Cooking 3 Meals in a Menu Plan for One

This week I am cooking according to an unambitious menu plan: 3 dinner meals. Unambitious is better than “paring Fritos with chocolate pudding or having popcorn and canned corn for dinner.” Go to Menu Plan Monday for a wider variety of menus.

Monday: Chicken Tortilla Soup. See the middle of this post for the recipe. Truly yummy and easy!

Tuesday: Spaghetti sauce with chicken chunks over elbow macaroni.

Wednesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Thursday: Ham fried rice (with lots of veggies) over chow mein crispy noodles.

Friday: Spaghetti sauce with chicken chunks over elbow macaroni.

Saturday: Ham fried rice over chow mein crispy noodles.

Sunday: Potluck at my hospitality group. I have pineapple and cherry pie filling, so I’ll be bringing dump cake. Click here and read comment #7 for the recipe.

What are your standard go-to meals?  

Hospitality Goofs and Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hospitality Homework for last week was to invite someone over for a meal.

Tuesday night my guest showed up along with the torrential rain that has inundated northern California.

Problem – I thought our meal was for Thursday and I was in the midst of writing two papers due for Wednesday. One of the papers was on communication! Good thing my prof didn’t know that in reality I flunked that test.

Afterwards I thought about how I could’ve handled it better. My house was astrew with books, papers and projects. Not much food of the healthy kind was available. But I could’ve taken us to a nearby restaurant, since I needed to eat as well.

On Sunday we finally had a meal together: Chicken Tortilla Soup, oranges, Best Ever Muffins (which weren’t) and water. No salad because the fixings were yuck. Despite all this, we had a tasty meal and fun time.

My guest even asked for the soup recipe; which could be renamed as dump soup. So here it is as given to me by Lori.

Dump the following in a soup pan and heat until warm:

• 1 can (12.5 oz) chunk chicken breast
• 1 can (15 oz.) of black beans
• 1 can (15 oz.) of kernel corn
• 2 can s(15 oz. each) of chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups salsa

Serve over tortillas and top with shredded cheese, avocado slices, sour cream and olives.

If you have more time, money and a sensitive palate you could try this version that tastes like it came from Applebee’s. Truth be told, I prefer the one that tastes like it came from Lori’s.

What are some of your hospitality goofs? Favorite dump meals?

P.S. A good dump cake recipe is here. Read the 7th comment for the actual recipe.

Menu Plan Monday for One

I am grateful that it’s Monday because that means it’s Menu Plan Monday. Particpating in this internet event organized by I’m an Organizing Junkie helps me to actually think about healthy eating. Otherwise my eating plan is more like a tumbleweed blowing here and there sticking to whatever comes into my path (mouth).  :-) So here’s the plan for this week.

Monday: Leftover Oriental Chicken salad, orange segments

Tuesday: Vegetarian burrito, fruit salad.  (Make 3 extra burritos for leftovers/freezer.)

Wednesday: Chicken Tortilla soup, green salad. (Make 3 extra servings of soup for leftovers/freezer.) 

Thursday: Baked potato with beans, orange segments.

Friday: Omelet with bacon, cheese, and veggies, toast with home-made jam (which I bought from BN at church. So yummy!)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Potluck dinner at my Hospitality Study. I hope to bring graham cracker ice cream sandwiches.

All done. Hopefully I will stick to this 90% of the time. 

So what’s on your menu for the week?

Menu Plan Monday for One

The planning of this week’s menu is inspired by the group participating in Menu Plan Monday at I’m An Organizing Junkie.

1. Sunday Dinner, salad. When the kiddos were growing up, we had this every Sunday.Throw the following in a crockpot before leaving in the morning and it’s already to eat when dinner rolls around. 3 pieces of chicken, sliced veggies, can of creamed soup, 1/2 packet of Lipton’s onion soup mix and one can of some kind of liquid (beer, wine, apple juice). Cook until tender, about 6 hours. Divide leftover chicken  for 2 other meals this week.
2.  BBQ Hamburger (no bun), brown rice, leftover veggies (from Sunday Dinner). Make enough rice for dinner on day 6.
3.  Chicken Tortilla Soup, mixed salad. To make the soup add all the follwing into a pot and heat until hot: shredded chicken, 1 can chicken broth, 1 can mexican style tomatoes-undrained, 1/2 can black beans drained and rinsed, 1 cup kernel corn (frozen or fresh). Place crushed tortilla chips in bowl. Pour in soup. Top with avocado.
4.  Tuna Salad, jello, tortilla chips and salsa.
5. Baked potato with baked beans and cheese.
6. Chicken Taco with salsa, brown rice, black beans, green salad.  Mix shredded chicken with 1/2 pkt chicken taco seasoning and some water – heat up until spices are thoroughly mixed in. Put in taco shell with lettuce, diced tomatoes and cheese.
7. Veggie patty, (healthy) baked potato soup, mixed salad, jello.

Menu Plan Monday Done in “Corny” Style

Writing this week’s menu has been inspired by I’m an Organizing Junkie.

