Tuesday
Breakfast: Pancake Breakfast Sandwhiches, cutie oranges
Lunch: chili and cornbread
Snack:
Dinner: Easy Ramen Noodle Bowl
Eva's Snack: I didn't pack one as they were having a snack at school

Did not make what I said I was going to, as hubby called to say he was going to be home very late. So after Eva's musical theater class, we went straight home and I made Quick Mac & Cheese for the kids (with Barilla's Plus elbow macaroni). For hubby and I, I made up the Bird's Eye Asian chicken we got from our SHARE order. It was actually pretty good.

I was glad to not have to cook too much as I had been cooking like crazy all day. Miss Picky has decided not to eat bean burritos for breakfast, or anything resembling breakfast food. She does not like eggs any way but hard boiled. Does not like bacon or breakfast sausage. Does not like waffles, french toast or pancakes, unless they have mini chocolate chips in them!! So I've been cooking some foods that I know she'll ACTUALLY eat, stored them in Ziploc's 8oz bowls, and froze them. I figure that if I have several things in the freezer, Miss Picky can have a choice and I don't have to spend time I don't have at that moment, making something for her. I made more mac & cheese, then froze 4 of them with hot dogs in two, ham in two. (For the ham, I stuck one piece of ham in the food processor and processed it until they were the size of bacon bits). I cooked up some Barilla Plus Spaghetti and added spaghetti sauce. Made up 4 of those. Also made 6 mini cheese pizzas using the pizza dough recipe I like, substituting half of the flour with whole wheat flour. Tomorrow morning, I'll make some oat bran pancakes with mini chocolate chips for her. I made hard boiled eggs today, so I'll serve her one of those with the pancakes. I also have whole wheat tortillas, so I can make her quesadillas, served with green pepper strips. I bought cans of no sugar peaches, cups of tropical fruit, and plenty of apples and bananas. Cross your fingers, I hope this works!!

OMG! OMG! OMG! I WON!! I entered a sweepstakes at BHG.com (Better Home & Gardens). I was hoping for the cookbooks, but I got the turkey fryer as well! It just came today!! Can't wait to check out the new cookbooks.
And I really am excited about the fryer. I was just saying yesterday how the fryer we have is too small because I need to do three batches of fries in order to have enough for a meal, but since that's all I really use it for, what a waste of money to go out and buy a larger one. Eeek! I just LOVE trying out new kitchen gadgets, lol!

Menus Plan for the week of Jan 17th, 2011


For the week of Jan 17th, 2011

Here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday
Breakfast: Applesauce Pancakes
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwhiches, carrots
Snack: pretzels and cheese
Dinner: Chili, (leftover) BBQ Chicken Sandwhiches, Waffle Fries

Tuesday
Breakfast: Pancake Breakfast Sandwhiches, cutie oranges
Lunch: chili and cornbread
Snack:
Dinner: Easy Ramen Noodle Bowl

Wednesday
Breakfast: Cheerios with bananas
Lunch: pb&j sandwhichs, apple slices
Snack: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dinner: Ranch Crispy Chicken with rice, green beans

Thursday
Breakfast: Cheesy Scrambled eggs, Whole Wheat Toast, peaches
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: Sliced apples and pb
Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Friday
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: hot air popped popcorn
Dinner: Quick Mac & Cheese with ham (?)

Saturday
Breakfast: French Toast Sticks
Lunch: Sandwhiches, carrots
Dinner: Frozen Cheese Pizza (Eva has a show, so I won't be home to make dinner)

Sunday
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: leftover buffet
Dinner: Cheese and Crackers, Pasta Roma soup, simple salad, Slow cooker Turkey Breast, Bread Stuffing, Buttered Corn, WW Dinner Rolls, Pudding parfaits

Sunday, Jan 16th, 2011

Sunday
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: leftover buffet
Dinner: Cheese Straws, Black Eyed Pea Soup, Simple Salad, BBQ Chicken Legs, Parmesen Potato Wedges, Cornbread Muffins, Chocolate Cake with pudding filling
Groceries:
SHARE: Chicken thighs, carrots, potatoes
Angel Food: Black eyed peas, celery

