Meal plan 4/13 - 4/19/2014

    Often when I talk with people about meal planning their first reaction is "oh I could never do that!" Or "What if something comes up?" I say Sure you can and if something comes up roll with it. Last week was a perfect example for me. Sunday I was just plain wiped out so we ordered pizza and another night I had run out of an ingredient I needed so I swapped a recipe from another night. If I remember right I swapped dinner on Tuesday and Thursday. It was an easy fix and no stress. Meal planning does take a bit of forethought but in the end it has reduced my daily stress level. I started by planning out a few weeks at a time and now I try to sit down at least once a week and plan for about 2 weeks out. As we come into warmer weather I try to always have burgers, hot dogs or brats (paired with a nice salad of course) on hand for a quick grill option if we feel like being outside or I just want a quick easy dinner.

Here is my list for this week...
Sunday - Cheesy Potato soup W / ham
Monday - Kielbasa W / onions and bell peppers
Tuesday - Chili W/ Cornbread (Chili is from the Freezer)

Wednesday -  Roasted Chicken (in the Crockpot)
Thursday -  Mexican Chicken Salad Inspired buy this recipe
Friday - Crockpot steak fajitas
Saturday -  Pizza, We will be eating out since we will be at a family outing.

Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole

Some meals are just a pain! There I said it! For me Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of those meals. We love it but I hate preparing it! It is just soooo putzy! We are talking like a 10 here folks.

About a year ago I ran across this recipe on Pinterest for Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole It is soooo good! Yes it is still a little bit putzy but it makes a lot! Today I actually split it into 2 8x8 casserole dishes and freeze one (I will let you know how that turns out later).

A few changes I make are that I personally hate swiss cheese. I know I'm missing out but I just can't get around it. I usually use a mix of whatever I have on hand. I have used Mozarella, Colby jack, Monterey jack, you name it. All have turned out fine. I do always use the Parmesan called for. I also usually make my own breadcrumbs. I actually haven't purchased bread crumbs in years!

Also I am thinking of using this sauce mixture as my "go to" Cream soup.It is that good and so versatile!

So head on over to Cooking Classy And drop Jaclyn a note to say thanks for this delicious recipe.

My Putz Factor... 3.5 but soooo worth it!

Edit 7.21.13   I have frozen this multiple times and it turns out awesome! I put it in an aluminum disposable pan (usually the smaller square) and freeze it (uncooked) after its frozen I can fit this size pan in a large zip top bag of in my large foodsaver bags. I try to take it out of the freezer the morning I want to bake it or at lease a few hours before. It takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on how frozen it is. Since it has raw chicken in it I err on the side of cooking a little longer.

A whole lot of Breakfast Burritos

I Love Breakfast Burritos! I have since my single days when McDonalds first started serving them and for me they were the best cure for a lat night out on the town. Now as a busy wife and mom they have become a great way to start the day for my busy family.

Today I kept track of how I make them.
Printable recipe

I used:
1 pound of breakfast sausage (I got mine at Aldi)
1 onion diced
1 bell pepper diced
18 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
American cheese slices 12-24 depending on how much cheese you like
24 10 inch flour tortillas

Using a large nonstick skillet Cook and finely crumble the sausage. Add the diced onion. cook for a few minutes till it starts to soften. Add the diced bell pepper cook until it begins to soften a bit.

Whisk eggs and milk together well. Add to the sausage mixture. Add shredded cheese and stir it all around. Add salt and pepper to taste, but go easy on the salt because the cheese will add saltiness. Cover and cook on low stirring occasionally to get nice fluffy eggs and a nice scramble.

When the eggs are cooked I let everything cool a bit. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to help them be soft and pliable. lay 1/2 to one whole slice of cheese on a tortilla closes to the edge toward you. Put 1/2 - 2/3 cup of egg mixture on top of cheese. Roll the tortilla starting with the edge closest to you by folding up from the bottom, fold over the left and right side then continue to roll. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in a zip top freezer bag. continue until all are rolled.

There are two ways to reheat your Burritos.
Quick method: unwrap and  microwave for 1 minute at half power. Warm a bit more if you need to.

Oven method: (My husband's personal favorite) Unwrap and place Burritos on a baking sheet. (for easier clean up lay down a sheet of Parchment paper or use your silpat mat. cover with your favorite cheese and bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes or until burritos are warmed through. if you do not like your cheese crispy bake for 25 minutes with out the cheese and only add the cheese at the end until it is melted.

Yield 20-24 burritos

I forgot to take production pictures because frankly I was super hungry and I just wanted to finish so I could sit down and eat some :)

Here is one bag of the finished product. (I have 3 bags total now that I am done)