I’ve decided to start sharing my weekly menu with you. I know it gets hard to think of different recipes to make, so I would love to have you share some of your favorites too and we can add them into our menu rotation! Every Monday I will share our up coming weekly menu. As I get images, I will add them as well. I am a visual person, so to me, images are very important! {I don’t like cookbooks that don’t include images…grrr}
Monday – Crockpot Chicken and Rice
Ingredients:
4-5 boneless chicken breasts
3 cans of cream of chicken soup {or I like to use cream of celery for a little different flavor}
pepper
white {or brown} rice
This is a very basic recipe that I am sure everyone has tried at least once {if you haven’t it’s super easy}. Just pour the cans of creamed soup into the crockpot, place the chicken over the soup and sprinkle with pepper {to your taste}. Depending on your crockpot and time, put on hi for 4 hours, low for 6. Make rice as directed and serve chicken over rice. I like to add some peas and carrots to the plate as well…for color! 🙂
Tuesday – Tamale Pie
Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef/sirloin
1 can of corn
1 small can of tomato sauce
Chili Seasoning Packet
Chili Powder
Corn Meal
Taco/Cheddar Cheese
This one is another quick and simple meal that my family loves. Brown the ground beef/sirloin and drain the fat. Return beef to pan and stir in can of corn {drained}, can of tomato sauce until blended. Add one half of the chili seasoning packet and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chili powder into the beef/corn mixture and stir until blended. Spread 2 tablespoons of corn meal into the meat mixture and mix until blended. Once everything is mixed in, pat down the meat so that it is firm in the pan. Sprinkle additional chili powder on top of the meat mixture and pat down so it soaks into the meat. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place into oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, carefully remove foil and return to oven for an additional 30 minutes. When complete, top with cheese and if you like it, add some sour cream too!
Wednesday – Pasta Night
This is a no-brainer. We mix it up with the style of pasta, but it’s still pasta. This week I am pressed for time so we will use our favorite jar sauce {Rinaldi – Marinara}, add some cheese, garlic bread and a salad and you’re good to go!
Thursday – Burgers and Fries
Ingredients:
1-2 pounds Ground Beef/Sirloin {we use 1.5 pounds to make 6 burgers}
1 egg
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Parsley
Bread Crumbs
Hamburger Buns
Condiments
Cheese
As you can see, I am all about easy! Tonight we will be making quick and easy burgers! When I make my burgers, I mix the meat, egg, about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of parsley and mix it until it is well blended. You don’t want the mixture to be too stiff but you don’t want it to be too sticky either. Find your happy medium. Divide into equal size portions and flatten into patties. Cook until the desired wellness. Add cheese and condiments and wha-la, you’re done! We add frozen french fries, tater tots, or baked onion rings to complete our meal. I have even made home-fries which takes a bit longer but is better for you overall.
Friday – Cheese Pizza Day
Depending on the week, I will either order pizza from our local pizzeria or I will make my own pizza from scratch. Either way, it’s always a kid friendly, favorite, go-to dinner to end the week!
Saturday – Chicken Teriyaki
Ingredients:
Diced Chicken Breast
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 Onion
4-5 Potatoes
I like to get the fully cooked diced chicken breasts {by Tyson} to make my life easier. Dice up your onion and set aside. Dice up the 4-5 potatoes {you don’t want a big piece and a tiny piece…having them cubed the same size will result in evenly cooked potatoes}. I cook my potatoes in the microwave to cook them through {steamed with a bit of water} but you can also cut and boil them if time permits. You want the potato to be cooked through completely because you will be adding it to the cooked diced chicken later. While the potatoes are cooking, you can start cooking the chicken. Heat the oil in a large saute/fry pan and add the diced chicken and diced onion and cook through. When the potatoes are done cooking through, mix into the chicken/onion mixture and add your Teriyaki sauce. Now, you may want to add more Teriyaki sauce {depending on how much flavor you want to add} so I advise tasting a potato here and there until you have reached your level of Teriyaki satisfaction! 🙂 We like to serve this with steamed broccoli florets.
Sunday – Crockpot Roast, Potatoes and Veggies
1.5 pound rump roast {I buy it in 3 pound sizes, but cut in half for two meals}
1 can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 onion – cubed
1 celery stalk – diced
2 cups baby carrots
4-5 potatoes
jar of beef gravy {we prefer Heinz}
I like to brown all sides of my roast before I put it in the crockpot but I know some people that don’t so it’s all a matter of personal preference. Cut your potatoes into cubes and place in crockpot with baby carrots, celery, onion, diced tomatoes and beef broth. Place roast on top of the veggies and sprinkle thyme on top. You can also add some salt and pepper to taste. Cook on hi-4-5 hours, or low 6-8 hours. When it’s finished, I remove the roast to cut, simply mix in the jar of gravy and heat through and it’s done! We have added a can of peas into this recipe at the end with the gravy too and it’s really tasty!
I hope you have the opportunity to try out these recipes! If you do, let me know what you think! As I mentioned, when I make them, I will take some pictures so you can see what it looks like! 🙂
