Melissas Bargains

Last week, my menu planning was an epic fail.  Long work days and a lack of preparation in the mornings led to a lot of haphazard, thrown together, often from the freezer meals that didn’t follow my “menu plan” at all.  Needless to say, several of the items on this week’s menu are repeats from last week.

For those of you who may be doing Weight Watchers, I have included the points per serving calculations for some of my recipes this week. I used the “Recipe Builder” feature on the WeightWatchers.com e-Tools program to input all of the ingredients and calculate the points, so it should be pretty accurate.

You can read more about my $40 weekly budget in this post here.

If you’re new to menu planning, check out my post about how I do my menu planning.

On weekdays, my posts don’t include lunches.  My son eats lunch at daycare, most days I take lunch or eat a Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones/Healthy Choice meal, I pack a lunch for my daughter, and my husband fends for himself!

SUNDAY:  Creamy Chicken tortilla soup – we LOVE this recipe and it’s so easy to throw together!  If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should!

Ingredients:
3 cans chicken broth (100% FF)
3 cans cream of chicken soup (98% FF)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can Rotel
Mrs. Dash original seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Add Mrs. Dash’s seasoning to taste. Add broth and cream of chicken soup, and Rotel. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot.

To serve: (if frozen)

Defrost in refrigerator. Reheat on stove. Serve and top individual bowls with desired toppings (tomatoes, green onions, avocadoes/guacamole, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, etc.)

WW points =  3 per serving – this makes a TON of soup (at least 8 servings for my family), the 3 points, of course, does not include any “toppings” such as cheese, sour cream, and chips!

MONDAY:  Cheesy Chicken biscuit bake ~ I found this recipe on Mom’s Plan last week.  I think it will be a hit with my kids, who have been especially picky lately!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter (.25 cents)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (.10 cents)
2 1/2 cups whole milk (.50 cents)
2 heaping teaspoons mustard (more if desired) (.02 cents)
1 egg, beaten (.10 cents)
1 cup of cheese, grated (.50 cents)
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
8 oz. frozen mixed veggies (.50 cents)
2 large chicken breasts, cooked (1.99)
1 container large biscuits (1.49 for a tube of 8, but only used 4–.75)

Directions:
4 tablespoons butter (.25 cents)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (.10 cents)
2 1/2 cups whole milk (.50 cents)
2 heaping teaspoons mustard (more if desired) (.02 cents)
1 egg, beaten (.10 cents)
1 cup of cheese, grated (.50 cents)
1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
8 oz. frozen mixed veggies (.50 cents)
2 large chicken breasts, cooked (1.99)
1 container large biscuits (1.49 for a tube of 8, but only used 4–.75)

Cook frozen veggies as instructed on package. (I boiled mine for 3 minutes and then drained.)

In a small bowl, beat egg. In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn. Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in cheese and stir to melt.Add salt. Taste sauce and add more salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Shred cooked chicken and put in cheese sauce along with cooked veggies. Stir together and place in a 2 qt. pan coated with non stick cooking spray.
Cook in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes. The refrigerated biscuits can cook right along side on a baking sheet.

Scoop up and put a biscuit on top. (You could cook the biscuits right on top of the chicken mixture, but they tend to get soggy this way, and we don’t like soggy biscuits.)

TUESDAY:  Cowboy casserole – We have left over roast beef from our french dip sandwiches, so I’m going to use that in place of the ground beef.  I’m also going to substitute Ranch style beans for baked beans.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (we use 93/7)
1 can (16 oz) baked beans
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2/3 c. milk
2 c. Bisquick
1 T butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Heat over to 425. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until thoroughly cooked. Drain beef. Stir baked beans and BBQ sauce into beef. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Pour into ungreased 2 quart casserole.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, and butter until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 12 spoonfuls onto beef mixture. Bake uncovered 18-22 minutes (or until topping is golden brown). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

WW points = 10 points/serving (we’ll serve with a green salad and green beans)

WEDNESDAY:  Parmesan Sage Pork Chops ~ I found this recipe on Food on the Table last week and it sounded yummy.  We can’t wait to try it!

Ingredients:
2 T all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 egg. lightly beaten
bone in pork chops (we are using 4)
1 T olive oil
1 T butter

Directions:
1. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, sage and lemon peel. Place egg in shallow bowl. Coat pork chops with flour mixture, dip in egg, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
2. 2In a skillet, brown chops in oil and butter for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a greased 11 x 7 x 2 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F (218 degrees C) for 10-15 minutes or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C).

THURSDAY: Beef tips (slow cooker) – I found this recipe in Taste of Home Magazine. We have eaten it a several times now and my whole family (even my picky eater kids) loves it!

Ingredients:
1 beef top sirloin steak (1 pound), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 to 3 medium carrots, chopped
1 to 1-1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 to 1 cup white wine or beef broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked egg noodles

Directions:
In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the beef, carrots, celery, onion, soup and wine or broth. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into cooking juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve with noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

WW points = 6 per serving (add 2 points for 1/2 cup pasta/rice or 4 points for 1 cup pasta/rice)


FRIDAY:  Cream cheese chicken (slow cooker) – My family loves, loves, loves this recipe and if you haven’t tried it, you should because I promise your family will love it, too!!

Ingredients:
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 pkg. dry Ranch or Italian dressing mix (we usually only use one)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese – cut into cubes (I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
½ c. chicken broth

Directions: Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in crock pot and sprinkle 1 pkg. dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. About 45 minutes before serving, add soup, second packet of dry dressing mix, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Cook until smooth.
Serve over rice or pasta.

WW points = 6 points/serving (add 2 points for 1/2 c. rice or pasta or 4 points for 1 cup rice or pasta)

SATURDAY:  Stacked green enchiladas – This is a modified version of a recipe my dad makes

Ingredients:
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% FF)
1 can Rotel (drained)
3-4 chicken breasts
corn tortillas (one dozen)
monterrey jack cheese

I place the chicken breasts, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and Rotel in the crockpot on low all day. When I get home, I shred the chicken and add it back to the mixture. Then, you can either do stacked enchiladas (pour some of the mixture on a corn tortilla/add cheese and repeat for as many layers as you would like) or do rolled enchiladas (place some of the mixture in the corn tortilla, roll, and place in a pan….repeat 9 times…then, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top and top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes).

WW points = 8 per serving (makes 4 servings)

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