This Week's Menu

Monday:   Crockpot Chicken Nachos

Tuesday:   Skillet Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

Wednesday:    Grilled Ham and Cheese, Parmesan Potato Wedges

Thursday: Meatloaf, Rice, Corn,Green Beans

Friday:   Leftovers

Saturday:  Jambalaya with sausage

Sunday:    Loaded Baked Potatoes

Crockpot Chicken Nachos

Note:    I originally saw a version of this recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen.     It sounded delicious, but I knew it would take a little tweaking for my boys to eat it.      I substitute picante sauce in any recipe that calls for salsa simply because my hubs hates tomato chunks.     He goes to great lengths to pick them out of anything he finds them in so I just save him the trouble by substituting or blending up any tomatoes in any recipes.     On a night when we have basketball practice, it is so nice to have this waiting for us when we get home, but this is a hit when we are watching football too.



Crockpot Chicken Nachos




Ingredients
1 small bag frozen corn
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz jar medium Pace picante sauce
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
tortilla chips
Toppings:   sliced olives, sour cream, diced avocado, diced green onions, shredded cheese


Directions
Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crock pot. (Can corn can be used in place of the frozen.  Just drain it and put the chicken in first followed by the corn)    Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa.    Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours.   Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.   Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

Cookbook: Vintage Vicksburg

Note:    My Mother gave me this cookbook not long after I got married.      Every time I look through the book for a recipe, it is like taking a tour of the hometown I grew up in.     It has such gorgeous pictures of historical places around Vicksburg along with the food and recipes.     Oh, the recipes.    Some of the best I use today come from this cookbook.    It includes 21 sections of amazing southern recipes.     Tried and true.    All comfort food to me!      I included a very simple recipe below for the Vicksburg Tomato Sandwich.     No matter what social event you went to (bridal shower, baby shower, wedding, funeral, church social, etc....), these sandwiches were served.


Vintage Vicksburg
Junior Auxilary of Vicksburg, December 1985

Vicksburg tomato sandwiches

Ingredients
4 loaves day-old bread
6 to 8 medium tomatoes, peeled
Salt and black pepper
Mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1 grated onion with juice
Paprika

Directions
With a large (2- or 3-inch) biscuit cutter, cut bread slices into 72 rounds. Slice tomatoes thinly and place on double sheets of paper towels to drain. Salt and pepper tomato slices.
Spread mayonnaise on bread rounds. Place well-drained tomato slices on half of the bread rounds and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of onion with juice over each tomato and top with remaining bread rounds. Sprinkle tops with paprika.   To save until serving time, place on a cookie sheet with waxed paper between the layers.

Flippin' Waffle Maker Giveaway!!

Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, and Mega-Family Blogs is giving away a flippin' waffle maker...

To enter, go HERE!!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Note:     Do you know how much chocolate syrup my boys go through?    Making chocolate milk.   Pouring it over their ice cream.     For the longest time when the boys were little they were convinced that they couldn't go to sleep without a glass of chocolate milk.      It was inevitable that I would run out of chocolate syrup and be desperate to find a way to make some.       With this recipe, the boys don't freak out when they find an empty bottle!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 dash salt
1 cup hot water
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Combine cocoa, sugar, salt and hot water in saucepan.    Stir until well combined.     Boil for 3 minutes.     Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.     Pour into a container and store in the refrigerator.     

TMTT: Copycat Chili's Cajun Pasta

Note:   Eating out is so expensive.    There are some dishes in restaurants I love so when I get the craving I just try to find a recipe that copies it really well.      This one copies the Cajun Pasta at Chili's.    Yummy!

Copycat Chili's Cajun Pasta

Ingredients
12 ounces penne
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
 1 1/2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil|
2 firm-ripe roma tomatoes, cored and diced

Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook penne according to package directions.  Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour; stir for 1 minute. Add half-and-half; stir until thickened, 6 minutes. Remove from heat; add parmesan, salt and pepper. Cover.  Pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Rub Cajun seasoning and cayenne evenly over chicken. Warm oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in center, 6-8 minutes. Slice chicken.  In a bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Top with chicken and tomatoes and serve.


What better way to start the year than heading over to Lisa and Lana's for delicious recipes at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday?

Cookbook: Family Feasts for $75 a Week

Note:    Buying groceries on $75 a week can be quite a challenge some weeks in this economy, but Mary Ostyn does it for a family of 12.    I have a new hero.      How does she have time and energy to go to the grocery store much less have the organized mind to only spend $75?     That alone is worth purchasing the cookbook.      I won't reveal all of Mary's secrets, but I will tell you that one of the things I love is that Mary is her way of thinking:    “Frugality is not about deprivation,” she writes. “It’s about taking control of your resources.”

"Family Feasts for $75 a Week" by Mary Ostyn
Oxmoor House, $17.95
A pennywise mom shares her recipe for cutting hundreds of dollars from your monthly food bill. Ostyn has 10 children, and so she really has to manage her food dollars. She offers amazing information on navigating the food aisles and tons of general tips. This is a great how-to for cooking healthy affordable meals.