Menu Plan Monday

After a time off to deal with home renovations, work, and the holiday season, I'm back! I'm starting my new years goals early because there's no time like the present to start accomplishing things. One of my goals is to provide updates at least 3 times a week, so hopefully this is the start of something good. Watch for new menu plans, recipes, mommy tips, and helpful links.

This week we're keeping it simple because the holidays had some much "special" food, that we need a little ordinary in our dinner lives.

Breakfast and lunch will be Slim Fast for me and leftovers for the hubs. Of course my baby girl has her own menu too. Dinners will be the following:

Monday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, French bread, sweet peas
Tuesday - Beans and ham, spinach, mini cornbread muffins
Wednesday - Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables
Thursday - Pizza from Little Caesar's
Friday - Baked pork chops, potato wedges, and broccoli
Saturday - Family New Year's Day dinner (menu to come!)
Sunday - Fish sticks, macaroni & cheese, spinach

Coming soon is a review of the toys we received for Christmas! Happy Monday everyone!

Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetables

I like to keep dinner simple. Even when I’m not teaching during the summer, I’m always busy around the house, especially now that we have Miss Josey. I also don’t like to heat up the kitchen during the summer. Using the oven is often off limits, and even using the stove top can be overwhelming when it’s 102 degrees outside. But Hubby does like a hot meal after a long day at work, so I like to rely on my Crock Pot. I can make a complete meal with minimal effort, and it’s hot and ready when Michael walks in the door.

During the summer, I also rely on fresh vegetables from my parents’ garden. Right now there is squash and peppers abounding, so I use it for one of our favorites, chicken and vegetables. I use a pretty consistent recipe, although you can always substitute bell peppers or zucchini, or just add them for extra flavor! Here is tonight’s version:

5 small to medium yellow squash

4 potatoes (I used organic Yukon Gold)

7 peppers

1 onion

1.5 lbs chicken (I used chicken breast tenders)

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Simply chop the squash, potatoes, and chicken into approximately 1” pieces and the onion and peppers into ½” pieces. Add as much or as little seasoning as you like. Mix it all up in the Crock Pot, and cook on low for 7 hours. I like to keep my seasoning simple, but this would be great with herbs like parsley and thyme, or if you want to kick it up a little, add chili powder. A full 5.5 quart crock will feed approximately 4-6 people.

What do you like to cook in the Crock Pot in the summer?