Menu Plan Monday...A Little Late

Please check out http://www.orgjunkie.com/ for many other great menus and organizing tips.

I know I am late, but I am actually sticking to my plan this week. I am relying heavily on Homemade Gourmet and on my trusty crock pot (CP by each that used the Crock Pot) to pull me through while we pack and move. We aren't doing all the moving this week, but we are making several trips. {We have a trailer we can pull behind our Chevy Tracker. It is amazing what we can haul in that. In one load, we got two adult-sized bikes, 3 lawn mowers, a weed eater, a park bench, and a rototiller on it.}
So, anyways, back to my menu. We save leftovers for lunch the following day, if we have any. I also try to do COST cooking - that is Cook Once, Serve Twice. I will do more COST in the future. That is where you make extra of something and change it up to make a new meal a couple days later. It saves a lot of time and effort in the kitchen and leftovers are not just the same old meal again.

Monday: Homemade Gourmet Garlic Basil Italian Sausage and Peppers, (CP) green beans, cheddar broccoli rice, applesauce

Tuesday: Homemade Gourmet Skillet Fried Rice (used ground turkey), carrots, chocolate chip cookies for dessert

Wednesday: German Pork Chops (CP), applesauce, Apple Cheddar Walnut Bread, peas

Thursday: Homemade Gourmet Sunday Roast Chicken (CP) (should be on HG website, but I will put it below), green beans, Easy & Elegant Twice Baked Potatoes

Friday: Homemade Gourmet Cheeseburger Mushroom Pie (using HG Taco Soup Mix seasoned ground beef that I cooked and froze), baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, peaches

Saturday: Asian Pork Tenderloin (CP), rice, mixed vegetables

Sunday: Lunch - Turkey Tetrazzini (CP) (from freezer, using leftovers from a turkey baked), dinner rolls, green beans

Dinner - Garlic Lemon Tilapia, carrots, oven baked fries

* For Breakfast: We will probably have bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits on Sat. morning. The remaining days will have a simple breakfast of some of the following: oatmeal, banana, yogurt, cereal, milk, fruit smoothie, or juice.

*Lunches: leftovers, lunchmeat or PB&J sanwiches w/ fruit and milk.

CrockPotting Blog

I saw Stephanie on Rachael Ray's show a couple weeks ago, since she made a resolution to use her crockpot every day for a year and blog about it. She was getting over 4000 hits per day before she was on TV. I wish I found her blog sooner. I am really enjoying it and have already tried a couple recipes. (the 5 layer brownies and chicken nachos). Go here and check out her blog. She makes me laugh all the time and tells if the recipe was good or a flop. She is quick to write back when you email her, too. I shared the crockpot recipes I have on my blog with her.

Crock pot Pizza

The quantities are up to you, so use as little or as much as you like to suit your family size and taste buds. Omit or add something if you prefer.

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained (add onion and bell peppers to skillet and cook together, if you like)
1 pkg. pepperoni slices, separte each piece
can mushrooms, drained
spaghetti, cooked and drained ( I break into sm. pieces to make it easier to eat)
2 c. mozzarella (we love cheese and use more)
1 t. (or more) Homemade Gourmet Garlic Basil
jar of favorite spaghetti sauce or make HG Homestyle Spaghetti Sauce

Dump all ingredients into large crockpot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

Harvest Pork Chops

I have a simple recipe for you. It is not Homemade Gourmet, because I realize you may not have anything from HG to make the recipe. All you need are 3 ingredients and a crock pot!! I buy boneless chops and put them in the crock pot. Pour 2 c. apple juice (no added sugar like Juicy Juice) and a dash of cinnamon. Cook on low 4-6 hours. I got this recipe from a church cookbook. Serve w/ applesauce or apple cobbler for dessert to tie the flavors together nicely. Even my picky DD eats this up.