Cooking Menu Planning April 27-May 3- requested recipes within!

[MazdaUK]

Our problem is we're all eating different times - DS(8) wants his about 5/5.30,so does DS(15) but two nights he has swimming so has to have a snack when he comes in and proper dinner after. When I'm in the office I don't get back til 6 or later, so rarely eat befiore 7 and DH does shifts, so if he's on late he has dinner for lunch and just a cup of tea or a snack when he gets in (when he's early he often cooks for us under supervision ). I'm cooking lots of batches to freeze as individual portions

Fish pie
Beef and red wine casserole with mashed potatoes
Jacket potato plus .....
spag. bol.

Don't know what else yet....

 

[piratesmate]

I've really been neglecting this all summer too. It's time to get back in the groove, but I'm afraid this week is going to be a bit tough as I failed to check my cupboards before the shopping was done.

So far we've got:
Sun - baked fish, asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes & cornbread
Mon - grilled steak, grilled potatoes, grilled red peppers, green salads
Tues - grilled chicken
Weds - steak fajitas, corn & bean salad
Thurs - chicken divan, rolls, green salads
??

 

[Swimnoid]

I'm so glad some of you posted today. I have a blank brain for this week and am taking some ideas from you.

All I know for sure right now is taco salad. And something with chicken... I'm going to go peruse the crock pot thread. Be back later with "The Plan" for the week.

Actually...looking back on last week. I didnt stick to it too well. The only thing that matched was the Italian sausage and hamburgers!

 

[bettyann29]

Id love to keep this thread going.. I like looking at others dinner ideas.. it gives me ideas as all too often I cant think of what to make and then end up buying pizza or chicken out and spending wayyyy too much for dinner..

 

[bettyann29]

Another week of planning. Last week went pretty well and I stuck to the plan pretty well except no grilled steak...tonight instead. So....in no particular order, the rest of the week:

Spaghetti and meat balls

hamburgers

grilled chicken salad

italian sausage in the crock pot

porkchops

How about you all?

Can I ask what the italian sausage in the crockpot is?? With the fall weather coming on I tend to use the crockpot more and this one sounds like maybe we might like it..

 

[Katy Belle]

No menu planning for me this week. Going on vacation to Jordan tomorrow! I guess I need to plan lunch, but I guess it will be whatever is in the fridge!

We had baked chicken strips, WW recipe last night and breaded veal cutlets, cooked in butter... Oh my they were yummy, but sooooo against my Weight Watchers diet!

We get back late Sunday night so I have canned soup to go in lunch boxes Monday morning!

Glad to see so many of you planning!
Katy

 

[piratesmate]

Can I ask what the italian sausage in the crockpot is?? With the fall weather coming on I tend to use the crockpot more and this one sounds like maybe we might like it..

I don't know how Swimnoid does it, but I just put the sausage in the pot with a jar of sauce. The sauce is probably the best ever!! ...even when you just start with plain, old Ragu.

Sometimes I use "grillers" which are long. Those I leave in the casing & serve with onions & peppers pan fried in a little oil on rolls - with or without cheese. Garden salads round out the meal.

The other way I do it is to remove it from the casing and break it up into small pieces...about 1 - 2 inch lengths. Then I serve it with angel hair & it's sort of like meatballs.

 

[bettyann29]

I don't know how Swimnoid does it, but I just put the sausage in the pot with a jar of sauce. The sauce is probably the best ever!! ...even when you just start with plain, old Ragu.

Sometimes I use "grillers" which are long. Those I leave in the casing & serve with onions & peppers pan fried in a little oil on rolls - with or without cheese. Garden salads round out the meal.

The other way I do it is to remove it from the casing and break it up into small pieces...about 1 - 2 inch lengths. Then I serve it with angel hair & it's sort of like meatballs.

That sounds sooo good..

so how long would you say you leave it in the crockpot?? I might try this one next week..

 

[piratesmate]

I'm soooo sorry! I don't know for sure! I'm home all the time now so I can check on things & turn it down to Warm if need be. I no longer put them on "all day" because I don't need to do that. I'm going to say about 4 - 5 hours on Low, but I can't be sure.

