Spaghetti

This was supposed to be Thursday night's meal but I had a hankerin' for it today. Quick and easy to prep and the crock pot does its magic with the sauce. Cook up the pasta of your choice, add a crisp salad and garlic bread, DELISH!

Menu Plan Monday - October 27, 2008

I could not help myself! My good friend Lisha has been a part of this for several months and while I plan our meals I had not succombed to being part of MPM...until now.

Monday: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday: Pork Fajitas, Spanish Rice, Easy Guacamole Salad, Chips

Wednesday: Front Porch Sittin' Wednesday (Eat at church) Lasagna, Salad and Dessert

Thursday: Steak, Twice Baked Potatoes, Salad

Friday: Fall Festival at Mulder - Hot Dogs, Popcorn & Candy

Saturday: Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Sunday: Chili with toppings, Coleslaw

Thanks for stopping by my blog and don't forget to check out other menu plans at OrgJunkie!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Today is Football Day, so it's my trusty crockpot to the rescue again. This is a basic recipe that lends itself to whatever meat & veggies are available. Corn bread muffins or saltine crackers are the perfect addition.

Tuesday Menu
Vegetable Beef Soup
Saltine Crackers
Tossed Salad

Vegetable Beef Soup
1 pound boneless stew beef or ground churck (you can also use leftover roast beef)
16 ounces frozen mixed veggies or 2 - 15 ounce cans mixed veggies
2 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes (with or without added spices)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. worchestershire sauce
4 cups beef stock
1 cup water
1 tbsp. minced onion
1 cup macaroni (uncooked, optional)
salt & pepper

In crockpot, combine tomatoes, ketchup, stock, seasonings and water. Stir well. Add meat and veggies. If using ground chuck, brown and drain before adding to crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add macaroni during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Food Facts: This is a tried and true staple recipe in my kitchen. The end result is dependent on the ingredients at hand, but it's always easy and delicious. The canned tomatoes I used today, contained garlic, basil and onions which gave the soup an Italian flair. As a side note, this may actually taste better the second day.

Tangy Chicken with Smashed Potatoes

Our football game has been moved to Tuesday, so no rushing tonight. I am preparing this dish in my slow-cooker so it will be ready when Mr. B and The Hoss get home from football practice. Again, this is a couple of recipes I've combined and tweaked for the crock pot. Make your favorite mashed potato recipe. My guys love them made with Yukon Golds and mashed with the skin on. Any green veggie will do. I just happen to have cabbage and broccoli that need to be cooked. You'll get the facts later.

Monday Menu
Tangy Chicken
Smashed Potatoes
Steamed Cabbage
Steamed Broccoli (for The Hoss)
Rolls


Tangy Chicken
4 bone-in chicken breasts (cut breasts in half, if large)
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup Heinz 57 sauce
1 cup water
salt & pepper

Spray slow-cooker with cooking spray, salt & pepper chicken and place inside. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken breasts. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Food Facts: I'm not too sure about this recipe. It may need a bit more tweaking or just cooking in an oven. While the guys gobbled it down, I just didn't think it was all that great. The meat was juicy and the cranberry & 57 sauces formed a gravy that I poured over the plated chicken. Potatoes and cabbage were awesome!

Dumplin' Monday

My friend, Lisha, made chicken and dumplin's last week. This week it's my turn to prepare this family favorite. I cooked the chicken on Sunday and placed the broth and chicken in containers in the frig. I also prepared my dill coleslaw this morning. Food Facts will follow later.