Nothing planned today besides church. Before church, I threw all the ingredients for the soup in one slow cooker, in another slow cooker, I tossed in BBQ sauce and chicken thighs. I know I said chicken legs, but the more I thought about it - chicken legs dripping with sticky BBQ sauce, I just knew my kids weren't going to eat it because of the icky, sticky, mess on their hands (yes, my kids are weird, but you know that, lol). And because of that, I'd have to take the chicken off of the bone anyway, so I decided to save myself the grief and to shred the chicken after they were done cooking. Since I didn't need the oven for this, in the slow cooker they went. After church, I reheated some leftovers for the family and now I had plenty of time to make a cake. But not just any cake! I came across my Culinque Cake Pan and thought "Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Pudding filling - yummmmm" But I lost the recipe booklet that came with it, so I searched the internet for some recipes. I found a recipe for Mocha Magic Cake and made it, leaving out the coffee. I used already made whipped chocolate frosting. I just didn't think the pudding was going to be thick enough, and I was right. As long as the cake was cold, the pudding didn't ooze too much. But once the cake started to get warmer, the pudding oozed more and became difficult to cut (and that was after cutting 6 pieces!!) Going to have to work on that recipe, lol.
And I have to share with you the recipe for the corn bread. Now my husband and I have been together for over 20 years, and NEVER once did I hear him say that he didn't like corn bread, until tonight when he says, "I don't usually like corn bread, but this recipe is a keeper" Huh? Wait? You don't like corn bread? Since WHEN!?! Ok, whatever, I'll only make this recipe from now on, lol. (Corn bread printable)
A word about the soup. I received with my Angel Food order two bags of black eyed peas. I have never eaten these and had NO ideas what to do with them. While I was on Facebook, there was an ad on the side for Publix and their Sunday Dinner menus. Always searching for ideas forSunday menus, so I checked out the site and saw the recipe for Black Eyed Pea Soup and since it was similar to the recipe I use for split pea soup, I decided to make it. It tasted a lot like my split pea soup recipe, just not "pureed" like split peas get.
Parmasean Potato Wedges - About an hour and a half before I wanted to eat, I cleaned up 8 potatoes, then cut them into wedges (half, half again, half again). Coated them with olive oil and then put them into the oven to bake.
So for dinner, we first had the Cheese Straws, which half the kids liked and the other half didn't (I didn't like the recipe I used, so I'll be searching for a new one). Then we had a simple salad of chopped romaine with some shredded parmesean cheese. I then served some cut up Cutie oranges (the triplets HAD to have those when I was in the grocery store with them. Miss Picky doesn't like oranges) Then we had our main meal of shredded BBQ Chicken, Sour Cream Cornbread, and Parmesan Potato Wedges. For desert, we had the Chocolate "Magic" Cake.








Monday, Jan 11th, 2011

Monday
Breakfast: Baked apple doughnut holes
Lunch: left overs
Snack: popcorn
Dinner: Home made Mac & Cheese, Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Chicken and Rice casserole (A) for dad & I
Eva's Snack: Baby Bel Cheddar Round, Bagel Crisps

Breakfast was AWESOME! Or at least, I thought so. The kids were like, "eh". I think they've lost their minds! For dinner, the kids wanted Mac & Cheese again, so I used the Quick Mac & Cheese recipe for that with Barilla's whole grain elbow macaroni. For dad & I, I took, the frozen chicken & rice soup from Angel food, added some mixed vegetables and two leftover chicken breasts, diced up. It made a pretty tasty casserole for us.

Baked apple donuts with cinnamon

Ingredients:
2 apples (I used Fuji apples)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1-1/2 c. of all-purpose flour
1/2 c. of sugar
1-3/4 tsps. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/3 c. of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 c. of milk
For the topping:
1/4 c. of butter, melted
1/3 c. of sugar
1 tsp. of cinnamon powder
  1. Peel and roughly chop the apples into small dice. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Add the diced apples and cook, on med-low, until they are just starting to get soft. Turn off heat and let cool.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the flour mixture. Rub the butter against the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Beat the egg. Pour in the milk and stir lightly. Add the chopped apples to the egg-milk mixture.
  4. Pour the apple-egg-milk mixture to the flour-butter mixture. Fold in just until blended. DO NOT overmix. The batter will be a bit stiff.
  5. Form the batter into loose balls (I used the medium Pamerped Chef Cookie scoop) and place in a muffin pan. (If you’re not using a non-stick pan, brush the holes lightly with softened butter.)
  6. Bake at 350oF for 25 minutes.
  7. While the donuts/donuts holes/muffins are baking, prepare the topping. Measure the sugar and cinnamon powder into a bowl. Stir to combine.
  8. When the donuts/donuts holes/muffins are done, remove from the oven. Use a teaspoon to remove them from the pan. While still warm, dip the tops in melted butter them dredge in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
  9. Serve warm while crusty — with coffee for a total experience. Enjoy!


Idea from: http://homecookingrocks.com/baked-apple-donuts-with-cinnamon-and-nutmeg/

Menus Plan for the week of Jan 10th, 2011

For the week of Jan 10th, 2011

Here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday
Breakfast: Baked apple doughnut holes
Lunch: left overs
Snack: popcorn
Dinner: Home made Mac & Cheese, Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Chicken and Rice casserole (A) for dad & I

Tuesday
Breakfast: Bagels with cream cheese or peanut butter, banana
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: muffins
Dinner: Turkey Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping

Wednesday
Breakfast: Cheerios with bananas
Lunch: pb&j sandwhichs, apple slices
Snack: mac & cheese
Dinner: Chicken fried rice

Thursday
Breakfast: Pancakes and sausage
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: pretzels and cheese
Dinner: Lasagna Roll-ups, italian bread

Friday
Breakfast: French Toast Sticks
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: Mini Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Dinner: Pierogis and Brats

Saturday
Breakfast: Waffles
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: Homemade Whole Wheat Cheese Pizza

