Weekly Menu 3/10+

Saturday

1.  If you like sweet cornbread, then I recommend the Jiffy corn muffin mix, with ½ tsp sugar added.  If you don’t, then I was told by the very wise Karen that Pioneer is the best option and it's less expensive than the HEB brand.

Chili

2 c cooked ground beef (check out this post for info on picking the best price option)

16 oz diced tomatoes

1 package Wick Fowler's Chili mix

chili powder

cumin

garlic powder

salt

cayenne pepper

masa (that's the ingredient my home made stuff has been lacking to make it not so soup-y)

Pinto Beans

Cornbread

Girl Scout Cookies

Sunday

1.        Cook extra chicken tonight for King Ranch Chicken on Tuesday night.

Ranch chicken

2 lbs. chicken pieces, your choice

2 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

Empty Ranch dressing envelopes into a bowl and mix well. You may add bread crumbs to the dressing if you would like more of a coating to your chicken. After rinsing and drying chicken, dredge chicken pieces in the dressing mix. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and place coated chicken in it. Bake 45 minutes at 325°F or until done.

Bacon mandarin salad

¼ c real bacon bits (or ½ lb cooked bacon chopped)

1/4 cup olive or salad oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp basil, fresh chopped

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

2 cups red leaf lettuce, torn

2 cups romaine, torn

1/2 cup walnuts/pecans, lightly toasted

Mix together oil, vinegar, sugar, and basil in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix mandarin oranges and lettuces together. Sprinkle with bacon and walnuts. Split salad mix in half, saving half for tomorrow night. To the half you are using tonight, pour half of the dressing mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Store salad mix and dressing mix separately until tomorrow.

Creamed Corn (Menus4Moms.com)

12 oz. bag frozen white shoepeg corn or yellow corn

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Thaw corn. Melt butter and in a blender, combine ½ of corn, butter, water, and sugar. Blend until creamy with bits of corn left in the mix. In a frypan over medium heat, mix milk, cornstarch, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk to get rid of any lumps. Add corn mixture, plus remaining corn and heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and bubbly.

Monday

1.       This makes a double recipe so you’ll have an extra for the freezer to share or to save sanity sometime down the line.

2.       With the banana pudding you can of course skip the meringue on top. 

Cheesy Spirals (Menus4Moms.com)

16 oz. package pasta spirals

4 cups cooked ground beef

2-28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor

2 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted

2 tsp. black pepper

3 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta spirals according to package instructions. Drain and rinse; return to pan. While pasta cooks, assemble the second portion in a gallon sized Ziploc bag.  Into bag, place half of beef, 1 jar sauce, 1 can soup, half of pepper and seasonings and half of cheese, then seal and squish around to get it mixed up.  Be careful not to puncture a hole in the bag or leave the bag standing on the counter unattended.  Bad things can happen; just sayin.  When the noodles are cooked and drained.  Place half in a 9x13 pan, with the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.  Bake this pan for tonight, at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  Place remaining noodles in the bag, seal and label.  Store flat in your freezer until.  Using the Ziploc keeps you from tying up a full sized pan, bulking up your freezer etc.  Plus you can send it over to a friend in need, they will be able to bake it fresh and it’s not leftovers! 

Zucchini

Slice zucchini and sauté covered with 1-2T butter or olive oil.  To stir, swirl the pan around.  Be sure to hold onto the lid when you do that action, or else you will have a mess.  Top with parmesan if desired.

Banana pudding

4 bananas

Vanilla wafers

1 oz. box instant banana pudding

2 cups milk

2 egg whites (carefully separate to make sure no yolk gets in them)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare banana pudding with 2 cups of milk according to instructions. Refrigerate. Spray a pie plate or 8"x 8" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides with vanilla wafers. Slice bananas over the vanilla wafers. Remove pudding from refrigerator and spoon over bananas. Beat egg whites, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, swirling to make peaks. Brown pie at 300°F until meringue is light brown. Cool and refrigerate

Tuesday

King Ranch Chicken

2-3 c cooked chicken

1 can cream mushroom soup

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ c sour cream

1 can Rotel (partially drained)

Corn tortillas (cut in wedges)

Cheddar cheese

Green onions for garnish

You can use the crockpot to simmer this all day (minus the tortillas, cheese and green onion) or put it in a saucepan before layering chicken with tortillas and cheese and baking in the oven.  Bake at 350 for ~20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Tomato & Avocado Salad

Wednesday

Impossible Ham & Swiss Pie

¾ c cubed ham pieces

1 c shredded swiss cheese

2 c milk

4 eggs

1 c bisquick mix

Heat oven to 400.  Grease pie plate.  Sprinkle ham and cheese in pie plate.  Mix remaining ingredients in bowl or blender until well combined.  Pour into pie plate.  Bake 40-45 minutes.  Cool at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Oranges

Thursday

1.       I found a recipe to make your own enchilada sauce, but I haven’t tested it yet, so I’m still recommending the canned sauce.  Know that I have discerning palate when it comes to enchilada sauce and it must meet my standard before I’ll share the recipe.  J

2.       I made up this recipe based on Luby’s enchilada soup recipe which I think they make with the leftover cheese enchiladas. 

Enchilada Soup

2 c cooked ground meat

1 can enchilada sauce

1 c cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 c frozen corn

1-2 corn tortillas, diced (so it fits on your spoon)

4-5 slices American cheese (deluxe, please)

Combine everything, except cheese and simmer until well heated.  Add the cheese to individual bowls to be sure everyone gets their fair share. 

Vanilla Yogurt & Blueberries

Friday

1. This is a super easy recipe and you can thaw the shrimp in a bowl of cold water in less than 15 minutes.  So put the shrimp in to thaw before you go change your clothes from work. 

Shrimp Scampi

1 pkg (16 oz) frozen raw shrimp (31-35 per lb), thawed, peeled, and patted dry

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 Tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Melt butter and mix with pressed garlic; set aside. Heat oil in a large fry pan (cast iron is best). Toss shrimp with flour and salt until coated, then add to heated oil. Cook shrimp on first side until pink color creeps about 1/3 of the way up the side, then turn over. Cook until thoroughly cooked through. Add butter and garlic mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes, stirring gently. Serve immediately over pasta.

Angel Hair Pasta

Spinach Salad

2-3 c washed spinach leaves

2 boiled eggs, sliced

fresh sliced mushrooms

2-3T bacon bits (ha, skip this ingredient if you are Catholic)