Hey there. Here's another week of Menu Planning fun. For more great menu planning ideas, see I'm an Organized Junkie.
What are everyone's plans for Valentine's Day? It looks like my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephew will be moving into their house on Valentine's Day! So we may be helping them out. I'm so excited for them!!
Other than that I'm not sure what we'll be doing. I'm going to have vanilla bean creme brulees made for dessert though and perhaps some bubbly!
Monday - leftovers or grilled cheese (Brownie Meeting)
I'm trying to have us eat up some of the meals in our freezer this week. So, I'm not going to be doing much cooking. Maybe I'll get some extra things done this week, like cleaning. :-)
For more Menu Planning, see I'm an Organized Junkie.
Breakfasts: Today, the kids and I made a crockpot full of Irish oatmeal (I used a combination of 2 different recipes. We'll be eating this throughout the week.) & a batch of Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Recipes are below.
Snacks: We also made some Gingerbread cookies today from a mix that Honey (the name our kids call my mom instead of calling her Grandma) gave us.
So for snacking, we'll be eating those cookies, celery and carrot sticks with ranch (I might make a hummus dip again to dip veggies in also), pretzels dipped in almond butter, and yogurt.
Lunches:Roast beef sandwiches, PB&J, bean & cheese burritos, & baked 'taters with chili
Dinners:
Monday - Quesadillas and leftover green beans (weird combo but we need to eat these before they go bad)
Awana Meeting for the kiddos & Date Night for hubby and I (We just got the kids enrolled in Awanas 2 weeks ago. They love it, and we have 2 hours to go out to dinner alone!!)
The problem with some crockpot oatmeal recipes is they don't use enough liquid. So by the time you wake up in the morning, the oatmeal is crusty and stuck to your slow cooker. This crockpot oatmeal turns out just the way oatmeal was intended to taste and can cook 8 to 9 hours without sticking.
Important: You must use steel cut oatmeal, such as McCann's Irish Oatmeal, not rolled oats or instant oats. Otherwise, your oatmeal will cook too fast and end up sticking to the crockpot. If you don't want to use the milk and cider, just substitute 8 cups of water.
2 cups steel cut oats (not instant or rolled oats)
4 cups milk
4 cups apple cider
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split but not scraped, or use 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped dried apples
1 cup raisins
Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. If you're planning to cook the oatmeal 8 hours or longer, use 8 cups of liquid. If you want to cook it less than 8 hours, use 6 cups of liquid. Put first seven ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low. Just before serving, Stir in raisins. Sprinkle with additional brown sugar and add cream if desired.
Serves 8.
Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
12 muffins
350 degree oven, 25 minutes
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour (or half and half with whole wheat)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix until well blended. Add in egg and applesauce, and beat together. Without stirring, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Once they are all added together, stir the dry ingredients a bit, then incorporate into the wet ingredients; you could just use a separate bowl, but why do more dishes? Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spoon into medium sized muffin tins, well greased or lined with liners. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degree oven.
We have a busy week this week. My daughter had a Brownie meeting tonight. It's cookie sale time again. Cookie prices went up this year, $4 a box. Can you believe it?
Anyhow, I'm going to take the kids to an Awana meeting for their first time on Wednesday night. So, I think Wednesdays will have to be leftover nights.
Thursday - Chicken Tortilla Soup (Southern Living Slow Cooker book)
Friday - Mexican Potato Casserole
Saturday - Amish Chicken and Rice Casserole
German Lentil Soup with Frankfurters
Preparation Time 7 mins.
Cooking Time 45 mins.
2 onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
8 cups water
1 cup lentils
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound hot dog, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
In a kettle saute chopped onions, crushed garlic clove, chopped carrots, and chopped celery ribs in heated oil for 5 minutes.
Add water, lentils, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook slowly, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until lentils are just tender.
Add thinly sliced hot dogs and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cider vinegar. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Last week was pretty busy. I didn't get around to making two of the meals. So we'll be having them this week instead. I'm going to try to get all the presents wrapped this week. I have one wrapped so far.
How's everyone doing with their shopping? I tried to get done early because I hate shopping during the madness. So I only have a couple things to pick up, and I can grab them when I do my regular errands this week. Yay!! I'm not usually this far along. I've been a lot more organized this year around.
QUICHE LORRAINE · 1 (9−inch) pastry shell · 1/4 lb. sliced bacon, cut into 1−inch pieces · 2 C. cream or milk · 3 eggs, well beaten · Salt and freshly−ground pepper, to taste · A grating of fresh nutmeg · 1/2 C. diced or shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Prick the bottom of the pie crust thoroughly with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up during cooking. (I'm going to pre-bake the crust for about 8 min.) Fry the bacon in a large skillet over high heat until much of the fat is rendered out, but do not fry it until it is crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Combine the cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Place the bacon in the bottom of the pie shell, followed by the cheese. Pour the egg mixture into the shell and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool and serve lukewarm. Serves 6 to 8.
