This Week's Menu

This week, I'm trying to get back on track with my menus. It costs less and takes less time and fewer trips to the grocery store if I plan a little better!

Monday: Chicken Spectacular Casserole

Chicken Spectacular Casserole

• 1 bag of Tyson frozen diced chicken, thawed
• 1 box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice, cooked
• 1 can of waterchestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 medium jar of pimentos, drained
• 1 can of cream of celery soup
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 cup of frozen, chopped onion - thaw overnight in the refrigerator
• 1 can of French-cut green beans
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a 3-quart casserole dish and bake for 1 hour. This dish freezes beautifully! Just cover tightly and freeze before cooking.

Tuesday: Creamy Chicken & Cheese Roll-Ups

Creamy Chicken & Cheese Roll-Ups

• 2 cans of chicken breast
• 2 cups of finely shedded cheddar cheese
• 2 cans of crescent rolls
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain chicken, empty into a bowl and use a fork or fingers to shred. Mix in cheese. Separate cresent roll dough into triangles. Place a spoonful of chicken/cheese mixture onto the wide end of a dough triangle and roll up into a cresent. Place crescents in a large baking dish. Mix soup and milk and pour over crescents. Bake for 30-45 minutes (until crescents are golden brown and bubbly).

Wednesday: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

• 2-3 large chicken breasts (either cubed and sauteed or precooked and then cubed)
• 1 cup of frozen, chopped onion - don't bother thawing
• 1 large can of sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 BIG dollop of sour cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 4 cups of shredded Colby Jack cheese (or cheese of your preference)
• 1 package of flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sautee onions in a little olive oil until they are soft and translucent. Add all other ingredients except cheese and tortillas and stir until combined. Simmer over medium heat until bubbly. Add cheese and stir until melted. Ladle a small amount of mixture into the bottom of a large baking dish and shake dish to make mixture coat the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of tortillas, followed by a layer of the mixture. Continue layering, ending with mixture. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Thursday: Spiderman Food

Spiderman Food

• One package of smoked turkey sausage, sliced thinly (like poke chips)
• 1 cup of chopped, frozen onions - don't thaw
• 2 cups of frozen, chopped spinach - don't thaw
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice

Sautee onions and sausage in a little olive oil until onions are soft and translucent. Add spinach and cook until spinach is thawed and hot. Stir in brown rice. Salt and pepper, if needed.

*This dish is named "Spiderman Food" for a good reason! The first time I made it, my then five-year-old son took one look at it and said, "I'm not eating that. The green stuff looks nasty!" I told him it was a shame that he wouldn't eat the spinach because spinach is what Spiderman eats that makes him throw webs. Of course, he immediately wanted to taste it. He loved it and now, he and his two-year-old sister actually request spinach at least once a week!

Friday: Chicken Tortellini Salad

Chicken Tortellini Salad

• Cooked tortellini pasta
• Cubed, cooked chicken
• Chopped green onions
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Sliced calamata olives
• Halved grape tomatoes
• Italian dressing
• McCormack Salad Supreme seasoning

Toss together and enjoy! May be served either warm or cold. Adjust amounts according to your needs and preferences.

Saturday: Grilled Chicken & Bacon Roll-Ups with Mandarin Walnut Salad

Grilled Chicken & Bacon Roll-Ups

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
• Bottled teriyaki marinade
• 1 cup of chopped raw baby spinach leaves
• 1 lemon
• 4 slices of bacon

Marinate pounded chicken breasts in teriyaki marinade at least overnight - or for several days. In a small bowl, place chopped, raw spinach and squeeze the juice from the lemon over the top. Toss to coat spinach evenly. Remove breasts from the marinade and pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan. Bring this marinade to a boil and then simmer while preparing the chicken breasts. This will make the marinade safer for basting and will also thicken it a bit.. Place 1/4 of the spinach mixture on top of a chicken breast. Roll up the chicken breast, enclosing the spinach. Wrap the chicken roll-up with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place chicken roll-ups on a hot grill. Grill for 10 minutes each side, basting with marinade often. Remove the roll-ups from the grill and let them rest for 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks and slice roll-ups into medallions.

Mandarin Walnut Salad

• 1 Bag of baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup of chopped or sliced red cabbage
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 cup of toasted walnut halves
• Juice of 2 large oranges
• 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Vinegrette (should be made at least 2 hours early): Combine orange juice and vinegar. Whisk in olive oil gradually. (I make this in the blender or food processor, adding the oil gradually while the machine is running.

Toss first five ingredients together. Pour vinegrette over the salad and toss.

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday. It's one of my favorite days to celebrate in my classroom and we have big plans with several guest readers and other special treats. Our first reader is a chef who will read Green Eggs and Ham. After she reads, we will eat my Green Eggs and Ham Turnovers. They are so much fun! I scramble the eggs and shredded ham together with blue food coloring to achieve just right hue of green and then stir in a handful of shredded cheddar at the end to help it all stick together. I use my fingers to flatten out Grands biscuits into big circles, put a spoonful of eggs and ham inside, fold it over and press the edges shut. Then I bake them in the oven for 20 minutes. The kids can't see what's inside until they take the first bite! I love it!

We are lucky to have several readers: a uniformed soldier, a stay-at-home mom, a meteorologist, a sheriff's deputy, a local store owner, a pastor, and our mayor. Each will wear the big red and white striped stovepipe hat associated with Dr. Seuss - that's the kids' favorite part!! For each reader, two children will ask prepared questions and then I have a quiz for later based on their answers. In the afternoon, we'll enjoy Cat in the Hat Sundaes - vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, whipped cream.

I hope to post some pictures tomorrow of our fun day!