This week's menu

...For your inspiration

Last week:
Mon- Lemon Pepper Fish (cooked like this-- genius!)
Tues- Crock Pot chicken (Literally just chicken breasts in a crock pot with garlic and rosemary)
Wed- BBQ chicken (using leftover chicken & bbq sauce)
Thurs- Sausage
Fri- leftovers

This week:

Mon- Crock Pot Beef
Tues- Fish
Wed- Chicken Soup
Thurs- Sausage (3rd week on the menu, just haven't eaten it yet)
Fri- Leftovers

We are in the semi-process of moving, so I'm trying to use up what we have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Less to move!

This week's menu

For your inspiration...

Mon- Crock Pot Chicken Legs
Tues- Pesto Spaghetti
Wed- Grilled Fish
Thurs- Alfredo Shrimp
Fri- Grilled Sausage

BBQ Chicken Legs/ Drumsticks

There are days when I come home to dinner already cooked, and a glass of wine waiting for me on the table.

Today was one of those wonderful days.

BBQ Chicken Drumsticks:
...according to hubs. I just throw them in a crock pot with BBQ sauce. Grilled are muchhhh better.

Slow-cook the chicken on a grill after the coals have died down a bit. About 35 minutes.

Glaze with your favorite gluten free BBQ sauce (We used Sweet Baby Ray's) in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and grill for the last 5 minutes of chicken cooking time.

Served with a small salad, because, you know, we're trying to eat more veggies.

Park it at the table and try not to make too much of a mess with the BBQ sauce on your face.

P.S. Chicken legs frequently go on sale and we stock up. Cheap dinner, man.

Quick Potato Soup

We got a bag of Simply Potatoes free with bacon at the grocery store.

We also have the last few cool days before it gets to be a million degrees. Rather than cook these up for breakfast, I threw them into a pot and made some potato soup-- really quick.

Quick Potato Soup

Throw in a medium pot:

1 bag of Simply Potatoes (I used Steakhouse seasoned diced potatoes)
crumbled cooked bacon
chopped green onions
enough milk to just barely cover the potatoes

Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Mash them up a little bit with a pastry blender or potato masher. Top with shredded cheese.

The idea was that because the potatoes are already seasoned, I wouldn't have to add any seasoning.
I was right, but it was also pretty salty. I suppose that's what you get for something that is supposed to be "Simple" but ends up tasting pretty processed.

This is actually the second time (and second flavor) of these potatoes that I don't particularly like. There's something in there that tastes bitter to me. Hubs seems to like it, though. Am I crazy?

Either way, they were free and it was quick.

Weekly Menus

Again, posted for your inspiration.

Sometimes there is a huge difference between what was planned and what was actually made. Remember, these are supposed to be a guide just so that there is food on the table. More often than not, we deviate from the plan.

For instance, I've got a risotto mix that I've been wanting to use that's made an appearance on the menu for 3 weeks. It just never got made.

Here's what was planned:

What we actually ate:

• Mon- Crock Pot Pork turned into the Honey Sesame Pork, which would not go well with risotto so that part was scratched.
• Tues- Tuna Mac & Cheese
• Wed- Italian Beef Soup + Cornbread. It made a huge batch of soup so we ate that for a few days.
• Thurs- Sticky Chicken- a recipe from my coworker that we wanted to try but just didn't.
• Fri- Probably soup again? I don't remember.

This week, here is what was planned:

And here's what we actually ate:

• Mon- Black Bean Enchiladas + Corn. 
• Tues-Thurs-  I had a stomach bug. Hubs ate leftovers.
• Fri- Hubs grilled hamburgers, with beans.
• Sat- Crock Pot Chicken & Peppers.

This week's plan:

I'm sure it will deviate in some way, and that's okay. What matters is there is food on the table every night.
 
Mon- Leftover burgers & beans
Tues- Potato Soup
Wed- BBQ Chicken legs
Thurs- Fish & risotto
Friday- I ate leftovers and Chris had Chick Fil A

Crock pot Chicken & Peppers

Here's a recipe for a simple, delicious meal. Throw it all in the crock pot and dinner pretty much makes itself. I was worried it wouldn't be flavorful enough, but it's right on the money.

I hate recipes with no pictures. So here's a blurry cell phone picture of it all portioned out into lunch leftovers. I do not claim to be a photographer, but I promise this food tastes good.
At least you can see what it ends up looking like...

Easy Crock Pot Chicken & Peppers

Add to the crock pot:

• 3 chicken breasts (still frozen are A-ok)
• 3 sweet mini peppers (they usually come in a bag with red, orange & yellow. I snag them when they're on sale), roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• enough white wine to cover it all

Set on low heat until the chicken falls apart. I've left it in for 10 hours before; just make sure you add enough liquid to keep it moist.

Season with salt & pepper. Serve over noodles.
Another easy delicious crock pot meal.