Meal Plan for August 31st - September 6th

It's Thursday - Meal Planning Day!!!

Be sure to tidy your fridge and sort your coupons before making your meal plan for next week!!


For a preview of the coupons that will be in this Sunday's newspaper, click on the link below!

Sunday 8/30/09 Coupon Preview

“I sometimes think the chef end of cooking is not the real end of cooking. Cooking is all about homes and gardens, it doesn't happen in restaurants.”

~ Delia Smith, English cook and television presenter, known for her interest in teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 18 million copies sold. She has also authored four religious books:

A Feast for Advent (1983)
A Feast for Lent (1983)
A Journey into Prayer (1986)
A Journey into God (1988)

Feed your faith and your fears will starve!
~ Author Unknown

Monday - Chicken Noodle Casserole, Easy Corn-on-the-cob with Herbed Butter, and Easy Weeknight Rolls


Chicken Noodle Casserole

8 ounces wide egg noodles
½ cup onion, finely chopped
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can cream of chicken
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped in bite-size pieces
1 ½ cups frozen English peas
a dash or two of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 - 2 slices of bread
butter-flavored cooking spray
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 2 ½ quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Return to boiler.
While noodles cook, sauté onions and mushrooms in a skillet coated with cooking spray. Sauté until tender. Add soup, sour cream, milk, chicken, peas and cayenne; blend well. Toss noodles with soup mixture. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
Process bread in food processor until finely minced. Sprinkle crumbs over casserole; spray with butter-flavored cooking spray.


Easy Corn-on-the-cob with Herbed Butter

½ stick butter, softened
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
sea salt, to taste
4 -6 ears frozen corn-on-cob, prepared according to package directions

Combine butter and seasonings. Spoon into a small bowl or ramekin. Serve with cooked corn.


Easy Weeknight Rolls

Recipe found at: http://kitchenparade.com/2007/10/weeknight-easy-rolls.php

No kneading or rising time!!

1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce, 2-1/4 teaspoons)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
4 cups bread flour, whisked to aerate before measuring
2 tablespoons baking powder (Yes, it’s 2 tablespoons!)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat the cups of a muffin pan with cooking spray. Stir together the yeast and water, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil and egg.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture a cup at a time until just mixed, adding a portion of the yeast-water mixture between additions.

Stir in seasonings, if using.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Makes about a dozen rolls



Tuesday - Sloppy Joe Pizza

Sloppy Joe Pizza

1 refrigerated pizza crust
Sloppy Joe meat topping
1 - 2 cups pizza cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

Prepare topping.
Pat dough into baking sheet.
Spread topping over crust.
Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from over; sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Topping:

1 pound ground beef
½ c. catsup
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Liquid smoke

Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain. Return to skillet and add all other ingredients and simmer a few minutes.



Wednesday - Eat at church



Thursday - Oven-fried Chicken Parmesan, Garlic-Butter Orzo, Bacon-y Green beans and “Biscuit” Rolls

1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 pound butter, melted
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 - 6 boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow glass dish or bowl, combine the crushed garlic with the melted butter. In another small bowl mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.

Place coated chicken pieces into a 9x13-inch baking dish or jelly roll pan coated well with cooking spray. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn; bake an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Garlic-Butter Orzo

Recipe found at:

http://faithfulnessfarm.blogspot.com/2009/08/foodie-friday.html?showComment=1250887846660#c4797589643092886353

1 cup orzo pasta, cooked
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain. Place orzo in a serving bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat; sauté garlic until golden. Remove from heat; add lemon juice, stirring well. Pour over orzo; add parsley and toss.



Friday - Eat Out!!!


Saturday - “Leftovers Buffet” OR Copycat Hard Rock Café Shrimp Fajitas and Easy Mexican Rice


Saturday - Copycat Hard Rock Café Shrimp Fajitas

2 lbs medium shrimp, shelled
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup lime juice
8 (9 inch) flour tortillas
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
sour cream

Stir together shrimp, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven that has been preheated to 250 degrees.

Heat oil in a wide nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. A cast iron Dutch oven works great for this!

Add peppers and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until limp (about 10 minutes). Remove vegetables and keep warm in the oven where the tortillas are heating.

Add shrimp mixture to pan, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring often, until shrimp are done, usually about 3 - 5 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp. Return vegetables to pan with shrimp. Mix well.

Spoon shrimp mixture into tortillas, top with sour cream, and roll up.


Easy Mexican Rice

1 cup rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 tablespoons salsa
2 cups chicken broth or water
1 cup whole kernel frozen corn

Sauté rice in olive oil in a hot skillet until lightly brown.

Add the salsa, stirring to coat rice. Cook until liquid from salsa has evaporated.

Add broth and corn; turn the heat down to low, cover, and let simmer about
20 minutes or so, until the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

For more great meal plans, visit
Meal Plan Monday
at Organizing Junkie!!