Meal Planning – Page 10 – Northerly Nosh

Meal Planning Mondays: Recipes to Try the Week of 3/4 – 3/10/13

Posted on March 4, 2013March 27, 2013 by Northerly Nosh

Meal Planning Mondays are an experiment to see what works for my family. I like trying new recipes. I have too many pins on Pinterest that are not being utilized. This week I committ to making these recipes…Braised Short Ribs and Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes. These recipes will continue to be made ahead time and frozen. This also in honor of our church’s youth fundraiser dinner that I help cook for.

Braised Short Ribs

Adapted from Onceamonthmom.com

Servings: 8

4 pounds beef short ribs (or 2 pounds short ribs and 2 pounds chuck roast, cut into chunks)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1/3 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 sprigs fresh thyme

Prep Day: Sprinkle salt and pepper over ribs. In large pan over medium-high heat, brown ribs on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Sauté onion in same pan until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. In bowl, whisk wine, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and dark brown sugar. Mix ribs, onion/garlic mixture and sauce in a freezer bag until everything is evenly coated. Add fresh thyme sprigs. Store in gallon freezer bags. Label and freeze.

Serve Day: Thaw. Empty all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

Serve over Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes

Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes

3 lb. small red potatoes
1 container (8 oz) chive and onion cream cheese spread
1 container (12 oz) chive and onion sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup French fried onions (from 2.8 oz can)

Prep Day: Spray 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside. In 4-quart Dutch oven, place potatoes; add enough water just to cover potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain. Shake potatoes in Dutch oven over low heat to dry.

Mash potatoes until no lumps remain. Add cream cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper; mix until well blended. Spoon into pan. Package french fried onions in a freezer bag and place on top of potatoes ( if baking right away skip this step. ). Cover tightly with foil lid and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours or freeze. (To bake immediately, drizzle with butter and bake 30 minutes, adding onions for last 15 minutes of baking.)

Serve Day: Thaw. Drizzle potatoes with butter and bake 30 minutes, adding onions for last 15 minutes of baking.

- Poultry, - Red Meat, Meal Planning

Meal Planning Mondays: Recipes to Try the Week of 2/25 – 3/3/13

Posted on February 25, 2013March 27, 2013 by Northerly Nosh

Meal Planning Mondays are an experiment to see what works for my family. I like trying new recipes. I have too many pins on Pinterest that are not being utilized. This week I committ to making these recipes…Ranch Chicken Sandwiches and Pot Roast & Veggies. These recipes will continue to be made ahead time and frozen.

Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

4 Whole Chicken Breasts
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix (The dry kind)
1 C of Water or Chicken broth
Ciabatta bread or another kind of great roll
Romaine lettuce – optional
Mayo – optional

Preparation Day:Dust the chicken with the ranch dressing – try to get the whole packet to stick. I found this worked a bit better if I didn’t try to do it in the bag, so I did it on a plate and put whatever didnt stick in the bag. Label and freeze.

Serve Day: Thaw and place in your slow cooker with about 1 C of Water or Chicken broth for 3-4 hours on High, or 4-5 Hours on Low. Serve whole or chop up for sandwiches.

Pot Roast & Veggies

1 3-4 lb Pot Roast, Chuck is best
1 Pkg Brown Gravy Mix
1 Pkg Ranch Dressing
1 Pkg Italian Dressing Mix
3/4 C Chicken or Beef Stock
1 lb very small red potatoes, or larger ones cut in half
1 lb baby carrots or carrots peeled & cut in sections
2 medium onions, quartered

Preparation Day: In a large zip bag add the mixes and the Stock, zip shut and combine well. Add back in the roast and smoosh around to coat, label and freeze. Add the veggies to a second zip bag, label and freeze

Serve Day: Thaw and dump into crock pot with veggies on the bottom. You might need to add 1/2 to 3/4 more liquid to get things going. Cook 7-9 hours on low.

Meal Planning

Meal Planning Mondays: Recipes to Try the Week of 2/11-2/17/13

Posted on February 11, 2013February 4, 2013 by Northerly Nosh

Meal Planning Mondays are an experiment to see what works for my family. I like trying new recipes. I have too many pins on Pinterest that are not being utilized. This week I committ to making these recipes…a Taco Bake and Chicken Caesar Sandwiches. These recipes will continue to be made ahead time and frozen.

Taco Bake

1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
3 to 4 cups tortilla chips
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
lettuce
olives
salsa
sour cream

Prep Day: Brown beef in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook until it is no longer pink. Drain any fat. Add taco seasoning and flour. Cook for a minute. Add chicken broth. Simmer until thick, about 15 minutes.

Put the chips in a bag and crush them up a little bit. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Layer chips, taco meat, and cheese. Add another layer. At this point, cover and chill before freezing. Once cooled freeze.

Serve Day: If frozen, thaw in the fridge. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup of Asiago or regular Caesar dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or use around 2 teaspoons of dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns

Prep Day: Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat. Cool. Package for freezing with wrapped bun. Freeze

Serve Day: Thaw buns and Chicken. Once thawed, Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.

The rest of my meals for this week come from my meal swap stockpile and my quick on the go meals. We have 3 nights of the week that we don’t have real long time for dinner cause of activities.

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