Soup

I love a good, frugal meal. Especially one that uses leftovers in a different way! So imagine my delight when I found a recipe for Mashed Potato Soup that is easy to modify with whatever you have on hand. The basic recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/ is:

1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (prepared with milk and butter)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh or dried chives

In a saucepan, saute the onion in butter until tender. Add milk, potatoes, salt and celery salt if desired and pepper; heat through. Garnish with chives.

The first time I made it, I added cheese, a bag of frozen broccoli, carrots and cheese sauce and bacon bits.

I made it again last night and used the rest of our turkey gravy, the last bits of yellow and red peppers, a half bag of frozen broccoli, the last few carrots, Mexican shredded cheese and 1/2 a kielbasa sausage cut up.

I never measure anything as I just dump in leftover potatoes and enough milk to make it creamy but not too thin. Hubby loves it and it is a great "clean out the fridge" dinner!

This usually makes it into our menu plan bi-weekly or when our odds and ends container in the freezer gets full!!

Menu Planning Monday

Hubby and I have a house guest for the next month or so, our good friend is between jobs (got laid off in Texas and will be working in Canada after the New Year) so he is living with us! He has been incredibly helpful and has put plastic on our windows, replaced a light fixture, repaired our garbage disposal and got our drain flowing again! He also puts dinner in the oven for me so that its ready when we get home from work.

So what are we dining on this week?

Sunday: BBQ pork tenderloin in the crockpot, handmade potato wedges, steamed veggies, squash and brownies with ice cream.

Monday: Peanut Chicken Bowls

Tuesday: Tater Tot Casserole (see below), applesauce

Wednesday: Church Potluck, I’m bringing glazed sweet potatoes which will cook in the crockpot under my desk while I’m at work.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner at my Grandma’s house! She said not to bring anything but I think I should anyway….but what to bring??

Friday: Not sure as Hubby works (I have off!) and then will be gone all night at the male teen lock-in at church.

Tater Tot Casserole

I’ve never made this before so here is my recipe (gleaned from several variations), does it seem to be on the right track?

Tater Tots
¾ lb brown hamburger
bag of frozen mixed veggies
1 can of something soup
squeeze of ketchup

Mix everything except tots, add a little milk if it seems dry. Pour into a greased casserole and top with tater tots. Bake 35 minutes at 350*.

For more meal ideas and recipes, be sure to check out Laura at the Org Junkie!

Menu Planning Monday!!

*Please congratulate Brooke! She got married on Saturday!*

This week's menu plan is looking pretty blank. But I did purchase some pyrex mugs to heat dinner up in and eat in the car before Church and Dodgeball so now our Wednesdays/Thursdays will be more than a sandwich, yay!! For more meal plans and recipes, check out Laura at the Org Junkie!

Monday: Hubby and I are heading to the Red Mesa Grill for BOGOF dinner to celebrate 6 months of wedded bliss!

Tuesday: I don't work in honor of Veteran's Day but have plans with a friend. Not sure what we'll eat but do have the fixings for stir fry in the freezer.

Wednesday: Beef n noodles! I cooked a monster pot roast on Sunday and will use some meat and the juice to make beef n noodles.

Thursday: Sandwiches before dodgeball

Friday: Not sure as hubby will be gone all weekend hoping to shoot a big Buck. Probably food filled with mushrooms as hubby will not touch those :)

Menu Planning Monday!

I’m discovering that its hard to plan dinners when you only eat at home 3 days week! Wednesday is church and hubby has to be there at 6, with him getting out of work at 5:30 and being about 1 mile from church we usually head straight there and eat a sandwich in the parking lot. Thursday we start we Adult Dodgeball at 7. If we went home after work, we’d have ½ hour before turning around to head back to town to play. Not that appealing but neither is two nights of sandwiches in a row. Bleh! I might try heating foods up and keeping them warm til I pick up hubby and then eating. Not sure how well that will work but we are getting tired of sandwiches.

This is what is on our menu for the week:

Sunday: Lunch was left over chicken potpie, dinner was chicken strips and broccoli.

Monday: NY Strip, potato wedges, corn

Tuesday: Beef stir fry

Wednesday: Church Night: Egg Salad sandwiches

Thursday: Dodgeball: still working on this one!

Friday: Chicken Enchiladas.

Need better ideas and recipes? Check out Laura at the Org Junkie for the tons of ideas, recipes and a giveaway!!