Weekly Menu Plan, First week of February 2014

Dinners

Chicken Taco Salad *
Roasted Chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Spicy Sausage Pasta Lightened Up * , kale
Awesome Chili 2.0 * , crackers
Pepperoni Rolls * , salad
Navajo Tacos *
Beef Stroganoff with rice, green beans

Lunches

Sauteed Bacon Mushrooms and Lentils *
Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese *
Pizza Quesadillas *
Canned Soup from coupon deals
Ramen noodles
Pbj

Snacks

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie *
Homemade Granola Bars
Oatmeal PB Sandwich Cookies *
Popcorn

* Recipes coming this week.

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

This dish was inspired by a recipe on Skinnytaste.com. I tweaked a few things to adjust it more to my family's taste.  It was so good! I'm glad there were leftovers!

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

1 pound turkey Italian Sausage, removed from casings
12 oz whole wheat penne, cooked according to package directions
16 oz low fat cottage cheese
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
28 oz spaghetti sauce

Brown sausage in a skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce and set aside. In a medium bowl stir cottage cheese, half of mozzarella and Parmesan together.

In a 13 x 9 in. pan layer half of the pasta, half meat mixture and the cheese mixture. Then add layers of the remaining pasta and meat mixture. Top with other half of mozzarella. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Serves 10.

Nutritional Facts: 

1/10 of recipe, 349 calories, 14 g fat, 12 g carbohydrate,  g fiber, 37 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 8

Quick Garlic Breadsticks, no yeast needed

 

These are a great, inexpensive side for Italian dishes. I keep a can of spaghetti sauce in the cabinet so I can make these for lunch. YUM!

Quick Garlic Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1 12 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

4 TBS butter or margarine, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450º. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in milk to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times. Roll out into a 5 x 10 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 breadsticks. Mix butter and garlic together and Pour into a 13 x 9 baking dish. One by one roll sticks in butter and place in pan. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until browned.

Oven Fried Chicken Nuggets

These are a favorite of the Picky Kids Quad. 

Oven Fried Chicken Nuggets

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Pepper to taste
5 TBS butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 425º. Mix Parmesan cheese and plain and panko breadcrumbs together in a shallow dish. Place butter in a different bowl. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel.  Dip chicken in butter. Shake off excess and roll in bread crumbs. shake off excess crumbs and place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn with spatula; bake for additional 8 to 10 minutes until browned. Serves 6.

Nutritional Facts: 

1/6 of recipe, 349 calories, 14 g fat, 12 g carbohydrate,  g fiber, 37 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 8

Frugal Menu Plan for last week in January 2014

Here's this week menu plan to provide inspiration and ideas as you plan your menus:

Dinners
Baked Pasta with Sausage
Navajo tacos
Taco Skillet 
Pizza, salad
Tacos
Spaghetti (I got some free spaghetti on a couponing trip)
Baked Chicken, baked potatoes, canned corn

Lunches
Homemade corndogs
stuffed pepper soup
homemade chicken nuggets
chicken noodle soup
grilled cheese
ramen noodles

Snacks
Cajun Popcorn 

The shopping list for this menu plan cost $117 at Walmart, that includes diapers and things like that.

Taco Skillet

 

I adapted this recipe from a Weight Watchers Mexican casserole recipe I found on Food.com. The original recipe had corn tortillas layered with the meat mixture in a casserole dish. I don't care for soggy tortillas, so I turned it into a skillet dish that you eat with tortilla chips and added my own spices.

 Taco Skillet

 

1 lb ground turkey

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1/2 cup salsa

1 TBS chili powder

1 TBS cumin 

1/2 teaspoon garlic

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz reduced fat cheddar

light sour cream

cilantro, chopped

baked tortilla chips

In a large skillet, brown ground turkey and drain. Add next 8 ingredients; simmer on medium heat until heated through about 10 minutes. Scoop individual serving onto a plate and top with cheddar and sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 8.

Nutritional Facts: 

1/8 of recipe, 391 calories, 16 g fat, 44 g carbohydrate, 38 g fiber, 21 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 8

Sausage Wild Rice with Mushrooms

Sausage Wild Rice

1 lb. turkey sausage
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
4 oz can chopped mushrooms, drained
2 cups water
6 oz Chicken and Wild Rice Mix (I used Uncle Ben's.)

In a large skillet or dutch oven brown sausage. Add green pepper, onion and mushrooms; saute until tender. Stir in water and rice and seasoning from mix. Heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir and serve. 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 

1/8 of recipe, 181 calories, 6 g fat, 17 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 15 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 4

Chicken Fajitas: Easy and Quick!

