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Monday - Recipes
Spaghetti
Salad
Fresh Bread
Tuesday - Recipes
Roasted Crockpot Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Green Beans
Wednesday - Recipes
Meatball Subs
Buttered Corn
Fruit of your choice
Thursday - Recipes
Chicken and Dumplings
Peas and Carrots
Fruit Cocktail
Friday - Recipes
Taco Pizza
Salad
Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream
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Monday Recipes
Notes for Monday:
- Although the instructions are for a crockpot, this sauce can be cooked in less time on the stovetop if you won't be home to turn it on earlier.
- Save 1-1/2 cups sauce for meatball subs on Wednesday.
Spaghetti
- 8 oz. spaghetti or vermicelli noodles, cooked
- 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 onion, (from freezer)
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. basil
Combine all ingredients except pasta and simmer in a slow cooker for 4-5 hours on low. Serve over cooked noodles.
Salad
Fresh Bread
Tuesday Recipes
Notes for Tuesday:
- Tonight's chicken will provide us with a meal tonight and the start of a meal on Thursday, when we will use the broth and leftover chicken. After dinner is over, pick all of the meat off of the bones and refrigerate. Use the bones and skin as noted below for making broth.
- This is a good time to chop up a bag of onions to replenish your freezer supply. I have added a bag of yellow onions to the grocery list for this purpose. Reserve one onion for tomorrow night, then chop one onion into quarters to use in your broth and chop the rest of the bag to saute for the freezer.
- Make sure you save 2 cups of shredded chicken for Thursday.
Roasted Crockpot Chicken
- 1 roasting chicken
- Adobo or other seasoning
- Olive oil
Rinse the chicken in cold water and if there is anything in the cavity, pull it out and discard it (unless you have a use for it - I don't). Put the chicken in the crockpot and rub a little olive oil all over the top, then sprinkle some Adobo seasoning on it. You could sprinkle any kind of seasoning that you like on poultry. Cook on low for 10 hours. You don't have to add any liquid - it will make its own. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness (poultry is done at 180°F). When the chicken is done, take it out of the crockpot, scoop out all of the parts that fell apart because it is so tender, and strain and save the juices to make gravy.
Making Broth
The leftover bones make a wonderful broth for soup. After you pick the chicken, boil the bones and the skin in 6-8 cups of water in the crockpot for 10-15 hours (I do this overnight). Can chop a stalk of celery into 3-4 pieces and chop an onion into quarters to add to it while it cooks. In the morning, strain the broth and pour into glass jars and chill. After it is chilled, you can scoop off the hard fat at the top before using it as a base for soup.
Gravy preparation
- chicken drippings
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp. flour
Transfer the juices from the crockpot to a saucepan through a strainer. In a glass jar put 1/2 cup warm water and 2 Tbsp. flour. Tighten the lid and shake vigorously until the flour is dissolved. Pour through a strainer (to catch any lumps) into the saucepan with the juices. Heat, stirring frequently, until gravy is thickened. If you need to stretch your gravy, add all or part of a can of chicken broth. If it has lumps, run it through the strainer again.
Rice (with gravy)
Green Beans
Wednesday Recipes
Notes for Wednesday:
- Tonight's meatball sub recipe is from Bulk Cooking: The Hamburger Plan. If you do not have any meatballs from the last time we made them, you may use store-bought meatballs from the freezer aisle. The recipe makes 4 subs, so increase it as necessary for your family.
Meatball Subs
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 3/4 cup EACH: bell pepper strips, thin onion wedges
- 1/3 Freezer Stash Meatballs, thawed in refrigerator (about 16 meatballs)
- 1-1/2 cups leftover spaghetti sauce (from Monday)
- 4 hoagie rolls, split
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high until very hot. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add thawed, cooked meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 5 to 6 minutes. Divide among rolls and, if desired, sprinkle with cheese.
Buttered Corn
Fruit of Your Choice
Thursday Recipes
Notes for Thursday:
- Tonight's recipe can be prepared with dried dumpling noodles or egg noodles, but I am including a recipe for homemade noodles as well. They are not hard to make and if you have a wheat grinder you can make them with fresh whole wheat.
Chicken and Dumplings
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from Tuesday)
- 6 cups of chicken broth (from Tuesday)
- Garlic salt or Adobo
- 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
Noodles:
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 rounded tsp of baking powder
- 2 eggs
Mix ingredients for noodles. You want workable dough so if they are too dry add a few drops of water, too wet a bit more flour. Roll and cut; a pizza cutter is the best way. If you get too much baking powder they will have a salty 1/2 cooked taste. Cook noodles in broth. Your cooking time will depend on how thick the noodles are; you will just have to taste it. ;-)
Add soup and seasonings to taste. Add chicken in when the noodles are almost cooked. You may sprinkle with parsley for some color if you would like.
Thanks to Monica from TheHomeSchoolMom in the Kitchen Yahoo Group for the recipe for Homemade Noodles.
Peas and Carrots
Fruit Cocktail
Friday Recipes
Notes for Friday:
- I recommend periodically making a double (or triple) pizza dough recipe in your bread machine or large mixer and freezing the extra dough for an easy lunch or dinner another day. The Urban Homemaker has a double pizza dough recipe that is very good. It has variations for garlic, herbed, or seeded dough.
- If you are using a bread machine to make dough, time it so that it is ready just before you want to cook the pizza. If you are using a frozen pizza dough, be sure to allow enough time for it to thaw. I like to thaw it for several hours in the refrigerator.
- Even kids who consider pudding plain get excited when they see it with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Just a little extra effort tonight will earn you the title of "Great Mom"!
Taco Pizza
- Your favorite pizza dough recipe (see notes above)
- 1 can refried beans, heated until soft enough to spread
- 2 cups cooked ground beef (from freezer)
- Taco seasoning
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
- salsa
- chopped lettuce
Make pizza dough according to recipe and roll out on a pizza stone or pan. Prepare taco meat according to package directions. While meat is cooking, spread crust with refried beans. Layer taco meat and cheese on top of beans. Cook at 400° until brown and bubbly. Serve with salsa and lettuce.
Salad
Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream and Sprinkles
* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.
