Menu 2/27 through 3/5

Sunday February 28-Beef and Noodles

Monday March 1-Pork Loin Roast

Tuesday March 2- Left Overs-- Creamy Low Fat Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday March 3-French toast-new recipe

Thursday March 4-Roasted Chicken

Friday March 5-Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Also for this week I will be making some
homemade granola bars and a
new bran muffin recipe.

Hope you all have a great week!!

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast foods on a pizza crust
nothing gets much better then this! :)

All ready for the oven...

After baking, so yummy!!!

Recipe:
2 recipes for your favorite pizza crust
1 lb turkey sausage cooked and drained
8 eggs scrambled(seasoned with black pepper and garlic powder)
1 recipe of your favorite country gravy mix(I used store bought)
2 cups Italian style shredded cheese blend
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
misc veggies if desired


Top the pizza crust with the ingredients in the following order:
gravy,sausage,eggs,cheese and misc. veggies if desired.

* This is a doubled recipe, and I use a 16x11 baking pan.
 We love pizza in our house
so I double it for left overs.If you do not want one
this large, cut all ingredients in half.

Happy Saturday!! Enjoy your weekend!!

 

Amanda's Meatloaf

Recipe

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup quick cooking oatmeal

2 eggs

1/2 onion minced

1 glove garlic minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese(optional)

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon thyme

Preheat oven to 350 and line a large baking pan or sheet

with foil.

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.

Portion meat mixture in to either 2 large

loaf size portions or 8 mini size portions.

Place on ungreased baking pan.

Bake for 1 hour for large size portions

or for 30 minutes for small portions.

Topping:

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons brown sugar

mix well and add to the top of the

meat loaf in the last 10 minutes of baking.

Stuffed Shells

Yummy!!!!

Recipe:

24 Large pasta shells(whole wheat if you can find)

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 lb ground beef

1 recipe Amanda's Pasta sauce or 1 jar store bought

2 cups fat free cottage cheese

1 small onion diced

2 garlic cloves minced

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons parsley

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon olive or canola oil

Cook pasta shells according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large skillet, add onions and garlic saute until tender, add

ground meat. Cook well and drain. In the meantime in a large bowl

mix together,cottage cheese,oregano,parsley,and black pepper, add in ground

meat mixture. Mix well. Stuff each shell and place in a 9x13 pan. Top with

pasta sauce and shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven covered

for 45 minutes.

This is also a great make ahead and freeze meal. My

sister in law loved them!

Whole Wheat Garlic, Herb, and Chicken Penne

I am horrible with pictures these days!!!!!!!!!
So sorry!!!!

And so here is a new recipe that is loaded with healthy pasta

and chicken and sure to please.

Recipe:

2-4 Boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 lb of whole wheat penne

1 small onion diced

2 gloves garlic minced

3 cups of spinach diced

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon olive or canola oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or Italian blend cheese

In a large skillet or pan, heat oil and add in onion and

garlic, until tender and frequent.In the meantime cook pasta according to

package directions. Add chicken and all other spices (except lemon zest) and cook until

cooked through and tender. Stir in lemon juice and cook until mostly absorbed.

Once pasta is done reserve 2 cups of cooking water and drain pasta.

Add pasta and spinach to pan with chicken and cheese's, and lemon zest. 

Add enough of the reserved pasta water

to make a smooth and creamy sauce.

To add some extra health benefits to this you could add in

bite size veggies, broccoli or carrots.

Crock Pot Cubed Steaks

These were so very good.

And they were very easy to get ready.

Recipe:

8 cubed steaks

1 can tomato soup

1 can reduced sodium/low fat cream of mushroom soup

1 cup beef broth(reduced sodium)

1/2 onion diced

1 glove garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low

for 8 hours.  When meat is finished, you can make a gravy 

right in the crock pot for topping. Remove meat and in a small cup

mix together 2 tablespoons of corn starch and 1/4 cup of cold water.

Add to crock pot and mix well. Will thicken w/in 5 minutes.

We had these with mashed potatoes and even my picky guy ate them right up!!

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!!

Mene week of Feb 20 to Feb 26

Sunday February 20 Crock Pot Cubed Steaks

Monday February 21 Whole Wheat Chicken Pasta

Tuesday February 22 Turkey Meatloaf

Wednesday February 23 Left Overs

Thursday February 24 Breakfast Pizza

Friday February 25 Taco Soup

Saturday February 26 Order Out

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!
Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

My kids love these!!!
Something a little different for breakfast then

the normal stuff!! Even my little guy who

hates anything green or orange ate 2 of them today

because he can't see or taste the carrots!! Yippee for me!!!

Recipe:

1 1/2 cup all bran cereal

1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 raisins

1/2cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2  cups skim milk

2 eggs

2 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine oatmeal and bran in a large

bowl stir in milk, let sit for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients

except for dried fruit. (This is optional at this point in the food

processor pulse your dried fruit until small and sticky pieces form

about 2 minutes.) Add dried fruit and carrots to the wet ingredients add in eggs,vanilla and the mix in dry ingredients.

