Meal Planning Week of July 24- July 30

I hope everyone has had a great couple of weeks. We spent last week on vacation. We had a great time on what I am calling our "Gulf Tour 2010." I will write about that later this week. The one sad note for when we returned however, was we lost everything in our deep freeze this week. Sometime during the week the electricity went off, and for some reason the freezer outlet did not reset. BOOOOOO! It was the one thing I didn't ask our house sitter to check- I will from now on! I will be emptying it out tomorrow- right before the garbage truck comes. I refroze everything, because I didn't want to deal with the mess. I will throw it out frozen. Back to meal planning. However, I actually enjoyed my meal planning this week. It was nice to have had a break. I went to the store shopped and shopped for week. I came home and cooked a couple of the meals, and put one in the freezer. So, time to start again.

Saturday Night Rotisserie Chicken with rice, sauteed green beans, and salad.

Nice comforting meal to come home to. The chicken was already cooked, everything else was on hand. Took a few minutes to prepare.

Sunday Night Breakfast for Dinner Frittata with biscuits, and fruit cocktail
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/easy-frittata.html


Monday Night Meatless Monday Vegetable Lo Mein and Egg Rolls
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/04/baked-egg-rolls.html
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/lo-mein-noodles.html


Tuesday Night Meatloaf with mac and cheese and fresh steamed broccoli
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/01/easy-meat-loaf.html


Wednesday Night Turkey Noodle Casserole* with sauteed onion, squash and zucchini
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/turkey-noodle-casserole.html



Thursday Night Apricot Chicken* on rice with green beans
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2008/12/jason-pineapple-chicken.html


Friday Night Grilled Chicken with Yard Salad
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/yard-salad.html

*put one in the freezer

Farmer's Casserole

This is a great breakfast casserole that will feed six. It is also a recipe to increase by a dollop to feed more. This recipe needs to be chilled overnight, or for several hours before serving. It can also be frozen.


3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (24 oz. bag)
1 1/2 cups of cheese (cheddar or Monterey jack or combination)
1 cup of diced meat (Canadian bacon or sausage)
1/4 cup green onions
4 beaten eggs (1 cup frozen egg product)
1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1/4 t pepper
1.8 t of salt

Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evening in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham or sausage, or green onions. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper, and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. Cover and chill, or freeze.

Thaw completely. Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Crispy Baked Fish

Ingredients
4 fish planks (usually Tilapia or Orange Roughy)
1/2 Cup Milk
2 TBS Parmesan Cheese
4 TBS Bread Crumbs
1/4 tsp Paprika



Directions
Preheat Oven 450 degrees

On plate mix cheese, breadcrumbs and paprika.
Dip fish in milk, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.
Arrange fish on baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with Pam.

Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees

Meal Planning July 11-15

Well, our trip to Houston is over. I don't know about you, but after a vacation it is almost comforting to me to get back into the normal routine of things. That being said, as of this morning there was no milk, or meat, or much of anything in the house. So, after a bit of meal planning the girls and I headed off to Kroger. That in itself is stressful. There is only so many times I can handle saying. . . "No, we are not getting that." But, it is done now, and I can sit down to look at the week of meals.

Sunday Night Pasta and Red Sauce
We got into Fort Smith about 7:30 from Houston, and mom pulled out a box of pasta and sauce. It was a great way end to the day. She used the new line from Giada that you can find at Target. It was really tasty.

Monday Night Pizza- cheese and hamburger
I would call it comfort food after a long trip. :)

Tuesday Night Pork Tenderloin, fresh green beans, sauteed okra and tomatoes, rice, and bread (frozen bread dough from Kroger)
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/04/pork-tenderloin-marinade.html

http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/03/sauted-okra-and-tomatoes.html


Wednesday Night Enchilada Casserole (straight from the freezer) with refried beans and corn on the cob
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/06/ground-beef-enchilada-casserole.html


Thrusday Night Grown-ups Out (both girls are going to a sleepover- Bless you, Tricia)

Friday Night Panko Breaded Tilapia, squash, and Couscous
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/ingredients-4-fish-planks-usually.html


Saturday Night Crockpot Chicken with carrots and onions - Left overs: chicken salad
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/12/crockpot-chicken-1000-meal.html

Vacation Meals by Tracie

We went to Houston this last weekend to visit my sister Tracie. There is nothing better, to me, than to be on vacation and still get home cooked meals. That is exactly what Tracie provided. Tracie, however, did not like the pressure of my post from last week, when I said I would post meals this week. :) So here is a rundown of what we had while in Houston. If you end up entertaining for a long weekend, this would be a perfect menu.

Thursday Night- sandwiches on the road

Friday Night Grilled Chicken, Fresh Bread, Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Fresh Green beans. (Great, huh?)
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/05/joes-grilled-corn-on-cob.html

Saturday Night Chicken and Beef Enchiladas
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/01/beef-enchiladas.html

Stromboli

Stromboli is basically a pizza pocket. This easy recipe can serve 4 to 6. It can also be modified very easily. You can do cheese only, or add vegetables, or sausage, or pepperoni. The possibilities are endless. Next time I am going to try and use bread dough instead of pizza crust. I let you know how it goes.


Ingredients
1 can prepared pizza crust
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1/2 lb thinly sliced cooked ham
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano

Directions
1Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2Unroll the dough and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3Press with your fingertips into a 12x8-inch rectangle.
4Spread the sauce on the dough, leaving a 2-inch margin lengthwise, and a 1/2-inch margin on the sides.
5Place toppings in center third, fold sides over to meet in the middle and pinch to form a seal.
6Bake in the preheated 400F oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
7Slice and serve with a side of warmed marinara.

Meal Planning for July 4-8

Well, I am behind again. :) I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend of the 4th with their families. I know we did, and we ate too much too! So, this week we are a looking at the basics of cooking. Healthy, without a lot of extra. I ordered from the Conway Locally Grown this week. I have new potatoes, squash, cucumbers, banana peppers, corn, cheese, and eggs. I want to use the ingredients in the meals this week to get the most out of the order. Enjoy a great week!


Sunday Night
Hamburgers, Baked Beans and Potato Salad (with the in-laws)

Monday Night
Veggie and Cheese Stromboli with sauteed vegetables and blueberry cobbler
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2010/07/stromboli.html


Tuesday Night
Grilled Chicken with Couscous and Sauteed Vegetables (left overs from Sunday night)

Wednesday Night
Curry Chicken with New Potatoes and Boiled Egg (left over chicken from Tuesday)
http://twosistersandfriends.blogspot.com/2009/04/daag-curry-base.html

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday My parents, girls, and I are headed to Houston to visit Tracie and Joe. Cooking will fall to the other sister. Ha ha ha. But really, I will add what we cook down there later. We will have mom and daughters together to cook for a non-holiday. It should be fun!