Creamy Potato Soup and Salad Kung Pao Chicken over Rice with Snap Peas Mel s Diner Chili with Cornbread Instant Pot Roasted Garlic, Brown Butter and Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli 15 Minute Meal Shrimp Tacos with Rice and Beans Slow Cooker Black Bean and Salsa Chicken with Cornbread Dressing, Green Beans Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cookie Pudding PRODUCE Potatoes 5 small-medium Carrots 1-2 Onion ½ + ½ {Tossed Salad Kit} Broccoli 1 small bunch Red pepper ½ {Snap Peas 1 small bag} Garlic clove 1 small +1-2 Cilantro 1 bunch Chopped romaine, cabbage or slaw mix 1 small bag CANNED/DRY Cream of chicken 10 ½ oz. can ½ Kung Pao sauce ½ bottle White Rice 1-2 cups {+ 1 cup} Tomato paste 6 oz. can Kidney Beans ½ can Low Sodium Chili Seasoning Mix 1 pack Fire Roasted Tomatoes ½ can {Active Dry Yeast ½ package 1 1/8 tsp.} {Milk powder 1/8 cup} Angel Hair pasta ½ lb. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 1 jar {Black Beans 15 oz. can} Black bean and corn salsa 12 oz. jar Cornbread stuffing mix 1 box Peanut butter sandwich cookies (Nutter Butters) 1 pack French vanilla instant pudding mix 2 3 ½ oz. boxes MEAT Chicken Breasts ½ - ¾ lb. + 1 ¼ lbs. Ground beef 1 lb. Medium raw shrimp, deveined without tails 1 lb. BREAD Corn or flour tortillas 1 package ITEMS TO HAVE IN PANTRY/FRIDGE Vegetable oil {Cornmeal ½ cup} {Sugar 1 Tbsp.} {Flour 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups} Old Bay Seasoning Lime juice 1 Tbsp. Salt Pepper Olive Oil FROZEN {Broccoli 1 small bag} {Green Beans 1 small bag} Cool Whip 8 oz. container DAIRY Butter ½ - 1 Tbsp. {+1 ½ Tbsp.} +2 Tbsp. Milk 1+ cup +3 ½ cups Parmesan ½ - ¾ cup Sour Cream ½ cup Shredded Monterey Jack cheese 4 oz.
Creamy Potato Soup and Salad Yield: 4 Servings Time: 15 Minutes Hands On, 30-35 Minutes Cook Time 5 small-medium potatoes, peeled and chopped 1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped ½ onion, chopped (chop the whole onion and save remaining half for recipe later in the week) ½ - 1 Tbsp. butter 1+ cup milk ½ can cream of chicken soup (freeze remaining cream of chicken to use for another time) salt and pepper, to taste Place potatoes, carrots and onion in a large pot. Cover with water. Add a half tablespoon to tablespoon of butter to keep it from boiling over. Bring to a boil and cook until the veggies are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain. Smash the veggies with the back of a spoon until some of the potatoes smoosh. You don t want it to all be mashed, but this makes the soup a bit thicker. Stir cream of chicken soup with 1 cup of milk. Add to the veggies in the pot. Fill the pot with milk, until the veggies are covered. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat thoroughly over medium-low heat. Serving Suggestion: Tossed Salad
Kung Pao Chicken over Rice with Snap Peas Yield: 3-4 Servings Time: 10 Minutes Hands On, 10-15 Minutes Cook Time ½ - ¾ lbs. cooked chicken breast 1 small bunch broccoli, chopped ½ red pepper, chopped (chop the full pepper and freeze the remaining ½) vegetable oil ½ bottle Kung Pao sauce hot cooked rice Thaw chicken in the microwave, if you ve got some frozen. Otherwise, cook some chicken. In a large skillet, cook the broccoli and red pepper over medium-high heat for several minutes. Stir often. Add chicken and Kung Pao sauce. Turn heat down and let it finish heating while the rice finishes cooking. Serve chicken over rice. Serving Suggestion: Snap Peas
Mel s Diner Chili with Cornbread Yield: 3-4 Servings Time: 15 Minutes Hands On, Simmer for several hours or 5-6 Hours in Slow Cooker 1 lb. ground beef (can use ½ lb. pork sausage + ½ lb. ground beef) ½ onion, chopped 1 can tomato paste (6 oz can) 3 tomato paste cans of water 1 small clove garlic, minced ½ can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (freeze remaining ½ can to use another time) 1 pack low-sodium chili seasoning mix ½ can Fire Roasted tomatoes, undrained (freeze remaining ½ can to use another time) salt and pepper to taste Brown the beef, onion and garlic. Drain and rinse under hot water. Add all the other ingredients. Simmer for a few hours or toss it in the crockpot and cook it on low for 5 or 6 hours. I didn t have much time, so mine only cooked 45 minutes or so. It was still yummy. Cornbread 1/2 package active dry yeast (approx. 