SUNDAY - Hot dogs & Alison's Chili Cheese Dip

      

• 1 pkg Oscar Meyer weenies
• 1 pkg hot dog buns
• 1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 15 oz can Hormel chili
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Fritos scoops for serving

Hot dogs are always easy, quick, and this particular dip is a great side because I used it to put it on top of my hot dog. Publix had Oscar Meyer weenies on sale so I bought a pack and threw them on the George Foreman on medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning frequently. My hubby used the remaining dogs for lunches the next couple of days.
Chili cheese dip:

Evenly spread the softened cream cheese into the bottom of an ungreased glass pie dish pan or other round baking dish. Spread chili over the cream cheese. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Microwave for 4 minutes. Check to see if the cheese is melted and microwave another 1-2 minutes until the cheese is completely melted. Serve warm with Fritos.


MONDAY - Breakfast

Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner! This is also a good one that I throw in the mix a lot because it's so easy that my husband can cook it ;)

You can cook your favorite breakfast items whether it be eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, biscuits and jelly, pancakes, muffins, etc. Here is what I had handy this week:

• Biscuits and gravy (white pepper gravy)
• 1 lb. hot Jimmy Dean sausage - made 8 sausage patties and used some of them to crumble in the gravy
• 4 eggs - we fried them and had two each

TUESDAY - Holly's Mexican Spaghetti (with a twist) & Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Yep, there's that "twist" I was referring to! The original recipe calls for spaghetti noodles, but I had rotini noodles handy, so I went with that. I also decided to make it a lot easier on myself and, as usual, utilized the glory that is...THE CROCKPOT.

Holly's Mexican Spaghetti (with a twist)

• 2 medium or 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Approx. 1 cup salsa (I had Pace Medium on hand)
• 1  - 10 oz can Rotel
• 8 oz Velveeta (I think they typically come in 16 oz blocks, but I happened to find a small one that was 8 oz and it was perfect for this dish...you can cut 16 oz block in half if you can't find the small one)
• 1 box Rotini noodles

Place chicken and salsa in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours (I just put the salsa in there to keep the bottom from burning. You may not have to use 1 cup...just use your judgment). Shred chicken and place back in crockpot with salsa. Add Rotel and Velveeta and turn crockpot to low. While Velveeta is melting in the crockpot, boil the noodles according to package. Drain noodles and add to crockpot to complete the dish, stirring until thoroughly mixed together.

This makes a lot. I did that on purpose because I needed some extra to take a friend dinner. We also took some for lunch the next day.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

• 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 can creamed corn
• 2 "forkfuls" diced jalapenos...I'm really technical with measurements ;)
• 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, and pour into either greased muffin tins or greased pan or cast-iron skillet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown TIP: the creamed form can make it a little dense so I like to sprinkle a little Wondra flour into the mixture to help fluff it up.

WEDNESDAY - Subway...Eat Fresh!

We have our couples class at church Wednesday nights and I had worship team practice, too, so I just figured we could grab some Subway after church.

THURSDAY - Katie D.'s Honey Bourbon Chicken over Brown Rice with Field Peas

This works well for us on Thursdays because Chip has fishing tournaments on these nights and it only takes 1 1/2 hrs to cook this chicken in the crockpot. If you don't have that kind of time, or don't have a crockpot with a timer, you can make this on Sunday instead!

• 1 to 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (approx. 5)
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Garlic powder & onion powder
• 1/2 cup diced onion (optional)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• Cornstarch
• Sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 cup brown rice (I use Minute Rice)
• 1 can field peas

Place chicken thighs in crockpot and sprinkle with salt & pepper on both sides. Top chicken with honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic powder & onion powder (just give them both a few shakes) & red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well & cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. When done, remove and cut into chunks. Before putting chicken back in the pot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk into the crockpot to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw chicken back in and stir to recoat with the sauce. 

Cook rice and peas according to package. Serve chicken over a hot bed of brown, or white, rice and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.


FRIDAY - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, & asparagus

My husband hunts and we tried a few new ways to get the meat processed this year. One of them was meatloaf. They go ahead and season it for you, so all I usually do is add some onion, green pepper, and a little BBQ sauce. Since I know not everyone has pre-seasoned venison meatloaf, I'll put a standard beef meatloaf recipe here!

MEAT MIXTURE

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef (I prefer lean)
• 1 small vidalia onion
• 1 small green pepper
• 2 slices of bread (to make bread crumbs)
• 3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp honey
• Salt & pepper to taste

GLAZE

• 3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp honey

OTHER

• 1 package Idahoan mashed potatoes (we like roasted garlic & parmesan flavor)
• Asparagus

Preheat oven to 350F. Toss the bread slices in the food processor to make fresh bread crumbs. Chop onion & green pepper. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients above to make meat mixture. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients above to make glaze. Shape meat mixture into a loaf and add glaze on top (reserving some for dipping). Bake in oven for 45 minutes.

NOTE: Approx. 10 minutes before it's done, I like to drain the juice out of the bottom of the pan and add a little more glaze on top. I also like to put it on broil for just a minute before I pull it out to give the glaze on top a little more thickness. You can also spend the last 10 minutes boiling water for your potatoes and popping the asparagus in the oven with the meatloaf. I wash it, spread out on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Kosher salt.