Meals Made Simple

Last fall I became very frustrated with trying to come up with a variety of meals for my very plane-jane family. I wanted to be creative with my cooking - but they weren't too interested. So, I came with this idea:

Sunday Lunch - Eat Out

Sunday Dinner - leftovers, popcorn, nachos or cereal

Monday - Mexican

Tuesday - Italian

Wednesday - Parent's Choice or we eat at church during our Wed's @ CCC

Thursday - Pizza

Friday - Hamburgers

Saturday - Brunch and/or Brinner (breakfast/dinner)

This has made my life sooooo much more simple. I have the freedom to make my variations with knowing that my family will eat it!!!

Anyhoooo....I'll be giving you an example of this concept this week. To catch us up, this week's Mexican Night was Chicken Enchiladas and Italian Night was Bacon Spaghetti.

Chicken Enchiladas

1/2 c bell peppers, chopped

1 c onions, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

1 4oz can chopped green chilies

2 c cooked chicken, shredded

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Flour tortillas

Sauce:

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 c flour

1 tsp coriander

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 c chicken broth

8oz sour cream

1/2 c Monterey Jack cheese

Cook bell peppers, onions, and butter until tender. Then add green chilies and chicken. Add 1/2 c of the following sauce.

Sauce: Melt butter in pan. Add flour, coriander and salt. Stir well for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, sour cream, and 1/2 c monterey jack cheese.

Add some chicken mixture and some extra monterey jack cheese to each flour tortilla. Roll up and place in greased 9x13 pan. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas. Bake in 350 degree oven till heated through and cheese is melted (about 30 minutes).

Bacon Spaghetti

1 lb bacon, fried & crumbled

1 lb cooked spaghetti

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 Tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Combine garlic and Parmesan cheese with olive oil. Toss cooked spaghetti with bacon and garlic/cheese/olive oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I made the French Bread recipe to go with this....MMM! I dressed up my French Bread by adding oregano to the dough and topped the rustic loaves with butter, sea salt, and more oregano.