Week 2 Summary |
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Notes for this week |
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Day 1 |
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| Cheeseburger Soup | Baguette | |
Day 2 |
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| BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot | ||
Day 3 |
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| Layered Italian Beef Casserole | Green Salad | |
Day 4 |
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| Black Bean Soup | Homemade Guacamole & Tortilla Chips | |
Day 5 |
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| Cowboy Hotdogs | Apple Slices with Cheddar Cheese | |
🗓️ Day 1
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Baguette
Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta
Classic Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta cheese is delicious, easy, and perfect for a hearty supper.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- ¾ cup shredded carrots
- ¾ cup diced celery
- 3 tablespoons butter or oil
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups diced potatoes
- ¼ cup flour
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 1-½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
- strips of fresh basil if desired, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large soup pot. Drain, rinse with hot water, and set aside.1 pound ground beef
- Sauté onion, carrots, celery, and basil in the same pan in oil until tender.1 onion, ¾ cup shredded carrots, ¾ cup diced celery, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 3 tablespoons butter or oil
- Add flour and mix well, then add broth, potatoes, and beef. Stir until mixed and flour dissolves.3 cups chicken broth, ¼ cup flour, 4 cups diced potatoes
- Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring regularly, until cheese melts.8 ounces Velveeta cheese, 1-½ cups milk, salt and pepper
- Turn off heat and add sour cream. Stir until blended.¼ cup sour cream
- Serve. Garnish with strips of fresh basil if desired.strips of fresh basil if desired
Video
Notes
Time-saving Tips:
- Keep bulk-cooked ground beef in the freezer to speed up preparations for soups, casseroles, and skillet meals. When you find ground beef on sale, buy several pounds and cook it all at once. Store in the freezer in portions equal to the number of pounds you purchased. Cooked beef takes up less space and buying on sale saves money, so it's a win-win.
- You can save both prep and cook time by using frozen hash browns instead of fresh potatoes in Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta. Thaw them slightly by setting the hash browns out on the counter while you are prepping the other vegetables, then add them straight to the soup when called for.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 340 calCarbohydrates: 30 gProtein: 23 gFat: 14 gSodium: 1148 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 7 g
Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta Permalink
🗓️ Day 2
- BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot
BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot
This Barbecue Chicken dinner is not only a great slow cooker recipe, it can easily be used as a freezer meal to help make weekday meal planning easier. You could also make prep easier by using frozen hash browns instead of chopping up your own potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2-½ lbs. frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 6 gold potatoes, chopped
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 6 frozen mini ears corn on the cob
- Foil
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Spray the bottom of the crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place the chicken in the crockpot and brush with some of the barbecue sauce until chicken is completely covered. Pour remaining barbecue sauce evenly over chicken.
- Combine the potatoes, oil, onion, cheese, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and mix well.
- Make a large packet out of foil and wrap the potatoes in it.
- Wrap each ear of corn separately in foil.
- Place the potato packet on top of the chicken and place the wrapped ears of corn on top of the potato packet.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until cooked through.
Notes
I adore my Vidalia Chop Wizard (affiliate link) and use it all the time! I use it for dicing potatoes, onions, peppers, celery, fruit, and more into consistent sized pieces so that my finished dishes look beautiful. The chopper has two inserts, one for medium-sized pieces (which I used here) which I usually use for potatoes, onions, and peppers, and one with a smaller grid, which I use to chop smaller pieces of celery, nuts, or other crunchy additions to salads and other dishes.
Although I have not tried it, I think this dish would be perfect to do for freezer meal prep. You could prepare everything except the chicken and store the foil-wrapped corn and potato mixtures with a package of chicken breasts and the barbecue sauce in a large freezer container. When you want to make it, just prepare the chicken on the bottom then layer the foil wrapped corn and potatoes on top and cook as directed.
