On My Menu This Week

Tomorrow starts our month of daylight shifts for my husband. Wish me luck. lol! It's a big change for all of us from midnight shift to daylight. We'll get through it, I'm sure.

Here's our menu for the week:

Saturday:  crockpot bbq chicken sliders with rice and salad on the side

Sunday: planned spaghetti & meatballs but ended up having tacos

Monday: super hot spicy chicken legs from RR with mashed potatoes and corn on the side

Tuesday: spaghetti & meatballs

Wednesday: spicy chicken & broccoli over jasmine rice

Thursday: pita pizzas & salad

Friday: mexi lasagna

Stop by and say "hi". I love talking with friends! 

I'm linking to Menu Plan Monday!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sliders

When I created these sliders I had one thing in mind...being able to cook dinner while attending my daughter's basketball game on Saturday afternoon. We have been spending way too much money eating out after her basketball games and I've been wanting to squash that routine for a while now. It was nice to come home to half of the meal waiting on us. We ate rice w/gravy and salad with the sliders. Everything was ready to go in under 30 minutes. :)

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sliders
4 lg boneless chicken breasts - about 2 lbs, thawed
1 c. + 1 c. of your favorite bbq sauce - plus extra, if wanted
Frank's hot sauce (optional)
2 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz smoked provolone cheese, shredded
small dinner buns or potato buns

Layer the chicken breasts into the crockpot by alternating one piece of chicken with a little bbq sauce...continuing until all of the chicken is covered with sauce with 1 c. of sauce. Cover and cook on high for 4 hrs.

After 4 hrs., check to see if chicken has been cooked. The chicken should fall to pieces when you shred it with a fork. If it doesn't, continue cooking for up to 1 hour longer.

Remove chicken and place on a platter. Using two forks, shred the chicken. Drain any water that was left in the crockpot. Place the shredded chicken back into the crockpot. Stir in the remaining cup of bbq sauce, adding more sauce if you like. Heat on low for 20 minutes.

Layer the shredded chicken and shredded provolone onto the buns. Enjoy!

**Optional**  At this point you can lay the sliders on a baking sheet and place them in the oven at 425* for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Mini Cucumber Sandwich Appetizers

We love these little cucumber sandwiches. If you don't have the luxury of having freshly picked cucumbers from a garden, use English seedless cucumbers. They sub just fine.

I didn't get a really good picture of the sandwiches because my family was eating them as fast as I was making them.

Mini Cucumber Sandwich Appetizers

1-2 English cucumbers, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 oz. mayo
1-2 tsp. milk
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix
1 loaf of cocktail rye bread

Peel and slice cucumbers into thin rounds. Lay rounds on paper towels to remove any water. Set aside.

Mix together cream cheese, mayo and ranch seasoning mix. Stir in milk, 1 tsp at a time, until the mixture reaches a spreadable consistency.

Spread a think layer of the ranch mixture onto the rye breads. Top each bread slice with one or two cucumber slices, depending on the size of your cucumbers. I had to use two rounds on each bread because the cucumbers were thin.

Layer sandwiches into a container that has a tight fitting lid. Add waxed paper between layers of sandwiches. Refrigerate for at least two hours or up to overnight .

Refrigerate any leftovers.

One Pan Pork Fried Rice

I came up with this fried rice recipe to go along with the homemade egg rolls that I made a while back. It's easy to make and very versatile...you can use chicken, pork, beef or even make it without meat. It's great for using bits and pieces of leftovers from the week that's stuck in the frig. The secret ingredient is the sesame oil that really gives it a unique flavor.

One Pan Pork Fried Rice

4 c. quick cooking  rice
3 1/2 c. water for cooking rice
2 c. boneless pork, cubed into 1" pieces
4 eggs
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables
1 1/2  c. soy sauce
1/2 c chicken broth
sesame oil

Cook rice and set aside. I use quick cooking rice - Cook 4 c. rice in 3 1/2 c of water to make it less sticky.

Using one large frying pan:

Scramble 4 eggs. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Saute frozen stir fry vegetables in 2 tbsp of canola or vegetable oil. Cook until vegetables are fork tender. Remove to the plate that holds the scrambled eggs.

Cook the pork in 2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil + 1 tsp sesame oil.  Cook just until the pork is no longer pink. Be careful not to over cook. Add the cooked pork to the eggs and vegetables.

Add cooked rice to the large frying pan. Stir in one cup of soy sauce + 2 tsp. sesame oil. Heat over medium low heat for 1 -2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in vegetables and pork. Mix well. Pour in 1/2 c. chicken broth + 1/2 soy sauce. Heat through.

Chop eggs into small pieces. Stir into rice.

Serve hot.

Menu Plan Monday - I'm Back :)

I did so well for quite a few months but then I fell of the wagon with menu planning. I've decided to hop back on board. I need to buckle down and start saving money and quit spending wasting it on eating out.

My week runs a little differently with my husband having Mondays and Tuesdays off now. Yes, it really does screw things up when you are used to another schedule for 15 yrs. Our menu now runs from Sat. to Fri.

So, here's our menu for this week:

S - turkey burgers, tater tots and onion rings, salad

M - lasagna and Italian bread - mini chocolate cupcakes for dessert for Valentine's Day

T- pork fried rice w/ egg rolls

W - beef veggie soup w/ grilled cheese

H - grilled chicken, fried potatoes, salad

F - chicken noodle soup

I'm linking up with Menu Plan Monday @ I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week! The weathermen say that we should have some warm, sunny days this week! I can't wait! :)