April Dinner Plans

Rather than list what we're eating day by day, I am posting a list of the dinners I will make this month. Here's what's cooking for us in April: Smothered pork chops, cheese ravioli with marinara, Turkey burgers, ham and cheese rolls, gunpowder chicken, black bean and corn quesadillas, meatball subs, baked tilapia, cheese pizza, barbecued chicken, German pancakes, spaghetti, soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, Easter dinner, chili, sweet and sour meatballs, chicken broccoli lasagna, red beans and rice, and pasta with cheesy tomato sauce.
I am also doing a "No treats, No Sweets" challenge with some of my friends and a clean eating challenge with other friends. I am hoping to find ways to overcome my dependence on sugar and slowly help my family to do the same. If you have clean eating ideas or recipes, please share them with me! Happy cooking!

March Dinner Menu Plan

Here's what's cooking in my kitchen for the month of March. Recipes that have a link will show up in another color when you scroll over them.  I am trying two new Pinterest recipes again this month.  All four from last month were great.  The "Holy Yum Chicken" and "Lasagna Soup" recipes are from Pinterest.  Give them a try too!

If you are interested in a recipe and don't see it available here, let me know and I will get it to you or post it here on the blog. Obviously I don't use beer in the Tortilla Stack as the recipe indicates.  I just use water and it still tastes great.  We love to drizzle each piece with the Jalapeno Ranch Dressing made by Lighthouse.  You can find it in the produce section of the grocery store.  The Sweet and Sour chicken is a baked recipe and it is phenomenal.  A family favorite for sure.  It takes some effort, but it is delicious.

Happy cooking! 

SAT	03/01	Black Bean and Corn Tortilla Stack
SUN	03/02	Holy Yum Chicken
MON	03/03	LEFTOVERS – Tortilla Stack
TUE	03/04	Meatball Sub Sandwiches – FREEZER
WED	03/05	Leftovers – Holy Yum Chicken
THU	03/06	Baked Beans w/ Smoked Sausage
FRI	03/07	LEFTOVERS - Baked Beans
SAT	03/08	Tuna Melts
SUN	03/09	BBQ Spareribs in the Crockpot
MON	03/10	Chicken Bacon Artichoke Penne – FREEZER
TUE	03/11	LEFTOVERS – BBQ Ribs
WED	03/12	Parmesean Tilapia and LEFTOVERS - Penne
THU	03/13	Twice Baked Potatoes – FREEZER
FRI	03/14	Homemade Tortilla Pizzas
SAT	03/15	Homemade Tortilla Pizzas
SUN	03/16	Sweet and Sour Chicken
MON	03/17	White Bean and Ham Soup w/ Irish Soda Bread
TUE	03/18	LEFTOVERS – S&S Chicken
WED	03/19	Spaghetti – FREEZER
THU	03/20	LEFTOVERS – Bean and Ham Soup
FRI	03/21	Chicken Fajitas
SAT	03/22	LEFTOVERS – Chicken Fajitas
SUN	03/23	Lasagna Soup with Breadsticks
MON	03/24	Macaroni and Cheese
TUE	03/25	Breakfast Burritos
WED	03/26	LEFTOVERS – Lasagna Soup
THU	03/27	Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo - FREEZER
FRI	03/28	DATE NIGHT!  MY BIRTHDAY!
SAT	03/29	Grilled Cheese and Chicken Noodle Soup
SUN	03/30	Pork Chops with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
MON	03/31	LEFTOVERS – Pork Chops

 

Chicken Bacon Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna

Whew!  What a long name.  What a creamy, comforting meal!  My kids loved this lasagna.  My husband is not a fan of broccoli so he wasn't crazy about this dish.  Maybe next time I will try adding spinach instead, or leaving the green veggies out altogether.  For those of you who wanted the recipe, here it is:

Chicken Bacon Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna

This is my best guess for the actual recipe.  I had the alfredo sauce already made and just threw the rest of it together.   I actually doubled all the ingredients and made two to keep in the freezer.  I didn’t keep track of how many noodles I used per layer, but I remember that one box of the no boil noodles was enough for two 9 inch square lasagnas. 

