Weekly Menu 11/04-11/10

I hope you all had a great Halloween! Weather in the Northern California Central Valley is pretty flip-floppy.  The weekend was warm, Monday and Tuesday were kind of warm, Wednesday threatened Halloween with rain, and next week looks like it’s heating up again.  I’m sure all you summer lovers out there are happy to have just a little more heat before winter takes over.  The minion and I are not. Haha We love our cold weather.

Last week’s menu turned out fairly well, I think.  There were some recipes that I knew would be winners and one that turned into a “do this if I have nothing else” kind of meal.  Bean didn’t seem to care for the chicken, sweet potato and apple skillet.   It might have something to do with the fact that she was throwing a fit in the middle of cooking the sweet potatoes and they got…. Darkened. I won’t say burned because they were still edible and only one side was visually unappealing.  Silver lining, people! Did you love the baked sweet and sour chicken as much as we did?  That’s getting a monthly spot. 

Hopefully, crossing my fingers, this blog has been helping you get a hold of your menu planning.  If not, I’m sorry.  I’ll try better if you leave me feedback.  If you change up a recipe, use a different dinner entirely, or you love something, tell me. I’ll try to incorporate suggestions. 

This week:

4	5	6	7	8	9	10
BBQ ribs	Crock pot carne asada	Pesto Stuffed Shells	Bourbon Street Chicken	Chicken Ravioli Soup	Steak and Potatoes Stir-Fry	Chipotle Bowls

Sunday-Easy BBQ Ribs (in the slow cooker!)

Monday- Crock Pot Carne Asada 

Tuesday- Pesto Stuffed Shells (a huge favorite)

Wednesday- Bourbon Street chicken

Thursday- Chicken Ravioli Soup

Friday- Steak and Potato Stir-Fry (another favorite!)

Saturday- Burrito bowls- adapted from 5 Dollar Dinners

This week’s shopping list will be a little tricky because of the burrito bowls. We kind of just toss whatever we have together and call it good.  That usually means meat with taco seasoning, rice, black beans, sour cream, and cheese.  Hubs doesn't eat fresh tomato, so it would be a waste to cut part of one up just for me. With that said, I’ll leave off that recipe so that you can decide on your own what you want to make out of that highly adaptable recipe. J

The shopping list:

*****Please keep in mind that this list is based on the assumption that you are making the full recipes and following them exactly. If you are cutting them in half or altering them in any way, don’t forget to change your list!*****  

2 lbs pork (baby) back ribs

1 cup barbecue sauce

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth

3 diced tomatoes 

2 jalapeno peppers chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped 

2 cups onions

2 pounds Steak
12 oz box of Jumbo shell pasta

15 oz part skim ricotta

4 oz shredded mozzarella

½ cup basil pesto

2 cups spinach

3 cups (1 jar) pasta sauce

¼ cup Apple Juice

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 cups chicken broth

2 ½ cups carrots

½ cup diced celery

2 cups frozen cheese ravioli

1lb. boneless beef sirloin steak

2 cups cubed potatoes

2 cups sliced mushrooms 

¼ cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Stuff you probably already have:

Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil
Olive oil

Ginger

Crushed red pepper flakes

Ketchup

White vinegar

Cider vinegar
Eggs

Paprika
garlic cloves
chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Corn starch
Soy sauce

Brown sugar
Cooking spray

Seems easy enough, right?  This list is pretty short compared to last weeks! Remember to add the burrito bowl ingredients to the list.   You might like to add a container of cherry tomatoes to the list, too, for the steak and potato stir fry. We leave out the mushrooms, add about half a cup of halved cherry tomatoes and double the vinaigrette. For the stuffed shells I add shaved parmesan cheese if I happen to have some in the fridge.

I will be posting November's menu either tomorrow or Saturday.  Have a great week!