Creamy Potato Cheese Soup

from Karen C. at church

6-8 potatoes, peeled & diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
1-2 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cube margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. milk
1 t. salt
Pepper to taste
4 strips bacon, fried & crumbled
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Combine potatoes, carrots, celery and onion in a stock pot; cover with water and boil until tender. Drain and set aside. Mix together margarine, chicken soup and cream cheese in stock pot (use heat of stock pot to melt cream cheese). Stir well then add milk, salt, pepper and bacon. Add vegetables back into stock pot with rest of ingredients and heat through.

Serves 4 (of our size serving :) ).

(this is delicious! Especially in a bread bowl or with biscuits on the side.)

BBQ Ribs

*Your husbands (and you) will love this recipe. This is Heidi's recipe too, SOO yummy!

Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
4-5 pound baby back pork ribs
1/2 cup butter
1 onion chopped
1 T minced garlic
1/2 c. distilled white vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
1 cup hickory smoke flavored BBQ sauce
1 lemon juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking dish. Brown in oven 15 min. Turn and brown another 15 min, drain fat.
While ribs are browning, prepare the sauce. Melt butter in a sauce pan and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is tender. Remove from heat. In a blender combine water, vinegar, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste and pour in the melted butter mixture. Puree for 1 minute, then pour back into saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
Place ribs in a slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs and turn until coated. Cook on low 6-8 hours or more or until ribs are tender.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken
6 large chicken breasts ¾ cup sugar
1 tsp garlic ½ cup vinegar
½ tsp pepper ½ cup chicken broth
1 beaten egg 4 Tbsp ketchup
5 Tbsp corn starch or flour 1 Tbsp soy sauce

1. Mix garlic, pepper, egg and corn starch.
2. Cut chicken into small pieces and mix above mixture.
3. Heat a little oil in wok or fry pan and brown chicken.
4. Place in 9x13 dish
5. In sauce pan mix sugar, vinegar, broth, ketchup, and soy sauce to a boil
6. Pour boiling mixture over chicken and bake at 325◦ for 1 hour.
Serve with rice
Add green peppers and/or pineapple when you are cooking it for a nice touch.

*I am posting this recipe for Heidi since I asked her for it.

Connie's Weekly Menu, Dec. 13-18

Saturday - French Dip sandwiches with green salad
Sunday - Pot roast w/potatoes & carrots, biscuits
Monday -- Jenae's yummy Taco Chicken w/corn salsa recipe & Jello
Tuesday -- (on the go -- concert tonight)
Wednesday -- Beef Stroganoff w/veggie
Thursday -- Crockpot Pork Chops w/stuffing & broccoli

This Week

1. Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Meatloaf with baked potatoes and green salad
2. Macaroni and gouda cheese with cauliflower (new recipe for me) and roasted acorn squash
3. Fake Pad Thai and Fake Chicken Satay with Fake Peanut sauce (one of our family favorites, but not very "authentic"--post a comment if you want me to post the recipe)
4. Tortilla melt--layered tortillas with roasted portabella mushrooms, pesto, tomato, mozzarella, and other good stuff. Again, post comments to request the recipe. Oh yeah, with a green salad, too.

That's all I got this week. The rest will be hot dogs, leftovers or a date night dinner out.

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Meatloaf

From Real Simple magazine

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional--I left it out; I can only handle small doses of parsley)
1 7-ounce jar of roasted red peppers, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use about 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or just to your own taste. You might have to mash it all together with your fingers. Shape the mixture into an eight inch loaf and place in a baking dish large enough to allow air to circulate around the loaf for even cooking.

Bake about 45 minutes or longer if the meat is still pink. I baked it about an hour, and it was just right, but it may vary depending on your pan and how you've shaped the loaf.

Let the meat loaf rest for about 15 minutes before slicing it.

Easy and good, if you like meatloaf, that is.

Weekly Menu

Pita Pizzas
O'Brien Sausage Skillet (new recipe) *Tried it--probably won't make it again*
Creamy Potato Cheese Soup (I'll post this recipe soon -- SOoo Good)
Taco Salad (in tortilla bowls)
Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake (new recipe)
Pasta & Green Beans
Roasted Veg. Quesadillas (from this site)

12-8-08 menu

Mon - Spaghetti with salad
Tue - Beef Pepper steak with rice
Wed - Ham and potato soup with peasant bread
Thurs - Chicken Cordon Blue with baked yam and broccoli
Fri - Ward Christmas dinner
Sat - leftovers
Sun - ? I don't know yet, probably one of my freezer meals

Monday is Leftovers?

Not a good sign, but yes, we had leftovers last night.

