Midweek Meal Planning 9/17/15

Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup - as seen in the daily herald (02/27/13) and "has been pinned 2 million times by Pinterest"

These directions are exact from the recipe - my notes are following

2 quarts of water 8 skinless boneless chicken breasts 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp garlic powder 2 tbs parsley 1 tbs onion powder 5 cubes of chicken bouillon 3 tbs olive oil 1 onion chopped 2 cloves garlic chopped 1 jar of chunky salsa 2 cans of peeled and diced tomatoes 1 can whole peeled tomatoes 1 can of condensed tomato soup 3 tbs chili powder 1 can of whole kernel corn drained 2 cans of chili beans undrained

Combine water, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder,parsley, onion powder and bouillon cubes in large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer 1 hour or until chicken juices run clear. Remove chicken, reserve broth, shred chicken.

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil until slightly brown. Stir in salsa, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, soup, chili powder, corn and beans, and shredded chicken and 5 cups of broth. Simmer 20 minutes.

**I just threw it all into the crock pot with these changes. I used my own tomato puree from the garden instead of the cans, skipped the tomato soup, and any of the water. I did one can of black and one can of chili beans. I always put my chicken in the crock pot frozen, it seems to not dry out as easily. It seemed to me that 8 chicken breast was way too much so I went with 3 -4 depending on the size. I also cooked some wild rice separately and added that just before we were ready to eat. If you really want to spice it up, add some chopped jalapeno peppers. It's also yummy with a bit of sour cream on top or shredded cheese.

And it's dairy and gluten free! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do:)

Mon - I think we had leftovers - but I don't remember Tues - Pot roast from a sale - an Emeril Lagasse recipe, very simple ingredients, mashed potatoes (to go with the gravy), salad Wed - Called "Beef Ragu and Ravioli" but I used this over spaghetti - from the Simple and Delicious July 2007, p. 11 magazine. First time I tried it - I might skip the wine in the recipe and put more beef broth (like they suggested). This was good - but maybe a little more oompf is needed Thurs - Cabbage Rolls (used cabbage from Aldi's sale) - an Emeril Lagasse recipe - this was a first time try, too, and it was very tasty - on the side we had cauliflower mash (very soft cooked cauliflower with cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper - to sub for mashed potatoes) Fri - Sloppy Joe Pizza - from a book called the Taste of Home Slow Cooker (and Stovetop?) recipes, p. 170 - I will make Pioneer Woman's pizza dough. This makes two pizzas - one pound hamburger, Manwich sloppy joe sauce, 8 oz. mozzarella, 4 oz. cheddar, 1/2 cup parmesan; salad Sat. - Turkey bratwurst on hot dog buns, fried cauliflower (use oil, salt, pepper, and be sure to weight it down with a cast iron pan that has foil wrapped around it) This helps to get more of the cauliflower to caramelize because it isn't sticking up out of the pan Sun - Hawaiian Pizza Pasta - another new recipe - from the Taste of Home Slow Cooker (and Stovetop?) recipes, p. 213. 12 servings - mushrooms, onion, green pepper, tomato sauce, seasonings, rotini, mozzarella (calls for TWENTY-FOUR ounces - I might cut it down), 20 oz. pineapple, 1 cup ham (I will use turkey ham and will up it to 2 cups and decrease some of the cheese).

DH is gone all week so meals go a long way - not sure why, doesn't seem like he eats that much!

Sunday - everyone found their own dinner from the fridge, I was full from my Panera lunch Monday - Danny's 1/2 price pizza with my 19 year old DS -DD was at a retreat Tuesday - Seared chicken breast with fresh tomatoes, rice and salad Wednesday - Mr. college guy was in for dinner, so we had his favorite crockpot meatballs with salad and fruit Thursday - leftovers Friday - Catherine's spicy Tomato soup (garden tomatoes I had frozen from last year!) fantastic recipe that I customized for the crock, that includes blk beans, chili powder, chicken and wild rice. Saturday - I'm sure we will still have leftovers, and you never know which of my kiddos will be around so...maybe I'll swing by Christine's house for pizza!

Lots of Cross Country Meets (3 out of 5 days) for Mr. 12 this week, trying to be diligent about planning!

Mon: Cream of chicken wild rice soup and garlic bread. Tues: Brat Patties (clearance at Target) boys loved but they hurt my stomach ugh... packed up the meal and brought with to CC meet and we ate after at a park. Kids loved it picnic style. Wed: Turkey breast in the crock pot with potatoes (that I took out and mashed and used leftover soup with the turkey and about 1/4 packet of onion soup mix so it ended up like a gravy after for the mashed, super yummy) green beans. Thurs: I put a sliced ham (another clearance from Target and used meat coupon last week) in the crock pot, hoping to make hot ham and cheese sandwiches to bring with to the meet tonight, but I have not made this type before so not sure if it will be done. Prethawed. Should be. No clue on Friday and weekend but planning 4 days ahead is good... for me!