Two crockpot dinners this week

Husband started back is his part-time teaching gig, so Monday night the kids had chicken nuggets. Tuesday, we have no after school activities, so I can make something a little more complicated. Albertson's had seasoned pork chops on sale last weekend, buy one package, get two free - cool! So we had those (just roasted them in the oven for about 45 minutes), green beans, and macaroni and cheese. Took less than 15 minutes of me standing in the kitchen and about 50 minutes start to finish.

Wednesday is ballet night, so we get home, but then the girl is quickly whisked off to dance class. I made chicken tortilla soup. One of my favorites. I would recommend cooking the chicken and cutting it up ahead of time, I did this over the weekend, as well as the cut up the onions. I made a double batch so now I have another meal in my freezer.

Thursday night is Irish dance, so I made crockpot chili and only now did I realize I did not take a picture of it. Guess that lends to the fact that I had to much going on. This chili does have beans, which I know some are opposed to, but not me, chili isn't chili unless it has beans. Again, I cooked the meat and onions as well as cut up all the veggies on the weekend. Makes it much easier in the morning rush.

Since tomorrow is a new month, this weekend is my menu planning weekend. Next, after I get my coffee, I plan to put together my entire menu for the month, keeping in mind the meals I already have in the freezer.

How I plan my menu

I plan my menu month by month. I generally, if I am good, sit down and plan the first weekend in the month. I use the Menu Planner, which I have most all of my recipes in, so I can plan my menu and then have the recipes all in one place. I keep my schedule in mind - husband works late every Monday night = something easy, daughter has dance Wednesday and Thursday = something fast and ready, I am off on Saturday and Sunday = something a little nicer that might take longer. This up coming week, I plan to have Cubed Steak Paprika (take 30 minutes start to finish), Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Slow-Cooker Chili. I will post recipes as I go.

Dinner last Wednesday

I am typing this post from work, on a Sunday, goodie. Today is the start of Catholic Schools Week and to kick it off, we have an open house. I am here until 1:30 today for that. I am hoping to get some lesson planning done.

On Wednesday night, we had one of my favorites, Minestrone Soup. This is another recipe I will make a double batch of over the weekend and then freeze half. Besides the veggies listed in the recipe, I also add zucchini. Enjoy! (the picture does not look nearly as good as it taste)

MLK weekend of 3 days = beer and cooking

I had a productive three-day weekend. Oh, that 4" stack of grading, lesson plans, and laundry...getting there. Two meals cooked and some good craft beer, check. Husband and I have a hobby, craft beer. We live in San Diego, not hard. We spent our ten year anniversary in Portland enjoying excellent beer, it's our fun. We had bottles to pick up at Alpine and lunch at Stone, Liberty Gardens. Beside the beer, this weekend I made two recipes, Spaghetti and Meatballs and Slow Cooker Jambalaya. The spaghetti and meatballs really needs a weekend to do, not hard, just time. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef. I love I don't have to fry or bake the meatballs, much easier. Slow cooker jambalaya, I recommend cutting up all the meat and veggies beforehand, so on the morning of, you can just put it all in the crockpot. I doubled both, one for this week, one for next month. Here is my lunch for tomorrow, jambalaya, we had the spaghetti for dinner last night (or for a lack of picture).

Pot Roast and Irish Dance

The girl has Irish dance on Thursday nights, so we leave school/work and drive straight to dance (as she changes in the car), drop her off, pick up dry cleaning, drop everything, including boys at home with husband, pick up the girl, and then return home for dinner. If all goes perfect, dinner is served around 6:50, which is late for the boys. Last night, I made a slow cooker pot roast, very easy. The recipe is from allrecipes.com - one of my favorites! I don't have a picture of my roast, but I served it with honey and brown sugar carrots and mashed potatoes. Here is the recipe and here is my girl's lovely turnout in her ghillies.

Dinner tonight... (January 14, 2015) - Cincinnati Chili

My Mom's family is from Cincinnati and every time one of my relatives would return back from a trip there to California, my mom would get packs of seasoning for it. It was an imported treat. About 10 years ago, I was in Dallas, visiting my Dad and Step-Mom and we went to a store, Central Market, and they were offering samples of a recipe, Cincinnati Chili. Tried it, skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised. So, here it is. I make a double batch of this on a weekend, freeze half, other half is for one night that week. Just so you know, here is the local way to do it (I do the 5-way every time).

• Bowl: chili in a bowl
• Two-way: chili and spaghetti
• Three-way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese
• Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions
• Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

1 lb ground beef

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 Tbsp Chili Powder

2-14.5 oz cans Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes

1.5 Tbsp Cocoa

1/4 tsp Allspice

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

2-15 oz cans Kidney Beans (optional)

1-lb Spaghetti (optional)

1 Onion, Chopped (optional)

1/2 lb Cheddar Cheese, grated (optional)

Cook ground beed, garlic, and onion over medium heat until beef is crumbly and no longer pink.

Drain and stir in stewed tomatoes and next 3 ingredients (plus beans if you want them), bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Serve over cooked spaghetti with chopped onion and cheddar cheese.

I recently went back to work full-time, as a middle-school history and math teacher. I have three little kids, my oldest was born in 2006 and the other two were born in 2008 and 2010. Some things that I did as a stay-at-home mom, like the crafts, the organized house, the mid-day naps with my little ones. Some things I refuse to give up, tv on the couch in the evening, homework with my kids, and home cooked meals. No lie, there are nights when I am so dead tired I text my husband to pick up take-out, but I try. I have tried to find a way to continue to home cook for my family. This occurs mostly through the use of my crockpot, cooking on the weekends, or finding meals that don't take long. The point of starting this (let's see if I can keep it up) is to share my meals. Enjoy!