Meal Planing - August 28-September 3

Monday

Lentil Soup

Grilled Cheeses

Fruit

Tuesday

Fried Green Tomatoes

Corn on the Cob

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Red Beans

Wednesday

Crock Pot Lasagna

Thursday

Chicken Soft Tacos

Black Beans

Friday

Salmon Croquettes

Fried Okra

Rice

Saturday

Spaghetti

Sunday

Hopefully Left Overs

Chicken Legs

I know it seems odd to buy and cook up chicken legs, but the are cheap and not that unhealthy, really. The organic ones are cheap also, and the kids like eating them. Sometimes I fry them, but this was a really good and easy way to cook them up!

Crock Pot Chicken Legs

I found a slower cooker chicken recipe we all enjoyed, so I wanted to sticky it here to find again! 

Brown Sugar Chicken

Chicken Cacciatore

 

I really feel like I have written this post already. I'm hoping not. It's like a huge case of Blogger's Deja Vu. 

Anyway, I love my old cookbook. It's 15 years old, splattered and falling apart. I cling to it, though, because it was written when food was still cooked from scratch. I'm big on that. I don't like recipes that tell me to use anything store bought. If this cookbook tells you to use a pie crust, they tell you how to whip one up. Biscuits? Recipe. Croissant? Yep. It's in there.

I love that.

Anyway, this recipe is on the same page with Chicken and Dumplings, which I need to get typed up soon too. It's all from scratch and it's so good.

Take note that this dish has to simmer on the stove for 30-40 minutes. It's not one you can whip up in 15 minutes and serve. It's so easy to prepare, but there is that simmer time to consider. 

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

1. 2 to 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (I use organic thighs because they are cheap and go well with this recipe - usually boneless)
2. 2 T olive oil
3. I medium onion, minced
4. 1 clove garlic, minced
5. 1 7 1/2-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
6. 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
7. 3/4 c of dry white wine (I buy those little 4 packs of small bottles to have on hand to cook with. I'm not a fan of white wine, so it's safe in my pantry)
8. 1 4-ounce can mushrooms, drained
9. 2 T snipped fresh parsley (I use dried, the same amount)
10. 1 t sugar
11. 1/2 t salt
12. 1/2 t dried rosemary, crushed
13. 1/2 t dried thyme, crushed
14. 1/4 t dried oregano, crushed
15. 1/8 t pepper
16. Hot cooked spaghetti 

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in a skillet in hot oil until done, turning to brown evenly. Add onion and garlic the last 5 minutes of cooking, then drain off fat.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, mushrooms, parsley, sugar, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour over chicken in skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer 30 to 40 minutes. Turn chicken once during cooking. Serve over hot spaghetti.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a dish that will probably give you a heart attack if eaten too often.

But every now and then, I just really want Fettuccine Alfredo.

This recipe is super easy and very good. It's from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The cookbook is old, and I love it. I'm not going to ever be able to let it go.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of half and half, light cream or (heavy) whipping cream

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

cracked black pepper

nutmeg

Directions:

In a sauce pan, place butter in pan over low heat. After butter is melted, add cream. 

Stir and let sit until warm.

Stir in Parmesan cheese. 

Add a sprinkle of black pepper and nutmeg.

Stir and let sit over low heat until it barely bubbles.

I will use penne pasta, or you can use fettuccine, obviously. (I just never seem to have fettuccine on hand.) I also saute some chicken to add to the dish, just to give it some good old protein.

Simply mix your choice of pasta and chopped up chicken in a bowl, and then stir in Alfredo sauce.

It's really quick and easy. 

And I'm trying to stop eating the leftovers...

Country Captain Chicken

I don't know why it's called "Country Captain Chicken." It took me forever to find this recipe on the site, so I am really glad to have it here. 

This is my favorite new recipe I've made lately. It's so so good. And I typically don't like any cooked recipe that has raisins and apples in it. Don't let that stop you. You really have to try this. 

But. If you use long grain brown rice like I do, you need to cook it separately and then add it or you will end up with crunchy rice stew. Just ask the sweet girl I made this for after her surgery. *sigh* (I'm still not over that...)

Country Captain Chicken

Vegetable Soup

It's called "Mama's Vegetable Soup" but I remember my grandmother making this and her mother too. We just call it "Mama's Soup" and that covers all the generations that have made it.

All that said, it's just vegetable soup. Not a huge big deal. I love it, though, because it's easy and fairly cheap to make. With a good grilled cheese and some saltine crackers, it's makes a pretty great dinner! (And there's always lots left to freeze and/or to make lunches)

Mama's Soup

Begin the soup by coating the bottom of a dutch oven or a large pot with olive oil. Over medium-high heat, saute 1/2 an onion (or more) and 3 sliced carrots until tender. 

Add:

• 28oz can tomatoes (or a fresh one or two) 
• small can of sauce (I can't figure out how to get around this one by not using canned products. Unless a vegetable juice might work? I might try that next time and report the results.)
• 1 bay leaf (and as a friend reminded me to instruct in a recipe, take out the bay leaf before you serve soup)
• 1T dried parsley
• 1-2T of dried rosemary

Now you add your vegetables. You can put in what ever you choose. Here is what's in my soup right now (everything is frozen):

• 1C corn
• 1C speckled butter beans
• 1/2 pound frozen okra
• 1C green beans
• left over lima beans

I love this part because basically I just empty what ever bag of frozen something I have hanging out in the freezer. Makes me feel super thrifty!

I add about 20ish oz of water to the soup and pepper to taste and then bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 2 hours on low. (Or you can do the saute part in a skillet and then throw everything in the Crock Pot.)

20 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta. I tend to like spiral pasta or penne (or in today's soup, both) because the thicker pasta holds up well in the soup. 

I add a lot of pasta, since it's cheap and really thickens up the soup. You may even need to add more water at this stage.

And that's it!