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Most of my recipes are new this week and I haven’t had a chance yet to calculate points per serving.  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: Fondue! This has become our Halloween tradition and we look forward to it every year. Both recipes are “kid friendly” and I think they turned out better this year than they ever have before thanks to help from my little helpers. 

Swiss Cheese fondue – I found this recipe in Family Fun magazine a couple of years ago – It is “kid friendly” in that it is milder than regular cheese fondue and uses milk as a base instead of wine.
 
Ingredients:
* 12 oz. Swiss cheese (or Cheddar, Gruyere, or a combination)
* 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp. paprika
* 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
* 1 garlic clove
* 3 tbsp. butter
* 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups milk
* Juice from a lemon
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Dippers, such as French bread, carrots, peppers, broccoli or cherry
* tomatoes

Instructions
First, grate the cheese into a bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Set aside. Ask kids 10 and up to grate the cheese. Hold the handle firmly, grip the cheese, tuck fingers back and rub against the holes

In a separate small bowl, stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour, paprika and nutmeg.

Ask your child to peel the garlic clove. Next, rub the cut clove on the inside of a medium-size saucepan until the bottom and sides are completely seasoned (a fun job for kids).

Melt the butter in the pan over medium-low heat and stir in the flour mixture until it is smooth. Explain to your children that this is called a roux (pronounced roo) and serves as the base that will help the fondue thicken. Add the milk, 1 cup at a time, and stir constantly until the creamy sauce is warm.

Next, add the grated cheese by the handful, stirring well after each addition. Continue until the cheese is used up and the sauce is thoroughly combined. Once the cheese has melted, stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, prepare the dippers for the fondue. Cut the bread into cubes. Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces and steam for a few minutes, if desired, to bring out the flavor.

Arrange the vegetables on a large platter and the bread cubes in a basket or bowl. Pour the fondue into a fondue pot. Invite everyone to spear the bread or vegetables on their fondue forks, then dip into the cheesy sauce. Serves eight people as an appetizer or four as a main course.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fondue – This is another fun, easy recipe from Family Fun which has been a hit with my kids!

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup milk
* 1 (6-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips
* 3/4 cup marshmallow cream

SUGGESTED DIPPERS
* Hulled strawberries
* Banana slices
* Apple wedges
* Fresh pineapple chunks
* Graham crackers
* Pretzels
* Vanilla wafers

Instructions

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until it just starts to simmer. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the chocolate chips and let them stand for 1 minute to soften. Then stir until they’re melted and the mixture is well blended.

Stir in the marshmallow cream. Then whisk the sauce until smooth.

Pour the sauce into a fondue pot and set the flame to keep it warm. Serves 4 to 6.

MONDAY ~ Shredded lime tacos (slow cooker) – I got this recipe from Marci’s blog a few weeks ago.  We tried it and loved it, so it’s back again!

Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cubed
* 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
* 1/2 lime, juiced
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
* 1/2 white onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Mix together vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, onion, garlic and cilantro. Put in crock pot with chicken and cook on low 6 hours. Shred chicken apart with forks and serve in tacos with toppings of choice!

TUESDAY ~ Country Ham and Macaroni Casserole – This is one of my daughter’s favorites and she has been asking for it for a couple of weeks now. 

Thanks to Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen (BabyCenter.com Cooking for Your Family Board)

Ingredients:
1 lb country ham slices or regular smoked ham in one piece (I just use whatever leftover ham we have on hand)
1 large onion, diced
1 lb elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz) – I use reduced fat
1 cup sour cream (I use reduced fat)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine, melted (I don’t use this when I make it)
1 cup dry plain bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 400º.
2. Bring 4 quarts water and ham to boiling in large pot. Once water begins to boil,
remove ham to a plate. Add onion and macaroni to pot. Return water to boiling; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Coarsely chop ham, discarding any fat and bones.
4. Drain macaroni and onion and return to pot. Add ham, cheese, sour cream and soup. Scrape into a 13x9x2 baking dish. Pour melted margarine over top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
5. Bake in heated 400º oven 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: Prepare in two 8×8 casserole dishes, bake one and freeze one (unbaked) for another day. If freezing, top with crumbs and margarine right before baking.

WW points = 9 points per serving (with modifications above), makes 8 servings

WEDNESDAY ~ Chicken licking good pork chops (slow cooker)

Ingredients:
6-8 lean pork chops, 1-inch thick
1/2 cup flour (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp oil (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 10.5oz can chicken & rice soup

Dredge pork chops in mixture of flour, salt, dry mustard & garlic powder. Brown chops in oil in a large skillet. Place browned pork chops in crockpot. Add can of soup. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3 1/2 hours. If I don’t brown the chops, then I just toss the salt, dry mustard & garlic powder in the crockpot instead of dredging the chops.

*Note: When making this meal, I use a can of family size chicken & rice soup and drain off some of the broth – it keeps the meat tender and there is more of the chicken & rice mixture for everyone! If you don’t have time to brown the chops first in a skillet, I’ve also just dipped it into the flour mixture and put it straight into the slow cooker and it works fine that way, too.

WW points = 6 servings, 7 points per serving

THURSDAY ~ Melt in your mouth meatloaf (slow cooker) – I’ve made this several times now for our family.  It’s easy to make and yummy!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk (we use skim)
2/3 c. seasoned bread crumbs
2 tsp dried, minced onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (we always make this with ground turkey instead and it’s yummy!)
1/4 c. ketchup
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well (mixture will be moist.) Shape into a round loaf; place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon over the meat loaf. Cook 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

WW points = 5 per serving with the ground turkey, ground beef may be more (makes 6 servings)

FRIDAY ~ Crockpot chicken and rice

Ingredients:
2-3 frozen chicken breasts
1 pkg McCormick Zesty Herb chicken seasoning blend
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. hot cooked rice
Grated cheese
Tomatoes
Celery
Bell peppers

Place frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot. Mix ingredients for McCormick seasoning according to directions on the packet and pour over the top of chicken. Cook on low for five hours. Shred chicken in crock pot using a knife and fork. Add cream of chicken soup. Let cook for one more hour. Service over rice with additional toppings as desired (we add cheese, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. depending on what we have on hand).

WW points = 5 per serving (makes 4 servings) for the chicken mixture; add 2 points for 1/2 cup rice and 4 points for 1 cup rice plus points for additional toppings

SATURDAY ~ Monterey Chicken – I was in a recipe rut and came across a thread on a cooking board on Babycenter.com called “Need good chicken recipe ideas” – someone posted this one and it sounded delicious, looked like it was easy to throw together, and I had all of the ingredients on hand!  (The “original poster” of the recipe there was Mommy2Beth&Sarah)  This came together just as smoothly as I had hoped, and even my normally picky kids gulped it down.  This has become a “keeper” in our house!

Ingredients:
4 (5 oz.) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce
1/4 Cup Hormel Real Bacon Bits
1 Cup 2% Colby and Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese*
1 (14 oz.) Can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, drained (I’m just going to use regular diced tomatoes)
Sliced Green Onions
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pound out the chicken breasts to flatten.  Season each with a little pepper.  Cook the chicken in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium-low heat until no longer pink.

Place each breast onto a baking sheet and top each breast with 1 tablespoon of barbeque sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 cup tomatoes, green onions and 1 tablespoon of bacon bits.  Place into the oven and bake until the cheese has melted (about 5 minutes).

Per Serving: 263 Calories; 8g Fat (29.0% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 108mg Cholesterol; 840mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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