Monday Menu
Chicken and Dumplin's
Dill Coleslaw

1 whole chicken
2 whole carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces (include leaves)
1/2 onion, cut in quarters
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
*water to cover chicken in crockpot
chicken broth, if needed
salt and pepper, to taste
Wash and clean out the inside of your whole chicken and place in a crockpot, along with the celery, carrot and onion, with enough water to just barely cover the chicken. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours. When it is finished, remove the chicken, strain the liquid, and dispose of the vegetables. Place resulting broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add additional chicken broth, if needed. Separate the chicken from the bones, shred chicken and set it aside. Make dumplings while broth heats. Add dumplings, one at a time while broth is boiling. After the dumplings are ready add the can of soup and mix well. Add shredded chicken and cook on low for a 5-10 minutes to warm throughout. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dumplings
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
ice water (to the right consistency)
Cut shortening into flour, add ice water to form a stiff dough. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into one inch wide strips. Pick up strips and pinch about two inch lengths into boiling liquid.

Dill Coleslaw
6 cups of shredded cabbage (bagged will work)
1 tbsp. dried dill
3/4 cup mayo
salt
black pepper
Combine all the ingredients and keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Food Facts: Shortening will go rancid if you don't use it. Instead of the Crisco I planned to use in my dumplings, I opted for 1 stick of butter. This substitution actually made the dumpling better (IMHO). They were light but held together during the simmer process. Mr. B & The Hoss ate two bowls each and both were happy to see leftovers for later in the week. The coleslaw with its sour taste complemented the chicken & dumplin's nicely. I love fall because the weather lends itself to a lot of our favorite dishes. Until tomorrow, keep cooking.

Twisted Tuesday

Tonight my family will join several others for Bible study. This means, once again, the meal must be quick and easy. Our main course tonight is courtesy of 101 Things to Do with a Crockpot, as was Monday's entree. The recipe actually calls for crushed pineapple, but my pantry yielded chunks, so that's what I used. The crescent rolls are Pillsbury. Mr. B will prepare the rice and be the salad chef for the meal.

Tuesday's Meal
Polynesian Pork Chops
Rice (Make extra for Thursday)
Tossed Salad
Crescent Rolls

Polynesian Pork Chops
4 or 5 lean pork chops
1 cup Barbeque Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
8 ounces crushed pineapple

Season chops with salt and pepper. Place in bottom of crockpot that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Combine barbeque sauce and undrained pineapple and pour over chops. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. This is another new recipe, so the outcome is unknown. I'll post the Food Facts later!

Food Facts: This recipe really needs the crushed pineapple. I'm thinking it would melt into the sauce while the chunks just had a decidedly different taste. Other than the weird chunks, this meal is a success. Mr. B did an excellent job on the rice, salad and rolls, too! He also polished off the food on his plate and packed a lunch from the remaining chop. The Hoss ate his but it's hard to tell if he liked the food or was in one of his 'eat everything that doesn't eat me first' modes. I was pleased with the results for the most part. The taste of the meat and sauce was yummy (minus the weird chunks, of course), the rice was perfect and the salad and rolls rounded out the meal nicely. Now off to Bible study where my good friend supplies dessert. Check out her food blog, too!

Monday Mania

It's Monday and that means football in our home. So a 6 pm game means dinner has to be quick or prepared in advance (love those crock pots). Since the beginning of school, I've tried to plan our meals, both as a cost-saving idea but a time-saving one as well. Today's menu is a twist on a recipe I found in 101 Things to Do with a Crockpot. While I love to cook, I'm not averse to a little help from prepackaged foods, hence the stuffing for tonight's meal. I'm also blessed to have a husband who doesn't mind finishing the meal for me. This is an untried recipe so I'll let you know later how it turns out!

Monday's Meal
Crock Pot Chicken Bake
Cornbread Stuffing (from a box)
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce


Crock-Pot Chicken Bake

5 or 6 boneless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
6 ounces of evaporated milk
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cracked black pepper

Spray crock pot with non-stick spray. Place chicken in bottom of pot. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

Food Fact: This definitely needs to cook only 8 hours on low and no more. The chicken was a bit dry, but Mr. B who loves his chicken fried, ate it without complaint and even packed leftovers for his lunch. The Hoss ate with the football team tonight. I, however, loved the meal with all the flavors of fall melded together. The only thing missing was the apple pie!