Recipes Week 2

1. Chicken Subs

Cook chicken in skillet with butter and Tony's. Melt cheese on sub buns in toaster oven, place chicken on top. Serve with chips and pickles.

2. Penne Pasta Pie

Boil penne pasta (I use half a box) according to directions. Drain. Pour in casserole dish. Stir in a jar of pizza or pasta sauce of choice. Add in pepperoni (I use half a bag) and black olives (half an 8 oz can). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake on 350 for 20 minutes top rack.

3.  Easy Pizza

Use remaining jar of pizza sauce (about 3-4 T) to cover crust. Add pepperoni and any veggies. (I use fresh green pepper from my garden, onion and tomato). Cover with cheese. Bake at 400 for 25-20 minutes.

3. Cheeseburger Pasta

Brown 1 lb of beef. Boil half a box of rotini. Preheat oven to 350. When meat is brown, add can of cheddar soup and tomato sauce. Stir into noodles and add to casserole dish. I like to add in fresh tomatoes if I have them and sprinkle extra cheese on top..

4.  Salsa chicken

Place 1 lb. of chicken in glass dish with lid. Cover with 1/2 to 1 full jar of salsa. Bake at 300 for 2 hours or use crockpot on low for 4 hours. I serve with corn on the cob & cornbread.

5. Enchilada Casserole

Brown 1 lb. of beef. Add one jar of enchilada sauce and remaining half can of olives to cooked meat. pour in casserole dish and cover with crescent rolls unrolled. Sprinkle with cheese (optional).

6. White bean Chili

Boil chicken. Add can of beans and Rotel once chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add to taste: Tabasco ( I use two drops), salt and pepper, oregano and basil. Allow to boil and then simmer for 10-20 minutes.

7.  Caesar Wraps:

Grill chicken ( I use my George Foreman grill). To tortillas add caesar dressing, croutons, chicken, cheese, lettuce and bacon (crushed)

8. Creamy Chicken

In casserole dish, arrange breasts or tenders. Cover with sliced cheese. In separate bowl mix 1/4 c. white wine, 1.4 c. butter, 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Crush croutons in a ziplock. Cover chicken and cheese with mixture. Top with crushed croutons.

Grocery List #2

Lettuce (you may have plenty left from last week)

Sub rolls

(2 packs) 1 lb. ground beef

(4 packs)  1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken fingers or breasts

Tony's seasoning (if not a stock item for you)

Provolone cheese (or cheese of choice)

grated cheese (I use the store brand of blended cheeses)

1 pack of crescent rolls

Tabasco (again, may be a stock item for you)

1 can Rotel (or store brand)

1 large can of black olives

1 can of enchilada sauce (its safe to use store brand)

1 can of northern beans

1 can of cream of chicken soup (if not a stock item)

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of cheddar cheese soup

white cooking wine (again a stock item for some)

1 pack of penne pasta

1 pack of rotini pasta

pepperoni

croutons

caesar dressing

tortillas (you may have plenty left from last week)

bacon

*make sure you have plenty butter also 

Meal Plan Week 2

Super Easy:

1. Chicken Subs

2. Penne Pasta Pie

3. Easy pizza

4. Cheeseburger Pasta

5. Salsa chicken

A Little More work, but still easy:

6. Enchilada casserole

7. Creamy Chicken + veggies

8. White Bean Chili

9. Caesar Wraps

Still more subs..

These are MOST helpful to me:

• 1 can tomatoes (like you buy at the store) use 2 c. FRESH tomatoes chopped

• 1 can beans- use 3/4 dry beans or 2 c. cooked beans

• 1 T. FRESH HERBS-use 1/2 t. DRY HERBS (like the ones suggested in On-Hand Essentials)

• 1 large garlic clove-use 1/4 t. garlic powder

Milk Product Subs

These subs are not things that I always have on hand, but I felt would be useful to know:

• 1 c. fresh milk-use 1/4 c. nonfat dry milk powder + 1 c. water (my Meme always had this dry milk stuff on hand for cooking in case she ran out!)

