Meal Planning Monday

After one week of making whatever ingredients/food we had in the the house S-T-R-E-T-C-H until we left for vacation and then another week of eating fabulous lunches and dinners {that had my body screaming at me to work out…grrr}, Dusty and I are so ready to get back to our weekly menus. I’ve fallen in love with a new site so the majority of this week’s menu is from there…go check out kevinandamanda.com for LOADS of yummy recipes, fonts, and scrapbooking stuff. I’ve linked the recipes to the titles so all you’ve got to do is click on them and it’ll hook you right up!

Monday: Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadillas {can’t wait to try these!!}

Tuesday: Chicken & Ravioli Carbonara

Wednesday: Cheeseburger flatbread melts…these look so EASY!

Thursday: Crispy Shrimp Pasta {mmm…shrimp + pasta = my new favorite combination}

Friday: Zesty Lime Tacos

Call me the Cookie Monster…

because that’s what these cookies have turned me into!! Thank you again to the amazing Cara Carroll for sharing this D-E-licious cookie recipe. I want to pass along the recipe to y’all because they are some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. OHMIWORD!!!

MONSTER COOKIES

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 12 oz. jar creamy peanut butter

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup M&M’s

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats {don’t use instant}

1/2 cup raisins, optional {I didn’t use any this time}

In case you missed me…I’m baaack!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been MIA for the past couple weeks…but I’m back and ready to blog! I didn’t post my weekly menus for the past two weeks because we were preparing to go on vacation, and then we were gone for a whole week. Needless to say…we were in DIRE need of a trip to the grocery store when we got back yesterday. Not gonna lie—I was a little nervous about the hit this shopping trip was going to take on my wallet, but it wasn’t near as bad as I though it was going to be. :)

Dusty and I are slowwwly floating back down to the real world after being in the “most magical place on Earth” for the past week…DISNEY WORLD!!! I’ll put up a post later with lots of pictures from our vacation. But I will go ahead and tell you the obvious…we had so much flippin F.U.N.!!!

Recipe Request

I had someone ask what the Cajun Shrimp & Rice was....sooo here ya go!!

CAJUN SHRIMP & RICE

1 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. cajun seasoning {Tony's is our favorite}

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined {Frozen is the easiest way to go!}

salt & pepper, to taste

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 bunches green onions, chopped

3 cups cooked white rice {I used 2 bags of boil in a bag rice}

Heat butter, garlic, & olive oil in a large skillet for about a minute or so.

Add cajun seasoning and shrimp.  Stir and cook until the shrimp start to curl up on ya…about a minute.  Now add the salt & pepper.



Add tomatoes and green onions to the mix and stir.  Cook for another minute.

Add the rice & 1/4 cup of water. Cook until rice is heated through…about 3 more minutes.

That's it! I will warn you that it's a bit on the SPICY side though...so if you're a spice wimp...proceed with caution...

 {or just take the Tony's down a notch}

Slow-Cooker Recipes are My Friend

I have recently been introduced to the wonderful world of Crockpot Heaven...and I'm in L-O-V-E love! I can't wait until the school year starts back up and I can just turn that little baby on in the morning and VOILA dinner is pretty much done when I get home. Aaahhh...it's gonna be so nice!!

SLOW-COOKER BBQ CHICKEN

24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup barbecue sauce {Head Country is our FAVE}

1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian dressing

2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. low-sodium chicken broth

Put the chicken in the crockpot. In a bowl, combine BBQ sauce, italian dressing, brown sugar & Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover & cook on low for 5 hours.

Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and chicken broth. Stir into sauce in crockpot, cover and cook until sauce is thickened and heated through -- 5 to 10 min.

Return chicken to crockpot, stir, cover and continue cooking on low for 45 min. Serve on buns or tortillas.

YUMMY :)



Meal Planning Monday...or Wednesday

I know it's Wednesday but just pretend that it's Monday....better late than never RIGHT??

Monday: No cooking for meee! 4th of July meant spending the evening with friends at the lake...no complaints here :)

Tuesday: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Wednesday: We're having friends over for dinner which means more mouths to feed sooo...Bacon and Parmesan Pasta it is!!--I think I'm gonna have to make a double batch tonight--{This is BY FAR the B.E.S.T. pasta I've ever had!}

Thursday: Cajun Shrimp & Rice

Friday: Two Timin' Pasta Bake {Click on name of the recipe and it'll take you straight to Cara Carroll's site with the recipe on it}