Friday, October 28, 2011

Weekly Menu - October 29th


Last weeks menu was a mix of success and failures with both lunch and dinners!  I look forward to sharing some of those recipes with you in the coming weeks!

This next weeks menu is based on two principals: 1) With the birthday party last week, I have a smaller amount of money left in the budget for this week so I needed to try to keep things simple 2) I'm helping my mother-in-law with a wedding shower for my niece next Saturday and there are a few new recipes I need to try before we actually make them for the shower! 

Check out what we are eating this week!

Saturday: It is going to be a simple day - we are planning to go to the Zoo Boo so I'm not sure if we will eat at home or what - I have Pot Pies (The cheap frozen ones) on the menu for lunch and Pancakes and Sausage for dinner. 

Sunday: Stuffed Shells (with Cheese), Green Beans and 7-up Biscuits for our main meal; Then for dinner, Breakfast Casserole in the Crockpot and Donut Muffins - these are two test recipes for the shower. 

Monday: Homemade Cheese Pizza (kid style) and chips

Tuesday: Overnight French Toast with Bacon Stuffed Sausage Roll-ups (another trial run of recipes!)

Wednesday:  Gingerbread Waffles and Bacon (are you sensing a theme this week HA!) 

Thursday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Brown Rice, Peas, and Lonestar Rolls (finally "real" food!)

Friday: Chicken Fried Steak, Fried Corn and Mashed Potatoes with parsley Gravy


In case you hadn't figured it out yet, we are doing a Brunch for the shower :-)  I'm hoping that everything is good and I'll be able to share all of the shower recipes and ideas with you after the shower (it will be a Pinterest post since most of the ideas came from there!)

Enjoy and keep cooking!

Food Friday - Breaded Chicken with Parsley Potatoes (and a bonus recipe too!)

Welcome to another "episode" of Food Friday.  I have soooo many recipes to share with you that I just can't seem to keep up!  I really enjoy cooking, I enjoy great recipes, and I enjoy sharing what I find with others so you can enjoy too!  Just the other day, one of the blogs I follow (Shugary Sweets) even shared a recipe on her blog that she read on mine - how flattering!  Anyway, I'm holding back from posting some because there is a recipe challenge I want to start being part of but one of the requirements is to have all of your own photos - some of my posts I've used photos from other sites so I need to make the recipes again and take photos :-)  (Or I may just delete some photos on some for now!)  Hoping I can "join up" soon!

I believe that I've mentioned that I've been getting ideas for my weekly menu from Confessions of a Homeschooler. She posts a monthly meal calendar at the beginning of each month and it has really inspired me AND has given me some new, great, easy recipes!  That's where this meal comes from and it is a new favorite!

Breaded Chicken with Parsley Potatoes
adapted from Confessions of a Homeschooler

This recipe was a very quick family favorite - the kids ate everything and the adults love it too :-)  I actually used bone-in chicken thighs because they were so much more less expensive then boneless.  I did pull off the skin though :-) Also, the potatoes - they are fantastic - I have never had success with "flavored" potatoes - they always seem so bland - but this recipe really, truly reminds me of what you get in a restaurant!  

Breaded Chicken:
  • 6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (can substitute with chicken breasts, but let’s face it, they’re just not as yummy!)
  • 1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs (I use Progresso Italian)
  • 1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • 1/2 c. milk
  • olive oil
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan with cooking oil.
Step 2: Mix breadcrumbs & shredded Parmesan cheese in shallow bowl. Beat egg and milk together in another shallow bowl. Dip each chicken breast into egg mixture then coat with bread crumbs and place into 9×13 pan.
Step 3: Drizzle breaded chicken breasts with olive oil and bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes or until golden brown

Parsley Potatoes:
  • 3 russet potatoes (can substitute with red potatoes)
  • butter
  • 1 T parsley
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp onion salt
Step 1: Fill large sauce pan with water and bring to boil.
Step 2: Wash potatoes thoroughly, then dice into about 1” pieces and place in boiling water. Cook approximately 15 minutes or until tender. Drain water.
Step 3: Meanwhile, melt approx 4tbs of butter in saute pan on low. Add garlic salt, onion salt and parsley. (Can add more of any ingredient to taste)
Step 4: Stir cooked potatoes into butter mixture until coated well and serve!


Now, I "promised" you a bonus recipe.  We had this chicken dish on a Sunday after church; I try to plan our main meal for "lunch" and then make dinner something simple.  I cooked a couple of extra chicken thighs and we made some awesome Chicken Quesadillas for dinner!

These are so simple!  I just used to tortillas (I used taco shell size so that they are easier to flip).  Lay one shell in a small skillet, layer in cheese, chicken, onions or any other toppings you would like, and place another shell on top.  Heat over medium heat until the cheese has started to melt; flip and finish cooking.  It is such an easy meal and again, everyone loves them because they can put in only what they want! 



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