Yes, it's another new one for me this week. Can you tell I'm still out of school for Christmas vacation? :) This one comes from Taste of Home. I substituted cream of chicken soup for the cream of celery soup because my son doesn't care for celery. :)

Ingredients

8 pork chops (1/2 inch thick)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (26 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can (2.8 ounces) french-fried onions, divided

Directions

Sprinkle pork chops with seasoned salt. In a skillet, brown chops on both sides in oil. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper; stir in hash browns, 3/4 cup cheese and half of the onions. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Arrange pork chops on top. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese and onions. Bake, uncovered, 5-10 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender, cheese is melted and meat juices run clear. Yield: 8 servings.

This is another new one for me this week. Salisbury Steak is a Cub Scout camp and school lunch favorite of the boys. I have just never tried to make it on my own. Seems easy enough though - it's basically hamburgers with gravy on them. :)




Ingredients

1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
1 1/2 lbs ground round
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 lg egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped onions
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup water

Directions

Combine 1/4 cup soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion,salt, pepper and garlic powder. Shape into 6 patties.
Place in shallow baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Drain any excess fat.
Combine remaining soup and water. Pour over patties.
Bake an additional 10-12 minutes or until sauce is hot.

(recipe from Mommy Cooks)

I plan to try this recipe for the first time this Thursday. I'm a little hesitant about it because my son doesn't like salsa. I might try substituting taco sauce, enchilada sauce, or at least puree the salsa so there aren't any "chunks". I will probably serve it over rice. I'll let you know how it turns out after Thursday.

*It's Thursdsay, and the dinner was great. Everyone loved it. I did substitute enchilada sauce for the salsa, and it tastsed wonderful.





Ingredients

2 lbs chicken tenderloins
2 cans corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Directions

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except the chicken. Stir to incorporate the spices. Place tenderloins in the crockpot. Top with salsa mixture. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours.
(recipe from Mommy Cooks)



Santa Fe Chicken Leftovers Idea





I have a family of three, so this recipe had lots of leftovers for us. Today for lunch, I heated up the leftover chicken, corn and beans mixture. I shredded the chicken and poured that mixture over some Fritos. I topped it with some lettuce and cheese. It was great! My husband is a Frito pie lover, and he ate two bowlfuls of this today. Just an extra tip in case you have leftovers, too.

This is another great, simple recipe that I got from Mommy Cooks (blog is no longer active). It is very quick to make, so it's great for busy nights. My son and husband love this one. I use low-fat or turkey smoked sausage and light Alfredo sauce or make my own to make it a bit healthier. I also leave out the green pepper and Tobasco sauce (not favorite ingredients of the boys). I often add mushrooms (my son just picks them out), and spaghetti noodles work great if you don't have fettuccine (as I didn't in the photo below).

Ingredients

16 ounces fettuccine pasta
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced (I get the low fat kind or the turkey variety)
1 green pepper,sliced (I always leave this out - the fam won't eat green peppers)
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon blackening seasoning (I used Zatarains.)
1 cup Alfredo sauce (I like Ragu Light Parmesan Alfredo. I often use my own recipe as well.)
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional - I always leave it out)

Directions

Cook fettuccine noodles as directed on package.
In a large non stick skillet add the sausage, green pepper and onion. Sprinkle with the blackening seasoning and stir.
Cook in skillet on medium-high heat until browned.
Add the Alfredo sauce and Tabasco (optional).
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is hot, stirring occasionally.
Pour sausage and vegetables over pasta.
Toss until coated.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite "mom" blogs - Mommy Cooks. I just made it for the first time for my family last night, and they LOVED it. It was super easy to make, but it looks very impressive. It is definitely a company-worthy recipe. The only modification I made was to reduce the amount of olive oil from 8 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons. My son is a pretty picky eater, so I was afraid he wouldn't eat something with feta cheese, but he gobbled it down and asked for more!

Ingredients

8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I only use 4 T)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used minced garlic from a jar - easy and fast)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped turkey bacon (cooked)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
Butterfly cut the chicken.
Mix together feta and bacon.
Stuff each breast with feta and bacon mixture. Secure sides of chicken with toothpicks, if needed. (I did not need to do this.)
Pour oil mixture over top of breasts.
Bake uncovered for 30 - 35 minutes.

I've gotten so many dinner ideas from reading other people's menus that I finally decided to post my own. I have menu planned for years, but I've never shared before. So, here it goes - my first public menu plan. Enjoy!

Sunday - Feta and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Green Beans, Salad, Fruit
Monday - Grilled Salmon, Wild Rice, Snow Peas, Salad, Applesauce
Tuesday - Rotisserie Chicken, Corn, Mac & Cheese (this is what we call "yellow supper" at our house, and we tend to eat it on nights we are busy or too tired to cook much)
Wednesday - Voodoo Pasta, Salad, Broccoli
Thursday - Santa Fe Chicken, Rice, Peaches, Salad
Friday - Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Pears
Saturday - Pork Chop Potato Casserole, Brussels Sprouts, Applesauce

I actually created this blog as a place to experiment with different blog templates, and after messing around for while, I think I've decided to keep it as a place to share ideas, photos, etc. with friends and family. We'll see how it goes.