Sunday, January 17, 2010

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday Night--chicken fried rice, stir fried veggies
Monday Night--Breakfast for dinner, muffins, eggs, sausage, pears
Tuesday Night--Beef stroganoff over rice, broccoli
Wednesday Night--creamy crock pot chicken, rice, veggie
Thursday Night--spaghetti, broccoli or green beans
Friday Night--black bean burritos, spanish rice
Saturday Night--pizza
Sunday--sausage and cheese omelets, fruit

Breakfast--yogurt and granola, peanut butter toast, eggs
Lunch--PB&J, ham sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, leftovers

snacks--triscuits/carrots and hummus

I am still couponing and planning those meals. In fact, the night's plan is to sit down in front of the television to watch Season Five of Lost while I cut and sort coupons. I have to in order to stick to the budget, especially since I know meal planning and couponing will soon be put on the back burner. I hope to still plan something after John is born, but I am realistic enough to know that it will be a very simple meal plan until our life settles into some sort of schedule.

I would love some reader feedback on how you handled meal planning with a newborn!! Any good ideas for maintaining my sanity and the budget?

As always, Organizing Junkie is the place to go for all things meal planning.

I wanted to come back and add the recipe for "Creamy Slow-Cooker Chicken." It is a Southern Living Recipe, though I can't remember which month it came from. In fact, I might have copied it down from mom's 2009 Southern Living cookbook. Anyway, here it is.

6 boneless chicken breasts (2.5 lb)
2 t salt
2 T oil
1 can cream of mushroom
1 (8 oz) pack of cream cheese
1 envelope of Italian dressing mix

sprinkle chicken with salt
cook chicken in batches in hot oil in large skillet until browned on both sides
Transfer to 5 qt. slow cooker, reserve drippings in skillet
Add soup, cream cheese, and Italian dressing mix to hot drippings in skillet.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth
Pour mixture over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for four hours.
Stir before serving.

Okay, because I want to use what ingredients I have on hand, I am actually making a few adjustments. We'll see how it tastes in the end. I am using chicken thighs from the freezer, and I don't have the Italian dressing mix, so I will probably use French onion mix. I think everything else will stay the same. I am going to serve it with rice and a green vegetable--either broccoli or green beans.

4 comments:

Mary said...

That sounds great! Thanks for posting the chicken recipe...I am amazed at how yummy and tender chicken comes out in the crockpot, so I definitely will be trying that! My best tip for cooking once you have the newborn is set aside one afternoon and cook up a whole bunch of meats (ground beef, shredded / cubed chicken etc) and toss them in ziplocks and freeze... That will make any casserole or dinner SO much faster and easier topull together later! The hard part is buying all of that meat at once!

Elizabeth said...

Laura Beth - You're so right about your comment on my blog - re: crockpot liners. haven't tried them - but want to. Reminds me of my favorite easy product. The nonstick alum. foil. It's probably too indulgent, but so wonderful to put over a cookie sheet or roll pan(I hate cleaning those with things "stuck" to them. It's good for a lot of things. Anyway - nonstick foil - makes life easier. I liked Mary's suggestion about the meats in the freezer in the zip lock bags. MOM

Lauren said...

Cooking with a newborn...impossible!! :-) Just kidding. Since Noah arrived last month I have kept our menu simple and quick. I try to prep during nap time ( Olivia and Noah's if it works out right) and finish it up after Eric arrives home from work. This backed our supper time up about 30 minutes but it is neccesary for now.

Mary Ann said...

I am interested to know how you like using the chicken thighs instead of the breasts in your crockpot recipe. I heard on the Food Network that chicken thighs have incredibly good flavor, and I have found that to be true.

Did you receive my email thanking you for the happy birthday email? Anyway, thanks again.

Love y'all.