Place in muffin pan lined with papers or

sprayed with cooking spray and bake

at 350 for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown

and toothpick comes out clean.

Have a great rest of your week!!

White Chicken Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

Who doesn't love pizza?!?!? This is

a white version and just as tasty as the

other pizza!!

Before baking...

After baking!!

Recipe:

1 pizza crust any style

2-4 boneless,skinless chicken breast-cooked anyway you desire

2 cups of alfredo sauce(jarred or homemade)

1/2 cups  grated parmesan cheese

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried italian parsley

Misc chopped veggies

Top pizza in the following order

crust,sauce,grated parmesan cheese,oregano,parsley,chicken,

mozzarella cheese,veggies and a little more of your mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes

Enjoy!!!

Pot Roast With Potatoes and carrots

1 roast of choice(I am using rump roast) 5lbs

6-8 potatoes diced

1 bag of baby carrots

1/4 cups of water

2 teaspoons of garlic powder or 2 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 onion minced

In a large crock pot place ingredients inside cover and cook

on low for 8-10 hours.

Enjoy!!
Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!!

Menu Week of Feb 13-Feb 19

Sunday February 13-Pot roast with potatoes and carrots

Monday February 14-Meatloaf or Mom's meatballs, still deciding...

Tuesday February 15-White Chicken Pizza

Wensday February 16-Left overs

Thursday February 17 Cheesey Taco Soup
Friday February 18-Stuffed Shells

What are some of your favorite meals?

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups of milk

Combine dry ingredients together and then add in the wet, mix

well. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Cook on a hot griddle and serve warm.

Banana Cupcakes with Vanila Buttercream Frosting

These are WONDERFUL!!!!!!
I was watching something on tv and
heard Banana Cupcakes. Now I would have never thought
of banana cupcakes or cake, but they turned
out great!!

Recipe:
2 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
4 eggs(or 2 eggs and 4 egg whites)
1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter-softened
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 mashed bananas(the riper the better)
Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with muffin
liners. Mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar mix till smooth and
creamy. Add in eggs and bananas and mix well. Slowly add in dry ingredients.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way and bake for 15-20 minutes until toothpick comes
out clean.

Frosting:
1 stick of unsalted butter-softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter until smooth add in
vanilla and milk,  mix well. Slowly
add in powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Baked French Toast with Apples and Cranberries

So I have never made a baked french toast before.
So I thought I would give it a try.
And it was a big hit! And even easier

then making it the "old fashioned way."

Recipe:

12 pieces of cinnamon bread

8 eggs-beaten

1 cup of milk

1 granny smith apple diced

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ginger

Grease a  9x13 pan, lay bread inside, (stacking it is ok)

Mix together milk and eggs and sugar,pour over bread

Sprinkle the top with apples,cranberries,ginger and cinnamon.

Place in the refrigerator covered for at least 6 hours, over night is

best. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Serve with warm syrup and butter.

Monetary Jack Queso

So we have all had a form of the "normal"
cheese dip. This one is our favorite!!
And I used this "new"(ok new to me) taco seasoning and I LOVE IT!!!

Cheese...........

The finished product!!!

Recipe:

16 oz(2 cups) of monetary jack cheese

1/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of butter

4 tablespoons of taco seasoning or you can use

2 of the pre packaged packs

IN a large pan on the stove, melt butter and add in flour let cook

for about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and then add in your cheese.

Mix until the cheese is mostly melted add in

taco seasoning and the transfer to a crock pot.

Keep on low in your crock pot!!

Enjoy

Amanda's Tomatoe Sauce

SO easy and SO good. My husband likes it 

better then our store bought one we

normally use. And my pickey

little man even ate it!! So its a keeper in

our house.

1 large can tomatoes-pured

1 onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup of water

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons parsley

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

In a large pot heat oil and saute onion and garlic until onions are

tender(about 3-5m)

Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer

for 2 hours.

Add in the cooked meatballs and simmer for another 30 minutes.
If not using, you can freeze it for up to 6 months.

Meatball Subs

These were a huge hit tonight!(we were suppose to have them

Wednesday but the blizzard left me as a single mom for a few days!)

They were pretty easy and were even better then

I had thought they would be.

Recipe:

For Meat Ball 

2 lbs ground meat(I use half beef and half turkey)

1 egg

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons quick cooking oats

For Sauce

1 large can tomatoes-pured

1 onion diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup of water

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons parsley

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of olive oil

For the meatballs:Mix everything together in a large bowl and form into balls.

Bake on a covered baking sheet at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until juices run clear.

For Sauce:

In a large pot heat oil and saute onion and garlic until onions are

tender(about 3-5m)

Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer

for 2 hours.

