Category Archives: Recipes

Roquefort Pear Salad

How last week’s menu went:

I mostly stuck to last week’s menu except that the enchiladas got bumped to this week because of a date night that was happily added to Friday!

Oh, and the salad I made to go with the steaks last week was this Roquefort Pear Salad that I have made before and it is just. so. good. I think of it as a special occasion salad. Serious yum.

Favorite meal from last week:

OK, they were all great meals last week, but I’m going to pick the Autumn Sausage Casserole as the favorite because it’s easy, healthy, and just oh-so-fall. We all loved it. I used some apple chicken sausage that was on sale, and about a cup more of (brown) rice than the recipe says. And I actually didn’t get it into the crock pot in time, so this time I made it like the original recipe from Taste of Home. I also used both celery and carrots.  Mr. RSS requested that I double the recipe next time!

Autumn Sausage Casserole

 This Week’s Menu Plan

Sunday:

• Easy Chicken Enchiladas (I add enchilada sauce on top before the cheese, and sliced black olives, too. We topped these with fresh tomatoes and sour cream.)
  

Monday:

• Slithering Stromboli Snake  (a family favorite, I’ll use homemade dough)
• Raw veggies

Tuesday

• Corn Chowder (I couldn’t find the recipe I usually use online, but this one is sort of similar. One difference is that my recipe uses more bacon. Lots more. Use it crumbled as a topping.)
• Salad

Wednesday

• Tuscany Pot Roast served over egg noodles mixed with sautéed mushrooms (no poppy seeds)
• Peas
• Maybe a salad, too

Thursday

• Butternut Squash Soup (new recipe I’m trying)
• Salad

Friday

• Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream
• Green beans or salad

Saturday

• Leftovers

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday, where you can find many more meal plans to check out!

BBQ Country Style Ribs

How last week’s menu went:

I moved things around a bit last week. I made the pizza for lunch one day instead of dinner, and added the Pizza Penne Bake (I add more sauce), which has turned into a new favorite “go-to” dinner around here.

Favorite meal from last week:

 I’m going with the BBQ Country Style Ribs.  I cooked them about 1 hour longer than the recipe and finished them on the grill. We all loved these.  The Chicken Tortilla Soup is also loved by all five of us and is a family favorite!

This Week’s Menu Plan

Sunday:

• Barbeque Shredded Beef (from the freezer) sandwiches
• green beans
• nectarine slices

Monday – Celebrating Mr. RSS’s birthday!

• Grilled Steak with sautéed mushrooms
• Mashed potatoes
• green salad

Tuesday

• Hearty Lentil Soup (I add celery, add chopped spinach instead of parsley, and only use 1/2 tsp of the balsamic vinegar – and I like to use turkey bacon, too)
• Maybe some fresh-baked bread, like this Olive Bread

Wednesday

• Autumn Sausage Casserole (I have been making myself wait for fall to make this again.)

Thursday

• Pizza: one Buffalo Chicken pizza (I use a bit less of the chicken and blue cheese dressing. You must use Frank’s Hot Sauce if you want it to be right) and one regular cheese pizza with this crust (I double the recipe and use 1 cup of whole wheat flour)
• Raw veggies

Friday

• Easy Lasagna
• green beans or salad
• maybe garlic bread (I love garlic bread.)

Saturday

• Easy Chicken Enchiladas (I add enchilada sauce on top before the cheese, and sliced black olives, too.) topped with lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and sour cream
• Chips and salsa

Other Updates:

•  The MOPS playdate was a success! Things were looking pretty good around here, but I did hide some clutter. Again.

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday, where you can find many more meal plans to check out!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

How last week’s menu went:

I actually followed last week’s menu plan exactly. Woah.

Favorite meal from last week:

I really wanted to pick 3 favorites this week, but Mr. RSS convinced me that 2 is plenty when it comes to favorites, so I’m starting with the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili, which I simply adore. I first made it when I saw it in Family Fun Magazine, but when I went to look for it this time, I could not find the magazine nor could I find the recipe on Family Fun’s site, so Danielle saved the day by posting the recipe! And even though I am usually a toppings-kind-of-girl,  I really like this chili as-is, or with just a little cilantro. I did double the beans. I might cut the orange zest in half next time. 4 of the 5 of us like it.

The Portobello Mushroom Burgers were the other favorite. I stuck a big slice of grilled red pepper on mine. Yummy! Mr. RSS decided to double the marinade on these. They had lots of flavor! 4 of the 5 of us liked this one as well.

This Week’s Menu Plan

Sunday:

• Scrambled eggs with bell peppers and cheese
• toast (yummy whole wheat bread)

Monday

• Green salad with beets and goat cheese (I’m making it like this recipe, except I’m using romaine lettuce that needs using up and canned beets from the pantry)

Tuesday

• BBQ Country Style Ribs (Mr. RSS will likely finish them on the grill)
• Cooked apples [Edit: I removed this recipe link because when I looked at the recipe tonight, I realized it was way off from how I make these (I should have read the recipe more closely!) I usually use peeled, sliced apples and cook them down in a saucepan with about 1/2 cup water, add a little sugar and cinnamon to taste, if desired.]
• green beans

Wednesday

• Grilled marinated chicken breasts/thighs
• Rosemary potatoes – microwave  (This is my new favorite side dish! Simple and so good!)
• broccoli

Thursday

• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Salad

Friday

• Homemade Pizza night!  I’ve been using this crust recipe, with part whole wheat flour. I also knead the dough after mixing.
• Raw veggies

Saturday

• Brown Rice with Black Beans (I’m going to add some cumin and chili powder this time.) Toppings: Lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, cilantro)
• Chips and salsa

Other Updates:

• I’m having a MOPS playdate at my house this week. I am appropriately frightened. I am planning to clean and declutter every day, focusing on the living room and kitchen. I will not wait until the day before –  no, no, no. There’s nothing like guests coming over to give you that extra motivation! Yikes!

