Menu Planning Monday

I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

You can check out my $40 weekly shopping trip for the week here.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

Sunday – Tuesday is my husband’s birthday, but since I have to work, I’m doing the big family dinner tonight. I am also making breakfast, which I rarely do.

For breakfast, I made the Puffed Pancakes recipe that I got from Marci’s blog.

For dinner, I made manicotti, which is my husband’s favorite. I use the one straight from the Barilla website.

I also made this recipe for Basil Garlic Bread, which I got from someone off of a Babycenter cooking board years ago:

Basil-Garlic Bread

Prep: 10 min., Bake: 10 min.

1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 6-ounce Italian bread loaf

Stir together 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Cut a 6-ounce Italian bread loaf in half horizontally; brush cut sides evenly with butter mixture. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil, and bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Yield: Makes 4 servings. (I added some parmesan cheese on top also)

Then, I made cheesecake, which is another one of my husband’s favorites. This recipe is super easy, but good:

Philadelphia 3 step cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat and it works fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 Honey Maid graham cracker pie crust

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in fresh lemon juice and grated lemon peel. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool and refrigerate 3 hours (or overnight). I add a can of cherry pie filling on top.

Monday – Green enchiladas – this is a modified version of a recipe my dad makes

Ingredients:
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
3-4 chicken breasts
corn tortillas
monterrey jack cheese

I place the chicken breasts, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and Rotel in the crockpot on low all day. When I get home, I shred the chicken and add it back to the mixture. Then, you can either do stacked enchiladas (pour some of the mixture on a corn tortilla/add cheese and repeat for as many layers as you would like) or do rolled enchiladas (place some of the mixture in the corn tortilla, roll, and place in a pan….repeat 9 times…then, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top and top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes).

Tuesday – Mix in a Blender cheese souffle – this is a recipe from my mother in law and is one of my husband’s favorite. Since tonight is his “actual” birthday, that’s what we’re having! We have yummy sourdough bread with it.

Ingredients:
1 T butter (softened)
6 eggs
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lb cheddar cheese (sharp)
11 oz cream cheese

Butter souffle dish. In blender, combine eggs, parmesan, mustard, salt & pepper. Whirl until smooth. Cut the cheddar cheese into pieces. Add piece by piece to mixture in blender. Do the same with the cream cheese. Pour mixture into the buttered souffle dish. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. (If souffle is prepared ahead and refrigerated, add about 5 minutes to the baking time)

Wednesday – French dip sandwiches (slow cooker)

Thursday – Creamy bacon ranch chicken (slow cooker)

Friday – Ravioli (slow cooker)

Saturday – Lemon Chicken Puff – this is from Marci’s blog and has become a family favorite!