Menu For 7/4 - 7/10

Sunday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Homemade seasoned beef meatballs combined with tomato sauces, served over spaghetti

 

4 servings (of meatballs)

 

For Spaghetti and Meatballs:

Spaghetti pasta, as many servings as you need
Homemade pizza sauce (2 c per meatball recipe)
Homemade tomato soup (2 c per meatball recipe)
Homemade meatballs (recipe below serves 4)
Shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese, optional

Meatball recipe:

1 lb ground chuck
2 medium eggs
1/4 c minced onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 handfulls quick oats
salt
pepper

Instructions: 

To make meatballs:
1. In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Shape into balls and place on a jelly roll pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
For spaghetti and meatballs:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat sauce and meatballs over medium-low heat.
3. Serve meatball and sauce over pasta, topping with mozzarella and parmesan cheese if desired.

Additional Notes: 

We like to have this with homemade garlic bread and a cooked green vegetable.
Meatballs can be made in large quantities and frozen in meal-sized portions. Just thaw and re-heat for a quick and easy meal!

Monday: Oven-Roasted Chicken

Juicy and tender roasted whole chicken

4-6 servings

 

Ingredients: 

1 whole frying chicken
garlic salt
seasoned salt
lemon pepper

Instructions: 

1. Rinse chicken with cold water and remove giblets from inside. Lay chicken, breast side up, in sink.

2. Sprinkle seasonings generously over chicken (still in sink; this makes less mess!). Lift chicken and place, breast-side down, in baking dish (one that had a lid). Season the back side. Cover with lid.
3. Bake chicken for about 30 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. I find that the chickens I usually cook are about 5 pounds and I can bake them for at least 2.5 hours, but up to 3.5 hours, with success. It seems like the ones baked for at least 3 hours are the most tender!
4. Test chicken with thermometer and remove when tender (and, of course, at least up to temp!). Remove chicken and place, breast side up, on a plate to serve. The juices left in the baking dish make a great gravy! :)
    

Additional Notes: 

I use a deep glass baking dish that's just big enough to hold the chicken. I like to season the chicken ahead of time and keep in the fridge until it's time to start baking it.
I've also made this recipe in the slow cooker. I cooked a 5+ lb. chicken for 7 hours on HIGH and it was very tender and delicious!

Preparation Time: 

7 minutes

Cooking Time: 

2-3 hours

Sweet Mommy's  Review: 

This recipe is a 10/10. DH loves roasted chicken, and I have been experimenting for years (literally!) for just the right flavor and moistness. This chicken falls apart when you take it out, and is so moist and tender, we use our forks to cut it on our plates. I season the outside liberally, and the flavor permeates the meat as it bakes. And since it's baked breast-side-down in a small dish, covered (as opposed to a large pan with lots of extra air and space inside), it just doesn't get dried out. We have this recipe as often as once a week. Almost as good as the fresh roasted chicken itself, is the leftover meat. Perfect for making casseroles, soups, gravy, or sandwiches requiring chicken. This is a must-try recipe. :D

 

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Quesadillas with Corn and Black Beans

Description: 

Crispy flour tortillas with a flavorful filling of grilled chicken, corn, black beans, and cheese, best enjoyed with toppings of sour cream and salsa!

Yield: 

6 (whole) quesadillas -- about 3 full servings

Ingredients: 

1 can (15 ounces, or about 1 1/4 cups freshly cooked) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of corn, drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked chicken*, chopped into thin, small pieces
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
12 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
Sour cream, for serving
Salsa, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl for the filling.
2. Coat 1 side of the tortillas with a small bit of olive or vegetable oil. Lay half of the tortillas, oil side down, on cookie sheets.
3. Spoon filling mixture onto tortilla,s dividing evenly among them. Top with remaining tortillas, oil side up.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until filling is warm and melted and tortillas start browning. Flip quesadillas halfway through the cooking time to brown both sides of the quesadillas.
5. Cut each quesadilla into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa and sour cream.

Preparation Time: 

15 minutes

Cooking Time: 

15-20 minutes

Wednesday: Shepherd's Pie

Description: 

A flavorful beef and vegetable mixture, topped with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese, baked until hot

Yield: 

6-8 servings

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups mixed vegetables, either frozen, canned, or leftover*
4 cups (approximately) mashed potatoes (made from about 8 potatoes)
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup whole milk

Instructions: 

1. Brown ground beef with onion, pepper, and garlic. Drain grease.
2. In a large bowl, combine the meat, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and mixed vegetables.
3. Grease a (deep) 10-inch glass pie plate. (You could also use an 8-inch square glass dish.) Spread the meat and vegetable mixture in the dish. Top with a layer of the mashed potatoes, sealing to the edges. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Just before baking, pour milk over cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pie is hot and cheese is lightly browned.