Tonight: leftover turkey crockpot vegetable soup with french bread
Wednesday: omelets (with veggies for me, without veggies for the kids)
Thursday: Oven-baked corn dogs with slaw (it's a Rachael Ray recipe)
Friday: Black bean and sweet potato hash
Saturday: Pineapple Fried Rice with Tofu (remember, my son likes tofu)
Sunday: try really hard to get invited over to someone's house for dinner

Let me know if you want me to post any of these recipes.

Week and A Half Menu (J)

Omelets & Hashbrowns
Creamy Potato Cheese Soup -YUMMMM!
BLTs
Marinara Pasta & Salad
Breaded Chicken, Couscous, Braised Carrots
Connie's Pot Roast
Sausage Rice Casserole
Corn Soup (store bought) & Grilled Cheese
Easy Mexican Bean Soup (from this site)
THANKSGIVING DINNER

Easy Mexican Bean Soup

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 onion, chopped
3/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper
1/2 chopped celery (optional--I don't like celery so I never use it!)
1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
1/2 t chili powder
black pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce (tobasco or tapatio, or similar)
14 oz can OR about two cups chicken broth
16 oz can refried beans

After cooking the bacon, remove it from the pan to drain and cool. Add the onions, bell pepper and celery to the hot pan. Saute until softening. Add the garlic, chili powder, pepper and hot sauce. Stir to blend seasonings well. Add the chicken broth and beans, stirring until the beans and broth are well-blended. Cook 3-5 more minutes until heated through.

Serve topped with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, and crushed tortilla chips. Good with fresh cilantro, too, if you like it.

Weekly Meal Plan

1. Mom's Crockpot Chili and corn muffins

2. Easy Baked Tofu with rice and broccoli (my kids really LIKE tofu)

3. Indian curried potato wrap (never made this before) and roasted acorn squash

4. Homemade pizza

5. Thai Butternut squash soup (never made this before)

6. Easy Mexican Bean Soup

Connie's Menu (Nov. 16-21)

Hi all! This is a great site - thanks for inviting me in Jenae! A warning -- my weekday meals are usually either crockpot or something very simple and fast since I work full-time, so I'm always interested in good and QUICK -- aren't we all?

Sunday - Crockpot Chicken Curry, orange jello salad, breadsticks, root beer floats
Monday - Jambalaya over rice (from this site!)
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Prego sauce (my kids love it), salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - Pork chops (baked with seasoning), broccoli and the church's instant potato pearls
Thursday - Nachos Supreme (from this site!)
Friday - OUT -- I never cook on Fridays - :)

Eliza's weekly menu (11-17-08)

Mon - Pizza (using the Costco coupon)
Tues - Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla's (from this site)
Wed - Crock pot Chicken Curry (from this site)
Thur - Tuna Noodle Casserole
Fri - Out
Sat - Freezer meal pullout
Sun - Probably a roast

(J) Weekly Menu

Friday - RS dinner at craft night
Saturday - eat out
Sunday - White Chili & Cornbread
Monday - Sweet n Sour Meatballs over rice
Tuesday - Chicken Milan
Wednesday - Baked Potatoes, Broccoli, Cheese
Thursday - Taco Soup

Eliza's weekly menu 11-10-08

Mon - Omelet with bacon, hashbrowns
Tues - Jambalaya
Wed - BBQ chicken, roasted potatoes and a steamed veggie
Thur - Winter vegetable soup (crock pot meal)
Fri - out
Sat - Nachos
Sun - Apricot pork roast (a frozen roast from Dream Dinners I have in my freezer), mashed potatoes and a veggie.

A little about me and a recipe

Here's a little about my family and about what kind of dinner-cooker I am, so you'll know where I'm coming from with the recipes I share.

I'm the mom of two kids who will hardly eat anything. My three-year-old loves things like plain yogurt and plain oatmeal. And he won't eat anything with a sauce of any kind. Basically, if the food is flavorful, he won't touch it. Then my little one, who is almost a year and a half, won't eat anything that he can't see his older brother eating. Because of this, I cook things that I know my husband and I will like, and if we're lucky enough to get our kids to eat it, great. If not, they are welcome to eat some oatmeal and applesauce for dinner.

My husband and I try to keep our meat ingestion to a minimum. We eat meat and we like it, but we go vegetarian a lot. So I really love vegetarian cooking. Lots of the meals and recipes I will share have no meat. I made this last night and it made us happy.

Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas
(from Moosewood Restaurant's New Classics Cookbook)

2 cups quartered and sliced potatoes
1/2 cup sliced onions
3/4 cup sliced red or green bell peppers
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini or sliced portabello mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 8-inch flour tortillas
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 425. Toss all the vegetables with the olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper. Spread it in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and slightly brown.

Pile about 1/4 of the roasted vegetable filling onto one half of each of the tortillas, top with 1/4 cup chedder cheese. Fold over to form a half moon shape.

