Calendar of Eats

It’s so secret that I love to cook.  I like being able to make my family dinner on a (somewhat) regular basis.  With my crazy work schedule, that takes planning.  See, on any given week, my schedule could look like this:

Sunday:  7:30a-5p
Monday:  1p-10:30p
Tuesday:  OFF
Wednesday:  4:30a-2p
Thursday:  1-10:30p
Friday:  OFF
Saturday:  7:30-5

So you see how challenging dinner making can be?  On days I’m off or early, it’s not a big deal as I’m at home for dinner.  On days I close (work til 10:30p), it’s a little more tricky.  I have to plan meals that my husband can make like a casserole, crock pot meal, or something that’s already cooked and just needs to be reheated.

I used to have a spreadsheet that listed the day of the month, my schedule, and what meal I would make.  This was a pretty good system, but I could only plan a couple weeks at a time because I needed my work schedule.  I only get it a couple weeks in advance, you see.

For some reason, I got away from this meal plan.  I think it was because every day was a free for all.  By that I mean I didn’t have a set cuisine type for each day.  I just filled in the meals with what I had a taste for.  This is a fine way to do things, but I found myself always picked the same meals.  Meatloaf, beef stroganoff, and sloppy joes were big hits and always found their way into the plan.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a new way of meal planning.  With this new way, I took a calendar and assigned a cuisine or meal base to each day of the week.  It looks something like this:

I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but I quickly found myself actually following the plan!  I would grocery shop for the week on one of my days off, then prep any meals I needed to.

The nice thing about this meal plan is I can switch days around if necessary.  For example, you’ll notice in the first row I had Steel Drums Chicken on Monday and Chicken Spaghetti on Tuesday.  Steel Drums Chicken has to be grilled and Chicken Spaghetti is a casserole.  Since I closed on Monday, it was easier for Jeff to reheat the casserole than it was to watch the baby and grill chicken.  Who are we kidding?  Jeff doesn’t grill.  Well, not much anyhow.

One thing I have run into, oddly enough, is having too much food!  If you look at my original post, you’ll see there are no days for leftovers.  My plan, initially, was to have the leftovers for lunches or to only make enough for one meal.  Well, some days I don’t want the same thing I had for dinner.  My plan for August incorporated a leftover day.  Know what happened?  Yep, we ran out of meals for leftover day and I ended up having to order pizza, something I was trying to avoid with this whole plan!

It’s a work in progress.

For the most part, however, the meal planning has been a great project.  It has allowed me to make some of Jeff’s favorite meals (read: meatloaf) as well as try out some of my pinned and cookbook recipes.  I have more cookbooks than I have shoes.

I am still perfecting the system.  I am trying to get healthier meals included instead of just ones that sound good (like Paula’s Glazed Bacon Wrapped Chicken which we had last night…YUM!).  I am also trying to put the meals I make into My Fitness Pal so I can just add them when I eat them.  That is a big downfall for me…eating dinner and then not logging it because I don’t want to put each ingredient in my log.

Some of the meals I have tried out with this new meal plan are Chicken Stir Fry, Swiss Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Glaze, and Pulled Chicken Quesadillas.  What are some meals you have pinned or bookmarked lately that you most want to try?

 

Baked Penne with Chicken & Sundried Tomatoes

Say what you want about Martha Stewart, but you gotta give the woman credit.  Girl knows how to cook.  And bake.  And decorate.  A while back I was on her website looking at various one pot and slow cooker meals, when I found this little gem.

(source)

Penne pasta in a cream sauce mixed with chicken, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes? Oh, and cheese?  Uh, YUM!  I immediately pinned it on one of my Pinterest boards to make later.

Later came and I found myself perusing my boards for cooking ideas.  I saw this picture and decided it was time to test it out!  I made a batch to freeze and a couple small ramekins for Jeff and I to try out. (BTW, these ramekins make a great holiday gift!  I have a set of two and I use them all. the. time.  They work perfectly in a toaster oven to sample dishes as I did here!)

