Menu & Recipes for Week of September 13th

This week starts the cooler weather here in Texas. I have enjoyed watching the rain for the past three days. Horrible baseball weather - great baking weather!! Fall welcomes back all of my family's cool-weather, comfort foods. I am so excited to share them with you this season.

Have an a Fall-bulous week!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_14gbz9hffp

$5 Dinners

This week's menu is all about using what is already in your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. I wanted to share a wonderful website called $5 Dinners. This is a great site for very inexpensive meals that feed a family of 4. Be sure to check it out at http://www.5dollardinners.com/

I challenge you to spend as little as possible on groceries this week. Take the money you save and stash it in the holiday shopping fund! The savings quickly add up. I do this about four times a year and easily stash about $500-600.

Pantry Cleanup Menu

This week is my quarterly Pantry Cleanup. I try to always keep a well stocked pantry so that I can whip up a quick meal or a quick dessert. I also stock up on those items I use frequently when there on sale and I have great coupons. This makes for excellent money savings as well as convenience. It does create the need for me to monitor what is in the pantry and keep an eye on the expiration dates. The result is Pantry Cleanup week.

This week, we will eat based upon what is already in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. (Bonus - we can stash the saved grocery money into savings!!!!) I have written out the meals for the week from my kitchen to give you some ideas. All of the meals are super simple and inexpensive.

Have a wonderful week!!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_12f9kwdb49

Back to School Menu

Monday is back to school and my little one is not so excited. We've met the teacher (the one he wanted) and dropped off all of the supplies and still he shows no excitement. My solution - allow him to set the menu for the week. I hope you will find these kid favorites a hit in your home too!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_11g7td96cg

Menu & Recipes for August 16th

Happy Saturday!! It appears that the pinnacle of summer might have actually passed. There are no temperatures above 100 for the next week. The cooler temperatures make meal planning and preparation so much more enjoyable. I cannot wait for fall. Most of my favorites are cooler weather dishes and I am looking forward to sharing them with each of you!

I hope each of you will enjoy the next week. Those of you with little ones have one last week of summer before school starts so take advantage. (We are sleeping in!)

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_10mnjrj5gc

Menu & Recipes for August 9th

The last of the summer days are flying by too fast. This week's menu is a little late, but full of great dinners. Surprise your family with one of the Summer Sweets for a wonderful dessert!

This menu offers a couple of great recipes to get the kids into the kitchen - Golden Chicken & Rice Casserole and Baked Basil Pasta are easy enough for the kids to help prepare. I hope you will enjoy some extra time sharing the love of cooking with your angels! Have a really wonderful week.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_9td5kmrhs

My Country Kitchen - Menu for August 2nd

I love finding new recipes and sometimes tweaking those recipes. This week includes a new recipe that takes many of us out of our norm - Spaghetti alla Carbonara. This is a great pasta dish! It really doesn't take much to prepare. Hope you enjoy it!

Be watching for a special My Country Kitchen bonus this week....it is going to be too sweet to miss!

Have a tasty week!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_6dbr2cfdm

My Country Kitchen - Menu & Recipes July 27th

This week has flown by and I still have a long To Do list. How does that happen? Of course, grocery shopping is now at the top.

This week's menu contains a lot of meals that can be prepared without heating the kitchen up too much. Even the Pesto Chicken & Bowtie can be done without much heat - try a rotisserie chicken from the local market.

I hope you are enjoying these menues and recipes! Please feel free to send me any requests.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_4dkmbrqd5

My Country Kitchen - Menu for Week of July 20th

Here is the menu for this week. It contains a couple of items that are great to prepare ahead of time.

The Chicken Spaghetti can be started one night (boil the chicken) and completed within the next couple of days. The leftovers are an absolute favorite for lunches. This is also a great meal for families with older babies or toddlers on baby food. Just place the chicken spaghetti in a food processor and process until it reaches desired consistency.

The Italian Sausage Soup satisfies even my picky eater. It can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. I like prepare a double batch of this soup and freeze for future meals. It freezes well then you just thaw it out and add the orzo or rice and simmer for 30 minutes.

Enjoy! http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_4dkmbrqd5

My Country Kitchen - Menu for Week of July 12th

It is that time of the week again. Time to think about a new menu. Here it is with recipes. Enjoy!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc7vbv4c_3vfjb5vhq

My Country Kitchen - Lemon Pound Cake

Per request, here is a great summer dessert recipe!

Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup butter
½ cup butter flavored shortening
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon extract, plus more if you like a lot of lemon flavor
10-12 drops yellow food color

Preheat oven to 350F (325F if using dark, nonstick pan). Spray 10 cup bundt or tube pan with nonstick baking spray (Baker's Joy works very well). In large bowl, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, milk, flour, and baking powder; mix thoroughly. Add vanilla, lemon extract and food color; beat well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. This is great served with fresh fruit or frozen sweetened strawberries and whip cream.