This is the first full week of strict meal planning and testing new recipes - I did the last half of last week.....so here we go (with any changes and commentary after the recipe).
Sunday, 7/8/2018
Egg Rolls and Cream Cheese Wonton (wonton were store bought and are one of my guilty pleasures, so recipe is only for egg rolls)
See recipe in previous post
Monday, 7/9/2018
Roast Beef and Gravy with Baked Rice Pilaf - both from Taste of Home Dinner on a Dime
Roast Beef and Gravy
1 boneless chuck roast (3 pounds)
2 cans (10.75 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/3 cup sherry or beef broth
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1-Cut roast in half; place in 3-qt slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender.
*I didn't see any reason to cut the roast in half, so I didn't.....it still turned out super tender. One thing that I will change the next time I make this is to cut the onion soup mix down to half a package because it was a bit saltier than expected, and we have to try and keep salt intake to a minimum due to health concerns in the family.
Baked Rice Pilaf
1 3/4 c water 1 c shredded carrot
1 c chopped celery 3/4 c uncooked long grain rice
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1-Combine all ingredients in an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 375* for 40-45 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring after 25 minutes.
**Family graded this meal AAB for roast and BAB for rice.....for the roast it was deemed too salty, but otherwise pretty great, and for the rice pilaf, it was requested that there was less celery the next time it's made.
Tuesday, 7/10/18
Ravioli Primavera (yes, a meatless meal!!) Dinner on a Dime
4 cups frozen cheese ravioli 1 package frozen, Italian vegetables, thawed*
1/4 c olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c vegetable broth 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-Prepare ravioli according to directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute vegetables in oil for 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute longer or until garlic is tender.
2-Stir in broth. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Drain pasta. Add to vegetable mixture and toss to coat.
*Italian vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, squash.....we don't eat zucchini or squash, so I substituted the "California blend" of just broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.
**Family overwhelmingly gave this a B. Part of the reason was that they were truly expecting it to be a dish with meat, so the fact that it was plain cheese ravioli threw them off. The other issue was that it could probably actually use less oil than the recipe called for. But, a B is still a meal that can be considered...C and lower won't get made again.
Wednesday, 7/11/2018 - Barklay's Gotcha Day!!!
This night called for an old favorite - baked ham with pasta and greens. No real recipe, but here's what I do:
ham: pre-sliced ham - NOT honey glazed - usually hickory smoked, layered in glass baking dish with a little water added, covered with aluminum foil and baked at 350* for 30-35 minutes
greens: glory southern mixed greens - not longer available at any of my local stores in small cans, but I found them in the frozen section, so we're still good (half the family loves them, 1/4 the family can tolerate them, the remaining 4th can't stand them)
pasta: Pasta-roni olive oil and herb pasta, done following the microwave directions
I know, whoop-dee-doo, but it's a meal guaranteed to please everyone in the family (even the one who doesn't like the greens because he likes the pasta).
Thursday, 7/12/2018
This was supposed to be chicken fried rice from scratch, but silly me didn't read through the directions and one of the things I was supposed to do was cook the rice then freeze for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet.....nope, sorry, don't have a freezer I can actually do that in. Next time this gets put on the menu, I"ll make the rice ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge until time to get cooking.
Instead, we still had chicken fried rice, but it was a box meal, cooked in the microwave, found in the Walmart freezer section (sorry, brand escapes me right now). It's quick, filling, and one that we all like.
Friday, 7/13/2018
After all these new meals, there were definitely some leftovers, so that was what was planned for dinner - have to clear the fridge out somehow, right?
Saturday, 7/14/2018
Meatball subs and bacon cheese fries (subs from $7 meal cookbook, fries from Dinner on a Dime)
Meatball Marinara Sandwiches
3/4 pound ground beef 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons milk 1/2 (26 ounce jar) marinara sauce
1 egg 4 hoagie buns
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey jack
1-In large bowl, combine beef, bread crumbs, milk, egg, seasoning, salt, and pepper and mix gently but thoroughly. Form into 24 meatballs and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes, until meatballs are completely cooked.
2-In large saucepan, heat the pasta sauce over low heat. Add meatballs and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
3-Toast sliced hoagie buns under broiler. Place meatballs and sauce on one half of each toasted bun and top with cheese. Place filled halves of hoagie buns on broiler pan and broil 4-6 inches from heat for 4-5 minutes, until cheese melts. Assemble sandwiches and serve.
*Ok....so I'm a slacker and didn't make the meatballs from scratch. I used Great Value meatballs because we already had some in the freezer and I wanted to use them up (plus they have just the right amount of seasoning where we can all eat them and nobody complains - some are over seasoned and, personally, I think those are nasty).
Bacon Cheese Fries
*I decided to try these because when we order from a local restaurant, we always have to get 2 orders because we love them so much
1 package frozen French fries 1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
Ranch dressing
1-cook French fries according to package directions. Place fries on a broiler-proof dish or platter. Sprinkle with cheese, onions, and bacon. Broil 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with ranch dressing.
**We do not like onions on our fries, so I omitted these. I also used crumbled bacon bits instead of cooking up bacon because I didn't want hungry hordes filling up the kitchen while I was cooking. Finally, I used both cheddar and mozzarella cheese and actually had it under the broiler for about 4 minutes to completely melt the cheese.
On another note, both of these called for use of the broiler. I used cookie sheets lined with parchment paper to keep cleaning to a minimum and had no problems using the broiler - paper didn't catch, pans were perfectly fine, so save yourself some cleanup and just do the same :-)
More recipes coming next week!!
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