August Meal Planning

Now that the sight or smell of food doesn't make me want to run the other way, I can get back into the routine of cooking. Meals these days need to be prepared quickly and kid friendly. I made a list of potential meals today and made my shopping list. I didn't spend a ton on groceries, I will have meats left over since I bought in bulk, and we still have nights where quick and easy meals didn't make it on this list. I thought I would share this list since many of you guys are in the same boat whether it is staying at home with little people or working all day and needing something quick to cook when you get home. The only new recipes on the list are the crockpot lemon chicken, chicken spaghetti (this Pioneer Woman recipe is different from mine), and the penne pasta. I called my friend Julie because I could not find pine nuts for the pesto sauce. I texted something like "Brain died, where do I find pine nuts at grocery store?" She texted back with the appropriate answer, followed with a text that said, "confused for a minute, wanted to know who Brian was." Haha. After assuring her Brian didn't die, I went on to find the pine nuts. Thanks, Julie. And in case you are wondering, they are in the produce section near the specialty nuts. The following list (along with some rambling) is what I came up with for the month of August:

Crockpot Lemon Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken with fried rice
Chicken and Dumplings - we will have leftovers
Roast/Mashed Potatoes/Fried Okra - we will have leftovers
Red Pepper and Basil Penne with Rotisserie Chicken- should have leftovers
Man Pleasing Chicken -we will have leftovers
Taco Pie -we will have leftovers
Meatballs/Mashed Potatoes/Veggies - may or may not have leftovers depending on how much I want to cook
Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti (will have leftovers)
Cheesy Chicken Ranch Pasta -we will have leftovers

I also bought bagged cheese ravioli and pasta sauce, and there will probably be a breakfast for dinner night in there, as well. Here are the recipes for a few non-linked recipes above.

Chicken and Dumplings:

Several years ago, I was looking for a recipe for chicken and dumplings. I searched for Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings because those are most like what I grew up eating. Please do not try to sneak peas or carrots or any other veggie in my chicken and dumplings. That is NOT what I want when I want chicken and dumplings. Also, I don't want rolled dumplings. I just want little balls of dropped in doughy goodness. Please and thank you. As it turns out, Jake and Connor (and the hubs) love chicken and dumplings or "chicklin and dumplets" as Jake calls them. Here is the recipe I use:

1 (3-6 lb) fryer chicken - or you can use a whole chicken cut up in pieces with skin on
2 quarts water - for the last two times I used one quart to cook chicken and added a can of chicken broth when chicken was cooked - I like that version better
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper - I love a lot of pepper
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons shortening - I use Crisco
3/4 buttermilk (I use 1 cup milk and add 1 Tbsp white vinegar, let sit for five min and pour out 1/4 cup to make 3/4 cup)

1. Cook chicken in water and salt. Bring to boil and cook for about an hour or until done.
2. Remove chicken and skim and pieces of skin from broth. Turn broth to low and keep warm. Cool chicken. Pull off skin and discard. Take chicken off bone and cut into bite sized pieces.
3. Bring broth to boil and add pepper - this is the point I add chicken broth from can.
4. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening with fork. Add in buttermilk, stirring with fork until moistened.
5. Knead dough a few times until just mixed. Do not overmix dough. It will be sticky. Pinch off pieces of dough and drop into boiling water.
6. Stir in chicken once dough has cooked about 10 minutes. Let simmer for 20 minutes or so and enjoy.

Taco Pie:

Jason jokingly calls this my favorite recipe. When I worked 12 hour shifts, we ate this about once a week. It is done in about 15 minutes. Seriously, how easy is that? Plus, it makes enough to have leftovers.

1 lb ground beef
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar picante sauce
taco seasoning
2 cups cheese - cheddar, taco blend, whatever you want
1 package cream cheese, softened

1. Brown ground beef. Drain and add 1/2 package taco seasoning.
2. Spread softened cream cheese on bottom of 9x12 or similar sized dish
3. When ground beef is cooked and seasoning is added, stir in picante sauce and beans. Pour mixture over cream cheese
4. Add remaining taco seasoning to cheese and spread on top of beef mixture. Place in 350 degree oven until cheese melts. Serve with tortilla chips.
5. I have added in an onion, green chiles, black beans, etc. You can add in whatever you'd like. Easy peasy...

Roast:

Any size or cut of beef roast to your liking
1 can Progresso French Onion Soup
1 package of Mushroom/Onion Soup mix
1 can water - from soup can

Place in crockpot and cook on low all day

Meatballs:

My sister gave me this recipe a long time ago. If you like meatloaf, this one is for you. What is great about this is that it makes a ton, it goes in the freezer and you take out exactly what you want, mix up a quick sauce, and cook.The following recipe for sauce is for the whole batch of meatballs. I just eyeball ingredients for sauce until it tastes how I want it to taste.

3 lbs ground beef
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. saltine cracker crumbs, crushed
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder

1. Mix together and form into walnut sized balls. Place on cookie sheet and place in freezer to flash freeze. Place balls in gallon sized freezer bag. When ready to cook, mix up sauce (below), place frozen meatballs and sauce into baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees until done (about 1 hr, if cooking from frozen).

Sauce:
2 c. ketchup
1 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped onion - I use onion flakes

I mix up small amount of sauce to taste using the above ingredients since I never cook the whole batch at one. These are usually served with mashed potatoes and a veggie.

Many of these can be prepared ahead of time to some degree. I might get ambitious and cook the chicken spaghetti and freeze. I will prepare the meatballs for the freezer, divide up my chicken and ground beef. I got a rotisserie chicken to "beef up" the penne pasta dish, so I will take that off the bone and freeze in a gallon bag until I get ready to use. I chose these because most are super fast. I made the cheesy chicken ranch pasta the other night, and the boys gobbled it up. Best of all, it was ready in about 20 minutes! I hope that this is useful to at least one other person on the planet. It was a lot of typing :)