Ingredients:

8 ounces frozen broccoli

2 cooked chicken breasts

1 pound bacon

1 small red or yellow onion

4-6 cloves garlic, crushed

No boil lasagna noodles

¼ cup shredded parmesean cheese

¼-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 recipe Creamy Filling (see below), source: Simply Gloria

1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo sauce (see below), source: Our Best Bites – or 2 cups of your favorite Alfredo sauce

Instructions:

1. Prepare Guiltless Alfredo Sauce.  Set aside.
2. Shred chicken breasts. Set aside.
3. Microwave or lightly steam broccoli.  Evenly chop into smaller pieces.  Set aside.
4. Cut and fry bacon.
5. Add diced onion and crushed garlic 3 minutes prior to bacon being finished.
6. Drain bacon, onion, garlic mixture on a plate covered with paper towels.
7. In a medium size bowl prepare Creamy Filling: mix together the ricotta cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan and seasonings.
8. Pour and spread a ½ cup of Alfredo sauce on the bottom of lasagna pan.  I used a 9x9 pan.
9. Cover with a single layer of noodles, they might overlap a little.
10. Spread ½ of the Creamy Filling onto the noodles.
11. Top with ½ of the broccoli and ½ of the shredded chicken.
12. Top with 1/3 of the bacon, onion, garlic mixture and about ½ cup of the Alfredo sauce.
13. Repeat layers: noodles, creamy filling, broccoli, chicken, bacon mixture, Alfredo sauce.
14. Cover second lasagna layer with noodles.
15. Mix the remaining 1/3 of the bacon mixture with the remaining Alfredo sauce and pour over the top layer of noodles, spread sauce to cover entire lasagna.
16. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesean cheeses.
17. Cover with foil and freeze for future use or bake immediately.
18. To bake immediately, keep foil on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly and slightly golden on top.
19. To bake from frozen, remove lasagna from freezer and defrost in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.  Bake loosely covered in foil at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly and slightly golden on top.
20. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

**Creamy Filling:

1. 1 cup ricotta cheese
2. ½ cup sour cream
3. 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
4. ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
5. salt and pepper, to taste

I think I added a pinch of nutmeg and a little onion powder too.

**Guiltless Alfredo Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2-3 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.
Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Season with additional salt if needed.  Add more milk if sauce gets too thick after sitting.  Makes about 2 cups of sauce.

February Menu Plan

I don't know about you, but I have at least 600 recipes pinned on Pinterest.  I have only tried about 10.  One of my resolutions this year is to try at least one new recipe a month.  This month I have four in the meal rotation - Turkey Breast of Wonder, Chicken and Bacon Lasagna Roll Ups, Skinny Orange Chicken, and Baked Parmesean Chicken.  Links to all four recipes are included below.  Once again, any recipes that have a link will show up in a different color.  Just click on them to get the recipe and try it for yourself.  I had some carry over from January's meals too.  My father in law surprised us with dinner at a restaurant during his visit, which was great, but it left me with a lot of BBQ pulled chicken to use up.  I decided to save the Honey Lime Enchiladas and the Meatloaf and Potatoes for February; that's why you see them in the rotation again this month.  Happy Cooking!

SAT	02/01	Minestrone w/ French Bread
SUN	02/02	Turkey Breast of Wonder w/ Stuffing
MON	02/03	LEFTOVERS - Minestrone
TUE	02/04	Honey Lime Enchiladas - FREEZER
WED	02/05	LEFTOVERS – Turkey w/Stuffing
THU	02/06	Chicken Fried Rice
FRI	02/07	Breakfast for Dinner
SAT	02/08	LEFTOVERS – Honey Lime Enchiladas
SUN	02/09	Chicken and Bacon Lasagna Roll Ups
MON	02/10	California Pizza Kitchen Chicken BBQ Salad
TUE	02/11	LEFTOVERS – Lasagna Roll Ups
WED	02/12	ROLL OVER – BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
THU	02/13	Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
FRI	02/14	DATE NIGHT – Kids have Heart Shaped Pizza
SAT	02/15	LEFTOVERS – Sloppy Joes
SUN	02/16	Meatloaf with Funeral Potatoes - FREEZER
MON	02/17	Skinny Orange Chicken
TUE	02/18	LEFTOVERS – Meatloaf
WED	02/19	Chicken Lettuce Wraps
THU	02/20	LEFTOVERS – Orange Chicken
FRI	02/21	Spaghetti
SAT	02/22	LEFTOVERS – Lettuce Wraps
SUN	02/23	Baked Parmesean Garlic Chicken
MON	02/24	LEFTOVERS – Spaghetti
TUE	02/25	Turkey Soup - FREEZER
WED	02/26	LEFTOVERS – Parmesean Chicken
THU	02/27	Honey Lime Tilapia
FRI	02/28	LEFTOVERS – Turkey Soup