Welcome back for another week of Katie's Cooking... aka... Some-Things-Come-from-a-Box. I shamelessly let you see that, yes, we did have popcorn shrimp with blue box mac & cheese last week and no I didn't feel guilty about it one bit! Some days ya just gotta do what ya gotta do!
This week I've got a little more "real food" in the mix, but I'm also planning to cook some things to freeze. Let's get right down to it, shall we!?
Monday: Fried Chicken meal from Publix (You didn't actually think I was going to cook on my off day, did you???)
Tuesday: Extra-Easy Lasagna, garlic bread, roasted zucchini
*This recipe by Ree Drummond is also absolutely delicious but I ain't got the time for all that this week.
Wednesday: Dinner-on-the-go (probably Zaxby's... go figure...)
Thursday: Black Beans & Spanish rice, chips & salsa; I am also going to make taco soup while I'm at it (to freeze)
Friday: Pizza
Saturday/Sunday: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole, Rice, Crock Pot carrots, corn muffins (I also add cheese to my corn muffins... basically it's like corn casserole but in muffin-form!)
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This is a special time in my life because it's the first of the month. Well, it's the last two days of a month, but you get it. And the first of the month means... SHOPPING! We go to SAMs towards the beginning of a month to get meat and then I try to buy pantry staples at Target. The goal is to only have to buy fresh ingredients week-to-week so that I'm not having to run to the grocery store every five seconds. I have a general knowledge of what we always need on hand (cooking spray, butter, pasta, frozen fruit, etc.) and then each week I can just go get the fresh ingredients (produce, eggs, cheese, deli meat, etc.) we need for the week.
Anyhoo... these big shopping trips also mean I do a little bit of extra cooking. Here's what I am planning to whip up during the week:
- Meat: I browned 4 lbs of ground beef and Crock-Potted 5 lbs of chicken on Saturday morning! Half of the beef went into the lasagnas (see below) and the other half went into freezer bags. I shredded the chicken when it was done (took about 9 hours on low) and divided it into freezer bags, as well.
- Lasagna: While I'm browning the ground beef, I'm going to assemble two lasagnas to freeze. We'll eat this both during this month. I have heard that you do not have to cook the noodles before you freeze, so I'm going to try it that way!
- Lemon Blueberry Bread: I have been drooling over this recipe for a while now. I made it Saturday and it was tasty! However, my zester decided to... umm... stop zesting... so it wasn't quite as lemony as I wanted. But flouring the blueberries before adding them in definitely helped keep them from sinking to the bottom - that was a great tip!
- Zucchini Cranberry Muffins: This is a recipe I got from a friend, so I don't have a link to the recipe. But I'm going to make mini-muffins for easy breakfasts/snacks for Maleah. It involves whole wheat flour and uses applesauce in place of oil. And yes... they're getting frozen...
- Peanut Butter Pie: I have not made this in a L-O-N-G time, but I made two on Saturday! So easy. So delicious.
- Rice: Am I alone in hating to cook rice? Ugh. I just hate it! So I am going to cook a big batch of it and freeze it. I'm not sure how it'll turn out, but I will most likely be putting it into casseroles, so I'm hopeful!
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FYI: If a recipe doesn't have a link it's because I either make it up as I go or it comes from a box (Spanish rice.... made by Zattarain's...caught me red-handed!). That's just how it gets done around here. But, I do want to share my recipe for black beans with ya. Now, FYI #2, I know that I could use dried beans. But I don't want to. K? K. FYI #3: Anything I label "Weeknight" basically means it is semi-homemade, easy, and quick!
Weeknight Black Beans
Ingredients
2 cans Bush's reduced sodium black beans (drain both cans, but don't rinse the beans)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1-2 tbsp Cilantro (could also use a fresh bunch, but I have dried cilantro so that's what I'm using)
1 tbsp Cumin
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2-1 lime, freshly squeezed
Directions
1. Sautee onions and bell peppers in the bottom of a medium-sized pan. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are starting to carmelize.
2. Add in both cans of [drained] black beans. Stir well.
3. Add in spices. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until well heated.
4. Add in cilantro and fresh lime juice. Bring to a simmer and keep on low heat until ready to serve.
Sometimes I will make these with white rice (instead of Spanish rice) and add cilantro and lime to the rice for kicks!
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Happy Cooking, everyone!
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