• 1 c. cream (i.e. heavy cream)- use 3/4 c. milk + 3 T. butter

• 1 c. sour cream-use 1 c. cottage cheese blended w/ 1/4 c.  yogurt or buttermilk

Substitutes

Most times when I was first beginning to cook, I would be out of at least one of the ingredients in a recipe and had to call my mom to see what to use as a substitute. So the next couple of post will be on substitutes to use when cooking. 

FOR BAKING:

to replace

• 1 c. white flour -use 1 c. minus 2 T. of wheat flour and reduce oil by 1 T.(if recipe calls for oil)

• 1 c. sugar- use 3/4 c. honey and decrease liquid by 1/4 c. (or if recipe doesn't call for liquid add 1/4 c. flour and reduce baking temp by 25 degrees)

• 1 c. butter- use 1 c. shortening or 7/8 cup of vegetable oil

• 1 c. milk- use 1 c. yogurt  or  buttermilk  and eliminate baking powder (if called for) and  add 1/2 t. baking soda

• 1 whole egg- use 2 egg whites

• 1 c. powdered sugar- use 1 c. granulated sugar blended with 1 T. cornstarch

Cornstarch would be one of those things my mom considers a staple in the pantry along with baking powder, grits and rice.. So if you want to add those to the list of on-hand essentials you are welcome to..

Recipes for Week 1

1. Hot Dogs/Corn on the Cob

Boil both for about 20 minutes. Serve in a bun with condiments.

2. Monte Cristos

Heat med size skillet with a T. of butter. In shallow dish crack and stir 2 eggs. Dip sandwich bread in egg and place in skillet. Get out turkey meat and sandwich cheese. After flipping bread, melt cheese on bread and add turkey to skillet to heat. Remove bread with cheese and turkey. Place second piece in egg batter and cook (flipping both sides. Assemble sandwich and sprinkle with conf. sugar. Dip in honey mustard (optional)

3. Chicken Salad

Salt and Pepper chicken breast. Place on George Forman Grill or in skillet for 5-10 minutes. Chop lettuce, tomato, pepper and other salad mix ins. Add chicken with favorite dressing. Assemble, sprinkle with cheese.

4.  Spaghetti

Brown beef in large skillet. Boil noodles according to directions. After meat is browned, add jar of sauce, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp basil (for homemade taste).  Assemble and serve

5. Red Beans and Rice (follow box directions)

Chop italian sausage, cook in skillet or grill. Add to mix for last 5-10 minutes

6. Steak Fajitas

Chop flank steak, onion and pepper. Cook meat according to directions on packet. Stir fry veggies in skillet with T of oil. Heat shells according to directions. Assemble and serve with chips and salsa

7. Chicken Pot Pie

Boil chicken for 20 minutes, then chop or shred to bite size. Allow pie crusts to defrost. Cook gravy according to packet. Mix all ingredients in pan with chicken. Pour into pie crust. Place second crust on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

8. Fool Proof Lasagna

Brown beef (optional: with 1/4 chopped onion and 1/4 c. chopped pepper) and boil noodles. Preheat oven to 350. After meat is done, add jar of spaghetti sauce, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. oregano. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Chop 1 lb of cheddar cheese. Layer your casserole dish (9 by 11) in this order: noodles, meat, cheese-twice. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes.

9. Shish Kabobs

Arrange the following on roasting sticks:

Chopped chicken, pineapple, tomato, pepper, onion. repeat. Grill for 10 minutes or until meat cuts done.

Mashed potatoes: chop potatoes into eighths and boil for 15-20 minutes. (usually a potato per person) Drain and add 1/4-1/2 c. of milk. 1/4 stick of butter, 1 T of sour cream (optional) salt & pepper to taste. Mix on med high for 2-5 minutes.

Serve with a veggie of choice or salad.

10. Lemon Pepper Chicken

1 c. lemon juice, 2 T. lemon pepper. Pour over defrosted chicken. Allow to sit for 20 minutes for best flavor. Grill or bake.

Serve with veggies of choice or salad.