I’m a little later than usual with this one because since it is a long weekend, today is more like a Sunday and I’m just now getting around to planning and making my grocery list. Last week we ended up going out on Friday and moving the baked ziti to Saturday, so there’s no grill food, but there’s leftover ziti for dinner tonight. This week I’m trying to make meals out of stuff I already have and buy as little as possible (which is probably what I should be doing every week). I think I only need a few things from the store!

Monday: Leftover baked ziti, green salad, French bread

Tuesday: Grilled ham & cheese on sourdough, potato wedges

Wednesday: Chicken rice casserole, green beans, bread

Thursday: same (except maybe change the veggie)

Friday: same

Saturday: Lemon-pepper chicken, potatoes & green beans (a Green Giant frozen thing I picked up cheap)

Sunday: Oatmeal-cinnamon waffles, scrambled eggs, sautéed apples

Visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday post to see lots of other menus!

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Monday: Roasted chicken hash*, green beans, French bread

Tuesday: same

Wednesday: Beef tacos, fresh fruit

Thursday: same

Friday (David’s parents in town): Baked ziti, green salad, French bread

Saturday (David’s parents in town): Grilled meat to be determined by David later, grilled mixed vegetables, baked potatoes

Sunday: probably eat at my parents’ house; if not, there should be leftovers

Check out the original Menu Plan Monday to see more ideas.

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*Recipe: Roasted Chicken Hash (from The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook) (more…)

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David grilled last night (we postponed it from Saturday to Sunday). When we grill, we make enough for about a week, hence the repetition you see here. We have guests on Tuesday, so I’m making my “company dinner” that night, then it’s back to the grill food. So it may not be a very interesting menu to read, but it sure is easy on me!

Monday: Chicken quesadillas, fruit

Tuesday (w/ guests): Roast chicken and potatoes, green beans, rolls

Wednesday: Grilled chicken sandwiches, sweet potato wedges

Thursday: Burgers, potato wedges

Friday: Chicken quesadillas, fruit

Saturday: Grilled chicken sandwiches, sweet potato wedges

Sunday: Burgers, potato wedges

Visit the original Menu Plan Monday for more menu ideas from people all over the country and beyond.

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Here’s what’s cookin’ at the Felio house this week. Check out the original Menu Plan Monday for more ideas or to participate yourself!

Monday: Chicken parmesan w/ marinara sauce over pasta, green beans

Tuesday: Vegetable beef soup, baked potatoes (since there aren’t potatoes in this soup), homemade rolls from freezer

Wednesday: same

Thursday: same

Friday: Dinner out with a friend, unless I change my mind and decide to cook something

Saturday: Burgers, potato wedges

Sunday: Chicken quesadillas, fruit

Saturday’s and Sunday’s menus are dependent on David’s being able to grill on Saturday. If the weather won’t cooperate, then I can make lemon-pepper chicken one night and breakfast for dinner the other.

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I’m trying something new here. There’s this blog called Organizing Junkie that hosts Menu Plan Monday, where lots of other moms post links to their blogs where they’ve shared their menu for the week. I thought it sounded like fun and a great motivation. (I’ve been menu planning for a while, but I’m not always consistent with it, and sometimes I only plan 2 or 3 days’ worth right before I go to the store, thinking I’ll figure out the rest of the week in a few days. But my week goes much smoother when I plan a whole week at a time.) I’ll try to include some recipes as well.

A word about my cooking habits: I don’t cook a new dinner each night. The whole “cooking for 2” thing is one of the silliest ideas I’ve heard. I cook for 4 or 6 and we eat it until it’s gone, so I only have to cook a few times per week. So usually my menus will consist of just a few meals that will last the week.

If you’d like to join in, click on the links mentioned above to get started. I’d love to see what my friends are having for dinner and get some new ideas! And check out what’s on others’ menus by visiting some of the links here.

