Menu Plan Monday: June 2, 2014

Some of the recipe links go to external websites.

Lunches (served with fruit)

Ham and Cheese Ranch Pasta Salad
Chicken Noodles Soup
PBJs
Grilled Cheese
Leftovers

Snacks

Restaurant Style Salsa with Chips
Pizza Pretzel Nibblers (recipe coming soon)
Mmm Better Brownies
Almond Coffee Cake (recipe coming soon)
fruit

Dinners

Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole, Corn on the Cob
Oven Fried Chicken Chimichangas, Mexican Salad (recipe coming soon)
Potato, Ham and Cheddar Soup, Parmesan Bread Sticks (recipes coming soon)
Oven Fried Catfish, Cripsy Oven Fries
Stuffed Shells, salad and Texas toast

Navajo Tacos, super cheap and delicious!

You won't miss the meat in this yummy Tex-Mex dish. Keep a can of refried beans (usually priced around $.99) in yiur cabinet to make this recipe when the groceries are low and pay day isn't for a few days.

Fry Bread
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Oil for frying

Heat oil to 350 in a large skillet. In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add mik and stir to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface ans knead a feq time. Dough should still be soft, but easir to work with.

Divide dough into 6 parts. Flatten on part into a circle (about 4 or 5 inches) and place in hot oil. Fry for about 1 minute or until bottom is golden and then flip the bread to brown the other side. When other side is brown, carefully remove from oil (I like to use tongs) and place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with other dough pieces.

Toppings:
1 can of refried beans, heated
Shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
Taco sauce or salsa
Tomatoes, chopped
Lettuce, chopped

Top your fry bread as desired and enjoy!

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

  When you're on a tight budget, you stop buying snacks like chips and packaged cookies. It's always nice to bake up some goodies so that your hungry pack has something to munch on. These cookies are nice because t you probably have the ingredients in your cabinets; no need to buy expensive ingredients like chocolate chips or nuts

 

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened 
1 cup white sugar 
1 cup packed brown sugar 
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon



In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 2 dozen

This Week's Menu Plan

My husband lost his job two weeks ago. Luckily he started a  new job yesterday, BUT we have two weeks where no paycheck is coming in. Scary, but I know the Lord will provide for us, and it does remind me of the founding purpose of this blog: To share healthy, expensive recipes to help you save money on your grocery bill. 

Here I'm sharing this weeks menu plan with links to any recipes not on my blog. I hope this inspires you as you make your weekly menu. I spent around $70 at Walmart for groceries for this menu plan, including diapers and toilet paper. I had a whole month of WIC coupons which helped buy milk, cereal, bread, juice and fresh fruit.

Monday
Turkey Bacon Sandwiches with mayo, tomatoes and lettuce, watermelon

Tuesday
Slow Cooker Chicken Quesadillas, canned refried beans for a side (I had this chicken in the freezer.)

Wednesday
Pinto Beans with Bacon, cornbread muffins (I had the beans in the cabinet, just had to buy bacon)

Thursday
Cheeseburger Flatbread Melts, Summer Ranch Tomato Side (I had all the ingredients for this. I plan on making the pizza dough instead of buying it.)

Friday
Pizza, salad

Saturday
Shepherd's Pie

Sunday
Ravioli, Texas Toast, and green beans


Lunches

• waffles (I have some syrup left)
• grilled cheese
• peanut butter and jelly
• Leftovers

Snacks

• Creamsicle Smoothies 
• Pretzels
• Oatmeal cookies 
• Chocolate No Bake Cookies
• Fruit
• Canned Peaches
• Cereal

Simple Summer Tomato Side Dish

There's nothing like tomatoes fresh from your garden! They make a quick, delicious, no heat side dish.

Slice your tomatoes and drizzle with your favorite salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

Cripsy Fries in the Oven : Kid approved

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I'm super excited about it because my kids prefer crispy fries, but I don't want to deep fry them. :)

Cripsy Fries in the Oven

3 large potatoes
2-3 tablespoons oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Cut the potatoes into fries.

Next, place fries in ice water. Completely submerge the fries in water. Let fries sit one hour. This helps to remove excess starch and will help the fries crisp up more in the oven.

After an hour, drain the water, and pat fries dry with a paper towel.

Toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Spread out onto a baking sheet which has been generously sprayed with cooking spray (two if the sheet is too crowded- fries should not be super packed on the sheet).

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes- until fries start to get soft. You might want to stir the fries at this point to prevent excessive sticking and to flip the fries to the other side.

Turn the oven to 450 and continue baking until crisp (about 20-30 minutes). If you get in a hurry, turn on the broiler to crisp up the fries- but watch them closely, and stir them a few times to be sure all sides get some good crunch!

Serves 6

Smothered Chicken

This recipe passed the hubby test. You know a recipe is a hit when your hubby goes back for seconds!

 Smothered Chicken

6 chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 pounds
Chicken seasoning or your favorite seasoning (I used Emeril's Chicken Rub.)
Salt to taste
6 slices of provolone cheese
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tbs butter or margarine

Place chicken in a baking dish. Sprinkle with chicken rub and salt. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until juices run clear. In the meant7me, melt butter in a sk7llet. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Salt slightly. When chicken is done, top each breast with a slice of provolone. Return to oven for a few minutes until cheese is melted. Top each breast with sauteed mushrooms and serve. Serves 6.

Nutritional information

1/8 chicken breast, CALORIES 301, FAT 18 g, CARBS 1 g, FIBER 0 g, PROTEIN 33 g, Weight Watchers Points plus: 8 points