Menu Plan (or lack there of) 12-19 to 12-25

Hi anyone who has time to read this. The countdown has officially begun. Seven days until the biggest holiday of the year is officially upon us. Are you ready? Is there such thing as "ready?" I am trying to be somewhat on top of our eating this week . . . maybe it will help me feel "ready." Here is the plan: Monday - Spaghetti with the Bettelli sauce (we didn't have it on Sunday because of a Christmas party) Tuesday - Steak on the grill, baked potatoes, broccoli Wednesday - Chicken on the grill, rice, salad   Thursday - leftovers Friday - Christmas dinner with Nicole to gift swap (take out) Saturday - Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's. Sunday - Christmas brunch at my house (recipes to follow) For the Christmas Brunch I have decided to make: Monkey Bread Fruit SaladHere is how I make fruit salad -I use berries of all kinds and mix in a small container of strawberry yogurt.It is delicious and looks pretty with the pink yogurt. Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
Ingredients
• 1 package (10 Oz. Size) Spinach, Thawed And Squeezed Dry• 8 ounces, weight Mushrooms, Chopped
• ¼ cups Plus 1 Teaspoon Flour
• 1 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, Divided
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 whole Egg Whites
• Salt To Taste
• ¼ teaspoons Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
Place spinach and mushrooms in a large bowl. Toss with flour.
Stir in ricotta, cottage, parmesan and 1 cup of mozzarella. Add the eggs, egg white, salt and pepper and mix until all is incorporated.
Transfer mixture to your baking dish and top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella. Bake for 45 minutes until set.
Turn the oven to a high broil and place quiche under for 1–2 minutes until top is golden brown.

and lastly, Hashbrown Casserole
Ingredients:
2 lb. frozen hashbrowns, defrosted

1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 c. crushed corn flakes
1/4 c. melted butter

Mix corn flakes with 1/4 cup butter; set aside for topping. Combine all ingredients, except topping. Place in buttered casserole dish and top with corn flake mixture. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Sounds yummy to me.

Menu Plan 12-12 to 12-18

Menu Plan Monday, Friends.

Getting crazier by the minute over here in the Bettelli household.

Some fun stuff coming up this week, but it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for cooking.

Monday - out to eat wherever George picks (within reason).

This is his Advent activity for the day, so we will oblige.

Tuesday - pork chops on the grill, rice, broccoli

Wednesday - @ church

Thursday - Taco night with all the fixin's & yellow rice with black beans

Friday - We will be in Disney:)

Saturday - @ a birthday party for our nephew in Vero Beach

Sunday - @ a church Christmas party with friends

Last week I did manage to get a few Christmas cookies in the oven.

I made a new cookie recipe, and my whole family seemed to love them.

I am going to be nice and share the recipe with you.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies:

Mix together:

3/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

In separate bowl, mix:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Add dry ingredients to wet ones & mix well

Pour 12 oz bag of chocolate chips in mixture, & stir together

Refrigerate at least 2 hours (very important and very annoying at the same time).

Roll into balls, then roll in 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Bake @ 350 degrees for 9 1/2 minutes (I had to bake longer, but I think my balls were bigger than they should have been.  FYI).

Here is the finished product:

Have you done any baking lately?

It really is therapeutic.

Happy Monday!



Menu Plan 12-5 to 12-11

It's menu plan Monday, my friends. 

We have a lot going on like everyone else this time of year, so my menu plans are pretty much all over the place.

Monday - Leftovers galore from all our weekend meals

Tuesday - Steak and shrimp on the grill, baked potatoes, and salad

Wednesday - dinner @ church

Thursday - I am going to a ladies craft exchange, so Tim will take the boys out to eat and do some Christmas shopping

Friday - Pizza night

Saturday - Tim and I have our church Christmas party, and my sister will be feeding the boys while she babysits

Sunday - Pasta with the famous Bettelli sauce

So . . . in case you didn't notice, let me draw your attention to the fact that I really don't have to cook at all this week.

Tim will grill the meat Tuesday, and I will make baked potatoes (but that hardly counts as cooking).

And I do have to bring some dish to the craft exchange on Thursday, but I don't really count that either.

First time in a long time that I haven't truly cooked in seven days.

Seems like a good reason to look forward to the week for me:)

Here's to a break from the kitchen!



Menu Plan 11-21

Menu Plan Monday! 

We were in Tallahassee for the depressing Florida State game this weekend.

We had fun, and we were kids-free which was totally weird.

Obviously, this comes as no surprise to most, but Thanksgiving is Thursday.

We are having 25 of our closest friends and family at our house for turkey day, so it is bound to get crazy 'round here.