The verdict?  Great same day meal!  Frozen, the noodles can get a bit mushy, so make sure you don’t overcook them as I did this time.  Using the correct noodle cooking time, I’m sure this recipe would freeze beautifully!

I also used a Garden Vegetable penne instead of a regular penne as it was the only thing I had on hand at the time.  I think the regular penne would be much better in this dish.  But you decide!  Get Martha’s recipe here!

 

Tater Tot Casserole

Today, while I was getting my cooking list ready, I stumbled upon a recipe for tater tot casserole.  Having never had this before, I thought it might be interesting so I added it to the list.

After paint shopping, grocery shopping, and painting half the nursery, I wanted a quick and easy meal to throw together.  This one sounded delicious, so I set about making it.  Jeff and I both thought it was pretty good!  I was smart and divided the recipe into two meals.  One is currently freezing for a future date.  Love my upright freezer!

Tater Tot Casserole
(allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground sirloin
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1 can condensed cream of mushroom (I used the 98% fat free and it was great!)
1/2 cup milk
1.5 cups cheese
1 package frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large skillet, saute onion and ground sirloin in olive oil, breaking up the meat as you go.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook completely and drain.

In a small bowl, combine the cream of mushroom soup and milk thoroughly.  Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.  Put the meat mixture in the bottom of the dish and cover with soup mixture.  I tossed mine around to coat the meat.  Top with half the cheese, the tater tots, and the rest of the cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until casserole is heated through and tots are nice and crispy.

Jeff said it tasted like something you would get at Sonic!  I don’t know about that, but I do know I made my typical ketchup/mustard mix to eat with it and it hit the spot!  Not the healthiest meal on the planet, but definitely one to make again!

(These photos aren’t bad for my iPhone, are they?)

Slow Roasted Beef Enchiladas

Have you ever made a beef roast with no plans for it?  Me neither.  Until now.  The other night, in an effort to have a delicious meal waiting for us when we got home, I made a beef roast in the crock pot.  The verdict?  A bit dry unfortunately.  Luckily, Jeff had a date with his brother, so I was on my own for dinner.  I packed up the beef, stuck it in the fridge, and heated up some fried rice instead.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I knew I didn’t want to throw it away.

Tonight, on the way home from my new store (I’m a manager at Walgreens), I had a light bulb moment:  ENCHILADAS!  I stepped on the gas and hurried home.  This meal was super quick to make and I imagine would freeze beautifully!

Slow Roasted Beef Enchiladas

6 oz slow roasted beef, shredded*
1/2 cup salsa
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small can green chilies (not drained)

4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup vegetarian refried beans
1 cup 2% cheddar cheese
1 can green enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 425º. In a small bowl, mix the beef, corn, green chilies, and salsa.

Spray a 6×9 inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread 1/8 cup beans on each of the tortillas.

Spread 1/4 of the mixture on each tortilla and roll up.

Place in the dish, cover with enchilada sauce and cheese, and stick in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through.

One word sums it up:  DELICIOUS

*I roasted a beef roast in a bottle of Lawry’s Caribbean Jerk marinade mixed with a bottle of water on low for 8 hours in my crock pot.

Weekly Menu: 10/26 – 11/2

It’s my off day, so you know what that means!  Weekly Menu time!

Tuesday, 10/26:  Beef Tacos
Wednesday, 10/27:  Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Thursday, 10/28:  Buffalo Chicken Tenders  (adapted from this recipe)
Friday, 10/29:  Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Saturday, 10/30:  leftovers
Sunday, 10/31:  Beef Stroganoff
Monday, 11/1:  Chicken Florentine Casserole
Tuesday, 11/2:  Marinated Grilled Chicken

I am making a list of my favorite meals.  A list of go to meals, if you will.  What are your favorite meals from childhood or adulthood?  What meals do you find yourself making over and over…and over….again?

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

When I was in college, I did not like buffalo wings.  I tried them a couple times and I hated the way they made my lips sting and sucked all the taste buds out of my mouth (due to the heat).  Why would anyone want to eat something as an appetizer and then eat their meals when they couldn’t taste anything?!

