MPM 9/14/09

BBQ Sandwiches (crock pot), baked beans, slaw

Potato Soup, biscuits

Meat loaf, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, corn bread

Chicken Enchilada Casserole, rice (didn't make it last week because I forgot Enchilada sauce.. kind of important!)

I'm only planning 4 meals this week because all of them are BIG meals. So we'll have lots of left overs for lunches and even dinners. I cannot stand to waste food! So, if we have enough for supper the next night, we're eating it! Sometimes I'll make 2 large dinners two nights in a row and on the third night we'll have a leftover 'buffet'. My mom and I were talking about leftovers the other day so this is something I'd like some input on. I only keep leftovers 3 days. For instance, if I cook a meal on Monday night, I'll keep it through Wed night to be eaten. Thursday morning if it's still in the fridge, it's thrown away. What is your rule?? My dad will eat stuff that's been in the fridge for like 5 and 6 days. He always reminds me that he's never gotten sick off of anything but I still can't bring myself to do that! Sometimes I'll cook a large casserole and I'll save some out for lunch the next day and then freeze the rest in lunch/dinner size portions, just to avoid it ruining. In fact last week for dinner we had baked spaghetti from about a month ago. It was really good too! To freeze I just allow the casserole to cool in the fridge, that way you can cut it in smaller portions easier. It kind of solidifies. Then I cut the casserole into single portion sizes, sometimes larger, and wrap tightly in foil. I put the wrapped casserole in freezer bags and squeeze all the air out. Write what's in the bag on the outside and the date and stick in the freezer. Then I can either take one out for lunch or take it all out to have for dinner. You can let it thaw in the fridge but I usually don't think ahead that far! So I just unwrap the casserole (making sure get remove all the foil, you don't want that in the microwave!!) and pop in a glass dish with a tiny bit water in the bottom and cover it with a paper towel. Heat and it turns out yummy!

What are some of your 'go to' meals that you almost always have on hand? We don't do Hamburger Helper that much but I do usually have a box in the cabinet. I always have a couple cans of tuna for tuna salad. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a good one too. Sometimes we have that just because we like it! And I always have some kind of pasta and the ingredients to make spaghetti sauce. Those are the kind of meals I do on a week when we don't have leftovers or I forget to lay out frozen meat! And occasionally it's been a busy day or the kids have been particularly cranky and I just don't want to cook! Those days I call on Papa John. :)

I'll leave you with a (non) recipe from last week:

Super Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Shredded Chicken
Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
BBQ Sauce
Red Onion, thinly sliced

There are no measurements, but here is what I did:
I made my pizzas on split English muffins. I baked a whole large package of chicken breast for various recipes earlier in the day. I shredded 1/2 of a chicken breast and then mixed it with a good amount of BBQ sauce. Add chicken to 'crust' & top with sliced onion and cheese. Bake until melted and bubbly! 1/2 of a chicken breast was perfect for 4 mini pizzas. The other four I just did mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. I think for a regular 10-12 in pizza 2 chicken breast would work perfectly! I plan on making this again soon because it was SO good and the Hubs liked it too! He's usually a cheese only type of guy! :)

Have a great week!