Menu Monday for August 30 - September 5

Wow, it's Monday again. This last week sure went fast. Buckaroo #1 started 4th grade and Buckaroo #2 started 2nd. The Littlest Cowgirl starts preschool Thursday, which leaves just me and Buckaroo #3 all alone for a few hours 3 days a week. And those few hours are nap time for him. I'm not sure what to do...clean, cook, craft or take a nap myself. Hehe, I might be able to get used to this! Ahhhhhh....

Well, here's what my family will be eating this week:

Monday - Cordon Bleu Manacotti, Cheese Bread, Salad (my neighbor shared the Manacotti recipe with me and it's sooo yummy. I'll have to ask her if I can share it here)

FHE Treat - Blackberry Cobbler and Homemade Ice Cream (gotta use those fresh berries while I can, and my family really hooked on it)

Tuesday - Easy Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, Green Beans

Wednesday - Buckaroo #2 is helping me make Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas, Corn, Tomatoes

Thursday - Leftover Buffet

Friday - Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, Fresh Fruit

Saturday - BBQ Chicken BLT Sandwich, Chips, Sliced Cucumbers

Sunday - Lasagna, Salad, Bread Sticks

Have a great week!

Cheese Toast

If something had cheese on it or in it, it's pretty much a guarantee that my family will eat it.

This toast is so yummy and easy. It's a great addition to any meal. It reminds me of the kind you get at Sizzler.

You will need:

1 loaf Texas Toast

1 cube butter, softened

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (I just use the stuff in the green can)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic salt (depending on how much you like)

Mix butter, cheese and garlic salt. Spread some on each slice of toast (don't be shy). Place in cookie sheet and put under broiler until toast starts to brown and the buttery cheese is all melted. Serve warm.

I've tried using a clove of pressed garlic instead of garlic salt and it was just as good. It just depends on if you're a garlic lover or not. Hope ya like it!

Menu Monday for August 23 - 29

Here's what my family is getting this week...

Monday - Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
Tuesday - Mini- Chicken Pot Pies
Wednesday - Chicken Alfredo Pizza (one of Buckaroo #1's new favorites, which is why he chose it for his night to help cook)
Thursday - Leftover Buffet
Friday - Ham & Cheese Skillet (new recipe)
Saturday - Sub Sandwich, Chips and Baby Carrots
Sunday - Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Fresh Bread

My mom has a HUGE blackberry bush in her backyard that sadly, no one ever really uses to make anything special, except maybe jam every few years or so. The horses sure like 'em though.

Buckaroo #2 LOVES to just sit and eat the blackberries right then and there. (He reminds me of a little bear.) He watches those blossoms all summer just waiting...waiting...waiting....I think it drives the poor kid crazy somedays. I don't know how many shirts he's stained up with the darn things.

Well, once a month I get together with a group of friends to eat, share recipes and just enjoy being kid free for a few hours. So, since there was a bunch of blackberries that need to get used and because I have a really good recipe for cobbler, I decided to take a Blackberry Cobbler to share.

I've made it with with the frozen mixed berries from Costco before and it was really good. But, the fresh berries were SOOO MUCH BETTER!

My poor family only got to have a few bites of what was left when I got home. I thought saw a little tear in Buckarro #2's big blue eyes when he saw that there wasn't much left. He wasn't too happy since he'd helped pick all those berries. (We won't talk about how many he probably ate while he was picking though.)

Blackberry Cobbler

1 cup All-Purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar (I usually use Splenda)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter (1 cube)

2 cups blackberries (or whatever fruit you want to use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice up your butterand put it in the baking dish. Place it in the oven to melt while you mix the rest of your ingredients.

Combine the flour, baking powser, salt, sugar, and milk together. It might look a bit lumpy. Pour the batter into the baking dish when the butter had all melted and then the blackberries can go in. DON'T STIR IT TOGETHER!

Bake for about 40 minutes, depending on your oven. The top will get golden brown and start to pull away from the sides of the dish.

I usually double the batter because I really like the cakey part.

You could to it with some whipped cream or ice cream if you can wait long enough too get that far.

Hopefully we can go get enough berries to make one more cobbler before they're all gone for the summer so Buckaroo #2 can be happy with me again.

Menu Monday for August 16 - 22

I try to keep things simple around here. With 4 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 3 horses simple isn't a word that describes our house too well though. Not to mention my husband's strange work schedule. Anyway, one thing I do to make things a little easier to plan, is use a basic breakfast menu that changes very little from month to month. It goes a little something like this...
Sunday, Tuesday and Friday are cold cereal or instant oatmeal days.
Mondays are pancakes or waffles.
Wednesdays are toast, yogurt and fresh fruit.
Thursdays are French toast sticks or cereal bars.
Saturday is usually a big cooked breakfast. (If we have time.)
I also try to get in a fresh fruit most days. About the only time I change it around is when I have something that needs to be used or I find a good sale on something new. It seems to work well for us, so I stick with it.