Therefore, our menu-plan will look somewhat like this:

Breakfast and Lunch - anything we can eat to make room in the pantry and freezer.

Dinner Monday thru Wednesday - same as above

Thursday - stuff our faces with turkey and all the fixin's.

Friday thru Sunday - leftovers and more leftovers

Recipe of the week:

Sweet Potato Casserole

(I make it every Thanksgiving because it is my daddy's favorite)

ingredients:

4 cups sweet potatoes, mashed

1 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

2/3 cups milk

6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Topping:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

chopped pecans, optional (I never use them)

Mix first six ingredients together and spread in a 9x13-inch dish. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes approximately 10 servings. This can be made the day before Thanksgiving and kept in the refrigerator and baked on Thanksgiving morning (which I always do).

Happy Cooking!



Menu Plan 11-14 to 11-20

It's Menu Plan Monday.  Don't get too excited:) 

This week should be pretty standard.  We were in Disney last weekend, and Tim and I will be in Tallahassee with my brother the coming weekend.  Then the following week is Thanksgiving, which we are hosting.  We will have 24 people (minimum) at our house, and 12 people staying in our house for five days.

Things are about to get CRAY-ZEEEEE.

Needless to say, I am thankful for this "standard" week because it is going to be the last one we get for a while.

Breakfasts and Lunches are the usual:

B - Pancakes, Waffles, Bagels, Cereal, or Eggs and Bacon

L - Grilled Cheese & soup, Ham sandwiches, Macaroni and cheese, Bagel Bites, or leftovers

Dinners:

Monday - Italian Chicken and Pasta Bake (recipe at the end) & salad

Tuesday - Steak and shrimp on the grill, broccoli and rice (we never got to have this last week because we can't get the grill to work.  Hopefully, we can get it fixed in time to eat this yummy meal)

Wednesday - @ church, we take whatever they are serving

Thursday - Tortellinin Soup and garlic bread 

Friday-Sunday:  The kids will be eating whatever my parents serve them, and Tim and I will be eating Tally favorites with my brother and sister-in-law all weekend.

Go Noles!!!!

Italian Chicken and Pasta Bake (from Giada Di Laurentis)

Ingredients:
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta - I used cellantani)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

What to do . . .
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.



Menu Plan 11/7 to 11/13

I cannot believe it is almost the middle of November.  This Fall is flying by.  I want the ride to last longer. 

I love these menu plans because I know I will love going back to this season and remembering what we were eating.  It is such a fun way to document what I spend such a large amount of time doing - cooking.

I took a little break from the kitchen this week.  My mother-in-law was here for George's surgery, so she cooked almost everyday.  It was heavenly, but I am ready to get back in the groove.

I am going to make one minor change to the menus from now on.  We pretty much duplicate the breakfasts and lunches every week, so we can just skip that portion from now on.  I will plan out my dinners and leave it at that.

Monday - leftover Eggplant Parmasean from Sunday night and a salad

Tuesday - Mommy is having a night out with good friends, so Daddy is in charge.  Hot dogs on the grill, mac and cheese, and fruit of some sort

Wednesday - @ church

Thursday - Steak on the grill, coconut shrimp, rice and broccoli

Friday - We are hoping to head to Disney for the food and wine festival, so probably fast food on the way

Saturday - Food and Wine festival at Epcot

Sunday - Pasta with the secret Bettelli spaghetti sauce

No recipes to share this week.  Hope to have some next week, though.



Menu Plan - 10/10 to 10/16

Menu Plan Monday again:

 

This week is super busy again.  I really think the Fall is the busiest season for us.  It just seems like we pack so much in after the lazy summer.

I will start tutoring this week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  George has an appointment with an ENT to discuss an enlarged tonsil on Monday.  I have class on Tuesday and Wednesday night.  I will be going to the Women of Faith conference in Tampa on Friday and Saturday.  Whew, I am tired just thinking about it:)

Here we go:
Monday:
Breakfast - Pancakes from the freezer, chocolate milk
Lunch - Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Dinner - Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese, broccoli

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Bagels and juice
Lunch - Mickey D's - no more excuses
Dinner - Fried Chicken, Rice, salad (Daddy is on duty because I will be tutoring and then have class right after)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Waffles with peanut butter, milk
Lunch - PB & J, cheez its and bananas
Dinner - @ church

Thursday:
Breakfast - Eggs and sausage, yogurt
Lunch - Snacky lunch (crackers, cheese, veggies & dip, lunch meat rolled up)
Dinner - Shrimp Quesadillas (recipe below), black beans and rice

