Menu: February 25 - March 1

Jared and I managed to put together another week of menu planning with our schedules. This week has a hectic ending, so we only need 4 dinner meals.

Monday: Spaghetti and homemade Turkey Meatballs

Tuesday: Southwestern Chicken Salad (either served on lettuce or in a pita)

Wednesday: Fried Fish and homemade Pirogies

Thursday: Hot Dogs with Sauerkraut & Italian Pasta Salad (Preparing for our summer BBQ's)

Friday: Crazy day....eating when/what we can!

Saturday: Dinner at our wedding venue (for old time's sake -- my mom's idea) The dinner is part of their spring bridal tasting! ;)

Jared's Burritos

Jared has been craving burritos for a while and we decided to make our burritos vegetarian style. Preparation was quick and easy!

Ingredients:
1 bag yellow rice
1 can black beans
Burrito size flour tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package of Mexican or taco cheese, shredded
Salsa, to taste
Hot Sauce, to taste
Sour cream, optional

Directions:
1) Cook rice according to package. In the meantime, rinse black beans and prepare to warm.
2) Heat up refried beans. Add half of the taco seasoning mix and stir. Warm up black beans.
3) Warm up flour tortillas.
4) Add 1 scoop of rice, 1/2 scoop of black beans, 1/2 scoop seasoned refried beans, cheese, salsa, hot sauce, and sour cream.
5) Wrap tightly and enjoy. Serve with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Husband Rating: A
More filling than the burrito looks -- pace yourself! Chicken or beef can be added for a meat burrito.

Wife Rating: A
Considering I am not a fan of burritos (not really sure why), I was pleasantly surprised. We did not have sour cream, which would have made it even better!

We'll make these again - most likely with ground seasoned turkey meat.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

I am so glad that I borrowed this recipe from a friend's blog -- thanks April! What could taste better than chicken and cheese?! I was able to prepare this between work and class, the only day of the week that I have about 2 hours to myself. Dinner was ready for Jared when he walked in the door. I also made garlic cauliflower as a side!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin (We used 3 breasts - not halved)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
3) In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt.
4) Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.
5) Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Recipe from: http://wineloverscookingdiary.wordpress.com/

Husband Rating: A
Jared loved the garlic flavor of the chicken, and of course the cheese topping!

Wife Rating: A+
I have found another great chicken recipe that I plan to keep! I loved the flavor, and it was very moist.

I will most definitely make this dish again. I think it would be a great dish to make for guests too!

Chicken Pot Pie

I have been thinking about making chicken pot pie for a long time because my coworker mentioned her recipe using leftover chicken. We had tons of chicken leftover from our roasted chicken, so we had the perfect reason to make pot pie. The recipe is from my coworker, so I do not have specifics.

Ingredients:
Leftover chicken
Frozen mixed vegetables (we had a bag of carrots, peas, green beans, corn, and Lima beans)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
2 pie crusts (we used the Pillsbury 2 pack)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Roll out pie crust and place in baking dish. Add chicken, vegetables, and cream of chicken soup.
3) Cover with top pie crust. Poke holes for ventilation.
4) Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until brown and bubbling.

Husband Rating: A
Jared loved the pot pie, minus the Lima beans. He said the pot pie brought back memories of childhood. He also said, next time he will be more selective with the veggies. :)

Wife Rating: A
Awesome -- this is such a quick, easy, and delicious meal. It does bring back many memories!


We'll make this again....definitely!

Menu: February 18-February 22

Somehow I am finding time to create menus and made dinner....can you believe it?! Sadly, I am falling into a routine working 2 jobs....however, I don't plan on getting used to it for too long!

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday: Leftover Chinese Food

Wednesday: Greek Salad

Thursday: Garlic Cheddar Chicken (compliments of April's blog, http://wineloverscookingdiary.wordpress.com/

Friday: crazy schedule -- eating when/what we can.... :)

Saturday: Burritos with Beans and Rice


Is it the weekend yet???!!

Lemon Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Jared's mother gave us this chicken when she bought it on sale for a great price. We were waiting for a perfect time to cook it, and we found it -- tonight. Our pre-Valentine's Day dinner! The only thing missing were potatoes, but we added stuffing, so it was perfect.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 bag of carrots, chopped or baby
1 celery bunch, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can of chicken broth
Olive oil (1-2 tablespoons)
Salt, Pepper (to taste)

Stuffing for chicken:
1 onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
1 lemon, quartered
Celery leaves from stalk

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean chicken and pat dry. Stuff with stuffing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper (both inside and on top of chicken). Squeeze juice of lemon on top.
2) Use kitchen twine to tie legs together. (We did not have twine).
3) Add veggies to roasting pan and pour in 1 can of chicken broth for basting.
4) Drizzle olive oil over chicken and veggies.
5) Cook for 20 minutes per pound.
6) Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Husband Rating: A
Perfectly moist and well seasoned.

Wife Rating: A
I really enjoy this dish, and look forward to it even more when we turn it into chicken soup! The stuffing was a bit dry, but only because we timed our food wrong....We also added a cucumber salad.


Of course we'll make this again in the future!!!

Ragin' Cajun' Bean Soup

The soup recipe was from one of those soup in a bag from a craft fair. The soup was pre- assembled with the beans, soup mixes, and dehydrated veggies. We added some fresh ingredients to make it a bit more fresh. The recipe makes a TON of soup, so plan for many nights of leftovers, and freeze a portion of it first.

Ingredients:
Soup Mix
We added the following:
Peppers, diced
Onions, diced
Celery, diced
garlic, chopped
1/2 pound Kielbasa, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes

Directions:
1) Rinse the bean mix with cold water, drain, add to crockpot and cover with water (7 cups).
2) Add spices and dehydrated veggies and cook for 9 hours on low.
3) Add fresh veggies, Kielbasa, and diced tomatoes, and cook for 1 more hour on low.

Husband Rating: A
A wonderful, spicy, and savory soup.

Wife Rating: A
This soup was definitely hearty and spicy. I could only eat a little bit at a time. ;) I really enjoyed the meat in the soup too!