Dinner Tool

I was introduced to a cool website this week called

www.dinnertool.com

It is a website that helps meal planning and assists in making the lists for grocery store. It is very cool! I can see using it to get started with your own meal planning. The folks at Dinner Tool approached us about linking to their website. They had found ours, liked it, and wanted to use it as a link from theirs. It looks like a great deal for both of us. :) Take some time to check it out!

You can see Two Sisters and Friends with this link:

http://www.dinnertool.co m/page/friends

Camp-Out Chicken

We are on spring break this week. I have enjoyed cooking meals in a more laid back manner; there have been no dance classes or choirs or meetings to run to. I have still had to plan the meals, but not based on what is going on in the evenings. Needless to say- it has been quite refreshing. One of the things that I wanted to do with the girls this week is teach them how to cook a dinner in aluminum foil. This is the kind of meal we grew up making when we went camping. However, tonight we cheated and used the grill. They are very simple to make, and they are very quick to cook on the grill. The girls did all parts of it except for lay the chicken in! For some reason- if they pick it out and help make it; they eat better! It also makes for easy clean-up!

Ingredients (per packet)
5 baby carrots, diced
1/2 potato, sliced thin
1/4 onion, sliced thin
1 chicken breast
Cavenders seasoning
salt
pepper
olive oil

Directions

1. Tear off a big enough piece of aluminum foil for all of the ingredients to be folded into and covered. Pour a bit of olive oil onto the bottom of a sheet of aluminum foil.


2. Place a thin layer of potato on the bottom.


3. Place a thin layer of onions next.


4. Place a chicken breast on top.


5. Top with carrots and another thin layer of potatoes.


6. Season generously with salt, pepper, and Cavender's seasoning.


7. Top with a smidge of olive oil (that means very little :))


8. Fold the middle together, folding over at least once.


9. Fold the ends on top of the packet, to prevent the oil from leaking out.


10. Grill or cook over an open fire until the chicken juice is clear. (Took about 20 minutes on the grill.)

Crock Pot Cabbage and Beef Casserole

Ingredients:
•1 1/2 pounds ground beef
•1 medium onion, chopped
•1 small head cabbage
•2 cans diced tomatoes (15 oz each)
•1 can tomato sauce (8 oz) or 1 can condensed tomato soup
•1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
•salt and pepper to taste
•About 2 cups hot cooked rice


Preparation:
Brown ground beef with onion; transfer to slow cooker/Crock Pot. Slice cabbage into small wedges; place on ground beef. Mix tomatoes, sauce, and seasonings; pour over all. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Serve over the rice or mix together.
Serves 6.

March Meal Planning

Better late than never....

this month as been a week by week survival! I have finally finished the planning for this month. Enjoy!


March Meal Planning -

Chicken and Rice Casserole

I have been a little behind this month, but I am still cooking and trying to keep us healthy and at home. This is a recipe I found that has become a household favorite. It is also a great one for company.

Ingredients:
4 cups diced, cooked chicken*
4 cups cooked rice
½ c. celery
½ c. diced onions
2 cans cream of chicken soup**
¼ c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

Topping:
2 c. crushed cornflakes
3-6 Tbsp. Butter

Assembly:
Sauté onions and celery.
Combine chicken, soup, mayo, and lemon juice. Mix in rice. Add sautéed onion and celery.
Place in 9x13 baking dish.
Top with crushed cornflakes and crumbled butter.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Bake at 400 until heated through (about 45 minutes). If cornflakes start to turn too brown, lay a piece of foil over dish until done.

Veggie and Barley Soup

This was a great crockpot meal from this week. It is a hearty vegetarian soup. If you want a sweeter soup, try sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. It makes a big pot of soup, but makes great leftovers!

Ingredients:
• 1 cup medium pearl barley
• 1 bay leaf
• 9-oz. pkg. baby carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 2 cups frozen green beans
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3 (14 oz). cans vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 14-oz. can diced tomatoes with herbs, undrained

Preparation:
Place all ingredients except tomatoes in a 5-6 quart crockpot in the order given. Do not stir. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir soup and add tomatoes. Cover crockpot and cook for 10-15 minutes longer until soup is hot. Remove bay leaf before serving. 10 servings

February Meal Planning

I can't believe another month has passed. I am hoping to blog a little better this month. I changed things just a bit in this month's planning. I have reduced it to five meals a week instead of six. We still eat in six nights a week, but I have a couple of things put back for quick fixes or leftovers for a night. We have enjoyed the meals together this month. After the busy month of December, it has been nice to have things getting back to normal. The test will be continuing it another month.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/70948616/Gordon-Meal-Planning-February-2011