Meal Plan for the week of 9/12/2011

Monday: Chicken Souvlaki Pitas (Recipe to come)
Tuesday: Beef Roll Ups w/ Mash Potatoes and Gravy (Recipe to come)
Wednesday/Thursday: Cheese Tortellini Soup
Friday: Eat Out
Saturday: Angie's Taco Pie (Recipe to come)
Sunday: Left Overs

Hashbrown Pork Chop Casserole

Will loves pork chops. I don't have the first clue how to make pork chops. I'm afraid of cooking them too long and making them dry. My friends mom in Arizona makes really good grilled pork chops. They are really yummy. Me and pork chops just don't go hand in hand. So when I found this recipe on The Country Cooks blog I knew I had to give it a try. The recipe came from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook and I love Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. I'm going to have to check this cookbook out. Not only does this recipe have pork chops but it also has cheesy potatoes which Will loves too. Will did love this dish. He did say that the potatoes could have used a little bit of pepper but that's easy to fix. Other than that I thought this was a delicious meal. The pork chops were moist and the potatoes were nice and creamy and cheesy.

Hashbrown Pork Chop Casserole
from The Country Cook

8 servings (4 oz pork chop, 1 cup potatoes), 8 WW points per servings

Printer Friendly Version

4 pork chops (I used a 2 lb package of boneless thick cut pork chops called grillers)
1 tablespoon of oil
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free cream celery soup
1/2 cup skim milk
32 oz package frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 onion, diced
1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Season the pork chops on both sides with seasonings of choice. I used salt, pepper, and garlic. In a large skillet heat the oil and brown the pork chops on both sides. Don't cook through because they will finish cooking in the oven.

In a large bowl combine the, sour cream, celery soup, milk, hash browns, onion, and cheese. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray and spread in the hash brown mixture. Top with pork chops. Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until heated through and pork chops are fully cooked.

Meal Plan for the week of 9/5/2011

Monday/Tuesday: Hashbrown-Pork Chop Casserole (Recipe to Come)
Wednesday/Thursday: Lazy Woman's Lasagna
Friday: Eat Out
Saturday: Tacos
Sunday: Left Overs

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich

This isn't the greatest picture. It doesn't convey the yumminess of this sandwich. I found this recipe on a blog I frequent called Dinners for a Year and Beyond. The author said it was like Subway's sandwich. I didn't think it tasted exactly the same but it was pretty good. So was the sweet onion sauce. I will be making this again. Don't be intimidated by the longish list of ingredients. You will be surprised by what you already have in your pantry and this comes together very fast. It's not hard to make at all. If your not a fan of the sweet onion sauce then you don't need make it because the sandwich without it is good.

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich
adapted from Dinners for a Year and Beyond

4 servings w/o buns, 6 WW points per servings

Printer Friendly Version

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into thin strips

teriyaki marinade --
1/4 cup soy sauce reduced sodium
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon dried minced onions
1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper

sweet onion sauce --
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon dried minced onions
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Splenda brown sugar blend
1/8 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper

In a large resealable bag, place the teriyaki marinade ingredients and the chicken. Let chicken marinate for about 1 hour. I didn't have time to let mine marinate and my chicken wasn't totally unthawed so I baked my chicken uncut in the marinade in the oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees instead of grilling the chicken. The chicken turned out very flavorful and moist. Though next time I would like to grill it.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over medium high heat, combine the sweet onion sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil while stirring to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir. Set aside.

To serve, slice rolls and top with chicken and desired toppings. Drizzle with the sweet onion sauce and enjoy!

Oven Baked Stew

I'm the type of person that can eat ice cream all year round. I'm also the type of person that can eat soup or stew all year round. When I saw this recipe I knew I needed to try it. It sounded great and it seemed very easy. I planned it for Wednesday. I was going to get it ready and have Will put it in the oven to bake. Then I remembered Will is working a different shift now and doesn't get home until 7pm and this dish takes 2 hours to cook in the oven. I didn't want Will to have to wait until 9pm to eat. So I decided to put everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day so it would be ready to eat when Will got home. All Will had to do was throw in the brown in serve rolls in the oven to go with the stew. This was a great meal and making it in the crock pot worked out just fine.

Oven (Crock Pot) Baked Stew
adapted from Life as a Lofthouse

6 servings, 6 WW points per serving

Printer Friendly Version

1 (1 oz) package of Dry Onion Soup mix

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1 pound lean Beef Stew Meat (cut up into bite sized pieces)

2-3 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces

3 large Carrots, peeled and diced (I used a small bag of petite baby carrots)
1/2 an Onion, chopped

1 can 97% fat free Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 cup Ketchup

In a gallon zip lock bag place the beef stew meat and the onion soup mix, salt, and paprika. Seal the bag and shake to coat the meat. In a large crock pot layer the meat, potatoes, carrots, and onion. In a small bowl combine the celery soup and ketchup together and then pour over the mixture in the crock pot. Cook on low for six to eight hours.