use that I got from Bountiful Baskets last week, which is how this soup landed its way onto our current menu.  This soup is a delicious blend of broccoli and cheese, and topped with some croutons, you will definitely find yourself going back for seconds!

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
WHAT IT TAKES:
1 LB Velveeta Cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup milk
16 oz of frozen broccoli (thawed).  *you can also use fresh broccoli

OPTIONAL TOPPING:  Croutons

IT DOESN'T GET MUCH EASIER THAN THIS:
Mix all of the ingredients into the CrockPot.  Cook on low for 2 1/2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.  If soup seems too thick, you can add a little more milk to thin. Spoon into your favorite soup bowl, top with croutons if desired, and enjoy!

 

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

25 pounds of carrots!

If you read by blog earlier this week, you will recall my joy over discovering Bountiful Baskets, www.bountifulbaskets.org, and that I also mentioned ordering 25 lbs of carrots for only $8.50, to be picked up today. Wow, let me just say that 25 lbs of carrots is a lot of carrots! I am so pleased with today's basket. For $15.00 I got a bag of red potatoes, 3 onions 4 green peppers, one red pepper, a package of blueberries, a head of cabbage, a bag of green beans, a bundle of asparagus, a stock of romaine lettuce, 2 grapefruit 8 oranges, 6 apples and 3 tomatoes. I am so pleased with this food co-op and can't wait to plan this week's meals! Now to start peeling and freezing some carrots!

25 pounds of carrots!

Game Day Glazed BBQ Meatballs

With the weekend just hours away, I wanted to share a quick, yummy and perfect Game Day food.  If your home is anything like ours, Friday night, Saturday, and most all day Sunday is centered around ESPN.  This Saturday is a huge Game Day in our home as our Murray State Racers, who are 20-0 and the only undefeated Division I college basketball team in the nation, are playing, as well as our #1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats!  Needless to say, our house will be loud and rowdy for most of the day, and nothing goes better with basketball and rowdy boys than Game Day Foods!

Printable Version
To make these meatballs you will need:
1 cup of a classic BBQ sauce.  (we prefer Jack Daniels sauce, but any will work)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup molasses or honey
36 frozen meatballs, unthawed

Combine the BBQ sauce, Worcestershire and honey in a large skillet.  Heat to a boil.  Stir in meatballs. Simmer, covered, about 10 min, until meatballs are heated through.  Stir often.  Serve meatballs warm with party picks and enjoy your game!

TIP: This recipe can easily be doubled and can also be heated in a slow cooker.

LET'S GO RACERS!

LET'S GO CATS! BIG BLUE NATION #1.

MSU photo credit

UK photo credit

Game Day Glazed BBQ Meatballs

Freezer Day

photo courtesy of Bountiful Baskets Facebook  page! 

Today I am working from home, and as time permits (during lunch and in between calls), a freezer day.  Oh, where to begin....

I have been introduced to a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  It is fabulous!  It not only  is in Wyoming, but several states, including Texas (for all my Texas readers and friends out there).  Go to this link to see if it is offered in your area.  BB is a volunteer food co-op and for $15.00 you get a laundry basket (literally) full of all kinds of fruits and veggies.  Plus, you have the option of adding whole grain breads, granola, etc.  You place your order every Monday and then pick it up on Saturday and you never know what you are going to get, so it is best to wait and go to the grocery after you get your basket so you don't over buy.  It saves tons of money in produce, plus we have been getting stuff that we might not normally buy at the store, so it is encouraging us to eat more fruits and veggies and overall healthier meals, as I meal plan around what we get.  Plus, the boys have been eating Kiwi and Pears like crazy this week and I didn't even realize they liked Kiwi.  It makes me so happy to see them try new things, and love them!  This week they had the option to order 25 pounds of carrots from Arizona for only $8.50.  That is a HUGE savings.  So, I plan on freezing those carrots to use in soups, roasts and as side dishes.  I really could just go on and on about it, but their website is packed full of information, so go check it out!

On Sunday we cooked a huge turkey with all the fixings and have been eating on that all week, so there is no meal plan for this week as we are in left over heaven and have plenty of turkey and veggies to get us through until next week.

So, today I am freezing some fresh corn on the cobb, some onion, broccoli and cauliflower and making a batch of Apple Butter using a bag of apples that we got from Bountiful Baskets.  I will share my freezing experience in a future blog.  As I have only frozen a limited variety of fruits and veggies in the past, I checked out Rodale's Complete Book of Home Freezing from the library earlier this week for tips and instructions for all of my freezing needs!  Needless to say, I a ready to get my freeze on!

Freezer Day

Hearty Lasagna Soup

This is a recipe that I keep under my "Budget Recipes" file.  I found this recipe on Recipe.com, a site dedicated to help you "serve up savings!"  They have lots of recipes on there that I am eager to try.  Quick, delicious and saves me money...high fives to them!

The recipe that I am going to list only SERVES 4.  So, if you have a large family like mine, you are going to have to double it.  My picture also looks more like a bowl of pasta rather than a bowl of soup.  That would be because my husband added a few extra noodles to ensure we would "have enough".  Indeed we did, and even got away with some left-overs that the kids had the next day.  If you don't buy enough ingredients to double and feel like you need a little more wile cooking, don't forget you can always make some extra broth if you have any beef bullion on hand (I always make sure I have chicken and beef bullion on hand for this reason) and it will be delish!