My husband, on the other hand, was a buffalo wing lover pretty much since birth.  Well, that’s how it seems.  We would go out to eat and he would get the buffalo wing appetizer, the buffalo chicken sandwich, buffalo wing ice cream milkshake…  OK, OK, that might be an exaggeration.  It might….

One day, he convinced me to try them again. 
But I’ll burn my lips and I won’t be able to taste my entree! I whined.
You’ll be fine.  Just use a fork to get the meat off the bone.  He desperately wanted me to try them.  He likes to share.
OK, but if I don’t like it, you’re buying me a chocolate sundae with extra cherries to make my mouth feel better!

I pulled a small piece of the chicken off the bone and hesitantly brought the fork to my lips.  It smelled good…a bit tangy with a whiff of garlic…so I bit down, taking great care to avoid getting the wing sauce on my lips.

Oh. My. God.  Why have you never made me try these before?!
The smug guy just sat there, with a little smirk on his face, and watched as I demolished his plate of wings.

The rest, we shall say, is history.

To begin, I poached a pound of chicken in water seasoned with Herbes de Provence, whole peppercorns, and kosher salt.

While the chicken was poaching, my egg noodles took a hot soak in some water.

Then, I introduced the ranch dressing to the hot sauce.  Everyone got along famously.

When the chicken was nice and cooked, I pulled it from the water and shredded it with two forks.

Then I drained the egg noodles and combined them with the chicken.

I added the hot ranch and a cup of cheese and mixed well.

I deposited said mixture in a square glass baking dish I’d sprayed with Pam and topped with “bread crumbs” (or ground up pretzels, which is all I had) and sprayed them with cooking spray.  Note:  the next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time!), I am going to crush up whole wheat crackers and mix a little melted butter in them.  That way the crust will get nice and golden and there will be more crunch…something that was missing this time.

As I was not going to be home for dinner, I decided to leave my sweetie a little note to help him out.

Our verdict?  YUM!  This is going in the “make again” pile.  It’s great for freezing and would be wonderful for kids.  Just decrease the spice level a bit. Let me know what you think!
Buffalo Chicken Casserole
1 pound chicken
peppercorns, salt, & herbes de Provence for poaching
2 cups egg noodles
1 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 cup 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese

Topping:
1/2 cup Ritz crackers, crushed (subbed from my original recipe)
1 tbsp butter, melted (subbed from my original recipe)

*Unfortunately, as I did not use the Ritz crackers and the butter, I may have the measurements wrong.  Please use your discretion when making the topping.

Preheat your oven to 400* and set two pans of water to boil…one for your chicken and one for your egg noodles.

In the chicken pot, add your peppercorns, salt, and herbes.  Bring both pans to a boil.  Add your chicken to your chicken pot and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.  Add your egg noodles to your pasta pot and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.

Meanwhile, combine your ranch and hot sauce.  I usually do this by taste without measuring.  Make sure you hold back on your hot sauce if you are not a spice fan.  Keep tasting it to see if the temperature is to your liking.

After the chicken is cooked, shred it apart with two forks.  You could also chop the chicken in a fine dice if you’d like.  Whatever suits your fancy.  Then, combine the chicken with the egg noodles and toss.

Sauce your chicken/pasta mixture well, then add in your cheese and toss to combine.  After everything is mixed, deposit it into your prepared baking dish.

Melt your butter and crush your crackers.  Then let them meet and mingle.  Spread the mixture over the casserole.  Bake at 400* for 30 minutes.

This dish would be great with a crunchy salad (simulating the celery they serve on the side) or with a roasted green vegetable of sorts.

**My bestie, Carolyn, is testing out vegetarianism, so I find myself thinking “What would Carolyn do to make this vegetarian friendly” a lot of the time.  In this recipe, I think you could either leave the chicken out completely and decrease the amount of sauce you used, or you could use cannellini beans you’ve rinsed.

What would you do to change this recipe?