One thing I should mention...all the fat remains in/on the sauce when you do this. Of course it adds to the taste but it gives me indigestion later. We're just not used to that much fat. If you make enough for leftovers, peeling off the fat once it's been in the 'frig is really easy.

 

[Swimnoid]

I do mine just like Piratesmate. Sometimes I'll brown them first then just stick them in the crockpot with....RAGU! I turn the crock on high and then turn it on low once it gets hot and leave it on until I get home so about 6 hours. Last week I cut up the sausages into bite size pieces first and browned them and added a half pound of browned ground beef.

Still havent written this week's menu and I'm halfway through the week. My brain is fried. But I did do the taco salad and it was so good. Then made breaded chicken strips Tues, I was going to make hamburgers last night but when I got around to making them I found the buns were moldy! So I had a frozen pasta bagged dinner. And tonight was hamburgers. Tomorrow???? who knows!

 

[merekc]

All this talk of Italian Sausage is making me hungry. I may have to run out and buy this to make for dinner tonight.

 

[piratesmate]

I do mine just like Piratesmate. Sometimes I'll brown them first then just stick them in the crockpot with....RAGU! I turn the crock on high and then turn it on low once it gets hot and leave it on until I get home so about 6 hours. Last week I cut up the sausages into bite size pieces first and browned them and added a half pound of browned ground beef......

Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between browning the sausage first & not browning it? I really can't be bothered with the extra prep & we like it fine not browned. I'm just wondering. (Not that I'd tell DH if it really improved the taste. LOL) I tend to think that the sauce flavor permeates the sausage more when it isn't sealed off by browning.

We had to update our meals. DH picked up the steak & for some reason got only a small amount. For the 1st time I can remember there was NONE leftover. So no steak fajitas for us. Also DH called & said he wasn't coming home for dinner last night so it was just DD & I. We had English Muffin Pizzas instead...some with mushrooms & some with ham & fresh pineapple.

I also decided I was in the mood for pork & sauerkraut tonight instead of chicken divan. I'll just keep that for Friday I guess.

Updated list:
Sun - baked fish, asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes & cornbread
Mon - grilled steak, grilled potatoes, grilled red peppers, green salads
Tues - grilled chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans & onion rolls
Weds - English Muffin Pizzas
Thurs - port & sauerkraut, mashed potatoes
Fri - chicken divan, rolls, green salads

 

[Swimnoid]

Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between browning the sausage first & not browning it?

Browning changes the texture and taste a little, not much. It tastes more...browned???... . Its hard to describe. I dont do it all the time either.

There were country ribs on sale this week so I am going to stick them in the crockpot for tomorrow. I thought I saw a good recipe for them on one of these threads but I can't find it now. Anybody have a good one?

ETA...Nevermind, found it! But more recipes are welcome!

 

[piratesmate]

I do 2 different things with ribs. DH's favorite is the WL Rib Rub, but DD isn't thrilled with it - although she loved the ribs at WCC. She prefers something I came up with one night when I was completely out of BBQ sauce. I do both on the grill as well as in the crock. I just don't know how long...as with most things though, it's probably about 4 - 5 hours on Low. You might want to consider lightly greasing your crock, as both types will really bake onto the sides if you don't catch it as soon as they're done. BTDT

BBQ Ribs

½ c ketchup
1/3 c brown mustard
1 Tbl minced garlic (I used dry, but either would work)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbl wine vinegar
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbl steak sauce (I used Lea & Perrins which tastes different than A-1)
½ tsp Tabasco

Mix well & cover ribs. Marinate overnight. Bake at 350 for an hour or so.

= = = = = = = =
Rib Rub
from Wilderness Lodge

½ c Granulated Sugar
1½ Tbl Granulated Onion
2¼ tsp Celery Salt
2¼ tsp Iodized Salt
3 Tbl Paprika
2 tsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
3/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/8 tsp rounded Dry Mustard
¼ tsp Dry Ginger
1/8 tsp rounded Granulated Garlic
1/8 tsp Cumin
1/8 tsp Thyme
½ Tbl Whole Marjoram
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

1. Combine all the dry ingredients above.
2. Rub onto Ribs before cooking.

[NOTE: This is reduced from the gigantic recipe I received from WL. It's enough to do at least 3 lbs of ribs with some left over. I just keep it in an airtight container until the next time & have used it on pork chops to use it up.]

