Weekly Menu Planning

Happy Monday everyone! This week I decided to plan ahead.  I really don't have time to be running to the grocery store every other night, especially when I usually don't leave work until after 6pm. This past weekend was the first that I had two days off with nothing at all planned, probably since spring! I decided I would spend Saturday morning actually planning what I would cook all week before heading out to the grocery store. This way I would be able to get everything I needed for meals all week without wasting money on grabbing things I could possibly not use or end up with 10lbs of more frozen meat in my freezer. Here is what I plan to make this week and if all goes well there will be plenty of recipes to share along the way:

Monday:
Tomato Basil Chicken Breast over Veggie Pasta 
Tuesday:
Marinated Grilled Pork Chops with Butternut Squash and Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday:
Crock Pot Beef Roast with Red Potatoes
Thursday:
Left Over Beef from Wednesday
Friday:
American Chop Suey or Tacos (this one is still up in the air but we always have the ingredients for both on hand)
Saturday:
Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

A few of these I have made before so you can find the recipe for them by clicking on them above. As for the others I will add then as the week goes on. Hope everyone has a great week!

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey is made differently in almost every home. I find it to be a recipe that you grew up with that gets passed down with small tweaks.  To be honest it was never one of my favorite meals since I don't eat hamburg so I always would take the noodles plain with some sauce before mixing it together.  On the other hand it is one of my husbands FAVORITE meals and his mothers version is much different than my mothers version so I have learned to make her version over the past year.  The one change that I made is that I add extra hamburg and Italian sausage since that is Scott's favorite part.

I start be removing the sausage from their casings (I use about 3 or 4) and adding them to about 1lb of hamburg in a large skillet.  I combine them and cook until no longer pink.  I then add a tablespoon or so of Basil, Italian Seasoning and garlic powder with salt and pepper to taste.  Once mixed together I add 1/2 of a large sweet onion, 1/2 a green pepper (I used orange this time since that is what I had) and 1/2 a red pepper.  I cover the pan and simmer until the veggies are tender. 

Once they are tender I add in a box of pre-cooked elbows or shells (- the bowl i took out for myself!) and a jar of vidalia onion spaghetti sauce and mix together.  I let this simmer for about 10 minutes and then it is ready to ENJOY!