Meal Plan Monday

Hello everyone! I am sure that like me, you are in the midst of all the busy-ness that the holidays bring.  My recipes posts have been slow - I'm still cooking up a storm, but my blog time has been reduced given all the other commitments these days.  As soon as I catch my breath (and get the Christmas cards written and the gifts wrapped and...lol) then I will get back to finishing those 30+ drafts that I have waiting for my attention!

As always, I am planning our weekly meals, and without further delay, here is this week's meal plan!

Sunday - Beef dip and Dawn's Baked Beans (and Cinnabun Cake for dessert!)...and Broccoli Cheddar Soup for lunch!

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Zesty Shrimp

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Beef Barley Soup (Slow Cooker)

Friday - Out for dinner!  Night off from cooking, yay!

Saturday - To be determined...

Happy menu planning, friends!

Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends, Happy Monday!  I hope your week is getting off to a good start. How are your meal plans coming for this week?

Here is the meal plan that I have prepared for my family for this week:

Sunday - Beef Stew

Monday - Leftovers (Beef Stew, Homemade Hamburger Helper, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup)

Tuesday - Zesty Broccoli and Shrimp

Wednesday - Spaghetti

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Freezer Clean Out

Saturday - Grilled Chicken (with Lemon Pepper Seasoning) and Grilled Vegetables

I hope you enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - Slow Cooker Thursday

Hello friends, welcome to this week's Slow Cooker Thursday.  You know that I've been making a lot of soups on my slow cooking adventures, and a Broccoli Cheddar soup has been one that I have been wanting to make for a while.   I just love Broccoli Cheddar soup, and have always loved when my readers have shared their recipes with me.  I took a lot of reads though previous editions of the Scrumptious Sunday Link Party and checked out the different recipes that were shared.  I settled on this recipe from the StoneGable blog for Crock Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  Here is my version:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 cups fresh broccoli, washed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded
4 cups chicken stock (I used organic)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used a combination of homogenized milk, 1% milk and cream)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
 4 cups old cheddar cheese,  shredded
5-6 slices of bacon

Place chopped broccoli into the slow cooker (sorry, did anyone else just have a little Chopping Broccoli pop in your head?! LOL)

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the onions.  Cook the onions on  medium-low, about 5 minutes (or until soft).  Add the carrots and garlic and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Empty the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.

Pour the chicken stock into the slow cooker, add pepper (to taste).  Stir well, cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

After 3-4 hours, remove 2-3 cups of the cooked vegetables.(try to scoop mostly broccoli) - allow to cool slightly and chop into small pieces.  Set aside.

Create a roux with the milk and flour.  Whisk or shake well.  Pour into the slow cooker.  Add the nutmeg.  Cover and cook on high for 30-45 minutes, until thickened.

Once thickened, add 3 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese.  Cover and cook until the cheese is melted (this won't take long).

Using a food processor or blender, blend the soup (in batches) until smooth.  Add the reserved chopped vegetables and stir.  Cover and allow the soup to get hot again after blending.

While the soup is heating, cook your bacon (original recipe called for pancetta).  Cook until crisp.  Cool and crumble.

Serve the soup topped with shredded cheese and crispy bacon.

VERDICT:
"One Trillion Thousand Thumbs Up" - our 5 year old's reaction to the soup.  It was pretty darn good.  I felt it was more work that I expected (especially trying to juggle a toddler while making it) - but it was pretty tasty.  My hubby and the toddler also gobbled it up (the toddler had two toddler-sized servings, two days in a row!). 

Scrumptious Sunday #37 - Features

Another week done...and I know I say this often, but WHERE is the time going? I must get cracking on Christmas.  Now, hubs and I do have about half of the shopping already done, but it's all the little bits that I need to get going on.  Oh if only we had more hours in the day!

It was a great week, at work we had our annual awards reception where we had our donors meet their student recipients and those amazing donors handed over a whole lot of money to our awesome students.  Sure makes what we do totally worth it!

The kids had a good week too...J-man's teacher pulled me aside yesterday to tell me how thoughtful he is.  One of my friends was a substitute teacher in the classroom next door on Wednesday, and she and I had a breakfast date last weekend...so J-man asked his teacher if she gets out to see other teachers, if she gets to go out for coffee with her friends sometimes, and that she really should go for coffee with other teachers or her friends because it is a good thing to do.  She was very touched by how caring he was about her well-being.  He is so sweet :-)

Little One is talking up a storm.  A lot of chatter but more and more words.  Some of his favourite words (other than "No") are "yellow" and "purple" and "colour" (he loves to colour) and "Gaba" (Grandma), "Papa", "Jane" (one of his care providers), and he tries to say his brother's name too.  He's also taken up running, so cute to watch those little feet move! And he likes to "dogpile".  He is such a cute, cute kid!

Thanks for coming by my blog, I really do appreciate everyone who visits.  I try to respond to your comments...though I don't always get a chance.  But I do read all of them, and I hope I answer any questions that come up in a timely manner for you!  I love hearing from everyone!!

If you are featured, please grab a BUTTON! Congratulations, you've earned it!

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Here are this week's features:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup was a popular one this week...and since it is one of my favourites, I decided to feature them all!

Easy Schmeasy Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup from Sumptuous Spoonfuls

Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Half-Baked Harvest

Broccoli Cheese Soup from Flavors by Four

I'm also a big fan of Tomato Soup, and this recipe caught my eye
Creamy Tomato Soup with Pesto from matmedmera

 

And of course, I love my sweets!  Here are a few of my favourites from this week!

Power Brownies from Dancing Carrots

Peanut Butter Cup Ganache Cheesecake Bars from Hugs & Cookies XOXO

 

All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Just a reminder, this week's Scrumptious Sunday Link Party goes live Saturday - at 8 pm PST. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party!