Menu Plan Monday, October 29, 2007

I am so happy to be home after the traveling of the past week. I was so homesick! I don't travel much, so being away for 3 nights was a bit much for me. I'm looking forward to Halloween night. I'll be trick or treating with a Butterfly Fairy and Spiderman!


Here's the plan for the week:

Sunday: Chicken and Pork Soft Tacos with toppings, and Chips and Salsa

Monday: Carry Over Meal~Super Sloppy Joes, Curly Fries and Cucumbers with Dip

Tuesday: Marlboro Man's Second Favorite Sandwich, Creamy Pasta Salad, and Baked Beans

Wednesday: Happy Halloween! Chili, Macaroni, and Garlic Toast

After Trick-or-Treat we'll have hot cocoa with ghost peeps and Monster Foot Cookies

Thursday: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak, Buttered Egg Noodles and Corn

Friday: Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday: DS's first hockey game with his travel team! Go Warriors! We'll pick something up on the way back from the game.

For more great menus visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week!

Lisa

Possessed Palace Gingerbread House

For our Saturday project, we created a Halloween Gingerbread House. We used this kit from Wilton. It was a lot of fun for the kids and myself. Here's a picture of the 2 colors of icing that we used:

This is our starting point:

This is the finished product:

The kids are very tickled with it!

I forgot to pick up coconut at the store to tint green for the grass, but will pick some up tomorrow after church. Then our scene will be complete.

Happy Halloween!

Tasty Thursday: Tried and True Recipe

Greetings! I've been out of town for 4 days and am thrilled to be home with my kids and dh tonight. They are watching the Pens, so I thought I'd grab a moment to post my tried and true recipe. This is for Beefy Taco Dip. It is one recipe that I return to over and over again when in need of an appetizer or game day snack.

Beefy Taco Dip

1- 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 pound ground beef

1 envelope taco seasoning mix (use spicy for some extra kick)

1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar or taco cheese

4 cups shredded lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

Tortilla chips

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise until smooth. Spread on a 12-14 inch pizza pan or serving dish. Refrigerate for one hour. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown beef; drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Cool completely. Spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and green peppers. Serve with chips.

Enjoy!

Head over to the Pumkin Patch for more tasty Thursday recipes!

Blessings,

Lisa

June's Chicken Casserole

My mom has made this casserole for years and I've always loved it. I asked for the recipe yesterday and made it for my family. It's comfort food at it's best.

June's Chicken Casserole

2 chicken breasts
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 onion
8-10 slices of bread, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 egg
3/4 cup butter, melted


Boil chicken. ( Do not add salt to water.) Cool and debone. (I used leftover roasted chicken.) Cut chicken into small pieces. Set aside.

Grate or dice carrots, celery and onion. Boil until soft. Drain.

In a large bowl, beat egg. Mix in drained carrot, celery and onion. Add cubed bread and melted butter. Toss until combined.

In a 13x9 baking dish, layer chicken pieces then bread mixture, chicken, then bread mixture.

Mix together chicken soup and chicken broth. Pour over the whole casserole, making sure the soup mixture reaches the bottom of the dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, October 22, 2007

Happy Monday!

This week I will be out of town for 3nights/4 days for a Science training program. This is the plan for my family while I'm gone. (I'll be eating out every night!)

Sunday~Lasagna, Tossed Salad and Garlic Toast

Monday~New Potatoes, Green Beans and Ham (crock pot) with rolls.

Tuesday~Kielbassi, Macaroni and Cheese and Baked Beans

Wednesday~Super Sloppy Joes, Oven Curly Fries and Cucumbers in Ranch Dressing

Thursday~Hockey Practice ~Get something to go

Friday~Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~Pork Tenderloin (Smithfield's already marinated), Olive Oil and Garlic Penne, Salad

Deserts of the Week:

Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Frosting and Pumpkin Sprinkles

Monster Feet Cookies

Have a great week!

Blessings,

Lisa

For more great recipe ideas, visit Laura at orgjunkie!

