Menu Plan for July 24 through July 30

Sunday: Hamburgers, fresh fruit, leftover black bean salad
Monday: Fried rice with leftover chicken, veggies about to turn, and veggies from the garden
Tuesday: Crockpot barbecue chicken thighs, fresh fruit, green beans
Wednesday: Bruchetta, fresh fruit
Thursday: Salsa topped tilapia, green salad, brown rice
Friday and Saturday: Well, this is embarrassing. I haven't actually planned these days. We are anticipating eating; however, I'm lacking motivation. There is so much produce in abundance right now that I know I will find frugal inspiration later in the week.

Breakfast Zucchini Bread

I'm not a fan of sugary food in the morning. A little sugar is ok, but please save the maple syrup and HFCS until dessert time. (Actually, you can keep the HFCS.) With this in mind, I made a very slightly sweet breakfast bread.

Breakfast Zucchini Bread
(modified from heavenlyhomemakers.com)

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce
2 cups shredded zucchini (I use my food processor to shred zucchini, skin and all)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder.  Stir in honey, applesauce, zucchini, eggs and butter.  Mix ingredients until well combined.  Pour into two well buttered loaf pans.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Menu Plan for July 17 through July 23

Despite the fact that it is mid July, the weather appears to be October-like - gray, rainy, mid-60's. Yuck. So I'm mixing in some winter favorites as well...

Sunday: Chicken and veggie quesadillas, cherries
Monday: Chicken kebabs (from How to Cook Everything), green salad
Tuesday: Chicken caesar salad
Wednesday: Red turkey enchiladas
Thursday: Tilapia with salsa, brown rice, garlicy green beans
Friday: Homemade pizza with ground turkey and veggies
Saturday: Crustless quiche with spinach and bacon, peaches

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I modified this from the Year of Slow Cooking blog. It doesn't quite remind me of buffalo wings, but it's delicious none the less.

Buffalo Chicken Soup


1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups low fat milk
1 cup chicken broth
4 ounces low fat cream cheese
1/3 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

In a small sauce pan, heat butter until melted. Stir in the flour, and heat until thoroughly blended, stirring constantly. Set aside.

Combine chicken, celery, milk, chicken broth, cream cheese, hot sauce, and garlic powder in a 3-4 quart crockpot. Stir in butter mixture. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Menu Plan for July 10 through July 16

I checked out a cookbook from the library, "The 150 Healthiest 15 Minute Recipes on Earth," and it has a lot of simple, relatively frugal recipes that look really good. I've already cooked some of the meals out of it, but I definitely want to try more!

Sunday: Barbecued hamburgers, mashed potatoes, fruit
Monday: Tomato bruchetta
Tuesday: Teriyaki salmon with pineapple (from The 150 Healthiest Recipes) and brown rice
Wednesday: Sun dried tomato quinoa, salad, fruit
Thursday: Sesame Thai chicken and broccoli (from The 150 Healthiest Recipes) and brown rice
Friday: Fried rice, fruit
Saturday: Garlic chicken pasta, salad

Black Bean Salad and Spicy Avocado Dip

This isn't one of my recipes, so I'll just link it instead - Black Bean Salad.

Amazing on a hot day. Serve with lemonade, fresh fruit, and some crusty bread.

Also - Spicy Avocado Dip (or Guacamole if you're nasty). Easy, and you don't really need to measure - it'll turn out ok if you don't! So easy.

Creamy Sun-Dried chicken over Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth

1 bunch of green onions, diced (white parts and most of the green parts)
olive oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tb cornstarch
2 tb butter
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups already cooked chicken, shredded

Rinse the quinoa. Place water and quinoa in a pot together; heat on high until boiling. Cover, turn the heat to medium low, and simmer for 12 minutes.

In a separate pan, saute green onions in olive oil until very fragrant. Combine milk and cornstarch in a different bowl, and pour into pan. Add  butter, and heat until boiling and thickened. Add basil, tomatoes, garlic powder, red pepper, salt and pepper, and chicken and heat until cooked through. Serve warm over quinoa.

Menu Plan for May 22 through May 28

Starting next week I may be adding a lunch plan as well. Lunch time here has become ridiculous, because I don't think about it until it is actually lunch time and Henry is a few minutes away from a hunger tantrum. It's ridiculous and makes for some weird choices. (Peanut butter and jelly on hamburger buns is fine, but not what I intended those buns for.)

That being said...

Sunday: Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas
Monday: Bacon and mushroom crustless quiche, oranges
Tuesday: Salmon burgers, steamed veggies, store bought potato salad (it was on sale, ok??)
Wednesday: French onion soup (if this turns out well, I'll post the recipe)
Thursday: Chicken cheesy rice (with Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute), oranges
Friday: White chicken enchiladas (the kind that everyone knows how to make, with yogurt and non-MSG cream of mushroom soup subbed in for sour cream and Campbells)
Saturday: Family barbecue

Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas

We had this last night, and it was so easy, simple, and delicious that I wanted to share.

Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas

1 medium onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced (use two different colors for more fun/nutrition!)
1 tb chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 cup cheese
6 large tortillas (we actually used FlatOut Bread)

Saute onions and peppers in a small amount of olive oil until soft. In a bowl, place vegetables, spices, and chicken. Mix. Spread the mixture evenly over three tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the mixture. Top with the remaining tortillas, and fry in a small amount of butter or olive oil until the cheese is melted.

Menu Plan for May 15 through 21

This week will feature a roast chicken, bookended by Daddy's cooking! (I'll be out on both Sunday and Saturday.)

Sunday: Sean's choice (probably frozen flaxseed waffles)
Monday: Crockpot roast chicken with roasted red potatoes and steamed green  beans
Tuesday: Black bean taco salad with chicken
Wednesday: Chicken cheesy rice with fruit
Thursday: Chicken lettuce wraps with peanut sauce (based on a recipe from 1-2-3 Cook for Me) and stir fried veggies
Friday: Chicken pot pie with biscuits (based on this recipe)
Saturday: Sean's choice (probably scrambled eggs)