Weekly Menu

These are our dinners for this week. I make my menu first, then go to the grocery store with my list of everything I need. We go to the store twice a month, so I make two weeks of menus at a time. That way, I know what we have and I already have a list of recipes and ideas to choose from.

Monday:
Ribs
potato skins
baked beans (these baked beans are FABULOUS. Yes, they are a little sweet and tart, but not overly so. If you have no aversion to hot fruit, unlike my mother, you should definitely make them)
what? The Cowboys were on Monday Night Football...

Tuesday:
Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
*Wednesdays will never be particularly exciting. We have church, I rarely eat dinner on this night, and the kids usually have cereal.

Thursday:
Hamburger steaks with caramelized onions and brown gravy
mashed potatoes
roasted squash and zucchini
* Side note: I didn't have any russet potatoes. Instead, I made them with Yukon golds, with the skin on, since it is a thin skin. I had never used those kind for mashed potatoes before, they turned out great.

Friday:
Brown Sugar Chicken (love this site, love the crockpot. Can't wait to try this one!)
rice
broccoli

*** Added 9/21***

Here is the chicken thighs and brown sugar/lemon-lime soda/garlic/vinegar sauce. I cooked it on low for 6-7 hours.
After 6-7 hours

It fell right off the bone. I served it with rice and a ladel of the sauce over the chicken pieces.It was very tender and juicy, but a little too sweet for me. And I like sweet. I'm already thinking of tweaking the recipe and trying it again. Maybe more of a teriyaki sauce with brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and chicken stock instead of lemon lime soda and vinegar.

Saturday:
tamales (purchased- our area has a great homemade tamales. Although, I will be attempting my own homemade ones soon)
rice

Sunday:
hmmm, not sure if we will be hungry for dinner after a big family lunch this weekend.

RECIPES:

Homemade pizza dough
1 packet rapid rise yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. warm water
Pour yeast packet and sugar in the warm water. Stir and let sit for at least 5 minutes, you want to see it foaming.

While yeast is activating, in a mixer with a dough hook, mix:
3 cups flour
3 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 t salt
Add yeast and 2 Tbsp. olive oil into the flour. You can (and will need to) add up to 1/2 cup water to the dough as it is forming. It will take just a few minutes to come together.
Wipe olive oil into an aluminum bowl and add ball of dough. Wet a dish towel with warm water and cover bowl. Set aside (I usually put mine in the laundry room) for at least 45 min.
When the dough has risen, bring it out of bowl and knead it a few times. Cut into two or three sections, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The dough is now ready to roll out for pizzas.

Roasted Squash and zucchini
Slice ends off of squash and zucchini. Cut into thick (1/2 inch) slices and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I heavily sprinkle) and toss with olive oil. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. I usually go in halfway through and toss them again, to get both sides browned.

Baked Beans
(from Paula Deen)

4 16-ounce cans baked beans
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup molasses
1 cup barbeque sauce
2 Tbsp. yellow or brown mustard
5 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1 6-ounce can french fried onions
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, mix together all ingredients, but save 2/3 of onions. Pour beans into 13x9 casserole dish and sprinkle remaining crushed onions on top. Cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans brown and bubble. Serve warm.