Here's my dinner menu for the coming week:
Monday - Baked Mac & Cheese, fresh corn on the cob
Tuesday - Orange Chicken Bowl
Wednesday - Buckaroo #2 is in charge of dinner and is making Joyce Gale Casserole (I'll explain this one another time.)
Thursday - Leftover Buffet
Friday - French Waffles, Sausage, Fruit
Saturday - Chili Cheese Dogs, Tater Tots, Baby carrots w/ranch
Sunday - Parmesan Chicken w/noodles, Green salad, Cheesey bread
We have a bit of a busy week, so I won't be trying anything new, just to keep it as simple as possible.
Thanks for stopping in. I hope you're finding something you like here. ;)

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

These little pies are so cute and fun to eat. I usually cheat a little and use refrigerated pie crust (Pillsbury), but I have made my own crust when I haven’t been to rushed for time.

I tweaked the filling a little from a recipe I found on Mommy’s Kitchen. One of these days, I’m going to remember to add some diced potatoes, just because I think it would be pretty tasty.

You’ll need:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

½ cup celery, diced small

1/4 cup onion, diced small

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

Refrigerated pie crusts (or homemade crust)

For the shells, I used a large biscuit cutter and rolled it out just a tiny bit to make it fit in the muffin cup. (You can also just cut around glass or a plate. Anything that will make a circle to fit into your muffin cup.) I cut two circles for each cup of my muffin pan, one for the top and one for the bottom. Sometimes I cut little shapes out of the leftover dough to put on top. Put one dough circle in each muffin cup and press it down inside making sure that it comes out over the top a little bit so you have something to seal the top layer to.

In a pan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Stir the milk in slowly. Bring a soft boil and stir for a few minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and add the vegetables and diced chicken. Fill the cups almost to the top of the cup. Put the tops of the crusts over the filling and seal the edges. You can use a fork to seal the edges together. Poke a few small holes in the tops for the steam to escape. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Mmmmmm, another favorite at our house. One of Buckaroo #2’s favorites. Enjoy!

Menu Monday for August 8 -14

If there's one thing I've actually been consistent about at our house, it's making a monthly menu. It helps me keep my food storage rotated and uses food I get on good sales, but my favorite part is that when my kids start asking "what's for dinner" I can just tell them to look at the menu and if they don't like what we're having...well darn it, it's what's on the menu. It usually works pretty well, and on the days it doesn't fly with one or more, then out comes the PB & J with the wheat bread. At least I'm nice enough to give a choice. Buckaroo #1(my pickiest eater)has finally gotten so tired of the sandwiches, that he's actually trying new foods he wouldn't ever eat before. Ha, never thought I'd see the day.
Anyway, here's what we're gonna be cookin' up at our house this week....

Sunday - Easy Lasagna, green salad, homemade bread sticks.
Monday - Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich*, chips, baby carrots w/ranch.
FHE Treat - Peach Cobbler*
Tuesday - Cap'n Crunch Chicken Strips, mac & cheese, green beans.
Wednesday - Fish, Angel Hair w/Brown Butter & Mizithra Cheese, green salad.(Buckaroo #1's turn to make dinner)
Thursday - Between Cub Scouts and 4-H both being on Thursdays, this gets to be Leftover Buffet Night.
Friday - Breakfast Casserole, fruit salad.
Saturday - BLT's, Fake Fried Zucchini, fruit salad.

(* means a new recipe that I'm trying out)

Apple -Nut Zucchini Bread

I've had this recipe for a while now, and finally got around to trying it with some of the first zuccini from my garden. Probably the only thing I'd do different next time is shred the zucchini a little smaller. Otherwise, it was pretty darn tasty. The Littlest Cowgirl had me put some chocolate chips in one of the loaves which was pretty good too. Hope ya like it.

Apple-Nut Zucchini Bread

2 cups AP flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup egg substitute (like Egg-Beaters)
2 large egg whites
14 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 1/2 cups granulatd sugar (I might try Splenda next time)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup shredded apple
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (I'm sure you could leave them out if you don't like them)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 3 large loaf pans with cooking spray.

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine egg substitute and egg whites in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until frothy. (I just used my Kitchenaid mixer)
Combine flor mixture and egg mixture slowly. Add pineapple, sugars and vanilla. Mix well. Fold in apple, zucchini and walnuts.
Divide batter among loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool for about 10 minute before removing bread from the pan, and let it cool completely before slicing.
Bread can be frozen whole or sliced.

Tasty stuff!