Additional Notes: 

*I like to use a mixture of corn, cut green beans, green peas, and chopped (cooked) carrots

Preparation Time: 

45 minutes (if using all fresh ingredients) or 10 minutes (if using leftover ingredients)

Cooking Time:

Thursday: Incredibly Easy Taco Pie

A spicy taco meat casserole surrounded by cheesy soft breading, topped with sour cream, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and green peppers

8-10 servings

Ingredients: 

Meat:
2 pounds ground chuck
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Tapatio or other hot sauce, to taste
Filling:2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups original Bisquick mix
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon Tapatio hot sauce or hot sauce of your choice
Toppings:
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
4 cups shredded or thinly sliced Iceberg lettuce
1 cup diced tomato
diced bell peppers or green onions, optional

Instructions: 

1. Fry beef with onion, pepper and garlic. Drain grease. Add cumin, chili powder, pepper, salt, and hot sauce.
2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Spread meat in bottom of dish. Spread 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese over beef.
3. In mixing bowl, whisk together the Bisquick, milk, eggs, and hot sauce. Pour over cheese.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until fork inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil after about 25 minutes, to prevent over-browning. If desired, sprinkle top with cheese during final 10 minutes of baking time.
5. When casserole is finished baking, cut into pieces. Spread a layer of sour cream on top. Sprinkle shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and bell peppers (optional) on top.

Preparation Time: 

15 minutes

Cooking Time: 

45 minutes

Thursday: Sweet's Easy Pizza

Description: 

A soft pizza dough recipe, topped with your favorite pizza toppings and baked

Yield: 

12-16 slices

Ingredients: 

Crust Ingredients:
3/4 cup water (110-115 degrees, preferably)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablesppoons butter, melted or very softened
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon yeast
Other Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon cornmeal (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pizza sauce
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
sliced onions, optional
chopped bell peppers, optional
turkey pepperoni, fried turkey bacon, or fried hamburger, optional
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon basil
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

Instructions: 

1. If using a bread machine to make pizza dough, put ingredients in bread machine in order listed and set to dough setting.
If making dough by hand, mix water, butter, and sugar in mixing bowl. Add part of the flour and stir. Add the rest of the flour and the yeast, and stir into a dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Set dough in bowl and grease the top. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.*
2. After dough has risen the first time, punch down and knead until air bubbles are removed.
3. Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan, and press dough onto pan. Carefully lift one-half of the crust and fold over (to expose half of the pizza pan). Sprinkle 1/2 Tablespoon cornmeal over pan. Lay crust back in place and repeat on other half, so that there is cornmeal sprinkled between entire layer of crust and pan.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over top of crust and then spread with 1 cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle on cheese and any optional toppings desired. Sprinkle on oregano, basil, and parmesan cheese last.
5.** Place pizza in oven and turn heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes; rotate crust and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until top is browned. (Be sure to watch so it doesn't burn; every oven is different!)
6. When pizza is browned, turn off heat and open oven door. Leave pizza in oven until ready to serve. Then remove from oven, cut, and serve. If there is leftover pizza, we often put the pieces directly on a cooling rack to cool, which prevents condensation forming between the crust and pan.

Additional Notes:

*If you're short on time, you can skip this rise and just press your freshly-kneaded dough onto the pan and continue with the recipe.
*Alternate baking directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake pizza for 15 minutes on the bottom rack, or until browned. (Baking on the top or middle racks could result in an under-cooked crust.)

Preparation Time: 

30-40 minutes + rising time

Cooking Time: 

15 minutes

Friday: Homemade Lasagna

A flavorful and cheesy homemade beef lasagna with cottage cheese and spinach

8 servings

Ingredients: 

3/4-1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, optional
8 ounces* lasagna pasta sheets, cooked according to package instructions
2 cups pizza sauce
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups (16 ounces) cottage cheese*
1-2 cups fresh spinach leaves, optional
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Brown meat in skillet with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and Italian seasoning. Drain grease.
2. To drained meat mixture, add 1 cup of the cottage cheese, stirring well.
3. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread a small amount of pizza sauce in the bottom. Layer cooked pasta in a single layer on top of sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
4. Continue layering: meat mixture, pasta, sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, remaining 1 cup cottage cheese, spinach, pasta, remaining sauce, and remaining mozzarella cheese. Garnish top with oregano if desired, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until top is golden. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese when serving, if desired.

Homemade Lasagna, served with Garlic Bread

Additional Notes: 

*Or more, depending on how deep your 9 x 13 baking dish is. I like to use about 12 ounces of pasta, but depending on the dish, it can get too full to fit.
**If cottage cheese is watery, as some brands are, strain off any excess liquid before using.

Preparation Time: 

30 minutes

Cooking Time: 

30-40 minutes

Soup Saturday:  Vegetable Bean Soup with Spinach

A brothy vegetable soup with two kinds of beans, flavored with basil, with chopped spinach added near the end

 

6 servings

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon oil
3 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery with leaves, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth (or water; it's good either way)
2 cups cooked great northern beans
2 cups cooked red kidney beans
2 cups tomatoes (may be canned)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon parsley
10 ounces fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups loose leaves before it's chopped, or about 6 cups coarsely chopped)
salt, to taste

Instructions: 

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, beans, tomatoes, basil, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until carrots are tender and flavors are well-spread throughout the soup.
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in spinach. Cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Add salt to taste.

Vegetable Bean Soup with Spinach,
shown with Hearty Herb Bread

 

 

Preparation Time: 

15 minutes

Cooking Time: 

45-60 minutes