Tasty Thursday: Halloween Edition

DS and I made these last year for a Halloween treat. We used the sugar cookie mix instead of peanut butter and they were delicious! The recipe comes from http://www.brightideas.com/

Monster Feet Cookies

1 bag M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies Pumpkin Patch Mix
1 17.5-oz. bag peanut butter cookie mix
1/2 cup flour
Green food coloring
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 16-oz. can vanilla frosting
2 cookie sheet pans
Aluminum foil
Resealable plastic bag

Step by step -->
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line sheet pans with foil.
Prepare the cookie mix according to package instructions. Knead in the flour and some of the green food coloring.
Pull off walnut-size nuggets of dough. Shape into 1 - 1 1/2-inch ovals and roll in sugar. Place on the prepared sheet pans about 2 inches apart. Press an M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies Pumpkin Patch Mix onto one end as the toenail. Bake for approximately 9-12 minutes, or until just golden and cookies have puffed and spread. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, tint 1 cup of frosting green and spoon into a resealable bag. Snip a very small corner from bag and pipe wavy curly lines on top of the cookies to resemble knuckles.
Tip: Peanut butter cookies aren’t a favorite, Then exchange the peanut butter cookie mix with a sugar cookie mix.

Makes 30 cookies.

Enjoy!

Lisa

John's Birthday Cake

Here's a picture of John's birthday cake. It has been a labor of love. It's from the Paula Deen Holiday magazine and it's called a Creme de Menthe Cake. My camera battery just died, so this blurry picture is all I have for now.

Blessings,

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, October 15, 2007

The weather has cooled, hockey practice is in full swing and comfort food is on order at our house.

This week's plan is as follows:

Sunday: Shake and Bake Pork Chops, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Green Beans

Dessert: Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream


Monday: Slow Cooker Beef Stew, Hard Rolls (carry over from last week)


Tuesday: Kid's Night~Popcorn Chicken, Curly Fries and Veggies with Dip


Wednesday: Best Baked Slow Cooker Chicken, Steamed Rice, Carrots


Thursday: Garlic and Herb Pork Loin, Olive Oil and Garlic Penne Pasta, Tossed Salad

Friday: DH's Birthday~Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We're going out to dinner, then having Chocolate Creme de Menthe Cake for dessert. It's a Paula Deen recipe from Paula Deen's Holiday magazine.

Saturday: Veal Parmesan with Spaghetti, Tossed Salad and Garlic Toast


Have a super week!


Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe: String Cheese Manicotti

Sunday is traditionally Pasta Day in our family. Today we're having String Cheese Manicotti. It's easy, cheesy and yummy! This recipe was shared with me at Hannah's Prayer Recipe board. It's one of our favorites. (I would post a picture, but am having computer/camera issues.)

String Cheese Manicotti

1 package manicotti
1 lb ground beef
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (I also use leftover, frozen Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce)
12 pieces mozzarella string cheese
6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (1 1/2 cups)

Cook manicotti according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the spaghetti sauce.
Spread half the meat sauce into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
Drain manicotti; stuff each shell with a piece of string cheese.
Place over meat sauce; top with remaining sauce.
Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.


Enjoy!

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, October 8,2007

This weekend was a time to catch up on some things that have been ignored since school began. Hockey season is now upon us, so I don't know if I'll ever catch up until Spring. ;0)

Here's the plan and some recipes:

Sunday~ String Cheese Manicotti, Tossed Salad, and Garlic Toast

Monday~Ham Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Country Gravy and Candied Carrots

Tuesday~Honey-Pineapple Chicken (Crock Pot), Butter Noodles and Brocolli

Wednesday~Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Hard Rolls

Thursday~Baked Beans and Hot Dogs, Macaroni and Cheese, Veggies and Dip (kid's night)

Friday~Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~Beer Can Chicken, Italian Pasta Salad, and Calico Beans

This week's dessert is Pumpkin Spice Frosted Snack Cake from Kraft Food and Family magazine.

I'm also making the kids a Halloween snack mix by combining a bag of Cheerios snack mix, Halloween m&m's and a bag of candy corn. They're very excited about it!

Happy Fall!

Lisa

Menu Plan Monday, October 1, 2007

Here's my menu for a busy week ahead. I'm sure there are repeats because last week was even busier. Hope you all have a great week!


Sunday~ Pigs in the Blanket and Fresh Rolls

Monday~Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, Best Ever Grilled Pork Chops and Green Beans

Tuesday~Chicken Alfredo, Salad, and Garlic Bread

Wednesday~Lemon-Basil Chicken, Rice Pilaf, and Glazed Carrots

Thursday~Open House at School~ the kids and dh will probably have Macaroni and Cheese with Hot Dogs

Friday~ Pizza and Wing Night

Saturday~Italian Hoagies, Pasta Salad and Veggies with Dip

Enjoy your dinner time!

Lisa