Menu: May 23-29

I am going to be having a Jewelry Party on Tuesday night so I will also be including a list of the appetizers and desserts for the party.

• Homemade Pepper Jack Cheeseburgers, French fries, side salad, and fresh veggie tray (I switched this with the Chimichangas from last week's menu).
• Spaghetti, side salad, dinner rolls (substitute 1/2 c. wheat germ for 1/2 c. flour) or French bread, and mixed veggies
• Breakfast Night - Egg and cheese sandwiches (eggs, co-jack cheese, sauted onions and green peppers on a toasted English muffin), and fresh fruit.
• My Mom-in-law made dinner for us on Wednesday night - a chicken and mushroom pasta dish that was really delicious (got to get the recipe from her so I can post it), garlic bread and a side salad.
• Sub sandwiches (French bread recipe) and potato salad
• Still deciding...but I'm leaning toward brats, hot dogs, grilled potatoes, maybe grilled sweet corn and even grilled pineapple for dessert (allrecipes.com, Mayo clinic healthy recipes, foodnetwork.com)
• Appetizers and Desserts for the Jewelry Party:
• Chocolate Caramel Kiss Mini Cheesecakes (I'll make these up the day before)
• Taco Dip

Menu: May 16-22

This week boasts another "2-with-1 stone" menu. To start off, I'll be making

• Roast chicken, garden veggie rice, and side salad,

which will leave me with enough leftover chicken to make

• Chicken Enchiladas and
• Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup and wheat dinner rolls (substitute 1/2 c. wheat germ for 1/2 c. flour).

Then I will make up some

• Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwiches,

and I'll use the leftover pork to make

• Chimichangas and Mexican Rice. (Switching with homemade pepper jack cheeseburgers, fries, a side salad, and relish tray from next week's menu.)

**Update**

The roast chicken, chicken enchiladas, and cream of chicken and rice soup all got made on time, but my pork butts just did not want to thaw in time to be cooked yesterday (Thursday). I ended up making homemade pepper jack cheeseburgers, fries, a side salad, and relish tray instead. Friday night will be leftovers, but Saturday night I will make the pulled pork sandwiches and bump the Chimichangas to next week's menu.

Menu: May 9-15

I know this menu is really late, but I am just now starting to feel better. I had a nasty stomach bug over Mother's Day. :o( Thankfully, the hubby took care of everything while I was sick!

• Sunday - my wonderful hubby made ham and cheese sandwiches for the kiddos for lunch and then they had leftover tacos for supper. I stuck to crackers and toast.
  
• Monday - Pancakes and eggs, this is probably one of the kids' favorite meals. We never have to worry about them cleaning their plates.
  
• Tuesday - Tonight, I'll be making a simple baked chicken (other ideas for baked chicken), Parmesan & herb pasta, and glazed baby carrots for supper. If I have enough energy, I might even attempt some French bread or maybe some wheat dinner rolls (substitute 1/2 c. wheat germ for 1/2 c. flour).
  
• Wednesday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches and raw veggie tray (carrot sticks, broccoli, cauliflower). I'm doing 6 baked chicken breasts on Tuesday, but we'll only eat 3. I'll use the leftover 3 for the sandwiches. I may also end up using muenster cheese instead of swiss as it's on sale.
  
• Thursday - thinking about pot roast, mashed potatoes, and a veggie.
  
• Friday - leftovers...
  
• Saturday - We are having a hiking activity and picnic with our college/career's church group and I'm still deciding what to have for food... Any ideas?

Baked Chicken Ideas

Planning to make baked chicken tonight? Here are a couple of options for baked chicken:

• Make it a little more upscale and serve Chicken Parmesan along with some pasta. Or you could make it into a Chicken Parmesan sandwich by placing it on fresh baked French bread.
• If you're into sauces, try the Parmesan Ranch Baked Chicken with Parmesan Ranch Cream Sauce, roasted baby reds, and glazed carrots.
• How about a Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich? Baked (and breaded) chicken breast, deli ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, and honey mustard on Kaiser rolls. Bake chicken till done, top with ham and swiss; then pop back in the warm over till cheese melts. Place lettuce on bottom of roll, top with chicken, drizzle with honey mustard and enjoy.
• Slice it up and use is as a topping for your favorite salad (mine is a chef salad).

