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Monday

• Ranch Chicken
• Squash Casserole
• Bacon Ranch Green Beans

Tuesday

• Tex-Mex Pasta Skillet
• Mexican Salad
• Cornbread

Wednesday

• Quiche
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Grapes

Thursday

• Chicken Enchiladas
• Spanish Rice
• Leftover Mexican Salad

Friday

• Hawaiian Pizza
• Cinnamon Sticks

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. I like using Ranch Dressing mix as a seasoning in a lot of things so I buy it in bulk and keep it in the pantry for when I need it. It is much cheaper than buying packs. You can generally find it in bulk at farmer's market type places or stores that carry bulk items. (I buy it at Sharp Shopper.)
   
   
   

Baked Ranch Chicken

• 2 lbs. chicken pieces, your choice
• 1-2 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

Empty Ranch dressing envelope into a bowl. You may add bread crumbs to the dressing if you would like more of a coating to your chicken. After rinsing and drying chicken, dredge chicken pieces in the dressing mix. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and place coated chicken in it. Bake 45 minutes at 325°F or until done.

 

Squash Casserole

• 3 lb. yellow summer squash
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions (from freezer, thawed)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 small jar diced pimiento
• 1 stick butter
• 18 oz. Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

Wash and slice all vegetables except onions. Put all in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, salt to taste, and cover with water. Boil until tender. Add onions, drain, mash together, and cool.

Mix soup, sour cream, and pimiento. Add to vegetables and mix well.

In a skillet, melt the butter and mix in the stuffing mix. Spray a 9x12 pan with cooking spray. Spread bottom with 1/2 of the stuffing mixture. Spread the vegetable mixture on the stuffing, then cover with the remaining stuffing mixture.Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

Bacon Ranch Green Beans

• 1 package (16 oz) frozen green beans
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled or bacon bits* (I like Hormel Real Bacon Bits)

In a skillet, saute the green beans in butter. Add the salad dressing mix and toss to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle in the bacon and mix.

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Make enough salad for Thursday adding any crunchy items and dressing just before serving each night.
   
   

 Tex-Mex Pasta Skillet

• 8 oz. spiral pasta (whole wheat if you can find it)
• 1 lb. ground beef , cooked (from freezer)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt

Cook pasta according to directions. Do not overcook, leave slightly firm. While pasta is cooking, combine remaining ingredients except cheese in a large saucepan. Stir gently over medium heat until heated through. Drain pasta. Add cheese and pasta to skillet, mix thoroughly, and serve warm.

 

Mexican Salad

• variety of lettuces, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 can black olives, drained
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 bottle salsa ranch salad dressing

Combine all fresh ingredients then reserve half for Thursday. Add salsa ranch dressing just before serving each night.

 

 

Cornbread

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 425°F. Put half of the olive oil in a 9x9x2 cast iron skillet and preheat in oven without burning oil. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour batter into preheated cast iron skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, use whatever pan you have but do not preheat it unless it is heavy duty and can be heated without food in it.

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. The quiche recipe is a bulk freezer recipe that can be adapted based on the number of servings you choose. I am including ingredients for 2 servings, which is somewhat misleading as it makes 2 pies, not 2 servings. Freeze the other serving in a gallon freezer bag.
   
   
2. The quiche recipe gives options for any combination of meat and vegetables; I am using broccoli and ham for the grocery list (if you made last weeks Baked Ham, you should have plenty of leftover ham in the freezer...if not you will need to add ham to your shopping list). Change these if you prefer some other flavor.
   
   
3. The biscuit recipe is a very easy one to make. If you have never made biscuits, try this one before buying canned biscuits. Do not substitute regular milk for buttermilk; buttermilk is what gives the biscuits their wonderful flavor. If your family likes biscuits, try doubling this recipe and freezing half after you cut the biscuits into shapes but before baking (freeze individually on a cookie sheet then bag after frozen).
   
   
   
   
   

 Ham, Broccoli, and Cheese Quiche in a bag

• 2 cups ham, diced
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli, thawed frozen  
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup onion, diced       
• 4 cups milk                                   
• 8 eggs
• 1/4 Tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup flour (whole wheat works fine)
• 4 tsp baking powder                          

Combine meat, vegetable, cheese, and onion. Place this mixture in a labeled 1-gallon freezer bag. With a mixer or blender, combine the milk, eggs, Tabasco sauce, flour and baking powder. Pour into the bag with the meat/vegetable mixture. Pour half of this batter into a greased deep dish pie plate or quiche pan. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until lightly browned on top and well set in the center. Cool about 5 minutes before serving.

