Menu Plan Monday 2/23-2/28 (plus more)

I will be out of town next week with my cute hubby, my sister is coming up to stay with my little ones. Needless to say, I love her, but she doesn't cook! I will be filling the freezer for easy meals for her to make.

Breakfasts
Muffins (made 3 dozen and froze them)
Smoothies- banana, and chocolate chocolate chip
Pancakes (made 2 dozen and froze them)
Oven pancakes
Baked oatmeal

Lunches
PB & J
quesadillas
soup
salad

Dinners
Pork roast, sweet potatoes, spinach salad
Country fried steak, mashed potatoes, chopped salad
Chicken enchiladas, cilantro rice
Bubble-up pizzas
Homemade mac and cheese, hot dogs, oven fries
Stuffed shells, caesar salad, steamed veggies

For the freezer/Fridge
Mexican manicotti
Clam Chowder
Burgers
Chimichangas
Calzones, and pizza crusts
Chili
Enchilada pie


Recipes will be posted later this week!

Hamburger Soup

This recipe came from an old church cookbook that my mom had. I always vary what I put in it depending on what I have around, but the basic concept is a hamburger stew with tomato juice in it. It is a favorite comfort food!

Hamburger soup
1 lb hamburger (or turkey)
6 potatoes
1 large onion diced
4 stalks celery diced
2 cloves garlic minced
4 carrots sliced
4 cups beef broth
2 cups tomato juice (V-8, homemade, or pureed diced tomatoes)
2 heaping T italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves

Brown the meat with the onion and garlic, drain off any fat. Add to crockpot with remaining ingredients. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 until veggies are tender.

Asian Meatballs in Coconut peanut sauce

This was another winner at our house last night!
Here is the recipe as I prepared it:

1 lb ground turkey
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T ground flax seeds
1T ground oatmeal
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 egg
2 cloves garlic minced
1 T fresh ginger
salt and pepper

Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cilantro
1 T fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
zest of one lemon

Pre heat oven to 400. Mix meatball ingredients together and form balls, I used a small scoop, and place on a baking sheet. I made 20 balls. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Place all sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan and whisk to combine.

I made whole wheat spaghetti instead of rice noodles to serve this on. This meal came together in less than 30 minutes! I served it with some sauteed Bok Choy. DH asked me to make it again!
I love kitchen success!

You can find the original recipe here

Menu Plan Monday 2/16-2/22

Breakfasts
French Toast
Pancakes
Oatmeal
Smoothies
Muffin Mcmuffins

Lunches
leftovers
soup
quesadillas
PB & J

Dinners
Salsa Chicken with black beans and corn, cilantro lime rice, and guacamole
Stuffed Potatoes with Turkey Burgers
Asian meatballs with noodles and peanut sauce
Chicken lettuce wraps (PF Chang syle) with potsticker and rice
Country Fried Steak with country gravy, mashed potatoes and corn
Hamburger soup with biscuits
Crunchy Baked chicken with orange sauce, cous cous, and bok choy

Crunchy Turkey Burgers

My kids loved these!
1 package ground turkey
1/4 cauliflower puree
1/2 cup cheese (I used a 4 cheese italian blend)
2/3 cup crushed cornflakes
salt and pepper to taste

I mixed all the ingredients together and formed patties from golf ball sized balls. Roll the patties in more cornflake crumbs. (about 2 cups) Brown in pan with just a bit of oil.

This is my variation of the Turkey Burger Drumsticks from Rachael Rays magazine last month.

Menu Plan Monday 2/9-2/15

Breakfasts
Oatmeal
cereal
smoothies
pancakes
toast and eggs

Lunches
grilled chicken and veggies
beef spinach salad
leftovers

Dinners
Steamed ginger cilantro trout with bok choy
Chicken pot pie
Shrimp and asparagus stir fry
Turkey burger drumsticks, sweet potato fries
Baked potato soup
Grilled lime chicken with rice

Snacks
apples, veggies, raisins, bananas, gogurt, yogurt, corn chips and salsa

More fruits and veggies

One of our goals this year was to increase our fruit and vegetable consumption. We are generally very healthy eaters, but we are adding even more to our diet this year. We really enjoy smoothies for breakfast. I slice bananas and freeze them on a cookie sheet covered with a sheet of plastic wrap. When they are frozen solid, I peel back the plastic sheet and put the slices into a freezer bag. Whenever I want to make smoothies I just pull out what I need. Make sure that you use the plastic wrap though, or else the bananas will stick to the pan.

I make a large shopping trip once a week, and then fill in with smaller trips during the week. I bring home all the produce and carefully wash and prepare it. I put the produce in the sink and use a veggie wash on all of it.

Sophie Uliano's Veggie Wash
1 cup water
1 cup distillled white vinegar
1 T baking soda
20 drops grapefruit seed extract
Combine all the ingredients in a large container, then transfer to a spray bottle. Spray mixture on produce and rinse thoroughly after 5-10 minutes.

Grapefruit extract can be found at Whole Foods and other health food stores. I think that the bottle I bought was $16.00, I expect that it will last about 10 years! 20 drops is not much. I prefer to make just a single batch at a time.

When the produce is cleaned and dried I put it all away. I have the containers from Tupperware and also some green bags.
I cut up cucumbers, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers for snacks during the week. Some of the other things that I like to have around are snap peas, apples, bananas, citrus, grapes and other fruits in season. My family goes through about 10-15 lbs of apples a week.