This week, Derrick will be visiting his Mom and Kaitie & Gracie will be home. So we will be having a Pizza & a Movie night with some baking, too!
Here is this week’s menu…
Monday:
Lunch ~ Apple Swiss Turkey Sandwiches and Smart Food white cheddar popcorn
I found this recipe in the “Good Food Kids Love” mini recipe mag from “Taste of Home”. I’m a sucker for their recipe books! They always have plenty that I find interesting. This turned out to be a delicious sandwich! All the kids ate theirs. I love finding new sandwiches – the same ones over and over again just get boring!
Dinner ~ Chicken Stuffed Shells
I saw a few stuffed shells recipes while I was going through my cookbooks doing this week’s meal planning, and I decided to make my own with ground chicken. Gracie is not a big fan of most meats, but she loves poultry. So, this one’s for her! This dinner disappeared fast! Memo to me…cut up the shells for the kids next time. They ate the stuffing and picked up the shells with their fingers!
Chicken Stuffed Shells
1 pound package of ground chicken
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning (I like Emeril’s)
1 cup of minced carrots (I like to finely chop shredded carrots)
1 medium onion, diced small
1 celery stalk, diced small
2 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper to taste
homemade or jarred tomato sauce
12 large pasta shells
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Add olive oil to preheated pan. Add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. Sweat the veggies until they are soft, then add the ground chicken, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook the chicken through while mixing the ingredients together. Add about a cupful of the pasta sauce to the chicken mixture, stir to combine. Stuff the pasta shells and arrange in a dish, then cover with sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
Tuesday:
Lunch ~ fruit & cheese kabobs with cinnamon yogurt dip and pretzel sticks
This lunch could not be any easier. Wash, cut, and skewer grapes, strawberries and cheese cubes. Add some cinnamon to vanilla yogurt, and you’re good to go. Just make sure to pack enough skewers to fill ’em up.
Dinner ~ beef, bean, and avocado tacos
Any variation on a taco theme is a huge hit at our house! Here’s our version of tacos. I like the Garden of Eatin’ taco shells – make sure to heat them in the oven a bit before you stuff them. I like to brown the ground beef with a packet of taco seasoning, then mix in a can of refried beans (Amy’s are my favorite). I stuff the shellswith the beef & bean mixture, two slices of avocado, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, chopped black olives, finely chopped green onions, and sour cream. Everyone’s favorite salsa is served on the side. These get wolfed down faster than I can take my first bite!
Wednesday:
Lunch ~ Crunchy Vegetable Spread with a fruit cup
This recipe is also from “Taste of Home”. I modified it, using green onions and a few different pepper colors. I also added a teaspoonful of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. This was accompanied by Publix Greenwise’s new wheat crackers – they are really yummy like Wheat Thins, but without the hydrogenated oils – a major plus in my book!
Dinner ~ Honey Glazed Chicken & Carrots
Yum! This recipe is from Pillsbury’s “Hamburger & Chicken” mini recipe mag. I tried to find it online for you, but can’t. So, here is my modified version of the recipe:
Honey Glazed Chicken & Carrots
Wide egg noodles
olive oil
8 chicken thighs
3 – 4 slices of uncured bacon
1 medium onion
1 package baby carrots
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I used a nice Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Cook an appropriate amount of the egg noodles for the number of people you are serving. Turn the oven on broil. Place the chicken thighs, skin side up, on a broiler-safe baking sheet. Oil, salt and pepper the chicken. Broil the chicken until the skin is crispy and the internal temperature reaches 175°.
While that is cooking, preheat a large pan over medium heat, then add the bacon and onions. Once the bacon starts to render, add the carrots. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the honey, vinegar and thyme. Stir frequently until the sauce thickens, then add the cooked chicken, skin side down. Lift the pan and shimmy the chicken around in the sauce to get it good and covered. Place the egg noodles in a serving dish, then place the chicken on top, skin side up. Pour the carrot mixture over the top of the chicken.
Try not to eat it all on the way to the table!
Thursday:
Lunch ~ Good ole’ pb&j with a cheese stick and carrots & dip
Dinner ~ Rock Stars with Confetti and Bow Ties
Family Fun’s Family Cookbook has a recipe for pasta with veggie cut outs. I like the idea, so I just changed it up a bit.
Bell peppers tend to be very heavy on the pesticide, so if you can’t find organic peppers, make sure you wash them thoroughly with veggie wash!I like the way this recipe turned out, so it is very likely to make a reappearance on a future Family Friday Rock Star theme.
Before dinner, we baked a batch of Immaculate Baking Company’s vanilla sugar cookies. I love that they are dairy free and have nothing at all icky in them! I mixed up a quick glaze of powdered sugar and plain Almond Breeze and sprinkled some Let’s Do Organic sprinkles on the top.
Rock Stars with Confetti & Bow Ties
1 package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 zucchini
1 large yellow squash
1 medium to large carrot (or a big handful of shredded carrots)
1 box of bow tie pasta
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
olive oil
Cook the bow tie pasta according to package directions. Using a star shaped mini cookie cutter, cut the veggies into star shapes. No need to throw away the excess – just dice it into “confetti”! Preheat a large pan over medium heat, then add about a tablespoon or so of the oil and chicken. Cook the chicken, then remove it to a plate. Add a bit more oil if necessary, then add the veggie stars and confetti. Cook until desired doneness, then add the chicken back into the pan with the Italian seasoning and cooked pasta. Stir well to combine. Rock on!
After dinner, we enjoyed the cookies we made with some ice cream!
Well, mine was made with Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent coconut milk ice cream. It’s delicious!!!
Baby Caroline is dairy sensitive, and I don’t do soy, so these products are perfect for me. Their coconut milk yogurt is awesome, too!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s goodies… See you next week! :o)
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