Freezing and Cooking Directions: For the remaining batter, seal and freeze. To serve, thaw completely. Shake bag well and pour into a spray-treated or greased deep dish pie plate or quiche pan. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until lightly browned on top and well set in the center. Cool about 5 minutes before serving.

Comments:This is one of those dishes that you can get on the table when you haven't even looked in the freezer until 5:30. Just thaw the bag in the microwave, pour it in a dish, and pop it in the oven. Presto - dinner!

For a vegetarian meal, just leave out the meat and increase the veggies by 1 C. for each recipe.

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Combine flour and butter, cutting with a fork. Stir in buttermilk. Add more flour if too wet, more buttermilk if too dry. When dough is rolling consistency, knead a few times and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake on cookie sheet at 475° until brown. Serve with butter and honey or jelly.

Green Grapes

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight we are using chicken from the freezer. If you do not have any chicken in your freezer be sure to add some to your grocery list.
   
   
2. I am putting 6 bell peppers on your list. Chop and saute them all and separate into 5 portions. Freeze 3 and use the other 2 for your enchiladas.
   
   
3. We are going to double this recipe and freeze one pan of the enchiladas before cooking.
   
   
   
   

   Chicken Enchiladas

• 3 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (from freezer* or buy a hen and boil it)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 2 onions, sauteed (from freezer)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped & sauteed
• cilantro
• cumin
• Adobo or garlic salt
• 12 whole wheat flour tortillas (if you can't find them, get regular ones)
• 4 cups Mexican blend cheese
• Foil 9x9 pan

Combine soup, 1 1/2 cans chicken broth, and sour cream. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture. To the remaining mixture, add chicken, onion, pepper, and spices to taste. Add 2 cups of the cheese.

Place 2-3 T. of mixture onto each tortilla, roll up, and place 6 tortillas in each of 2- 9x9 pans (use 1 foil pan for the ones you will be freezing). Add the remaining Chicken broth to the reserved soup mixture and pour over enchiladas in each pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas. Cover foil pan tightly with foil or plastic wrap and freeze. Cook other pan of enchiladas at 350° until bubbly.

 

Spanish Rice

• 1 chopped onion, sauteed (from freezer)
• 1/2 chopped green pepper
• black pepper
• chili powder
• cumin
• Adobo seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• Olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 cup water

Saute green pepper in olive oil in a Dutch oven until tender; remove from pan. Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and when hot add the uncooked rice. Stirring constantly, cook the rice until slightly browned but not burned. Add chicken broth and water (this will sizzle loudly when the liquid meets the hot oil), add seasonings to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes; do not open. When cooked, add onions, green pepper, and any other warmed items you may have on hand that would be good in rice (corn, salsa, Rotel, etc.). Stir gently and serve.

 

 

Leftover Mexican Salad

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Use your bread maker (especially if you have one with a timer) to get your pizza dough ready just in time to put together the pizza for dinner. Use the recipe that came with your bread maker or this great recipe. It is large enough to make several portions that you can freeze (freeze dough before cooking).
   
   
2. The best pizza is made on stoneware, and nobody makes stoneware like Pampered Chef. I don't get paid for saying this, I just love their stoneware. I have 2 stoneware pizza pans (1 is PC and 1 is not, and there is no comparison between them) and I use them all the time. I don't own a metal cookie sheet or pizza pan anymore.
   
   
3. If you didn't have any leftover ham from last week, be sure to add ham to your grocery list.
   
   

 Hawaiian Pizza

• Homemade pizza dough
• 28 oz. can spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup leftover shredded ham
• 1-20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

Roll out your prepared dough on a pizza pan. Spread with spaghetti sauce and top with cheeses. Add your toppings and bake at 450° until hot and bubbly.

 

 "Homemade" Cinnamon Sticks

• 1 tube refrigerated Pillsbury Pizza dough
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Frosting

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp milk (more or less to reach desired consistency)

Roll out pizza dough onto a greased cookie sheet or stone. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Brush melted butter over pizza dough. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mix over pizza dough. Slice dough into 1 inch thick "sticks". Bake at 350°F for about 10-12 minutes or until golden.

For frosting, mix powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in enough milk to make a thick paste.

Dip warm cinnamon sticks in frosting or spread frosting over each stick if desired.

 

* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.

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