1. Spaghetti and meatballs in the crockpot
   Can you cook the noodles in the pot with the rest of the ingredients? It sure would save time and make sure that I actually eat the sauce with pasta instead of as a soup.
2. Corn pancakes with bacon strips
   Every once in a while I get into my head that I need a certain item and I buy it for many weeks in a row, even if it isn’t on the list. Like right now I have 6 cans of whole kernel corn and 8 cans of evaporated milk. NOTE: I do not buy in bulk! So the idea is to use up some of what’s overstocked in my pantry. This week it is corn and milk.
3. BBQ chicken and rice: I really like brown rice but don’t always like to wait for it to cook the 45 minutes. I’ve found the instant brown rice to be inexpensive and ok tasting, especially when mixed with something else like, oh say, kernel corn.  :-)
4. Sunday dinner (I’ll have it on Thursday though.)
   When the kiddos were growing up, we had this every Sunday.Throw the following in a crockpot before leaving for church and it’s already to eat when dinner rolls around. Some meat, veggies, can of creamed soup, 1/2 packet of Lipton’s onion soup mix and one can of some kind of liquid (bear, wine, apple juice). Cook until tender, about 6 hours.
5. Crockpot chili over rice and cornbread
6. Corn chowder with cornbread
7. Leftovers

Menu Plan Monday Single Style

Help! I have got to get “family-style” cooking out of my head. I’ve learned that for some food, I just don’t want lots of leftovers. So over the weekend I searched high (on the internet) and low (actual books) for recipes for one or two people.

Below is my menu. Some of the recipes* are below. Some recipes I’ll post after I’ve tried them or give you an update. For more Menu ideas check out I’m An Organizing Junkie. 

• Monday: Baked potato with beans, broccoli, ham, and cheese; green salad
• Tuesday: Crockpot chicken* and applesauce.
• Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs (meatballs are frozen from several weeks ago); salad.
• Thursday: Minestrone soup and biscuits for two. (I’ll let you know how this turns out.)
• Friday: Shepherds Pie
• Satuday: Chicken and Veggies in a foil packet.*
• Sunday: Leftovers.

Menu Plan Monday Keeps Me On Track

Monday: Stir Fry Noodles with chicken, bunches of veggies and rice
Tuesday: Homemade Pizza – the crust mix is by Betty Crocker and makes one 12-inch crust. I’ll load it with beef, jarred sauce, cheese, and a bunch of veggies
Wednesday (school night): A frozen burrito, serving of cinnamon toasted almonds and a mixed salad
Thursday (school night): Frozen pumpkin bisque soup, a roll and a homemade frozen fruit yogurt parfait
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday (birthday celebration for ds): Hamburgers, green stuff, potato salad, beans, maple chicken and apple pie
Sunday: No clue yet

Last week’s menu just didn’t pan out. However, I did do some cooking and preparing. This is especially important for those nights I have school.
With ground beef I prepared the following . . .
12 patties
Meatballs for spaghetti and meatball sandwiches
Beef/onion mixture for Shepherd’s Pie
Beef/onion mixture for 2 pizzas
And it all went into the freezer.

With chicken I prepared . . .
An avocado, tomato and chicken sandwich – I ate this for dinner one night
Chicken for the stir fry (put in freezer)
Chicken for the lettuce wraps (put in freezer)
Chicken salad – ate this up too.

With 3 Yoplait yogurts I added strawberries, blackberries, and pecans and put into three freezer-containers.

I bought (from Bel-Air grocery market) and froze soup in (three) single serving containers.

It feels great to have this food plan. I like the the idea of caring enough about myself to preapre and eat more healthy.

For more menu plan ideas go to Menu Plan Monday at I’m An Organizing Junkie. You’ll find her at http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com

What’s cooking at your home this week?

Monday Menu Plan for Singles

I am going to write a menu several times a month in the hopes that I will eat better. While I love paring Fritos with chocolate pudding or having popcorn and canned corn for dinner, I KNOW this is not too healthy. Lack of shopping foresight makes for strange pairings at mealtime.

Be sure to read the whole post. The useful part is towards the end.   :-)

First Choice Menu

• Monday: Get invited to eat at someone’s home
• Tuesday: Get invited out to eat (before class which is 6-10 pm)
• Wednesday: Get invited to take someone’s leftovers to my home (because I have class 6-10 pm)
• Thursday: Take some of yesterday’s leftovers to school because I have class 6-10 pm
• Friday: Get invited to eat at someone’s home
• Saturday: Find a dinner care package on my doorstep
• Sunday: FAST because I’ve eaten so much this week.

Second Choice Menu

• Monday: Mixed Salad and Butternut squash soup (from Trader Joe’s) with Mandarin Orange muffins   
• Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas with Refried Beans (Mom’s recipe for the enchiladas – definitely yummy but not low fat)
• Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Thursday: Sweet Potato Enchiladas (LMK if you’d like the recipe. I can email it to you. Or it is in our church cookbook on page 107.)
• Friday: Chicken Fried Rice and Chow Mien
• Saturday:  Lettuce Wraps filled with Southwestern Chicken Salad 
• Sunday: Get invited out to eat at someones’s home or Leftovers if that doesn’t pan out.

For more recipes go to Laura’s for Menu Plan Monday. Be sure to leave a comment if you’ve made up a menu for this week. You even get double points if you actually make and eat the food on your list!