Tuesday, September 01, 2009

menu planning monday: back in the saddle again


in case yall didn't hear, i was a little under the weather the past 4 days. and by "a little under the weather" i mean i was on my death bed, crying out to the Lord for healing, and never thought i'd see the light of day again.

but, thank God, i am healed, because someone has got to plan this week's menu.

i know it's Tuesday. a dear, sweet friend made dinner for my family last night in exchange for me babysitting her son last week. it just happened to be perfect timing since the thought of handling food made me run for the nearest bathroom.

now that i'm well, i'm back in the saddle again. and here is our menu for the week.

monday: chicken pot pie, salad [thanks, Vicki!]
tuesday: slow cooker lasagna with spinach, garlic toast
wednesday: naked hamburgers [bun-less], roasted potatoes
thursday: family night, dining out
friday: chicken delicious

Slow-Cooker Lasagna
-box of regular lasagna noodles
-jar of pasta sauce
-ricotta cheese (I use skim Cottage Cheese instead)
-package of shredded Italian cheese
-spinach
-meat (optional)
-1/4 cup water

brown meat with chosen spices in large skillet. pour in entire jar of pasta sauce (save jar, don't rinse or throw away!) simmer on low for a few minutes. put a ladle-full of sauce mixture into the bottom of your crockpot. top with a layer of dried lasagna noodles. you'll have to break them to fit (Stephanie O'Dea says "little pieces will fly all over the place, much to the delight of small children and pets.") smear cottage cheese on top of lasagna noodles. layer spinach on top of the cottage cheese. add a handful of the shredded cheese. ladle on some more of the meat sauce. top with more dry noodles and repeat layers until crock is to desired capacity. put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta jar and shake. Pour tomatoey juice over the whole pile of food.
cover and cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4. Check noodles an hour before serving, and push the top ones down into the liquid if they are getting too hard or are curling up. by the way, if you aren't familiar with Stephanie O'Dea of Crockpot365.blogspot.com, but you own and use and love your Crock Pot, please let me introduce you to the best resource for easy, family friendly slow-cooker recipes EVER: http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/.

Chicken Delicious
what's kind of funny about this recipe is i just found it, but i call almost every misc. chicken skillet dish "Chicken Delicious", and this one really IS called Chicken Delicious. i found it here http://www.scenicroutetojoy.blogspot.com/ via http://www.orgjunkie.com/, and i modified it just slightly.

-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thirds
-2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-black pepper
-celery salt
-paprika
-1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
-1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
-grated parmesan cheese
-rice


Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a large bowl or meat platter, season chicken with lemon juice, pepper, celery salt and paprika. Place in crock-pot. Pour soups over chicken breasts. Sprinkle generously w/parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low 7 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 5 hours.
Serve over noodles or rice.