Menu for Feb. 1-7

One of my resolutions this year was to be more organized with meal planning. It's taken me a month to get started...but what else is new?

Today we spent just under $160.00 on groceries for the week. Our cupboards were pretty bare, so I had to get a lot of staples, too. We bought 20 lbs. of ground beef to stock up the freezer, and to take to church for fellowship Super Bowl party tomorrow.

Today (Saturday)
Chicken Enchiladas (the good ones---recipe below)
Spanish Rice
Refried beans

Sunday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Eat at church--beef burgers

Monday
Breakfast: Banana Chip Muffins
Lunch: Chicken Packets
Veg
Dinner: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tuesday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Ham Balls
Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Dinner: Leftovers/whatever you can find

Wednesday
Breakfast: Waffles with Carmel Banana Topping
Lunch: Cowboy Chili (with elk meat from Papa Ken)
Breadsticks (recipe below)
Dinner: Leftovers/whatever you can find

Thursday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Dinner: Leftovers/whatever you can find

Friday
Breakfast: Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
Lunch: Chicken Enchiladas
Dinner: Crockpot Potato Soup

Saturday
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Huddy's Favorite Casserole (I've never made this--don't know if it will be a favorite. Shannon made sure I changed it from 'hubby' to 'Huddy')
Dinner: Leftovers/whatever you can find

Chicken Enchiladas--I got this recipe from Stacey Ryal (used to be from Nevada, now Mason City)
4 T. Butter
1 c. Onion, minced
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
2 tsp. Salt and Pepper, each
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper or Chili Powder
16 oz. Sour Cream
6 T. Flour
4 c. Chicken Broth
8 oz. Diced Green Chilies, opt.
4 c. Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded and divided
6 c. Chicken, shredded and cooled
16-24 Tortillas

SAUCE: Cook onion, garlic, cumin, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper in butter until onion is tender. Stir flour into sour cream and add to onion mixture. Whisk in chicken broth and green chilies all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 2 x. of the \shredded pepper jack cheese. Stir.

FILLING: Mix chicken and 2 c. pepper jack cheese. Add 1-2 c. of sauce and mix. Divide the filling between tortilla shells. Wrap and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish (or two). Pour sauce over. Bake at 350, covered, until heated through, about 25-30 minutes. Bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with toppings such as olives, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and shredded cheese if desired.



I use this recipe for pizza dough and the variation for breadsticks.

3 cups hot tap water (not hot enough to burn)
2 Tbsp.honey
6-8 cups whole wheat or unbleached white flour (approx. amount)
1 Tbsp. Saf yeast
1 Tbsp. Real Salt
1 Tbsp. Dough Enhancer

Put water, honey and 3 cups of flour in Bosch bowl. Mix until paste consistency. Add yeast and salt. Add additional flour quickly, 1 cup at a time only until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl. You may not need to add entire amount of flour or you may need to add a bit more.

If using all white flour, knead 5 minutes. If half white half wheat flour, knead 8 minutes. If all wheat flour, knead 10 minutes.

Add dough enhancer last two minutes of kneading.

Place pizza stone on oven and preheat to 500.

Roll crusts to desired shapes and sizes. Add toppings and bake on stone for 7 minutes.

Pizza crusts can be baked for three minutes and then frozen for later use. They will store up to two months. Thaw 1 hour before adding toppings and baking.

Spread with favorite pizza sauce. Add toppings of choice and sprinkle with cheese. Bake on preheated pizza stone at 500 for 7 minutes.

Variation: Add to water/honey mixture:
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano

Variation: For bread sticks - use 1/3 Pizza Dough Recipe
1 cube butter (room temperature)
4 cloves garlic
grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch off dough and roll into rectangle 12"x 8 " (1/4" thick). Cut into 3/4" wide strips. Place on greased or parchment paper covered bun pan. Allow to rise until double in size. Bake on pizza stone 500 for 7 minutes until lightly browned. Press garlic into butter and brush on tops of cooked bread sticks. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

You can also use pizza dough to make calzones. Roll balls of dough into 6"-8" circles. Add fillings, pizza sauce and cheese. Fold edges over, (makes half moon shape). Pinch and eal with water. Run fork tines around edges. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes (until lightly browned and filling is melted).

"Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase;" Proverbs 3:9