Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends!  Happy Monday to you!  How was your weekend?  Ours was lovely - it's SPRING!  Yippee!  Though that does mean it's time for spring cleaning...I don't always hear YIPPEE when I write out that daunting to-do list! 

I hope that your weekend was wonderful.  I've got this week's meal plan ready, hopefully you will find some inspiration here!

Sunday - Drumsticks, Dawn's Baked Beans, Salad

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Salmon, Rice and Peas

Wednesday - Soft Tacos (with homemade taco seasoning)

Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Grilled Vegetables 

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Steak, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus

Have a great week!

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 everyone, I'm back again with this week's meal plan.  I'm sorry if you

missed me last week - I took a little break from the blog - had some stuff going on, and was also busy with Halloween.  

How was your Halloween?  We had a phenomenal night.  We have a great neighborhood with some creative neighbors who like to get right into the fun spirit of Halloween.  It's nice because there is no competition in the neighborhood, just everyone wanting to make it a great evening!  We welcomed 155 kids to our door - my husband had a blast entertaining the groups when they came to our house, and I had a blast trick-or-treating with the kids.  I was so proud of my little guys, at each house they visited they both showed great manners, thanking everyone for their treats, wishing everyone a Happy Halloween, and complimenting homes where there were decorations that they liked.

Now that the "holiday" is over, I'm "back to the grind"...here is this week's meal plan!

Sunday - Slow Cooker Meatballs, Rice and Corn

Monday - Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Dawn's Baked Beans, and Carrots

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Spaghetti with Dawn's Tomato Sauce

Thursday - Butternut Squash Soup with Cheddar, Chive and Sundried Tomato Bread

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner Night - Cinnamon Raisin French Toast, Bacon, Hashbrowns

Saturday - Steak, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

I hope you have a fantastic week!

Dawn's Baked Beans (Homemade, Slow Cooker)

Our youngest is on a bean kick.  He is loving loving LOVING beans.  As far as I know, I have only ever had beans from a can, which I do typically purchase...but now that I am on summer holidays, I figured it was time to come up with a homemade version so to try.  I also wanted the recipe to be a slow cooker recipe (thinking ahead to hockey season!).  After reading several recipes and thinking about the flavours that my family would like, this is the recipe that I have come up with:

Dawn's Baked Beans

2 cups navy beans
6 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
3/4 - 1 cup onion, diced
1/2 - 3/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 156 mL can tomato paste
6 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons ground mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle spice
1-2 drops liquid smoke
Dash red pepper flakes

Rinse the navy beans and soak overnight in cold water.

In the morning, strain the beans and rinse them out.  Put the beans into a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes. After 45-50 minutes, drain off any excess water.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon.

In a small bowl, combine the molasses, brown sugar, tomato paste, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, ground mustard, garlic, paprika and red pepper flakes.  Mix well.  Set aside for a moment.

Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with beans.  Layer in some of the bacon, green pepper and onion.  Add the remaining beans, bacon, green paper and onion on top.  Top with the molasses mixture.  Cover, and heat on low for 5-6 hours.

VERDICT:
Big big BIG hit!  Our toddler ate these for lunch and dinner (and lunch and dinner again and again), and hubs had two giant helpings at dinner.  Keeper!

Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans

At one of my recent Scrumptious Sunday parties, Kris at Sugar Cookies to Peterbilts shared with me the recipe for Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans.  I KNEW that my husband would love these, and I just had to make them.   

Here is the recipe that I used: 

Root Beer BBQ Baked Beans (Source: Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook) 

6 slices of baked, cooked crisp, patted dry, and crumbled

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 x 398 mL cans of baked beans (as per Kris’ suggestion, I used Bush’s)

1 cup of root beer

2 tablespoons molasses

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

Couple dashes red chili pepper flakes

1 celery stick, whole

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon (until crisp) and onions (until transparent).  Remove the bacon, dry and crumble.  Add back into the saucepan. 

Add in all the remaining ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a boil (over medium-high heat).  Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.  The beans will thicken during this time.  Remove the celery.  Serve and enjoy! 

VERDICT

As I suspected, these were a huge hit, especially with my hubby.  Our oldest loved them too.  Very tasty, and a great accompaniment for a BBQ.  Yum!  Thank you Kris!