 

I was so amazed that the Picky Kid Quad actually ate these fajitas. Ok, so they just ate the chicken our of them, but I am hoping that some of the vitamins from the peppers seeped onto the meat. :) We ate these without tortilla because I forgot them at the store. I always forget at least one thing on my list. How do I do that?! It's written down!

 

Chicken Fajitas

 

2 TBS oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 1/2 large green peppers, cut into strips 

1/4 onion, cut into strips (I sometimes skip these, my husband is an onion-phob.)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 TBS lime juice

whole wheat tortillas

toppings, such as, shredded 2% cheddar cheese, low fat sour cream, salsa

In a large skillet or dutch oven brown chicken in oil. Add seasonings and vegetables and saute until vegetables are tender. Serve on tortillas with your favorite toppings. Make about 6 tortillas.

Nutritional Facts: 

1 tortilla, 271 calories, 9 g fat, 24 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 19 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 6

Cake Mix Cookies

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Before Christmas Kroger had a sale on cake mix. With coupons I was able to geta bunch of cake mixes for $.14 each. I did want to make plain cake, so I reached Pinterest for more 7nteresting recipes using cake mix. I found this yummy .cookie recipe. It's so versital. Mix and match the cake mix flavors and mix ins. The combination pictured here is butter cake mix with white chocolate and walnuts. The Picky Kid Quad loved them, which surprised me.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 15.25 oz cake mix

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup of mix-ins (choclate chips, nuts) (opinional) 

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together. Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until done.

Eating to Lose Weight, Menu Plan

Dinners

• Wild Rice with Turkey Sausage and Mushrooms, green beans
• Chicken Guacamole, refried beans
• Tacos, salad
• Parmesan Crusted Fish, Kale, Boiled Potatoes (I'll skip the potatoes)
• Italian Turkey Sausage with Peppers, Roasted Cauliflower
• Lasanga Roll-ups, Parmesan Zucchini
• Pizza with Turkey Pepperonis, salad

Freebies from Kroger

It was a good couponing week at Kroger. Love it!

Here are the things I got for free:
2 Colgate toothpastes
2 Yakisoba noodle bowls
2 maruchan noodle bowls
2 boxes of Mueller's pot sized pasta

2 bags of Bird's Eye recipe ready veggies

2 32oz Powerades (not pictured)

Here are the things I got super cheap:
4 Milky Way bars .09 each (not pictured)
4 Twix bars .09 each (not pictured)
5 ALL laundry detergents .99 each
1 snuggle fabric softener .99
2 nature's own bread .69 each

Thankful for the Savings: CVS Couponing "Brag" Post

I thought it would be fun to share  my couponing hauls, but I hate to call them "brag" posts. I thought "Thankful for the Savings" sounded a lot better. :)

It's been awhile since I've shopped at CVS. I quit getting the $4 off of $20 coupons for some reason and I just haven't taken the time to put together a couponing shopping trip. It helps that I've already spent all my Extra Bucks. :(

This week I decided to brave the cold and make a trip. Here are the deals that I got:

~Mars Chocolate Singles, $0.75 Used $0.75/1 Mars Singles, 1.08-1.92 oz, CVS Coupon Center  Final Price: Free
 ~All Laundry Detergent, Buy One Get One Free. $6.99, Used $2.00/2 printable coupon. Final Price: $2.00 each
~CVS Vitamins, Buy One Get One Free, $7.99, Used $3 off $15 Vitamin purchase, CVS Coupon Center,  Final Price: $2.50 each
~BONUS: I found a sample packet of Youth Code Pore Vanisher. Excited to try it!


I'm especially excited about the vitamin deal. I ran out of vitamins months ago and have been to cheap to buy more. :)

Cajun Popcorn, Make it Hot or Not

 

I love this spicy popcorn! It's so addictive. I used to make this all the time as a teenager, but today is the first time I've made it for my kids with a few adjustments. Two out of the four members of the Picky Kids Quad loved it. To me this recipe screams Movie Night. 

 

 Cajun Popcorn

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 quarts popped popcorn

In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; set aside. In a
small saucepan, heat oil over medium for 1 minute; add seasonings.
Cook and stir over low heat for 1 minute. Place the popcorn in a
large bowl; add seasoning mixture and toss to coat. Yield: 3 quarts.

Nutritional Facts: 

1 serving (1 cup) equals 77 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 294 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein. Weight Watchers Points Plus 7