Monday Menu Plan

This is my menu plan. Because of budget issues, upcoming changes and trying to prepare for our new little baby, I am having fun with an experiment to find very inexpensive meals that are also that my family will eat. So far my family is loving most of the recipes I have found that fit into my criteria, their favorite by far is Bacon Pasta.

Monday: Sausage Casserole
Tuesday: Southern Fried Cabbage
Wednesday: Creamy Chicken Ramen w/ Mushrooms
Thursday: Lazy Golumbkis
Friday: Chili Dog Casserole
Saturday: Bacon Pasta
Sunday: Mexican Chili Lasagna

SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

1 pkg. hot dogs (sliced crosswise)
1 med. onion
1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 c. minute rice
1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

Saute onions and hot dogs in butter. While they saute, cook the vegetables (in 1 1/2 cups of water). Add stewed tomatoes to the onions and hot dogs. Add rice to the hot dogs. Add vegetables and water to the hot dogs. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with biscuits.

Southern Fried Cabbage

Ingredients:
7 slices bacon
1 head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
thinly sliced potatoes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate.
2. In the same skillet, stir cabbage and potatoes if used in the bacon drippings until coated. Place lid on skillet and cook over medium heat until cabbage and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered, stirring constantly until cabbage is crisp and brown on the edges. Serve cabbage with bacon crumbled on top.

Creamy Chicken Ramen w/ Mushrooms

1 package chicken ramen noodles
2 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken
1 3oz. can mushrooms

What to do:
Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Heat soup concentrate, mushrooms and 1/4 seasoning packet and can of chicken flaked over medium heat for five minutes. Top noodles with sauce.

Lazy Golumbkis

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 (28 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a slow cooker, combine ground beef, onion, rice and cabbage. Pour in tomato sauce. Season with parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well, and cook on low, for 6 to 8 hours.

Chili Dog Casserole

Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans chili with beans
1 (16 ounce) package beef frankfurters
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese,shredded

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Spread 1 can of chili and beans in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Roll up franks inside tortillas and place in baking dish, seam side down, on top of chili and bean 'bed'. Top with remaining can of chili and beans, and sprinkle with cheese.
3. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Quick Bacon Pasta

1/2 pack bacon
2 cups Any Dry Pasta like Macaroni
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I'll use cheddar as it is what I have on hand)
Olive oil
Butter (I'll probably just use oil and some of the grease from the bacon)
1 cup Milk
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 Onion
Salt / pepper — to taste

Get a large pot of water going on the stove. Meanwhile, cut up the bacon into bite sized pieces. Fry the bacon in a skillet at low heat until extra crispy, remove to a paper lined plate and blot the oil. Set that aside for now, in the oven if you want. Taking it out of the pan and then adding it back only at the very end keeps the bacon more crispy. If you don’t care about that, you can leave the bacon in the pan and continue.

Drain off all but 1 tbsp or so of fat. Add 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Add onion and brown. Turn up heat to high and deglaze the pan with chicken stock and milk, scraping it well. Reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5-10 minutes. You want it to thicken a bit. (I added a little cornstarch) Watch out for the mixture foaming over though. You might need to add a bit of water and reduce heat.

When water boils, salt it and add macaroni. Cook till al dente then drain (don’t rinse or sauce won’t stick to pasta). Add pasta to skillet and toss well. Add parm cheese. Cook for about 1-2 minutes more. Off heat add salt and pepper to taste. Add the reserved bacon, mix and serve.

Mexican Chili Lasagna

Ingredients

* 5 8-inch flour tortillas
* 1 box of frozen corn (10 ounces), defrosted
* 1 can black beans (15 ounces), drained and rinsed
* 2 cups leftover Chili con Carne (or canned chili)
* 2-3 cups shredded white cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
* 1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped
* 1/2 cup cilantro leaves (a couple of handfuls), chopped

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

In a medium size bowl, mix together the corn and black beans.

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tortilla to the skillet and let it toast until it starts to slightly scorch, then flip it and do the same on the second side. Repeat with all the tortillas. Place two toasted tortillas in the bottom of an 8-inch x 8-inch baking dish. Top with one third of the corn/black bean mixture, one third of the chili and a handful of cheese.

Repeat this procedure, layering tortillas, corn/bean mixture, chili and cheese. Top with remaining single tortilla and remaining cheese.

Transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until you see the sides bubbling. Garnish with chopped olives and cilantro.