Meal Planning Part 2

Week 1-2 of Meal Planning

 

Last time I started talking about how I've started planning our meals for the whole month. Now I'm going to share two week's worth of meals, recipes, and a shopping list! I have a good collection of about 12 recipes that are my "go-to's". They are easy, inexpensive, and our family loves them. For February, I planned lots of meals like this because I'm still getting used to mommy-hood. Also, as mentioned in my last post, I cook enough at once so that we can eat that for supper two nights! If you're family doesn't do leftovers, you'll have to add in some extra meals.

 

 

Week 1

Day 1/2: Baked Spaghetti

Day 3/4: Taco Night

Day 5/6: BBQ Chicken and vegetables

 

Week 2

Day 1/2: Chili with cornbread

Day 3/4: Stir Fry

Day 5/6: Taco Night

 

For the 7th day of each week, we either did a special date night at home with steak that we already had in the freezer or ate a freezer meal that I had made before our son arrived! Those have been so nice to have.

 

Shopping list for this round

Cost: Approximately $45 (I shopped at Aldi for the majority of the list)

• 2 lbs. ground turkey (use whatever ground meat you like/that's on sale)
• 1 bag of frozen chicken breasts or chicken breasts in bulk (you wont need it all this time, but will use it for the next half of the month)
• 1 package of smoked sausage
• Spaghetti Noodles
• Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 4 cup package of shredded cheddar cheese or block of cheddar to shred yourself
• Frozen vegetables of your choice (broccoli and green beans are our favorite)
•  2 cans of chili beans
• 1 package of chili seasoning
• Ingredients for cornbread (I have these on hand) or a package of box cornbread mix
• 3 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 onions
• 2 packages of taco seasoning
• 1 large jar of your favorite salsa
• Tortillas
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Recipes



I apologize for not having pictures. Meal time isn't what it used to be with a newborn! I will try by best to have some next time! :)

 

Baked Spaghetti: Cook noodles and brown 1 lb. ground turkey. Once turkey is completely cooked, stir in jar of spaghetti sauce and a can of diced tomatoes. Make alternating layers of  noodles and meat in a 9 x 13 dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes! Steam broccoli or have a salad on the side. This meal is also HUGE. So we sometimes eat it for 3 nights and/or have lunches.

 

Taco Night: This is possibly our favorite meal to have! It's so easy! Cook chicken breasts (I usually do 2-3 depending on size) in the slow cooker with 1/2 the jar of salsa, taco seasoning, and black beans for 2 hours or until chicken is done. Take the chicken out and shred with two forks. Put back in the slow cooker and stir together add 1 cup of shredded cheese before serving. Serve on tortillas with your favorite toppings. We sometimes put the mixture inside of a tortilla and grill/cook in a pan for a quesadilla instead!

 

BBQ Chicken: Another family favorite... cook chicken breasts in slow cooker with 1 bottle of BBQ Sauce. Take chicken out and shred. Serve with vegetables and rice or on a bun.

 

Chili: Dice and saute 1/2bell pepper and 1 onion. Brown 1 lb. ground turkey in a soup pot. Add 2 can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of chili beans (don't drain!), and package of chili seasoning. Let simmer for 30 minutes. This can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Top with cheese and serve with cornbread!

 

Stir Fry: Cut smoked sausage into bit sized pieces. Slice 1/2 bell pepper and 1 onion. Saute sausage, pepper, and onion until the sausage browns. I serve this with brown rice. Sometimes I also add some kidney beans and Cajun seasoning.

 

The shopping list is the BASICS for the suppers. I always have a few things on hand that I can throw together like brown rice and whole wheat pasta, frozen vegetables of all kinds, flour and cornmeal for breads, seasonings and spices. These things help me make meals more flavorful and filling.



Easy Entertaining Part II: Baked Brie

In my [short] experience in hosting parties and family holiday get-togethers, I've learned that appetizers are normally the last thing on my mind. I somehow always overlook them until the last minute. It's not always necessary, but it seems like every time I'm cooking a big meal, I'm running a few minutes late, and it would work perfectly to have one or two small appetizers to have my guests enjoy while I'm finishing the main course. Last year, I tried baked brie for the first time. This summer, I was hosting a dinner party for our small-group with church. Appetizers were not at the back of my mind for once, I decided to try making brie as one. It was such a huge hit and everyone devoured it in minutes. Now, this has become my go-to appetizer and I serve it at most of the parties and get-togethers I host. It's super easy and can be your go-to appetizer too. It is the perfect food to take to a party or to serve at your own home.

For Baked Brie you will need:

1 sheet of thawed puff pastry (found in the freezer section)

8 oz. package of brie cheese

drizzle of honey

fruit slices, crackers, and/or bread for serving along side the brie

Brie is found with the speciality cheeses at regular grocery stores. It normally comes in a little box and is wrapped inside.