1 1/8 tsp) 2/3 cup warm water, divided ½ cup cornmeal 1/8 cup non-fat dry milk powder 1 ½ Tbs. butter, softened 1 Tbs. sugar 2/3 tsp. salt 1 ¼ 1 ½ cups flour Dissolve the yeast in 1/8 cup of warm water in a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients, except the flour and beat until smooth. Gradually mix in enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for 6-8 minutes. Work in extra flour if needed. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it to bring up the oiled side. Cover lightly with a clean towel and let rise about an hour. Punch the dough down and shape it into a loaf. Put it in a greased loaf pan and cover it with the towel again. Let it rise until double in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Mel s Diner Chili Instant Pot Hit the sauté button and brown the beef, onion and garlic. Drain as much grease as possible. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine. Set the cook time for 20 minutes. Do a quick pressure release. Serving Suggestion: Cornbread
Roasted Garlic, Brown Butter and Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli Yield: 3 Servings Total Time Needed: 15 Minutes 1/2 lb. angel hair pasta 2 Tbs. butter 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ - ¾ cup Parmesan, shredded ½ - 1 cups water from pasta salt and pepper Cook pasta according to directions. Note: Before draining the pasta, dip out ½ - 1cup of the water and set aside. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to skillet. Cook several minutes until garlic is roasted and butter is golden brown in color. Remove from heat. Drain pasta, remembering to reserve ½ -1 cup of water before draining. Add garlic butter and Parmesan to pasta. Ladle cooking water into pasta, tossing to melt cheese. Use enough water to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Serving Suggestion: Steamed Broccoli
Shrimp Tacos with Rice and Beans Yield: 3-4 Servings Total Time Needed: 15-20 Minutes 1 lb. medium raw shrimp, deveined with tails removed Old Bay Seasoning 2-3 Tbs. of oil for frying ½ cup sour cream 1 Tbs. lime juice a couple teaspoons of adobo sauce from chipotle peppers small palmful of chopped fresh cilantro chopped romaine lettuce, cabbage or slaw mix corn or flour tortillas Thaw the shrimp, if it s frozen and drain it. Generously sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and put a couple tablespoons of oil in it. Add the shrimp, but don t stir. Let the shrimp get very browned on one side before flipping. Remove from the skillet when cooked. For the sauce, stir the sour cream, cilantro, adobo sauce and lime juice together. I just used a spoon to dip out the sauce from the can. Use about 1-2 teaspoonfuls. The adobo sauce is spicy, so add according to how much heat your family likes. I froze the rest of the sauce and peppers for another dish. Warm the tortillas and assemble the tacos. Serving Suggestion: Rice and Beans
Slow Cooker Black Bean and Salsa Chicken with Cornbread Dressing, Green Beans Yield: 3-4 Servings Time: 5 Minutes Hands On, 5-8 Hours Cook Time 1 ¼ lbs. boneless chicken breast or tenders 12 oz jar black bean and corn salsa 1 box cornbread stuffing mix 4 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour salsa over chicken. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Use a ladle to dip out liquid from the slow cooker. Measure the amount of liquid called for on the box of stuffing mix. Stir hot liquid into the dry stuffing mix. Serve chicken and stuffing, topped with shredded cheese. Serving Suggestion: Green Beans
Peanut Butter Cookie Pudding Yield: 8-10 Servings Total Time Needed: 15 Minutes 1 package of peanut butter sandwich cookies (I used Nutter Butters) 2 boxes French vanilla instant pudding mix (3.5 oz each) 3 ½ cups milk 1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed (8 oz container) Split all the cookies open using a butter knife. Don t worry if the icing comes off unevenly. Some cookies will have some icing, all the icing or none. It doesn t matter. Beat the milk and pudding mix with an electric mixer until thickened. Fold in the whipped topping with a rubber spatula. Place a layer of cookies, icing side up on the bottom of a dish. I found that 9 13 was a bit too big, but it can work. I ended up using one that is just smaller, about 8 11. You might also be able to use a 9 9 pan, but make sure it is deep. Put a layer of cookies on the bottom. Add half the pudding mixture. Place another layer of cookies icing side up over the pudding. Add the rest of the pudding. Place the final layer of cookies, icing side down. Don t worry if there are gaps between the cookies.