Menu Plan Monday ~ 8/18/08

My menu this week:

Easy Mexican Casserole* (recipe below), Salad

Chicken Salad Sandwiches (rolled over from last week), Potato Salad

Spinach and Mushroom Fritatta*; Potatoes, Onions & Garlic (in a little Olive Oil)

Pork Chops, Pinto Beans and Vidalia Corn Muffins (Paula Deen)

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken*, Broccoli Salad

So, this weeks menu looks yummy to me! I'm trying a few new* things. I found some prepared pesto on sale a few weeks ago and have been trying to figure out what I can do with it. So, I did some searching and found a recipe that looks easy and good too. And while I've made a frititta for dinner before, the Hubs said that it tasted too 'breakfasty' (and I agreed) and although we do like breakfast for dinner this one was just a little much. I think part of it was the ingredients. I am not a fan of rosemary and I reluctantly used it anyways, which I shouldn't have. I'm hoping that this one is a little more 'dinnerish'. Eggs are inexpensive and good protein, so that's why I'm using them! :)

As far as last weeks menu, the Crock pot Short Ribs were okay. I won't be making this recipe again though. I must admit that I'm really only a fan of sweet potatoes if they are baked, covered with sugar/syrup/nuts. The flavor of the sweet potato with the other was just not a good combo to me. I think the recipe would have been much better if I had used regular potatoes. The meat was really tender though and I'd like to use the short ribs again, just in a different way. The Hubs said he liked it but I'm wondering if he was just trying to not hurt my feelings... since I have been a little on the emotional side these days!

I'm making the pasta with Italian sausage tonight so I haven't made my 'made up sauce' yet but I'll give the verdict sometime later this week!

Breakfast and lunch are the usual... I've stocked up on cereal because of my BOGO + coupons. We received 2 watermelons this week too! Luke and I have already started on one of them. Luckily, the Hubs isn't a big fan of watermelon so we get it all to ourselves! Whatever fruits are on sale is what I'll get and broccoli is on sale, hence the broccoli salad.

The recipe below I got off a recipe thread from babycenter.com. I thought it looked good!

Easy Mexican Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef

2 cups salsa
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, drained
3 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups sour cream
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
½ cup chopped green onion
½ cup chopped fresh tomato
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans and heat through.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread crushed tortilla chips in dish, and then spoon beef mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over beef, and sprinkle olives, green onion, and tomato over the sour cream. Top with Cheddar cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

For more menu ideas check out orgjunkie.com!