 

[Swimnoid]

The rib rub sounds great! I'm definitely making a batch of that up!

Grocery run tomorrow.....so next week will be in some order...

beef fajitas

spaghetti and meatballs

manwiches

chicken tacos

shrimp pasta

Honey BBQ meatloaf

Hopefully we will go out tomorrow.

 

[piratesmate]

This week...but subject to change

Sat - baked cajun catfish (for DH & DD) pesto tilapia for me, asparagus, apple pie bread (in machine)
Sun - steak on grill, potato packets on grill, roasted red peppers on grill, salads, ???
Mon - breakfast casserole (sausage, hash browns, cheese, eggs)
Tues - baked ham, mashed potatoes, ???
Weds - leftover ham
Thurs - steak fajitas
Fri - ham quiche

 

[Swimnoid]

piratesmate---What's your recipe for breakfast casserole?

 

[piratesmate]

piratesmate---What's your recipe for breakfast casserole?

Several years ago, someone posted this here but I failed to note the source. If the person who posted it still reads here, thanks again!!

The original recipe called for crescent rolls, but I was out of them when I wanted to make it the 1st time so I substituted a bag of frozen, shredded potatoes. Everyone loved it that way so that's how I always make it. And it may be because of the potatoes (having more airspace than the rolls would) but the number of eggs given isn't enough for us. So we always use 8 instead. This is on our Christmas morning buffet, but no one ever wants to wait that long between so we have it for dinner occasionally as well.

Breakfast Casserole
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 Can crescent rolls or about 1/2 bag of shredded potatoes, frozen
1 Roll sausage (use any flavor sausage - we always use maple)
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 Eggs (more like 8 large ones)
¼ C milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread crescent rolls or potatoes in 9x12 pan. Fry sausage and drain, crumble and put on top of rolls. Sprinkle cheese over sausage. Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes or until firm.

When we have this for breakfast, I fry the sausage & "build" it the night before. Then I just need to pop it into the oven in the morning. If I "build" it & bake it right away I start by nuking the potatoes to defrost them (right in the casserole) while the sausage is browning.

 

[merekc]

Sorry I'm a little late. I did do a fantastic job of cooking last week. I do think making a menu helps even though I did stray from my initial plan.

Last week we ended up with:
Garlic Lime Chicken (I liked it. Thanks for the recipe)
Grilled pork chops (in Dale's marinade), garlic rice, cottage cheese
Grilled steaks, grilled zucchini, grilled mushrooms
Crockpot Italian Sausage with angel hair (will make this again, Thanks)
Crockpot Kielbasa Stew
And Friday, DH ordered pizza while I was at Bunko. Oh, well. One night eating out isn't bad for us.

This week we are having:
Chicken with mushrooms in white wine sauce (first time, saw it on the Dis)
Crockpot layered cabbage rolls (one of my favorites)
Crockpot chicken and biscuits (again first time, saw it on the Dis)
English Muffin pizzas (for an easy night)
Chicken Stovetop Skilled (since it was on last weeks and didn't get made)

 

[piratesmate]

merekc - Would you share your recipe for Crockpot Kielbasa Stew & also for Layered Cabbage Rolls? I know DD won't eat the cabbage rolls, but DH really likes them & the only time he gets them is when we go upstate to a family gathering. I really should try to get those recipes...they have some that are very different than anything we eat around here.

Years ago I had a great crockpot meal for kielbasa, but I lost it - along with a recipe for yeast rolls that didn't need kneading...just whack it with a wooden spoon. I've lost contact with the friends who gave them to me. The kielbasa one had mushrooms & I think vinegar, but that's all I remember. LOL Now we mostly grill it because the fat drains out better, but DH is always asking for something during the winter months.