Heat a lightly oiled large skillet over medium heat. Cook two of the quesadillas for 1 to 2 minutes each side, until golden brown. Remove from the skillet and keep warm. Cook the next two quesadillas. Slice them in half and serve them warm.

I made this with the mushrooms. Just before putting the cheese on, I added some red pepper flakes because my husband likes things spicy. A little sour cream on the side. Perfect. And my kids ate just plain cheese quesadillas.

Savings on Spices

I had a great find at the grocery store today when I stumbled upon spices in the bulk foods section! I had to buy curry powder and chili powder which usually cost $2.50-$5.00 each for a 2.5 oz jar and was not looking forward to adding more money onto my bill.

Well, today I paid $.45 for one and $.62 for the other by buying them in bulk and simply refilling the spice jars that I already had (although I did have to dig them out of the garbage can --eeww, don't worry, I will wash them!).

Anyways, I thought I would pass this on because it saved me a ton of money today and if you don't already buy your spices in bulk, find somewhere where you can!

Crockpot Chicken Curry

CROCKPOT CHICKEN CURRY (From Connie)

3 T. flour
3 T. curry powder
1-1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1-1/2 lbs chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 c. peeled & chopped potatoes
1-1/2 c bias-sliced carrots
1 c. coarsely chopped cooking apple (Granny/Gold. Del.)
¾ c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped
1 t. instant chicken bouillon granules
½ c. water
1 – 13 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk

Hot cooked rice
Raisins (optional)
Chopped peanuts (optional)


Put flour, curry powder, cumin and salt in a bag – shake and coat chicken a few pieces at a time.
Put potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, garlic, jalapeno and chicken bouillon in crockpot. Top w/ chicken. Pour water over chicken mixture.
Cover, cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
If doing it slow, turn it on HIGH for 30 min. after stirring coconut milk into chicken mix.
Serve over hot rice, sprinkle each serving w/ raisins and peanuts.

YUMMY!!!!

Weekly Menu

Crockpot Chicken Curry
Egg Sandwiches
Chili & Cornbread
Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves, couscous, veggies
Bean Burritos
eat out

My meals this week

Mon - Relief Society casserole (this is a new recipe for me)
Tue - Chicken and rice soup with rolls (this is a new recipe for me)
Wed - Pasta with eggplant sauce (this is a new recipe for me)
Thur - Homemade pizza and cake (for Jacob's birthday)
Fri - Fantastic Friday potato soup
Sat - waffles
Sun - Pot Roast

Weekly Menu 1

Pita Pizzas
-whole wheat pitabread
-veggies/toppings of choice
-cheese
-marinara sauce

Fiesta Beef Enchiladas (click for recipe)

Ravioli (frozen) & Veggie

Hawaiian Haystacks (recipe)

Pepper Bellies & Veggie (on the side)
-Fritos
- Chili
-Cheese (optional)
Just put the Fritos on the bottom of a bowl and pour chili and cheese over it.

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

Omelets, Sausage, Hashbrowns

Hawaiian Haystacks

4 c. rice, uncooked
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk
1 soup can of chicken broth
2 chicken breast, cooked and cut up (optional)
1 c. celery, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 can chunk pineapple
chow mein noodles

Prepare rice as directed on package. In a sauce pan, combine soup, milk and chicken broth; heat. (Soup mixture will thicken as it cools). Pour rice in individual bowls and spoon soup over rice. Top with chicken, onions, tomato, pineapple and noodles as desired.

Fiesta Beef Enchiladas

8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 c. sliced green onions
2 t. fresh minced or bottled garlic
1 c. cold cooked white or brown rice
1 1/2 c. chopped tomato, divided
3/4 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 c. shredded reduced fat cheese
1/2 c. salsa
12 corn tortillas
1 can mild or hot enchilada sauce (or make homemade sauce -- see below)
1 c. sliced romaine lettuce leaves

Step One. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside. Cook ground beef in medium non-stick skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Add green onions and garlic, cook and stir 2 minutes.

Step Two. Combine meat mixture, rice, 1 c. tomato, corn, 1/2 c. cheese and salsa; mix well. Spoon mixture down center of tortillas. (Heat tortillas briefly in microwave to avoid tearing/cracking of tortillas.) Roll up; place seam side down in prepared pan. Spoon enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas.

Step Three. Cover with foil; bake for 20 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. cheese; bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Top with lettuce and remaining 1/2 c. tomato.

Makes 4 servings

Welcome!

The motivation and idea of this blog comes from the frustration and dread that I face weekly as I sit down to plan the week of meals and get the shopping list made. The goal for this blog is to provide a place where we can all contribute our menu plans, recipes and money saving tips so that the weekly task of meal-planning can become fun and easy and possibly even something that we look forward to.

This is a work in progress so please feel free to provide input of ways you feel we can improve this blog.