Meal Planning - March 2014

1. Tomato Basil Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
2. Baked Ziti, green salad and garlic bread
3. Crockpot Green Chili Chicken {recipe to come} with tortillas and sautéed carrots
4. Grilled chicken with rice and fresh green beans
5. Simple Ground Beef Enchiladas and sautéed bell peppers
6. Leftovers
7. Take-out
8. Loaded Baked Potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts
9. Pita Pizza and green salad
10. Ham, scalloped potatoes and fresh green beans
11. Pork Chops Yum-Yum, roasted veggies {recipe to come} and crescent rolls
12. Spaghetti with meat sauce and green salad
13. Beef &Spinach Lo Mein
14. Date Night!
15. Leftovers
16. Taco Pasta Casserole and fresh green beans
17. UPDATED! Corned beef and cabbage with carrots
18. Chicken Alfredo Fettuccine and  roasted Brussels sprouts
19. California Chicken Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
20. Taco salad
21. Barbecue Beef Brisket, mashed potatoes and roasted veggies
22. Date Night!
23. Fresh Quinoa Salad with chicken and rolls
24. Chicken Tortilla Soup
25. Leftovers
26. Breakfast for dinner
27. Grilled chicken and sautéed carrots & zucchini
28. Spaghetti with meat sauce, green salad and garlic bread
29. Take-out
30. Parmesan Chicken Bake and butternut squash
31. Cheese Tortellini & Sausage Soup and artichokes

Cabbage Buns

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup instant rice, uncooked
• 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 package hot roll mix
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sauté onion in large skillet. Add ground beef, salt and pepper, and brown. 
3. Add cream of mushroom soup and rice, stir well.
4. Stir in cabbage and cook until soft.
5. Make roll dough according to directions on box. Pinch the dough into balls (about the size of golf balls) and roll out into nice squares, one at a time.  
6. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of hamburger mixture and place in the center of the square of dough.  Bring the corners up to the middle of the square and pinch the seams together with your fingers.  Turn the square over and place on a greased cookie sheet. Lightly brush melted butter on buns before baking. Continue until you've used up your ingredients.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are a nice golden brown. Makes 12 buns.

Money-Saving Grocery Tips

© Davidcrehner | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Looking to cut down on your monthly spending {or maybe just stick to your budget}? Check out my blog post on Money-Saving Grocery Tips over at the Hello, Darling Blog.

Simple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

If you'd told me 2 years ago to that I would love Brussels sprouts I would have laughed in your face. Then a friend made them for a pot luck. I was hooked! Since then I've tried a couple of recipes and found this combination to be the "one" for me. And the key to it is using a cast iron skillet. Although you can roast Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, I highly recommend a heavy skillet made of cast iron!

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pepper to taste 
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cast iron skillet in oven to heat while you prep your Brussels sprouts.
2. Peel off outer leaves on Brussels sprouts, rinse in cold water, cut off stem and chop in half.
3. Mix Brussels sprouts with olive oil in large bowl and zip lock bag, coating the sprouts well.
4. Remove the skillet from the oven and pour Brussels sprouts inside, carefully placing them chopped-side down. Season with pepper.
5. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning the sprouts over halfway through.
6. Once you have removed from oven, top with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Meal Planning

So, I'm trying out a new meal-planning method. I'm planning meals one month at a time and trying to only shop twice a month (1st and 15th, and based on sale prices may change up the veggie side dishes!). Here is the first month:

1. Out of Town
2. SUPER BOWL! Chicken Fajita Burritos with chips & guacamole
3. Teriyaki Chicken* {UPDATE: recipe not coming -- it wasn't as great as I hoped!} and artichokes
4. Baked Ziti* and asparagus
5. Breakfast for Dinner 
6. Leftovers
7. Beef & Bean Oven Tacos and green salad
8. DATE NIGHT♥
9. Chicken Pot Pie
10. Slow Cooker Old Bay Rotisserie Chicken with roasted Brussels sprouts and French bread
11. Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
12. Chicken Salad Sandwiches {recipe to come} and green salad
13. Hamburger Oriental Casserole and applesauce
14. Valentine's Day♥ Steak with twice baked potatoes and fresh green beans
15. English Muffin Pizza and green salad
16. Leftovers
17. Cabbage Buns and sautéed squash medley
18. Grilled Chicken with roasted Brussels sprouts and crescent rolls
19. Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and green salad
20. Tangy BBQ Chicken* and butternut squash
21. Stuffed Bell Peppers and artichokes
22. DATE NIGHT♥
23. Mexican Chicken* with sautéed bell peppers
24. Leftovers
25. Baked Chicken Thighs and fresh quinoa salad
26. Birthday Celebration! -- Dinner TBD
27. Sloppy Joes and green salad
28. End-of-month Take Out

*Freeze-ahead meals that are already made!

Mexican Chicken

Ingredients:

• (1) 10-oz can Rotel
• (1) 15-oz can tomato sauce 
• (1)10-oz  can enchilada sauce (I'm a wimp so I like mild)
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Mix first four ingredients in slow cooker and then add chicken. 
2. Cook for 8 hours on low or 4 on high, or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165*. 
3. Remove cooked chicken and shred, then return chicken to sauce and allow to marinate for 10-15 minutes. 
4. Chicken is great over rice or rolled up in a tortilla with sautéed onion and bell peppers! 

Serves 6+

Hamburger Oriental Casserole

Ingredients:

• ½ tablespoon butter
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup of instant rice
• 1 can bean sprouts
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• Chow Mein noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in skillet and sauté celery and onion over medium until translucent. Remove from skillet and place in large bowl.  Add ground beef to hot skillet and cook until thoroughly browned. Add cooked beef to celery and onion.
3. Add condensed soups, water, un-cooked rice, bean sprouts and soy sauce. Stir well and place in lightly greased casserole dish.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Top each portion with Chow Mein noodles before serving. Enjoy!
6. Refrigerate leftovers {this recipe makes great leftovers!}

Serves 8

*Are you on Weight Watchers? Use 98% fat-free condensed soups and this recipe is only 6 PointsPlus {with a heaping 1/8th cup of Chow Mein noodles!}