Friday:
Breakfast - Pancakes with butter and syrup, chocolate milk
Lunch - Leftover quesadillas and rice
Dinner - Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina (I will include this recipe below too - another easy, healthy one)

Saturday:
Breakfast - Bagels, bananas and juice
Lunch - mommy @ conference, so boys eat whatever Daddy feed them
Dinner - leftovers from the week

Sunday:
Breakfast - Eggs and cinnamon rolls
Lunch - out after church
Dinner - Pasta with the special Bettelli sauce

Quesadillas de Camarones (Shrimp Quesadillas):

Ingredients:
Flour tortillas
8-12 Large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces Mexican red sauce or Enchilada sauce
1 large onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 cups cheese, grated (Monterey Jack is best)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

What to do?
Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside.
Chop vegetables into large pieces.
Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil.
Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce.
Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry.
Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter.
Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp.
Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla.
Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry.
Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

Now on to the Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina:

from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta - I used cellantani)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

What to do?
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta.
Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.
In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture.
Dot the top with small bits of butter.
Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Sorry about the recipe overload, but they are both really good. 
Enjoy!

Menu Plan 9/26 - 10/2

Um . . . Does October really start this week??? Craziness, I tell you.

As far as meal plans go this week . . . we don't really have any. Our air conditioner is broken, so we are staying with my parents until we can get a new unit put in our house. It may be a while, so I plan on mooching off of them for food:) I will contribute as much as possible.

I do have a container of Tortellini Soup in my freezer that I planned to take out this week, so I figured I would still give you a recipe in this post. This soup is so easy, so healthy, and so yummy. It doesn't get much better than that.

This tortellini soup was given to us as a meal from a church member when we had Ethan. It was so, so, so good, so I got the recipe. It is meatless, but Tim LOVES it. He never likes meatless, but it is that good. I always make double and freeze half to have on hand for a quick meal. It freezes well. As if you needed more to love about it . . . It is also super healthy. I don't think I have posted many healthy recipes, so here is my redemption.

Tomato & tortellini Soup:

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use the jarred stuff)
1/2 an onion chopped
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
3 (14.5 ounce) cans reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini (I have used frozen)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or fresh spinach (I usually use fresh)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Parmesean Cheese

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, saute the garlic and onion in butter until tender.
2. Stir in the broth. Bring to a boil.
3. Add tortellini; cook for 5-6 minutes or until tender.
4. Stir in the spinach and tomatoes; heat through.
5. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if desired. (Believe me, you will desire.)

Menu Plan - 9/19 to 9/25

Hi All,
Back to the old menu planning fun.

Before I get into our actual menu I wanted to do a shout out to my two sister-in-laws who share a birthday today. They are two of my favorite people, and they will each get a dedicated post this week, since they are two of the only faithful readers I have:)

We have another busy week lined up with me starting my second class for grad school, so I will be gone two nights instead of one.

Monday:
Breakfast - Eggs and sausage
Lunch - grilled cheese and strawberries
Dinner - Chicken Parmasean with spaghetti, salad and garlic bread (I have to bring a meal to a sick friend, so I am doubling this meal in order to only cook once for the night)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Pancakes from the freezer (I made a huge batch this weekend and froze a bunch for a quick breakfast on the weekdays. Recipe to follow at the end) and blueberries
Lunch - $1.99 happy meals at McDonalds, need I say more?
Dinner - Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese (mama at school)

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Bagels with cream cheese
Lunch - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and salsa, veggies with ranch dip
Dinner - @ church, George has Christmas play practice and then Wednesday night church right after that, so they will eat what is served at church while I am at school

Thursday:
Breakfast - Waffles and strawberries
Lunch - cheese, crackers and peaches
Dinner - Chicken Tetrazzini (still haven't gotten to it from the freezer but I am determined this week) and bisquits

Friday:
Breakfast - Pancakes from the freezer and sausage
Lunch - crackers with hummus and veggies with ranch dip
Dinner - steak, coconut shrimp, egg noodles and broccoli

Saturday -
We are probably going out of town, so meals on the road

Sunday -
Breakfast and lunch on the road.
Dinner - Famous Bettelli spaghetti sauce.

Here is the pancake recipe I made over the weekend. They were pretty standard tasting, but my kids loved them. I also think they froze really well, which is important around here.

PANCAKES:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour, all-purpose or wheat
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt
In a bowl, mix ingredients just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Mixture will be thick and lumpy. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat and lightly grease. Cook on a hot greased griddle. Flip when bubbles break on the surface and the edges begin to dry.
Makes 15-18 medium pancakes.
*I wanted to add that I used a little bit more milk than it called for because the mixture was too thick for my taste.
Enjoy!