What's for dinner?

I hear that question at LEAST 4 times a day, sometimes more.  Most of the time I have dinner planned in advance, but whoa, you should see what the reaction is if I decide that we'll just have leftovers, or (gasp!) cereal!  You'd think I was trying to feed them this.

For FHE last night, Natalia decided to incorporate a Personal Progress goal, and we made up a 2-week menu plan.

I've been trying to get a lot of the cooking or prep work done on Mondays since the week just gets busier as we get further into it.  This is the menu we decided on for this week:

Monday (yesterday!):  Honey BBQ Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, Green Salad
*This is a big batch of chicken, but I'm using the leftovers on Friday for BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I just pulled the meat off the bone, chopped into bite-sized pieces and packaged it into a freezer container to freeze until then.
*I also doubled the potatoes and made twelve, and packaged the other six up in the freezer for another meal.

• Honey BBQ Chicken 

          2 whole chickens, cut into pieces
         1/2 tsp. salt
         1/2 tsp. pepper
         For Sauce:
         2 large onions, chopped
         1 16 ounce can tomato sauce
         1/2 cup cider vinegar
         1/2 cup honey
         1/4 cup Worcestershire
         2 tsp. Paprika
         1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tapatio or Tabasco)
    
         Place chicken, skin side down in 2 prepared 9x13 pans.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken, (makes about 4 cups of sauce) half for each pan.    Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 3 minutes.  Turn chicken and bake 20 or so minutes longer, until done.
Tuesday:  Green Pasta (pesto), Veggies, Garlic Bread, Salad

• Twice-Baked Potatoes

         6 medium sized Russet or Baking potatoes, scrubbed and baked (microwave works, too!)
         1 cup sour cream
         1 cup shredded cheese
         1 Tablespoon powdered Ranch dressing mix
         pepper to taste

        Slice the top off of the potato and use a tablespoon to scoop the cooked pulp into a bowl.  Add the other ingredients and mix together.  Stuff the potato mixture back into the potato skins using the tablespoon again.  Bake on a cookie sheet or 9x13 pan for an additional 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Wednesday:  Hamburgers, Salad, French Fries

Thursday:  Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Bread 

Friday:  BBQ Chicken Pizza

• using leftover chicken from Monday, this pizza crust recipe, and BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce
• Pizza dough in the Bread Machine

          1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons warm water (80 degrees)
          2 Tablespoons Olive oil
          2 Tablespoons sugar
          2 tsp. salt
          2 Tablespoons dry milk
          3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
          1 cup whole wheat flour
          2 tsp. instant yeast

          Add all ingredients into the bread pan of the machine in the order given.  Use the dough setting and when it is done, punch dough down and let rest for 10 minutes.  Form into a crust and top with pizza toppings.

Saturday:  Leftovers Buffet with Caesar Salad and Breadsticks

• For Breadsticks, make another batch of the Pizza dough above, adding 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning to the dough.

•  We like Ken's Lite Creamy Caesar Dressing

Sunday:  Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, Broccoli, Green Salad
(I'm making 2 pans of Enchiladas and stashing one in the freezer for a rainy day, you know, so my kids don't have to eat cereal for dinner EVER.)


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