Add in the cooked meatballs and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Veggi Beef Soup

I don't have a pic of this one! Sorry:(

Recipe:

1-2lbs beef, I used patio steak a round steak would be great as well

6 cups of beef broth

4-6 potatoes diced

1 large bag of mixed veggies(i use frozen you can use all fresh veggies if you wish)

1 can(15oz) diced tomatoes

1 large onion

2 teaspoons black pepper

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

You can cook your beef however you wish, I use my crock pot.

Therefor add beef,black pepper,garlic powder and 1/4 cup of water to 

the crock pot and let cook on low for 8 hours.

When your beef is done tear or cut into bite size pieces add to

a large pot. Add in all of your veggies,spices and beef broth and

bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Hope this helps on a nice cold winters day!

Pork and Bean Soup

This week I made a couple soups to take so 

a few ladies that have had babies. They are ready to eat

or freeze for them.

 

I hope they enjoy/ed them and

it helped make the first few days at home

a little easier.

And one of the ladies...

my sister in law who just gave birth to my

adorable niece. This is the first girl born 

on my side of the family since my daughter.

We are still slightly out number by boys though!!! :)

Ok now on to the recipe!

Recipe:

2 lbs of white beans(you can use,canned,jarred or do it the old fashioned way)

4-6 cups of pork diced(ham,bacon ends,etc. My meat market gave us the bacon ends and they worked great)

3 large carrots dice

1 large onion diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon parsley

2 teaspoons black pepper

In a large pot either soak bean following package directions or pour

all of your already softened beans and their juices in. Add in your meat and bring to 

a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add in the remaining ingredients, you may need to add more water, make sure everything is covered. Bring back to a boil, let boil

for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours or until veggies are soft

and the broth is thick.
Enjoy!

Menu week of Feb 6 to Feb 12

Sunday February 6-Superbowl game food
(wings, queso and burgers or steaks)

Monday February 7- Parmesan Garlic Chicken(carried from last week)

Tuesday February 8-Spaghetti and Meat Ball(w/left over meat balls and

sauce from this week when we had meatball subs)

Wednesday February 9-White Chicken Pizza(cooking the chicken Monday)

Thursday February 10-Left overs

Friday February 11-Breakfast Pizza

Saturday February 12-Order out

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1 cup of all purpose flour

3/4 cups of hot water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 package of highly active or fast rising yeast

In the bowl of a mixer add all dry ingredients and yeast, mix well.

Slowly add in water and oil, mix in your mixer with the dough

hook, for about 5-7 minutes until soft and stretchy. Cover with 

dry cloth and set in a warm place and allow to rise for 

30 minutes. Punch down and hand kneed about 10 times.

If you don't want wheat-substitute the wheat flour with

all purpose. 

Happy crust making!!!!


ENJOY THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK!!!

Taco Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

So I'm starting to not be 

so good with the picture thing!
It has been a crazy week for us with sick

kiddos and now the "blizzard" so I 

for some reason have had a hard time getting

any alone time to cook meals, I seem to have a whinny toddler

or two helping and forget to take pictures! :( sorry 

I will get some!!!!

So taco pizza is easy and I healthy it up

a little in this recipe. My kids love it

and you can never go wrong with pizza right?

Recipe:

1 pound of ground meat-browned(i use half beef and half turkey)

1 whole wheat pizza crust recipe

1 cup of your favorite taco sauce

1-1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese(colby jack or cheddar)

2 tablespoons of taco seasoning or your favorite brand in a package

Toppings:

Tortilla chips crushed up

black olives

shredded lettuce

diced tomatoes 

diced onions

more shredded cheese

sour cream

salsa or taco sauce

Brown meat in a large skillet and drain. Add in taco seasoning and let 

cool for about 15minutes.

On a large baking pan or pizza pan, spread out crust and 

poke holes with a fork over entire crust. Top with taco sauce,

meat and cheese. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes until crust is 

golden brown. 

Let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting. After cutting

serve with your favorite toppings!

Chicken Carbanara

This was so much better then I had thought it 

would be and the whole gang loved it.
Even my picky Max!!

So here is goes
Recipe:

2-4 boneless/skinless chicken breast-cut in bite size pieces

1 lb of whole wheat pasta(i used linguine)

4 slices of turkey bacon cut in bite size pieces

1 garlic clove

2 whole eggs beaten @ room temp or to lighten it up more use 3 egg whites

1/2 grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon  oregano

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta according to 

package directions. In the meantime add your olive oil

and garlic to a large skillet, and cook chicken and bacon.

Reserve about 3 cups of the pasta water and drain pasta, deglaze the

pan with 1/2 cups of pasta water. Mix together in a small

bowl, eggs or egg whites, parmesan cheese, black pepper,

and oregano. Now add the pasta to the skillet

with the meats stir well, now  while the pan is on medium heat

poor egg mixture over pasta and continually mix. Mixture will look 

odd, now slowly add in the reserved pasta water to help make

the sauce have a better consistency. (i used 1 1/2 cups) 

once desired consistency is reached remove from heat and serve with

grated parmesan cheese!!
 

Enjoy!!