Weekly Meal Plan and a great rice dish

Well, this week's meal plan should be easy since Thursday we celebrate with the Kellys and Friday we will spend with the Pearsons eating our weight in good food.

Due to lots of cooking and baking for our Thanksgiving meals, plus an unbelievable amount or prep time for our upcoming meal parties, dinners this week will be EASY!

Monday: PF Changs frozen beef and broccoli meal (Nick picked it up at Kroger last night- we'll see if it is any good)

Tuesday: Breakfast: sausage, biscuits, and scrambled eggs.

Wednesday: Merlot Chicken and Rice (this was on the menu for last week, but never made it to our table- still in the freezer, which means no effort involved)

The following recipes is one of my favorite rice dishes. Perfect with a roast! Nick is not a huge fan but I don't understand why. I think it is wonderful with very minimal work.

Rice Casserole

2 cans beef consume

2 cans beef broth/bullion

2 cups rice

2 sticks butter

Melt butter in oven, pour 2 soups in and spread rice around.

Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes

Countdown is on...

While most people are counting down the days until Christmas, I am currently counting down until mid January when Nick and I will be jetting off to the Dominican Republic for a week of luxury at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel.

Working at a tire store may not be the most glamourous job, but tire companies sure know how to plan an incentive trip.

While we will most definitely miss our two little munchkins, we will come home with our batteries recharged and hopefully a tan.

8 week countdown is ON!

www.hardrockhotelpuntacana.com

What a month for our little Grahammy!

What a month it has been for little Graham!

At the beginning of November, Graham wasn't crawling, hated food, only took a bottle, and had no teeth.

Today, he's crawling everywhere, eating people food, taking a sippy cup, and is about to pop out his 3rd tooth.

What a big boy he's becoming!

Fun and Funky cookies

I was recently asked to decorate some sugar cookies for a wedding shower. I was giving a napkin for a little design inspiration. These cookies were lots of fun!

Let me know if you need any cookies for an upcoming event. $18/dozen

I have posted previous cookies on my blog.

Meal Plan- The beauty of Freezer Cooking and an easy Fall Recipe!!

This week's menu is going to be the food from our October meal party meals. What does that mean? Homemade dinner on the table every night this week with very minimal effort. Due to trying out so many new recipes for our upcoming parties, I haven't made a dent in the meals from last months menu. Here's what we are having...

Sunday: Potato Soup and pigs in a blanket **

Monday: Baked Jambalaya and rolls

Tuesady: Merlot Chicken over Rice and green beens

Wednesday: Fall Cranberry Chicken and mac and cheese

Thursday: leftovers

**Kroger sells a brand of soup called "Bear Creek". While not all of the soups are good, the Potato soup is great. We eat it often. It's a great Sunday Lunch food. Simply add water, and top with cheese and bacon. Yummy!

Fall Cranberry Chicken

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

1 can cranberry sauce

1 cup Kraft french dressing

Place 4 chicken breasts in a pyrex dish. Mix soup mix, cranberry sauce, and dressing in a bowl. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Holiday Cooking Party

The hustle and bustle is just around the corner. You spend your time celebrating, decorating, and shopping...leave the cooking to us!

Join us on Tuesday, November 29th @ 6:30, and you will leave with a cooler full of appetizers, main courses, side dishes, and sweet treats. Simply freeze, and then thaw when ready to serve.

What you will leave with...

Appetizers

(serve 12)

Bayou glazed meatballs

Warm BLT Dip with pita chips

Cheddar Bacon Chicken dip with crackers

Main Courses

(serves 4-6)

Pomegranate Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

(excellent as a main dish, or can be sliced and served on rolls for a hearty appetizer

Wahoo! Chili

Chicken Pot Pie

Sides

(serves 4 or 8)

Paula Dean’s Creamed Corn Casserole (back by popular demand)

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet and Savory Treats

Sausage Balls (2 dozen)

Tastefully Simple Almond Pound Cake Mix

How Much? $125- for sides to serve 4 people

$140- for sides to serve 8

cash or check payable to Anna Pearson or Rose Kelly

-want the meals, but can't attend? For an extra $25, we will do the work, and you can pick up your meals the next day.

Please RSVP by Friday, November 11th to

comecookwithus@gmail.com

What to bring?

a cooler

Weekly Meal Plan and a simple Pot Pie recipe

Although I have not slacked in my weeknight cooking, I have not been diligent about meal planning ahead of time. I am going to attempt to set a weekly menu each weekend for the following week. This prevents middle of the week grocery runs.

Weekend: Chili and Cornbread

Monday: Spaghetti and Baked apples

Tuesady: Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday: Fusia Honey Orange Chicken over rice (one of the reasons I LOVE Aldi)

Thursday: leftovers

I typically appreciate a recipe where everything is completely from scratch, but chicken pot pie is not one of them. I've yet to be too overwhelmed with a chicken pot pie that takes hours to make. My oppinion...it's not necessary.

Here is a very simple, no-fail yummy and cozy meal.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 refrigerated pie crust (I prefer kroger over pillsbury for pot pies)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1/8 cup sour cream

1 can del monte mixed vegetables, drained

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken

Allow pie crust to come to room temperature and line pie plate with 1 crust.

Mix remainder of ingredients, and pour in pie crust. Top with 2nd crust. Pinch edges, and make a few slits in the top of the crust. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until crust is nice and golden brown. Enjoy!