Get creative! Use the baked chicken as a canvas for other flavors...

Tacos and Salad

Our family LOVES Tex-Mex food. We eat tacos a lot so I came up with my own recipe. This can be used with tacos or, if you prefer, with taco salad.

• 1 lb. ground meat, bulked up
• taco seasoning (I do add a little cayenne to it and substitute kosher salt for the sea salt)
• half a head of lettuce (or a whole head for salad)
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheeses)
• salsa
• sour cream
• guacamole
• tortilla shells

I also make my own tortilla bowls.

Menu: May 2-8

This week, I'm trying to use recipes that I can do some of the prep ahead of time.

• Spicy Chicken & Smoked Sausage Sandwiches, veggie, and potato wedges. (prep all of the chicken for this dish and the chicken bundles below at the same time)
• Gourmet Chicken Bundles and steamed broccoli.
• Peppery Beef Sandwiches and a side salad (using a venison roast and will prep everything the night before and place the crock in the fridge. That way I can just plug it in on Wednesday morning.)
• Homemade Sausage and Black Olive Pizza (will be using the rest of the sausage from the Chicken Bundles.)
• Taco Salad (will be using the leftover olives from the pizza and lettuce from the side salads)

Your turn: What "2-with-1 stone" type meals do you make?

(2-with-1 stone type meals are meals that you can make/prep one or more of the main ingredients and use them for 2+ meals i.e. roast chicken as a main dish one night and then the leftover chicken is used as a main ingredient for enchiladas or pot pie, etc. later in the week.)

Gourmet Chicken Bundles

I found this recipe for Gourmet Chicken Bundles in an old issue of Taste of Home and decided that I wanted to try them. I will probably make some changes so I am outlining them here.

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minces (this is my addition)
• 1 package (8 ounces) fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 8 ounces bulk pork sausage 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage (I will use the sage flavored pork sausage and not the sage seasoning)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 egg, separated
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 6 slices muenster cheese (this is also my addition)
• 18 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold (making my own dinner roll dough - substituting 1/2 c. wheat germ for 1/2 c. flour to make it wheat dinner roll dough)
• Whole sage leaves, optional (will not be doing this as they are mostly for decoration)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic, mushrooms and sausage in butter until sausage is lightly browned. Place mixture in a large bowl. Add sage, marjoram, allspice, egg yolk and chicken; mix well.
2. Combine three rolls. Roll into an 8-in. circle. Repeat with remaining rolls. Divide chicken mixture equally between the six circles; top with cheese slice. Moisten edges of dough with water and fold over mixture to completely enclose. Place folded side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg white.
3. Place three whole sage leaves on top if desired and brush again. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 15 minutes. Remove wrap and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 6 servings.

You could also do smaller versions of this and use them for an appetizer. :o)

Spicy Chicken & Smoked Sausage Sandwiches

The hubby made lunch today after church and it was DE-LI-CIOUS! He loves to just throw things together and 98% of the time it turns out great. He's come a long way since his vegetable chili (one of the few things he cooked from scratch before we got married).

Filling
3 medium chicken breasts, cut into 2" chunks
1 ring smoked beef sausage, cut into 3/4" sections
1 package Ortega jalapeño and onion taco seasoning
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 a vidalia onion, rough chopped
1/3 cup water
6 muenster cheese slices
6 kaiser rolls, lightly toasted

Sauté chicken and onion in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, add remaining ingredients. Simmer another 10-15 minutes, till chicken is cooked and sausage is heated through.

Spicy Cream Sauce
1/2 cup half-n-half
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons Ken's Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add half-n-half, dressing, cayenne, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook on medium till sauce starts to bubble. In a separate container, combine water and cornstarch; drizzle mixture into sauce while whisking. Remove from heat when sauce thickens.

Sandwich Assembly
Bun, meat mixture, drizzle with 2-3 teaspoons of sauce, top with cheese and bun. Enjoy!!