Meals, Menus and Recipes OH MY!

Update: last week Kel and I went on vacation. it has been since january that we were able to take days off work and go! We visited his Grandma and Aunt (and two uncles) in Kentuckiana (the border of Kentucky and Indiana- Louisville basically). It was, so relaxing and Cecelia was the perfect baby the whole trip. Then we got home and Cecelia raced off with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend while Kel and i took the train down to St. Louis to visit dear friends!

I used to go to STL all the time and visit my friend, but two years ago she got a house down there and this was the first time i was able to visit her. We had an amazing weekend. Wine, friends, haunted houses, afternoon naps and no baby. This was the longest and further i had even been away form Cecelia, and although much needed i missed my baby girl SO much and am happy to be back home with her.

Kel and i know this is our last week off for a long time. The holidays coming up are more of a chance to work than visit everyone. Kel gets paid extra to work around the holidays and i just picked up a seasonal job.... so this was our last break for a bit!

Kel and i spent every possible penny we could on treating ourselves to wine (yes we hit multiple wineries) and food, so when we got home we had an empty fridge and very low grocery budget! We also ate like crap all week and are very ready to get back to balanced, clean and yummy.... so i dug into my coupon bin and started planning a menu! My budget was $60 total and i successfully got everything i needed for the week. Never fear, because here is my menu and recipe plans for the week.

• Sunday: lemon chicken and roasted red potatoes

• This is a whole Chicken roasted in the oven, you will need:
• whole chicken (remove giblets and pat dry)
•  4 lemons
• spices (rosemary, thyme, garlic)
• set oven to 400 degrees, salt and pepper inside and outside of whole chicken. sprinkle with seasonings. add juice of two whole lemons to the inside and outside of chicken (very liberally). take other two lemons and pierce multiple times with a fork them place inside the cavity of the chicken. reduce heat to 350 and put breast side down in roasting pan and cook for 25 minutes. flip the chicken so breasts are up and cook for another hour (until done). let chicken cool a few minutes them remove the lemons. squeeze juices onto the chicken form extra lemons and sprinkle remainder of seasonings over the chicken. mix the juices a bit and pour over chicken and potatoes. then EAT!
• the red potatoes i quartered and put wedges into muffin tins. cover with same seasonings as the chicken and i covered in olive oil. before putting the oven (350 for 30-45 minutes) put a clove of garlic in eat muffin spot in the tin. so yummy. 

This chicken we ate for dinner then to save time and money i used what was left (the breasts)  and pulled it from the bones. then this is the chicken i used in the lasagna for thursday! there was even enough for some sandwiches throughout the week too!

• Monday: Rice Krispie fried chicken strips over spicy rice 

•  cook minute white rice- kinda self explanitory
• i used THAI Chili Sauce on the rice! so yummy, gives it a kick without killing it and not too saucy. My favorite but use whatever sauce you like
• to cook the chicken you will need:
• chicken breasts
• flour
• egg (whisked together)
• rice krispies
• seasonings (i use garlic and rosemary and salt)
• olive oil (vegetable or canola oil works too, we use olive for the allergy reasons)
• cut the chicken into strips. heat the oil on the stove top until sizzling. one at a time cover chicken in flour, then put in eggs then in crushed rice krispies mixed with the seasonings (breadcrumbs are the traditional thing to do, i prefer the rice krispies because it's amazing and allergy free, but do whatever you want!). Cook in the oil until golden brown and cooked all the way through. put over the rice and eat. Cecelia (1yr old) ate more than i did she loved it so much. 

to lighten this up bake it instead of frying it! 

• Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Pizza 

• basically 
• take pizza crust and roll it out (we make a homemade whole wheat crust for a healthier and allergy free option)
• sauce it-make a sauce out of ranch and buffalo sauce according to your preference.
• add mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses
• add chicken (prebaked with red pepper flakes, olive oil, italian seasoning, etc and cut into small cubes)
• bake per crust's specifications
• SO YUMMY!

• Wednesday: Alfredo, Spinach and chicken lasagna bake

• first i made an alfredo sauce. to make this light and healthy i made one batch of alfredo sauce and mixed it with a batch of cauliflower garlic sauce.  i LOVE LOVE LOVE this. Kel would not have guessed it was mostly vegetable ever and it was such a yummy and creamy. both of those recipes are on my pinterest
• then i added steamed spinach (kel HATES cooked spinach but he couldn't really taste it mixed into the sauces and it adds some pretty color)
• i cooked the noodles and laid them out. i added a layer of sauce, noodles, layer of shredded chicken (from sunday) with 4 cheese Italian blend shredded cheese, noodles, sauce, noodles and topped with chicken and cheese!
• Bake at 425 for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and gooey

This is a GREAT freezer meal! i made half for the freezer for another week and half for wednesday. The longer you let it sit (i made it Sunday for wednesday's lunch) the more the sauce sets and absorbs flavor. make this a day or two in advance, put it together and don't bake it until you are ready to serve it.

• Thursday: Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

•  this is the perfect things for revamping leftovers. take everything and throw it in the crockpot for a couple of hours and enjoy. 
• i use the leftover chicken from the week cut into cubes or shredded, add in with rice and the buffalo sauce, ranch, Thai sauce and some water. add in seasonings per your liking and top with crushed rice krispies.
• i like to add cheese or some leftover alfredo sauce to it as well! 

• Friday: leftovers 

  So i got these recipes form pinterest, friends, my favorite TV show The Chew and a couple i just made up! if made consciously and correctly then they can be healthy and guilt free. Again all for $60 (i used some coupons but not enough it would have added for than $5) and a lot of the supplies are things you already have.