Insanity Cooks

Menu Plan- Week of Jan 9th

mhsmom — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:08:19 +0000

First of all, I would like to say that we did a pretty good job of sticking to our meal plan last week. We made a few changes and edits but that is what I love about menu planning – I already have the ingredients for most of my week so if I want to swap out a thing or two I can. We are allowing ourselves one meal out on the weekends, so Friday we decided to exercise that option and have Chinese takeout. Other than that, I did such a good job sticking to last week’s plan that we get to start this week off with leftover buffet!! This is great because Monday is our Cub Scout night which means we aren’t home until late plus tonight we plan on watching the BCS National Championship game and I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen.

Monday- leftover buffet

Tuesday- Pizza Penne Bake

Wednesday- church supper

Thursday- Creamy Chicken Tacos

Friday- Pepperoni Roll Ups

Weekends for a while will mostly be leftovers and soup/sandwiches with me cooking a meal or two if we are home for most of the weekend. I don’t really nail down a solid plan until I know for sure what our activities are going to be. I try to keep plenty of stuff on hand that we can make a quick meal out of.

What’s your menu for the week? Share yours and get other great meal planning tips over at Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday

Recipe Review- Crockpot BBQ Chicken

mhsmom — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Last night we had the Crockpot Barbeque Chicken from our meal plan I posted on Monday. Sorry I don’t have any pics but I have lost the battery charger to my camera and am waiting for my new one to arrive. We really enjoyed this chicken. I had read some of the comments on the recipe post and did thicken the sauce with cornstarch. While we served the breasts as our main dish, I can see where it would be great shredded and served on buns. The boneless, skinless chicken breasts can get dry in the slow cooker so next time I am hoping to try with either some bone-in breasts or with some legs and thighs. I can say for sure though that we will be making this one again.

Thanks to the sweet men and women at my church, FBC-Abbeville, I will not have to cook tonight but can sit down and enjoy a nice bowl of beef stew with a side of cornbread. It is great to have a church that offers a Wednesday night meal because it gives me one night that I for sure don’t have to plan or cook.

Menu plan + recipe review

mhsmom — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:54:23 +0000

I am working on my menu plan for this week. Since we are adjusting to some new routines, it is not carved in stone yet. I will give you my working plan for the week though-

Monday- Slow Cooker Taco Soup
Tuesday- Crockpot BBQ Chicken and veggies
Wednesday- beef stew and cornbread (at church- I don’t have to cook this one)
Thursday- Hamburger Casserole
Friday- leftover buffet

The weekend is still a work in progress however, but I think my husband has volunteered to defrost some steaks and grill. Also, I promised my 6 year old that we would have chicken Alfredo at some point as well.

Over the Christmas holiday, I made an easy and delicious Pizza Dip. I got the recipe from my sister and am happy to share it with you here:
Pizza Dip

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

3/4 -1 cup pizza sauce
1/2 c pepperonis, finely chopped
1/4 c scallions
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
Tortilla chips

Soften cream cheese: preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend with mixer first 5 ingredients. Lightly grease 9 in pie plate and spread mixture.
Sprinkle pizza sauce evenly on top, then toss pepperonis and scallions on top.
Bake for 10 minutes – remove and sprinkle mozzarella cheese – bake additional 10 minutes.

Can be mixed ahead and refrigerated before baking.

I usually double it to take to parties. Also, you can play with the seasonings a bit when blending the cream cheese and sour cream. I never measure, I just add until it tastes good to me. It has been a big hit every time I have made it.

This blog and I

mhsmom — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:04:31 +0000

We have an on again off again relationship, I guess. I am back at work for the first time since starting my maternity leave in September. Since I haven’t had to be a working mom and a new mom yet, I let things like meal planning fall by the wayside. Now that I am a working mother of three, I best get back to business. Tonight we are having an old favorite Slow Cooker Taco Soup. Hopefully in 2012, I will do a better job of chronicling my never-ending quest of meal planning and meal budgeting. I have several recipes that I have made lately that I will try and review here, and I finally have a decent camera so hopefully I can provide some pictures of the things I cook. Also this year is the challenge for mama to watch those calories while still providing great meals for her guys (and gal). Hopefully tomorrow I will have our menu for the week and a review of a great dip recipe that I made for a few parties over the holiday season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Summer is here

mhsmom — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:33:09 +0000

Wow I didn’t realize just how long it had been since I have posted here. I am the world’s worst blogger for sure. So much has been going on and our spring semester was just insane- record snowfalls, soccer, baseball, t-ball, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and church commitments have kept us on our toes. Added to that is the fact that we are expecting our third child (another girl) at the end of September. I have to say that I have been letting the inmates run the asylum so to speak and have not really done as much cooking over the past few months as I wanted to (combined with the fact that for several weeks the sight and smell of most foods was making me sick). Now that school is out, my Scouting commitments are on hiatus for the summer, and t-ball and baseball are winding down, I thought I better pull out some recipes and get back in the kitchen.

