Menu Planning Monday: My Menu for the week of 8/30

I’m excited for our meal plan this week! I have been in a “recipe rut” and found some great new recipes to try out.

If you have blogged a menu plan for the week (or even just a favorite recipe), please feel free to comment and share. I’m always looking for new ideas and inspiration and will be happy to share a link to your blog if we try your recipe!

If you need inspiration, check out the weekly meal plans from hundreds of other bloggers here at Organizing Junkie.

SUNDAY:

Breakfast ~ scrambled eggs with ham and cheese

Lunch ~ crescent hot dogs – my kids love this because it has hot dogs and because they get to help out with making it!

INGREDIENTS
8 hot dogs
4 slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese, each cut into 6 strips (we just used shredded cheddar cheese)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.
2. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.
3. Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Dinner ~ Feta Pork Chop Skillet – I found this recipe on Marci’s blog and it looked so good that I had to try it! It was YUMMY! We will definitely be having this one again!

Ingredients:
1 t crushed dried rosemary
1 t dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch black pepper
1 T olive oil
4 pork chops (I used 3)
¼ c fresh lemon juice
2 oz (or more) crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes (I used 4 oz)
1-2 yellow summer squash or zucchini, remove seeds and slice (I have never removed seeds from them so I didn’t…I used 3 zucchini and 2 squash because I love them, but I did have to take the meat out at the end so I had more room for them all to finish cooking)

Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together rosemary, basil, garlic, and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip pork chops in lemon juice, and spread both sides with herb mixture.
Place pork chops in skillet, drizzle with some of remaining lemon juice, and sear both sides, about 7 minutes per side.
After a few minutes, add sliced squash to edges of pan. Reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle feta on top of chops; cover skillet, and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 5 minutes.

MONDAY:

Breakfast ~ bagels and cream cheese (I got the bagels free when I bought bread on Saturday! My kids and husband were excited because it’s been awhile since we had bagels around here)

Lunch ~ Turkey cheese roll ups for my daughter (my son gets fed at daycare) and a Smart Ones frozen meal for me

Dinner ~ Family Sized Baked Burrito – I saw this recipe on DeAna’s blog last week and decided it would be something new and different for our family to try (she’s got great pictures of it all on her blog, so you should definitely check it out!). I can’t wait!

Ingredients:
2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded*
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chicken taco seasoning mix
1 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp salsa
1 shredded cheddar cheese
4 burrito-size flour tortillas
1/2 can (9oz) bean dip
Toppings: shredded lettuce, sliced olives, sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix chicken with onion powder, lime juice, seasoning mix, garlic powder and salsa. Microwave chicken mixture 3-4 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.
Arrange tortillas in an overlapping circular pattern on a large pizza stone (you could use a cookie sheet as well), covering entire surface of baking stone. Tortillas will extend off edge by a few inches.

Starting in the center, spread bean dip over tortillas. Spoon chicken mixture over bean dip and cover with 3/4 cup of cheese.

Fold edges of tortillas up over chicken mixture in an envelope pattern. Arrange sliced tomatoes in rows over top of burrito. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake about 18 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned.

Cut into rectangles; serve with assorted toppings and enjoy!

Notes: I’m going to put the chicken in the crockpot with the taco seasoning, spices, and salsa and then shred it when I get home from work. I’m also going to just use regular refried beans rather than bean dip.

TUESDAY:

Breakfast ~ waffles

Lunch ~ Uncrustables sandwich for my daughter, chicken caesar salad for me

Dinner ~ Quick beef skillet – This was on my menu last week and we had a bit of a cooking disaster. I put it all in my crockpot and turned it on, but didn’t realize it was unplugged. My husband called me halfway through the day to let me know. He plugged it in at that point, but it still wasn’t ready by dinner time. The plan was to let it finish cooking and have it for dinner the next night, but I forgot to pull it out before I went to bed, so it was WAY overcooked.

I used “fresh” carrots and potatoes rather than canned and round steak rather than ground beef. The whole thing smelled delicious, so we’re going to try again this week.

I originally found this recipe on the Babycenter Cooking for your Family board. It was posted by Amy (amlyz). I believe it is a Campbell’s recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 can Campbell’s(R) Beefy Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 can (about 15 oz.) sliced potatoes, drained
1 can (about 8 oz.) sliced carrots, drained

COOK beef in skillet until browned. Pour off fat.
ADD soup, water, Worcestershire, pepper,
potatoes and carrots and heat through.

Serves 4

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast ~ Toaster Strudel (I got some of these from the Mega Sale at Kroger and my daughter loves them now)

Lunch ~ My daughter will buy her lunch at school and I will have leftovers

Dinner ~ Country Fair chicken – I found this recipe On the Chubbie Chica blog while I was browsing the Menu Plan Monday posts at orgjunkie.com and it sounded good, so we decided to try it out this week!

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced
6 med red potatoes, peeled & diced
1 lb carrots, peeled & sliced
2 T olive oil
½ t garlic powder
½ t pepper
1 env onion soup mix
½ c chicken broth

Prep:
Toss chicken, potatoes and carrots with olive oil. Add soup mix, seasonings and toss well.
Place mixture in a large sprayed baking dish. Slowly pour in broth and seal with foil. Bake 1
hour @ 350. Remove foil last 15 min of baking.

THURSDAY:

Breakfast ~ cold cereal

Lunch ~ cheese sandwich (I use cookie cutters to make it more ‘fun’) for my daughter and leftovers for me

Dinner ~ Chili dogs

FRIDAY:

Breakfast ~ kids choice (waffles, cereal, etc.)

Lunch ~ Peanut butter & jelly sandwich for my daughter and a Smart Ones meal for me

Dinner ~ Impossibly Easy BLT Pie – I got this recipe from an e-mail from Bisquick – it sounded quick and easy and is definitely different from the “norm” so I decided to try it out.

Ingredients:
12 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled (I’m going to use bacon crumbles)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
3/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 cup shredded lettuce
6 thin slices tomato

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Layer bacon and cheese in pie plate.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, the milk, pepper and eggs with wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Spread 2 tablespoons mayonnaise over top of pie. Sprinkle with lettuce. Place tomato slices on lettuce.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

SATURDAY:

Breakfast ~ Pancakes

Lunch ~ Mini pizzas (the kids make them on their own using English muffins)

Dinner ~ Honey lime chicken – I have made honey lime pork chops several times, but this time we’re trying it with chicken! This is also a recipe I discovered while browsing the orgjunkie.com Menu Plan Monday posts.

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/3 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup lime juice
* 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
In a resealable plastic bag or shallow glass container, combine the honey, soy sauce and lime juice; mix well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Seal or cover and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, uncovered, over medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.