Meal Plan Monday #1

Well, here I am. Fulfilling a commitment to myself to be better about having dinner planned ahead of time instead of scrambling to put something together an hour before hubby is due home.

I even made a Simple Menu Board and Recipe Box to store all the cards I will be filling up with recipes. Eventually I plan to get them laminated once I have a good sized stash so they last longer.

Okay, so you may remember that our week runs Tuesday - Monday and we don't cook on Saturday's. Luckily this first week is going to be pretty easy since we are smoking 2 small chickens today and will use the leftovers for meals throughout the week. AND on Thursday I get to use our brand new dutch oven! Oh the things that excite me these days....

I created a file that you can print with the recipes already scaled down to 3x5 inches for recipe cards. You can view it HERE.

Tuesday:

Cheesy Chicken and Tomato Bruschetta Turnovers

Parts:

• 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 2 pounds rotisserie chicken, (1 small)
• 1/2 cup tomato bruschetta, (store-bought)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Remove meat from chicken and chop -- you need 2 cups.
3. Save leftover chicken and carcass for other recipes.Unfold puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 even squares.
4. Beat egg and water until frothy and brush the outer edge of each square with mixture.
5. Mound in the center of each pastry square: 1/4 cup chicken, 1 tablespoon each of bruschetta, Parmesan and mozzarella.
6. Fold pastry over diagonally, making a triangle, and press the edges well to seal. Brush the top of each pastry with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling at the edges.

Recipe Credit HERE

Wednesday:

Typical taco night. Nothing fancy, just good ol' yummy in our tummy tacos!

Photo Credit HERE

Thursday:

Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta

Parts:

• 1 quart water
• 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 celery rib, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (8-ounce) package pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Assembly:

Bring 1 quart salted water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add chicken, and cook 12 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from water with a slotted spoon. Add pasta to water in Dutch oven, and cook 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Keep warm.
Heat 1/4 cup broth over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven; add celery and onion, and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, soup, cheese, and remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth, stirring until cheese is melted. Toss with pasta; garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe Credit HERE


Friday:

French Bread Pizza

This one is my recipe. I don't have a photo for it yet but here are the details.

The Parts:

1 loaf of Parmesan garlic french bread from the bakery

Parmesan (and any other kind you want) cheese

tomato sauce

mushroom stems and pieces

diced tomatoes

pepperonis

And any other goodies you want to add

Assembly:

Cut the loaf of bread in half and slice each side. You will have 4 mini french bread pizzas.

Layer the ingredients in any order you want. I like to put tomato sauce, a little cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, a little more cheese, pepperoni and the last little bit of cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes OR until golden and all the cheese is melted.

NOTE: It is important to really watch the oven the first time making this because each over cooks differently.

Saturday:  Church night - Eat out.

Sunday:

Classic grilled cheese and tomato soup

Just your typical version except I add french fried onions to my soup and inside the sandwich. The hubby prefers strawberry jam on top of his grilled cheese. I never heard of that one until I met him but hey we all have our weird favorites - like who really puts french fried onions in their soup? This girl does. :)

Photo credit HERE

Monday:

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Parts:

• 1 (32-oz.) container low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (about 1 1/2 lb.)
• 1 (10 3/4-oz.) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 (10.2-oz.) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 celery ribs, diced

Assembly:

1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a low boil.
2. Place biscuits on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.
3. Drop strips, 1 at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Add carrots and celery. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.

Recipe credit HERE

Okay, hope you have a fabulous week and be sure to share how you liked the recipes! Some of these are new to me too.