PRINTABLE VERSION
Ingredients for FOUR servings:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
3 1/2 cups beef broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon crushed Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups uncooked corkscrew shaped pasta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Making it!
1.  Cook the beef, onion, garlic, and parsley in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, or until well browned.  Pour off the fat.
2.  Stir the broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning in the saucepan and heat to a boil.
3.  Stir the pasta in the saucepan.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender.  Stir in the cheese.  Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

Side suggestions would be garlic toast and a green iceberg salad with an Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Enjoy!  

Hearty Lasagna Soup

What's for dinner this week?

Magnetic Menu Planner from $5 Dinners!

This week we are cooking one of two extra turkeys we bought during the Thanksgiving holiday while they were on sale at rock-bottom prices.  This is something we decided we were going to try and do more often, cooking a large turkey that is, because it provides several meals for our family of six, and better yet, we all love the yumminess of Thanksgiving dinner!  

Above I posted a picture and a link to a magnetic menu planner from $5 Dinners.  She has two different printable versions, a scrapbook version and a recycled version, both of which are super cute!  

What's on your menu for this week?

   

Breakfast:

Hot oatmeal with raisins 

Cold cereal

English Muffins and Jam

Waffles and oranges

Banana, yogurt and toast

Eggs and toast

Bagel and Nutella 

Lunch:

Mac and Cheese

PB&J with homemade applesauce

Leftovers

Soup

Grilled cheese with apple slices

Deli Sandwich with pretzels 

Mini tortilla pizzas

Dinner:

Chicken & Dumplings (my mother-in-law's recipe), green beans, 7-up Biscuits

CrockPot chili 

Deli Fried Chicken (on sale with coupon), mashed potatoes, mac and cheese

Taco Salad

Spaghetti with whole kernel corn and garlic bread 

Roast Turkey (bought on sale at Thanksgiving and kept frozen), cornbread stuffing, diced potatoes, cranberry & orange sauce, green bean casserole

Left Overs 

What's for dinner this week?

Homemade Applesauce ~ in the CrockPot!

I had several apples that needed to be used and after making and having such success with the Apple Butter last year, (which is something I find myself cooking every month now) I decided to try making applesauce....in the CrockPot!  Yummo!  A few weeks ago I ran across a delicious looking applesauce recipe posted by Gina's Skinny Recipes, so after tweaking it a bit and making a batch of this sauce, I don't think I will ever buy applesauce from the store again.  My kids are in love with it and I love the fact that I made it for them.  Plus, you home is filled with very delightful aromas for the six hours that the apples are cooking.  Awww...I love apples!

Printer Friendly Version

You will need:

8 medium apples 

1 strip of orange peel (a vegetable peeler is the easiest way to do this)

2 tsp of fresh squeezed orange juice

3 inch cinnamon stick

6 tsp light brown sugar

Making the Applesauce:

1.  Peel, core and slice the apples.

2.  Place the apples in the slow cooker.  Add the orange peel, cinnamon stick and brown sugar.

3.  Turn the CrockPot setting to low and cook for 6 hours.  Stir the apples occasionally.  After the apples have finished cooking, remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel and use a food processor to blend until smooth. 

4.  Let cool completely, place in a jar or air tight container and keep in the refrigerator.

Makes 3 cups.

Homemade Applesauce ~ in the CrockPot!

Cranberry Relish

This recipe was given to me from a friend in Texas about two years ago.  She served this cranberry relish as a garnish for a pork tenderloin and it was absolutely delicious.  I most recently made this to serve alongside a glazed ham I cooked for my family and it added such a fabulous flavor.  Its bright red color is so festive and just simply beautiful.

To make it you need...

2 cups of cranberries

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup onions, chopped

1 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/4 cup lime juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Combine all ingredients and blend in a food processor.  Chill for at least 30 min before serving.  Serve alongside a pork tenderloin, ham or meat of your choice.  

Add all the ingredients in the food processor to chop & blend.

A beautiful and delicious side, when spooned over pork is absolutely divine!

Cranberry Relish

This week's menu...

This cute recipe book can be found at Lucky Girl gifts.

Last week's menu stayed on task and we enjoyed some pretty tasty meals, several were new to us and have found their way onto our list of favorites.  This week I am attempting my first DIY project of the year, Homemade English Muffins.  I am hoping they turn out as yummy as Utah Deal Diva's did!

What yummy meals are you cooking up this week?

Breakfasts:
Homemade English Muffins with jam
Bagels with Nutella
Homemade Sausage and Egg "McMuffins"
Cold ceral
Waffles with oranges
Scrambled eggs with toast and banana
Oatmeal with toast

Lunches:
Soup
Grilled cheese with pretzels
Leftovers from Dinner
Lunch out with the hubby
PB&J with grapes
Healthy Choice meals for mom
Ham and Cheese sandwich with apple slices

Dinners:
Kielbasa & Cabbage with cornbread and mashed potatoes
Spaghetti with green beans and garlic bread
Southwest Enchilada Bake (freezer friendly meal) with green salad
Zatarain's Spanish Rice with Italian sausage, charo beans and cornbread
Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder
Leftovers
Deli sandwich with soup and chips

This week's menu...