Monday, November 3, 2008

Menu Planning Monday (and last weeks cooking adventures)

Last Week:

I didn't get as much cooking practice as I had hoped for this past week. Again, life seems to get in the way...well, life and some kind of bug that got me too :(

I did manage to (sorta) make the Chicken Supreme on Thursday. Tuesday morning, hubby took out some chicken to marinate before he went to bed to grill for dinner (night shift). When he did finally get up, he didn't feel well and didn't feel like grilling it. However by this time it was too late for me to make anything either since I had to go somewhere that evening. The next day we were both sick and neither wanted to do anything. So by Thursday the chicken had been marinating in a mixture of Mojo and Tequila Lime for 2 days and we needed to cook it but he still felt bad and couldn't get out of bed. I decided to try the Chicken Supreme recipe and use this chicken even thought it had been marinating. I also used green peppers and white onion instead of green onion because I forgot to get any. It actually still turned out pretty well! I paired it with Lipton's Mushroom Rice and it was a nice little dinner :)

Saturday Morning I hopped up and tried to make Trina's Pumpkin Bread for breakfast before hubby got home from night shift. I was mixing away doing (what I think was) a great job, then all of a sudden, the eggs that had been in the fridge only one day before were GONE! I called hubby to see what had happened to the eggs. He said he had tossed them because he thought they were the old ones! UGH!! No eggs, too early for the grocery store to be open and I've got 1/2 of it made already. ::Note to self, check for ALL ingredients BEFORE starting to cook!:: I did have some egg beaters and even though I wasn't sure if it would work or not, I figured it was worth a shot and I'd call it a learning experience! The muffins never did quite set right (as I thought they might not because of the eggs) but they tasted absolutely Delicious! I can't wait to try it again with real eggs so hopefully they will be more like bread and less like goo! I wish someone had already invented scratch-and-sniff computer screens because they made the whole house smell pumpkiny spicy and Yummmmmmmmy!! :)

A little later on Saturday morning I decided to try a new crock-pot recipe because hubby and I were going to go to our Capoiera class that afternoon and we knew we would be hungry when we got home but too tired to cook. I got this recipe from About.com's Southern Food. It was called Cowboy Casserole on one page and Beef and Bean Casserole on another page, but because I grew up in the sticks with a bunch of cowboys, I'm going to call it Cowboy Casserole! It was really good, and quite cowboyish! It was a tad dry looking as it was cooking so I added some water to it but it turned out perfectly.

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This week (subject to change at a moment's notice):
Monday - Hubby will be visiting his parents so I'm on my own. Probably left overs or a sandwich or something

Tuesday - ??? Hubby may or may not be back from his visit back home.

Wednesday - Hot Potato Casserole (third times a charm?)


Friday - ??? Hubby's night to cook or take me to dinner!


Sunday - Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (torn out of Better Homes and Gardens some time ago - see below)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cups uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups frozen veggies
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper, and veggies in 11x8 shallow baking dish
2. Top with chicken. Season Chicken as desired. Cover
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 mins or until chicken and rice are done. Top with cheese. Let casserole stand. Stir rice before serving.
Orgjunkie has a lot more recipies and menu plans if you want to head on over there and plan your own!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband works rotating shifts and it can be so hard at times. Menu planning is a huge help for me as I try to maintain consistency for the kids, but being human I fall off the wagon from time to time.
Good luck this week.

Cole said...

Thanks Heather, and yes, life and schedule changes always seem to get in the way of the best laid plans. We plan and God laughs :) My husband and I don't have any children yet so if it gets too crazy and we eat cereal for dinner once in a while due to conflicts in the schedule, we are the only ones we have to worry about. Unfortunately, it is Monday evening and already my menu will have to change due to family issues that have suddenly arisen.

Unknown said...

My husband and I are Self Storage Property Managers. I'm also the Marketing Director for the Southwest Region. So there are many of a night nobody wants to cook.
Thank goodness for the pressure cooker and the crockpot. Also, our 16 year old son is a fantastic cook.
Happy Election Day!

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