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday, where you can find many more meal plans to check out!

Pizza Penne Bake

How last week’s menu went:

I made a few changes last week. The chicken noodle soup and the Swedish meatballs both didn’t happen. Instead, one night turned into an awesome cheap date night with my sweetie, and the other night we grilled hamburgers.

Favorite meal from last week:

I’m going to go with the Pizza Penne Bake, It was easy, cheap, fairly healthy (I used whole grain pasta and served it with a green salad). All 5 of us liked it! I will add more sauce next time, because we are sauce-y people. Especially Mr. RSS.

This Week’s Menu Plan

Sunday:

• Seven-Layer Bean Dip (except that mine only had 5 layers this time – but it was fast and yummy!)
• fruit – grapes and pears

Monday

• Swedish Meatballs served over egg noodles
• Green beans or salad

Tuesday

• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili 
• Salad

Wednesday

• Chicken leg quarters (baked with olive oil and McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning)
• potatoes
• broccoli or peas

Thursday

• BBQ Chicken Pizza (I use less chicken, and a mix of Gouda and Mozzarella cheeses) with a quick and easy crust (I use part whole wheat flour)
• raw veggies

Friday

• Leftovers

Saturday

• Portobello Mushroom Burgers
• Grilled veggies

Other Updates:

• Seriously. There’s a laundry post coming. Soon.
• We did some good cleaning up in the living room and kitchen this weekend, and Mr. RSS attacked some paper clutter in the basement!
• We started taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. Love it!

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday, where you can find many more meal plans to check out!

How last week’s menu went:

Last week went pretty well. The store was out of chicken leg quarters, so I roasted a whole chicken instead. The Chick-fil-A dinner got bumped to this week, so I made pizza that night  instead.

Favorite meal from last week:

That would have to be the dinner my wonderful husband made for me on my birthday: Steak Au Poivre, sautéed asparagus & mushrooms, roasted red pepper & crab bisque, brown sugar encrusted baked Brie with berry lemon bread. Yes.  The man knows how to cook. He also made me a chocolate cake! The cake was especially meaningful because he does not enjoy baking. This was the first time I have ever seen him bake a cake!

This Week’s Menu Plan

Sunday:

• Leftovers/snacky dinner

Monday

• Chicken Stir-fry

Tuesday

•   Friends are treating us to Chick-fil-A! (Bumped from last week)

Wednesday

• Sausage Smothered White Beans
• Cornbread
• Salad

Thursday

• Chicken Noodle Soup (I usually modify a recipe from my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook, but I might try this one from Simply Recipes this time.)
• Bread or muffins

Friday

• Pizza Penne Bake 
• broccoli or salad

Saturday

• Swedish Meatballs
• Green beans or salad

Other Updates:

• I’m hoping to post about some exciting progress with the laundry and the refrigerator – maybe even more – by Friday.

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday.

Note: For some reason linking text is not working correctly for me today, so I just added the URLs and I’ll figure it out later and edit.

How last week’s menu went:

Last week was hurricane/no power/no running water week, so things were not very normal.

Grilled hot dogs and beans

Favorite meal from last week:

It would have to be a tie between friends treating us to a picnic (BBQ), and my dad cooking dinner for us (Pork loin, salad, corn on the cob). But that is really more about the people than the food!  Of the meals we had at home, it would have to be the hot dogs and beans that Mr. RSS and I worked together on.

This Week’s Menu Plan

Ramen Noodles with peas and carrots

Sunday:

• Ramen noodles with peas and carrots (This is not normally something we would eat for dinner, but we were in a big hurry to get to a free outdoor concert – and my kids beg me for this!) I use about half of the chicken seasoning packet.

Monday

• Baked/grilled Chicken leg quarters (I put olive oil and McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning on them)
• sweet potatoes
• spinach

Tuesday

• The marvelous and talented Mr. ReadySetSimplify is cooking dinner. It’s my birthday:-)

Wednesday

• Friends are treating us to Chick-fil-A! Yum and fun!

Thursday

• Lentil Rice Casserole (http://www.clayinhishands.com/2010/02/lentil-rice-casserole.html)
• Salad

Friday

• Skillet Tacos (http://orgjunkie.com/2010/08/skillet-tacos-recipe.html)
• Served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream

Saturday

• Crunchy Onion Chicken (http://www.frenchs.com/recipe/frenchs-crunchy-onion-chicken-RE1309) The kids saw this on a commercial and asked me to try it.
• Green beans
• potatoes

Other Updates:

• I am almost finished with the big fridge/freezer clean out.
• I still need to finish going through the kids’ clothes!

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday (http://orgjunkie.com/2011/09/menu-plan-monday-sept-511.html).