Week 2 of the Insane Schedule

So I'm a few days late posting.  We had a wonderful time in Gatlinburg with my parents, brother, and nephew. The food was amazing, we grilled some pork chops (marinated in Italian dressing), and some of them were pan fried with some sort of Chili, Lime, Basil rub.  Then my husband made a sauce from the pan drippings.  Baked potatoes, garlic bread, and green beans finished off the meal followed by birthday cake I made for my mom.  Later that evening, after the kids went to bed, I enjoyed a nice long soak in the hot tub!

Here is our meal plan for the week:

Monday
Left over pork chops with mashed potatoes (Bob Evans has the BEST instant potatoes if you don't want to make your own) and a can of field peas with jalapenos.  THe chops didn't get cooked Saturday night and we got home too late Sunday to make them, so I wanted to get them cooked before they went bad.

Tuesday
Last night we had stuffed shells with a salad and garlic bread.  The kids didn't want a salad so they had some carrot sticks.  I mix ground beef in my cheese mixture (ricotta and mozzarella) and last night I decided to add 2 large spoonfuls of pesto to the mixture.  I stuff the shells and cooked at 350 for 30 minutes, covered, added some shredded parmesan cheese and cooked an additional 7 minutes (which is when I cooked the garlic bread).  

Wednesday
Tonight we are having my daughter's favorite meal.  It'll be rotini pasta with turkey smoked sausage, broccoli, and mushrooms.  What I do is start the pasta, then I slice the sausage and add it to the pan with olive oil and minced garlic.  Then I cut up the broccoli and add it to the pan.  Then I slice the mushrooms and add them along with some ground savory to the pan.  I turn it to low, cover, and wait for the pasta to finish up.  Then I toss it all together with a bit more olive oil and top with shredded parmesan.  Easy Peasy!

Thursday
We're having fried rice, I have to provide my daughter with something she can eat in the car between dance and Civil Air Patrol.  I'm still trying to decide if we are going to have chicken, beef, or shrimp fried rice!

Friday/Saturday
It's going to be chilly so we are going to do soup and grilled cheese one night and have Noodles and Mexican Cornbread the other night.  I smoosh up a piece of cornbread in a bowl and pour the noodles over them, then mix it all up. So good and warm!

Noodles:
Bring shell noodles to a boil in a large pot.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Then add a large can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste to the pot.  Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.  (You can season however you want, I just add salt and pepper).

Mexican Cornbread:
Follow the directions on a corn meal mix for a pan of cornbread.  However, only use one cup of milk.  Add a can of creamed corn and a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  Add some diced jalepenos to the mix and cook as directed.

Sunday
I'm roasting a chicken in the crock pot.  I think I'm going to have herbed potatoes in the oven and some other side dish that I haven't decided on yet.  Preferably another crock pot dish (I have 3!).  Here's the  chicken recipe:

CROCK POT ROAST STICKY CHICKEN

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.

3. Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

4. When ready to cook chicken put the onions into the cavity, put the chicken into thecrockpot and do not add any liquid (as the cooking process goes on it will produce it's own juices).

5.   Cook on low 8 to 10 hours.