For the easy part, take your puff pastry sheet and wrapped the brie as neatly and tightly as you can. There is no need to tear off the extra dough. Place in a greased baking pan with sides (just in case some cheese oozes out, it would end up in the bottom of your oven). Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Remove the baked brie from the oven and immediately drizzle 1-2 tbsp. of honey over the top. I've raved about Savannah Bee Company honey before, and this is another one of my favorite ways to use it. I chose the winter white honey since this was for a Christmas party!

 Place the cheese on a large serving board with lots of sides to enjoy the brie on. The best choices that I've found are pears, apples, blueberries, water crackers, and pita chips. Of course, you can enjoy this on whatever you like. Also serve with a small butter knife to cut into the pastry. It is warm, gooey, slightly sweet deliciousness inside!

 This Christmas and New Year's, if you're hosting a party or need to take something to a party, this is a simple and wonderful appetizer that everyone is sure to love.

Super Easy (and Delicious) Chili!

Recently I was watching Master Chef and one of the contestants was called "stupid" for trying to make chili in an hour. But really, not many people have 5 hours to let chili simmer. And, who doesn't love a big pot of chili? The way the aroma fills the house is intoxicating. Chili is one of my husband's favorite foods. He could eat it everyday. Now, don't get me wrong. I love chili, but I find it really hard to eat when it's 100 degree outside. However, the past few nights its been cooling off a little more than normal. So this Monday night, after coming home late because of Open House at work, the cool air hit me and I knew what I had to make! My hubby has been craving my chili and I knew that this was the perfect night to do it before it gets too hot again! 

This chili is very tasty, but most important very, very easy. As I mentioned, I made this after Open House at school and after working 14 hours!

Here's what you'll need:

1 medium bell pepper

1 medium red onion

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (or turkey)

1 package of chili seasoning

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 regular can of diced tomatoes

1 regular can of chili beans

Salt and pepper

 Chop your onion and bell pepper and begin cooking in the pot in about 1 tbsp. of olive oil. You can use whatever color bell pepper that you like. We had red and yellow from our garden that were delicious, but green would be just as good. Add dash of salt and pepper. At the very end, about 1 minute before the next step- add chopped garlic.

 The rest of the ingredients you need. When I went to the store last, the garlic didn't look too hot, so I got the jarred kind. One tsp. = one garlic clove. Super easy!

 After the vegetables are tender, add the ground meat. Cook until mostly brown and then add the package of seasoning. Mix well and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.

 Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and chili beans. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Of course, the longer you simmer, the better it gets!

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, cornbread, etc.

Did I mention- if you use lean beef or turkey- this meal is also a VERY healthy meal?! 

Once the weather cools down more, there will be lots of chili simmering away at our house. I hope that you find this recipe as easy as I do!

Easy, Healthy, Delicious Pumpkin Muffins

I'm a pretty healthy eater, but that's not to say that I don't crave some things that are not so good for me. :) And one of my biggest passions is cooking and baking. So, I often re-do recipes yummy foods so that they are healthy. Inspiration for this one came from my sweet (and very healthy) neighbor, Jessica Silva. Here's one of my favorites:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

One of the best things about this recipe is that its so easy. I prefer to use plain canned pumpkin, but sometimes it is hard to find outside of the holidays, so Pumpkin Pie Mix is okay. You can use any muffin mix you like. I chose this one because it had a decent rating on my Fooducate app.

First, line your muffin tin with muffin cups and spray them with non-stick spray. Olive Oil spray is the best to use, for health purposes, and you can't taste the difference because its such a small amount! Lots of good, healthy fat.

For this recipe, you can either follow the instructions on the back of your muffin mix, substituting pumpkin for the oil. For extra delicious muffins, follow the recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 box of muffin mix that yields 12 muffins
1 whole egg, 1 egg white
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin

Directions:
Separate one egg (I try to get the egg white first, just in case I drop the yolk in). Whisk eggs together with milk in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin and whisk well making sure that the eggs are completely broken up. Mix in muffin mix and mix just into combined. The key to light and soft muffins (or anything with flour) is not to over mix.

Equally split up the muffin mix and add to muffin tins. Pick up the pan and hold about 1 inch above the counter. Drop the pan a few times on the counter to even out each muffin and get rid of pockets of air. Bake on 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

Take out of the oven. Stick a tooth pick into the center of one muffin. If it comes off clean, they're done! If not, put back into the oven for a 1-2 more minutes.

Enjoy!

P.S.- You use this recipe with any flavor muffin you like. I've tried blueberry which is also delicious with pumpkin!