Sunday
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: leftover buffet
Dinner: Cheese and Crackers, Cheddar Beer Soup, Salad, BBQ Chicken Legs, Garlic Fries, Cornbread Muffins, Chocolate Cream Pie

Thursday, Jan 6th, 2011

Breakfast: Mini Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: pretzels and cheese
Dinner: Baked Ziti with Meatballs
Eva's Snack: Strawberry Go-gurt, Bagel Thins, Babybel Cheddar round
Eva's Lunch: leftover Quesadillas, steamed crisp broccoli, apple slices, mozzarella stick, apple flavored candy cane

For the pancakes, I took a pancake mix using the 3 cup recipe. I added 3/4 cup oat bran and 1 cup of mini chocolate chips. I used my Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop to make the perfect size for my kids. Using my electric griddle, I'm able to make 6 at a time. This is Miss Picky's FAVORITE breakfast food.

When the triplets went to school, I made mini meatballs and dropped them into boiling spaghetti sauce. While they were cooking, I brought some water to boil for the rotini noodles. When the noodles were done, I put them into my large bowl and added the spaghetti sauce with the meatballs. I put saran wrap over the top and stuck it in the fridge. While I was at Children's Hospital with Joey, Gerald fed Miss Picky first, since she had a Girl Scout event tonite. When Joey and I got home, Gerald warmed up the pasta and we had dinner. That was the ONLY way we could have done dinner tonite!

After dinner, I made the marinade for the sticky chicken and put it in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner.

Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2011

Breakfast: Cheerios with bananas
Lunch: pb&j sandwhichs, apple slices
Snack: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal muffins
Dinner: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos , spainish rice, refried beans and cheese
Eva's Snack: String Cheese, Strawberry Go-gurt, cheerios

The kids LOVED the muffins, but hey, it had chocolate chips in it. Kept my mind off the smell of the chicken in the slow cooker! I'm so glad I saved the recipe on Family.Go.com because when I went to refer the recipe, it was changed!! So this is all I did to make this:
Took out my slow cooker
Poured in enough salsa to cover the bottom
Threw in 2 pkgs of chicken thighs
Pour over the rest of the salsa
Turn on high and cook for 6 to 7 hours
Take chicken out, let cool until easy to handle. Take meat off the bones and put back into the salsa. Add 2 tsp cumin and 1 tsp chili powder, stir to blend.

Use hard tacos or flour tortillas to make tacos or burritos.

Monday, Jan 3rd, 2011


Monday
Breakfast: Pancakes and sausage
Lunch: chili and fritos
Snack: Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Dinner: Home made Mac & Cheese, Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Minestrone Soup for dad & I
Eva's Lunch: PB sandwhich, fritos, steamed crisp broccoli, apple slices, Christmas chocolates
Eva's Snack: Babybel Gouda, Babybel Cheddar, String Cheese, Grapes

First day back to school after the Christmas break!! House was kind of quiet after the triplets went to preschool, but was loud again after 3, lol!! While they were at school, I made 3 loaves of banana bread. Had to use up a bunch of bananas before the fruit flies took them away! I followed the recipe except for the flour - I used 1 cup of wheat flour instead of white and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour. My kids LOVE this and I feel better serving it for breakfast if it has whole wheat in it.
For dinner, I made Mac & Cheese for the kids and Minestrone soup for dad & I. Gerald does not like Mac & Cheese and the kids don't like Minestrone, so this worked for everyone. I used a new recipe for the soup, but it's basically a "dump every veggie you have" into the pot. Instead of cabbage, I use kale. I found at Woodman's a can of chopped kale, which is great because I can't always find fresh kale.

Menus Plan for the week of Jan 3rd, 2011

For the week of Jan 3rd, 2011

Here is my meal plan for the week:
Monday
Breakfast: Pancakes and sausage
Lunch: chili and fritos
Snack: Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Dinner: Home made Mac & Cheese, Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Minestrone Soup for dad & I

Tuesday
Breakfast: Cheesy Scrambled eggs with iced raisin biscuits
Lunch: hot beef over mashed potatoes (leftovers from Sunday's dinner)
Snack: Quesadilla's
Dinner: Chicken Scallopini in a Rosemary Cream sauce, mini ravioli, homemade italian bread

Wednesday
Breakfast: Cheerios with bananas
Lunch: pb&j sandwhichs, apple slices
Snack: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal muffins
Dinner: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos , spainish rice, refried beans and cheese

Thursday
Breakfast: Mini Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: pretzels and cheese
Dinner: Baked Ziti

Friday
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dinner: Sticky Chicken with brown rice

Saturday
Breakfast: Cinnamon Apple Doughnut holes
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: Homemade Whole Wheat Cheese Pizza

Sunday
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: leftover buffet
Dinner: Cheese and Crackers, Veggie Beef & Brown Rice Soup, low fat Ceasar Salad, Rosemary Turkey Breast, Bread Stuffing, Buttered Corn, WW Dinner Rolls, chocolate cake (?)