Menu Plan Monday - December 7

It's been a very long time between posts, but with the holidays upon us, a menu plan is a must!

Monday - I'll take chicken and dumplin's to M&Ms potluck. Making extra for the guys.



Tuesday - honey-pecan pork chops, mashed potatoes, salad



Wednesday - supper at church - baked chicken, sweet potato patties, green beans



Thursday - slammin' salmon burgers, oven fries, cole slaw



Friday - bubble pizza, salad

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Laura at OrgJunkie for hosting!

BBQ Chicken

Okay, some days just don't work out like you plan. I arrived home to find boneless, skinless chicken breasts thawed and ready to prepare instead of the bone-in meat my recipe called for (my bad - I prefer to think someone switched the packages on me). Since I like bone-in chicken for my oven recipes, I kindly asked Mr. B if he would grill the chicken for our dinner and he consented. So I pounded those bad boys to an even thickness, sprinkled them with Paula Deen's house seasoning and some olive oil and off to the hot grill they went. Mr. B basted them with the BBQ sauce called for in my recipe at the end of the cooking time. Dinner saved:)

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!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie, especially the kind made from scratch. Tonight, I have the makings for the Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie and that's what I'm serving. Comfort foods just warm my soul during these crisp, cool autumn days! As always, you'll get the facts later.

Monday Meal
Chicken Pot Pie
Salad
Pudding Cups

Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
1 can Veg-all mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix chicken,veggies and soup. Spread in bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Mix Bisquick, milk and egg and pour over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Food Facts: As I was preparing this dish it seemed to be a bit bland, so to the chicken mixture I added about a half cup of milk, minced onion, garlic powder, black pepper and poultry seasoning. To the crust mix, I added some dried oregano. The result was spectacular. Mr. B and The Hoss had two servings each and practically licked the dish. Note that tonight I used a large can of white meat chicken. Could not be easier. We will definitely be eating this again! The pudding cups consisted of sugar-free butterscotch pudding (from a mix) layered in serving dishes with crushed graham cracker crumbs. Finish with whipped topping from a can. Yummy!

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.

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!