One of my favorite blogs out there is A Year of Slow Cooking. This week Stephanie posted a link for Slow Cooker Creamy Tacos. Anyone that has ever read my blog knows that I hate to turn on my oven in the summer as it is, so this was right up my alley. Here in Mississippi, we are already experiencing temperatures in the high 90s which to a pregnant mamma sweating at the ball fields feels like 200 degrees. I consulted my friend Mary and she has given the Philadelphia Cooking Creme her seal of approval. My hope is to make these tacos sometime over the weekend for a quick and easy meal.

Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese

mhsmom — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:56:04 +0000

Yesterday, I was scouring the internet for something cheap, quick and easy. This recipe for Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese fulfilled all 3 requirements. It was so good that my 8-year-old ate three huge helpings! It is definitely one we will be trying again!

How embarrasing

mhsmom — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:09:05 +0000

I can’t believe it has been so long since I posted here. Life really got in the way. I was a total failure at keeping up with my meal planning and blogging. Oh I cooked some here and there, and I have lots of recipes to post with many successes and a few failures. All in all though, I let my schedule dictate our meal plan and not the other way around. A lot of our fall activities are over, and I am actually getting to go straight home from work these days, so we are able to eat more meals at home.

It is soup weather off and on here in Mississippi – I say off and on because Thanksgiving Day we were in short sleeves and then 2 days later were in winter coats and thermals and then last night parts of the state were under a tornado warning!! For those days that it is cold and soup is what hits the spot, I like to keep these ingredients on hand

Easy Mexican Soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes (hotness of your choice)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can chili with beans
1 can chili without beans
1 can tamales

Cut up the tamales into bite-sized pieces. Dump all the ingredients into your soup pot and warm over medium heat until the contents are hot all the way through. I like to serve with shredded cheese and either Fritos or cornbread muffins. When I am making if for my family, I use 2 cans of diced tomatoes and leave out the Rotel because my kids prefer it without the spice. And for those of you who don’t like beans, just use 2 cans of chili without. This is an easy crowd pleaser and it always hits the spot.

Hamburger Casserole

mhsmom — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:32:07 +0000

I made this quick and easy Hamburger Casserole Tuesday night and it was a big hit with the kiddos. I was able to make it with stuff I already had on hand so that was helpful in our never-ending quest to trim that grocery budget.

Hamburger Casserole

1 med bag of egg noodles
1 lb. of ground beef
1 sm. container of sour cream
1 stick butter
1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice
cheddar cheese

Boil noodles and drain. Brown meat and drain. Mix butter and sour cream with the noodles. Add spaghetti sauce to the meat. In a 9×9 dish, alternate layers of noodles then meat sauce until all is used. Put grated cheese on top and melt in oven.

Notes: I used 3 cheese flavored spaghetti sauce and an 8 1/2 x 11 pan.

Menu Plan Monday- Aug 23

mhsmom — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:08:59 +0000

So I am posting this on Aug 24th. Things in my brain were a little hectic yesterday and I am late getting this all together. Here is what we are having this week. My goal is to use only meat that I already have in the freezer at home- saving money and forcing me to clean out the freezer all at the same time. We did shuffle some things around last week but mostly, we stayed on track. Hopefully, this week will be more of the same.

Monday- pizza at Cub Scout swim party
Tuesday- Hamburger Casserole
Wednesday- dinner at church
Thursday- 30-minute paella
Friday- tacos

Tomorrow I hope to recap last week, tell you what worked and what didn’t work and review the recipes that were new. For more menu ideas make sure to visit Laura’s blog each week for Menu Plan Monday

Enchilada Casserole

mhsmom — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:12:29 +0000

This casserole comes from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, the one our church put together. I have great luck with all of the recipes I have made from it. This enchilada casserole was no exception. We had it Sunday night with a side of Mexican rice.

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 can ranch style beans
4 sm. flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning mix. Spread in a 9×13 baking dish. Layer in the following order: beef, beans, tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, and soup. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

All four of us voted this a thumbs up. I believe everyone had a second helping. Sorry about the lack of pics but I have lost the charger to my camera battery and will have to order a new one.