Monday (same thing we had Sunday): Broiled chicken sandwiches, oven-baked sweet potato wedges*, fresh pineapple

Tuesday (guests for dinner, so probably not much leftovers): Roast chicken and potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls

Wednesday (unless there are leftovers from Tuesday): Lemon-pepper chicken breasts, sugar snap peas w/ orange-ginger butter, rolls

Thursday: Chicken tacos w/ fixins, fresh fruit

Friday: same as Thursday

Saturday: Homemade pizza, salad

Sunday: same as Saturday

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*Recipe (sort of): Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Wedges (more…)

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If you like chicken and rice, you probably already have a recipe that you use. It’s probably very tasty. And it probably has cream-of-something soup in it. But there’s something in those soups that bothers David’s throat, so I’ve learned to cook without them for the most part. I found a recipe online a while back and tweaked it a bit, and it has now become a household favorite (even Anna will eat a little of this!!!):

Chicken and Rice Casserole

• 1/3 c. margarine
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1 c. chicken broth**
• 3 c. shredded cooked chicken*
• 3 c. cooked rice (I use brown rice)
• 1 c. sliced mushrooms, optional

Melt margarine in saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper; cook until bubbly. Add milk and chicken broth a little at a time, whisking until smooth. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil; boil and stir for 1 minute.

Mix sauce with chicken, rice, and mushrooms; pour into 2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

* For cooked chicken to use in recipes, I buy the bone-in chicken breasts when they go on sale and cook them for several hours in the Crock Pot. (You can brine them first for more flavor if you like.) They are just falling-apart tender when they’re done, plus you get some broth to use. You can then freeze the extra meat and the broth to use later.

**If I don’t have chicken broth, I use chicken bouillon and reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/2 tsp.

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We had a busy, fun day in the kitchen doing one of my favorite activities—making yummy food! Here’s what we had:

• Smoked turkey breast (David’s the “smoker” in this house, and he’s great at it!)
• Cornbread dressing
• Orange Sweet Potato Casserole
• Green Beans with Orange Essence and Toasted Maple Pecans
• Best American Dinner Rolls
• Apple-Cranberry Pie
• Praline Pumpkin Pie

Want a couple of recipes? Here you go… (more…)

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Put meat in it, and no veggies. :)

Here’s my quiche recipe. It started as a spinach and bacon quiche, but by substituting the spinach with chicken, it became something we both will eat for dinner. I kind of morphed a couple of different recipes into this one.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

• 1 pie crust, pre-baked or partially baked
• 1/4 large onion, finely chopped
• 8 oz. frozen chopped spinach
• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Heat skillet over medium heat; sauté onion and spinach in margarine 5-7 minutes or until onion is softened.

Whisk eggs, cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach/onion mixture, cheese, and bacon. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or just until set. (If necessary, cover edge of pie crust with ring of foil to prevent over-browning.) Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Variation—Chicken and Bacon Quiche: omit spinach and sauté onion by itself. In place of spinach, stir in 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cooked chicken.

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I’ve learned from observation and encounters with various people throughout my life that those fizzy sugary drinks we all love have very different names around the country. In the South, everything is “Coke.” It doesn’t matter what the actual drink is; it’s all Coke. Our Midwestern neighbors call it “Pop,” and those New Englanders up there prefer “Soda.” But did you know someone actually researched this? This map is several years old, and the number of respondents seems small to accurately reflect the population, but it’s funny how it still confirms casual observation!

On a totally unrelated note, look at how big some of those counties are in some of the western states! They’re huge!

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I thought I’d put to good use all that influential power I have through my blog (yeah, right!) and make a plug for the Women’s Potluck Brunch this Saturday at Fellowship Bible Church. It’s at 10:00 in the atrium… er, I mean, “Fellowship Central.”

The past two Christmases I’ve had a little brunch in my home for a few friends, and I always wished I could invite everyone I knew, but I (and my house) couldn’t handle more than a few people. Then I thought how much fun it would be if it were church-wide. So I approached the Women’s Ministry leadership about starting up a potluck brunch. It’s simple, low-cost, not much planning involved, and should be fun whether there are few or many. My hope is to make it a quarterly event.

So, girls, bring something to eat and come join the fun. If you like to cook, then cook (I’m making this); if you don’t, then pick up something from the grocery store. I don’t want anyone to feel turned off because they don’t like/don’t have time to cook. By the same token, I know some of you are good decorators, but I’m not… so don’t expect anything fancy when you get there!

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