Weekly Menu #2 & #3

Hey all! Sorry I forgot to post the weekly menu Saturday night...it's the holidays and it's kinda hectic...ya know! So here is what we will be having for dinner for the next 2 weeks. I hope that it inspires you and helps plan your meals and lighten your grocery bill total! Most of these I am going off of my own whatcha-got-in-your-fridge recipes so use what you got...and twerk things for your own taste buds!
*Before you continue, I want to let you know that I do not post the entire recipe on my posts because of a few reasons:
1. My Weekly Menus would be hella long...like hella!
2. They are not always my original recipes
3. The people that took the time to post their recipe out into cyberspace deserves the credit!*

Sunday - Roast in the Crockpot

Ingredients: 

• 2-3 lb roast
• 1 cup of beef broth
• 1 jar of beef gravy
• 1/2 bag of baby carrots
• 3-4 potatoes peeled, and cut into 1/4ths
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Place all the ingredients in the crockpot, turn on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.This is the basic recipe that I use for putting a roast in the crockpot and leaving it all day. Some times I throw some worcestershire saucein there. I try to not salt the meat too much because, although it takes great...it gets me all swollen :/ I didn't put potatoes in this time...we had it over rice!

Monday - Pepperoni Pizza 

Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated pizza crust
• 2 cups of shredded mozerella cheese
• 1 cup of pizza sauce
• pepperoni - or toppings of your choice

I am using up the leftovers from last week's pepperoni pull. I have to say...Hormel pepperonis are AWESOME! You can vary this recipe depending on if you love extra sauce, cheese, or toppings. This is a quick and easy meal that everyone loves. Plus - you get to use left overs so this should be minimal cost wise!

Tuesday - Crockpot chicken and rice

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. of minced garlic (yes, we love garlic in this house)
• salt and peper to taste 
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• water to cover the chicken
• 1 jar of chicken gravy
• 2 cups of rice

Now - I use my crockpots entirely too much...I am trying to get the Hubbs to buy me and pressure cooker/crockpot but he isn't crazy about the idea. Throw in everything (except gravy and rice) and let it cook for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 on low. Make sure that you don't let it go too long...or you will get dry chicken...which I do entirely too much! I usually shred the chicken and leave out bowls of rice, gravy and chicken so we can put how much we like on our own serving! There is lots of chicken left over from this...which will serve as chicken for chicken tacos later in the week! If you want to freeze it that would be a great idea too.

Wednesday - Chicken Noodle soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of medium onion, chopped
• 1 bag of egg noodles (you can use either medium or wide)
• 2 cans of cooked chunk chicken breast (I like the Tyson brand), strained
• 1 can of sliced carrots, strained
• Water
• Chicken Bouillon cubes
• Parsley Flakes

This is really good and easy to make. I am going to use 2 chicken breasts from our freezer that I will sauté with some salt and pepper in 1 tblsp. of EVOO. The first time I made this I used left over roasted chicken. It was great and it warmed us all up! You can find the recipe here.

Thursday - Turkey Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey breast (I found it in the frozen section with all the other full-sized turkeys)
• - 1 stick of margarine
• - 1/2 tbsp salt 
• - 1/2 tbsp pepper  
• - 1 tbsp Garlic Powder  
• - 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning  

A friend of mine made this for Thanksgiving. The entire recipe is here. I realize that if you are going to have turkey for Christmas then this would not be ideal to do this week. However, we have tamales and posole for Christmas so we can eat this this week. I will be using left overs for Turkey Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits. We are going to have mashed potatoes and stuffing with it.

Friday- Cinnamon Waffles & Bacon

Ingredients:

• 1 can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls
• waffle maker
• bacon

This is super simple. These are tasty and they always disappear quickly! You can find the steps here.

Saturday - Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• juice from 2 limes
• 1/2 cup of cilantro 
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 teas. dried onions
• 1/2 cup of water

We have tacos all the time. The girls love tortillas and so do I. I will be using the left over chicken from the chicken and rice on Tuesday. I am going to put the cooked chicken a pan with all the ingredients and simmer for about 10-12 minutes. If you do not have any chicken left over. Follow the recipe here.

Sunday - Family Date Night! On the eve of all the holiday madness, we will be spending some down time together and have someone else cook for the evening. I hope that all of you have one day a week that you eat out. It gives you time to focus on your family and maybe you can even eat your food while it's still hot. (We all know, the minute you became a mom your dinner is ALWAYS cold!)

Monday - Christmas Eve...we will be celebrating with my dad's side of the family and then mexican food with my in-laws....I hope you are getting your fill and thinking of recipes to use your left overs if you are cooking!

Tuesday - Christmas...

I am making Christmas Breakfast for my parents. Every year we have them come over and open presents with the girls and have breakfast together. In rest of the day is for the Hubbs family.  Here is what I will be making....

Ingredients:
1 loaf sourdough bread (I used Pepperidge Farm)
8 eggs
2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

I made something similar to this on Thanksgiving. It was so yummy. It had blueberries and the Hubbs wasn't too fond of it - so I am just making a plain ole' kind! You can find the recipe here. Don't you just love Pintrest?!

Wednesday - Leftover Turkey Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 3 1/2 cups low sodium turkey or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups roast turkey (or chicken) meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen baby peas, thawed

For the biscuit crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk

I made this a couple of days after Thanksgiving and it was AH-mazing. I tried to eat the entire things by myself. I would highly recommend making this! I may even one day try chicken in it :)

The entire recipe is here.

Thursday -Healthy Chicken Parmesan Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 cooked chicken breast, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
• 1/8 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/8 tsp Italian spice blend
• 1 large low carb or whole grain wrap
• Optional: 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves

After eating all the food that we will eat over next weekend I am going to try and fit something yummy and healthy into our schedule! This looks good. I have never made it so, if you decide to make this let me know what you think of it! Find the entire recipe here.

Friday - Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Pasta (I used penne-you could use any fun shaped pasta)
• 1 cup Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 cup Ham, cooked and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups Milk
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
• 2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
• 2 cups Swiss Cheese, shredded
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• 1 cup Panko Crumbs
• 1/2 cup Butter, melted 

Now, if you have left over ham from Christmas...this would be perfect! I am excited about this recipe because it looks like it can clog an artery in about 3 minutes. I do love me some cream sauce and Panko crumbs!! I hope that you get to make this it is YUM-O! The entire recipe is here.

Saturday -  Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 pizza dough (I used store bought and let it sit out for about 20 minutes)
• 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 3 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup of Franks Wing Sauce
• 1/3 cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing

Yes - we are having this again. I am a little obsessed with this...and I have frozen left over buffalo chicken from the sandwiches I made a couple of weeks ago. I am going to use less Franks sauce in the sauce/ranch sauce you put on the bread since the chicken is already flavored with Franks. But I am hopeful that it will be just as yummy as the first time!

I found this at pincookie.com. You can find the entire recipe here.