If you want to skip chopping the potatoes, you might try using frozen diced hash browns instead.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 500 calCarbohydrates: 42 gProtein: 51 gFat: 15 gSodium: 924 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 12 g
BBQ Chicken Dinner in the Crockpot Permalink
🗓️ Day 3
- Layered Italian Beef Casserole
- Green Salad
Layered Italian Beef Casserole
Beef simmered in a garlic tomato sauce is the tasty foundation of this easier-than-lasagna casserole. A family favorite that’s easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 8 ounces egg noodles
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Brown ground beef and add in garlic, salt, sugar, and tomato sauce.
- Simmer on low for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook and drain egg noodles according to package directions.
- Combine sour cream and cream cheese together in a small bowl until it resembles cottage cheese.
- In a 9x13 inch baking dish layer ½ the noodles, ½ the meat mixture, top with the sour cream mixture, spread out as evenly as possible, add remaining noodles, remaining meat mixture and top with the cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 627 calCarbohydrates: 35 gProtein: 35 gFat: 39 gSodium: 1035 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 7 g
Layered Italian Beef Casserole Permalink
🗓️ Day 4
- Black Bean Soup
- Homemade Guacamole & Tortilla Chips
Black Bean Soup
Black beans are one of my favorite beans – they go well with corn and tomatoes in cold salads as well as hot sides, but the king of all black bean recipes is black bean soup.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. prepared dried black beans, ⅔ cup liquid reserved
- 28 oz vegetable broth (or 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon no chicken soup base with 28 ounces of water)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 10 oz tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- Sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, and chopped jalapenos as desired for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté onion and bell pepper in oil in a skillet.
- While the vegetables sauté, combine ½ of the prepared beans with all of the reserved liquid and the broth in a large soup pot. Using an immersion blender, puree the beans.
- When onions and peppers are tender, add them to the pureed beans in the soup pot along with the remaining beans, garlic, tomatoes and green chilies, lime juice, and seasonings. Stir gently and simmer until soup is hot and flavors are blended, about 30-45 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, chopped red onion, and chopped jalapenos as desired for garnish.
Notes
Prepared dried black beans are the base for the black bean soup, so if you need to make them make sure you soak them the night before. Dried beans are much cheaper than canned and easy to make, and you may wish to double the beans that you cook to freeze for later use.
Puréeing half of the beans and keeping the other half whole will give this soup a nice texture with a smooth base.
Don't try to substitute canned beans for the soup as they are not as tender as those cooked from dried, so the consistency will alter the texture of the soup.
Nutrition facts do not include garnishes.
If you like this soup, try a similar mixture without the broth to make a thick bean dip for corn chips.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 339 calCarbohydrates: 54 gProtein: 18 gFat: 6 gSodium: 814 mgFiber: 13 gSugar: 4 g
Black Bean Soup Permalink
Easy Homemade Guacamole Step By Step
Homemade guacamole is easy to make from fresh ingredients and enhances the taste of tacos, nachos, tostados, and more! It also makes a great gluten-free and vegan dip for parties or game night. Follow our easy step by step instructions with images to make it.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe avocados
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Cut each avocado in half lengthwise, then cut in half lengthwise again. With each cut, take the knife all the way to the pit and, with the avocado on the cutting board and the knife horizontal and parallel to the cutting board, rotate the avocado carefully while holding the knife in place. If the avocado is ripe, it should be fairly easy to cut through.
- Take the quarters apart and remove the pit by gently twisting with your fingers.
- Peel each section of avocado.
- Cube each avocado quarter, place in a medium bowl, and mash gently, leaving some chunks.
- Add remaining guacamole ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Adjust seasonings to taste and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Always wear gloves when working jalepenos, and wash your hands carefully before touching your face. If you don't have plastic gloves, this is a great way to reuse grocery store produce bags.
Choosing avocados: For immediate use, avocados should be firm but have some give when you squeeze them gently in the palm of your hand. I usually buy the Hass variety, which turns darker as they ripen (other varieties may not darken with ripeness). The color of this variety in addition to the feel when you give them a gentle squeeze will help you determine the level of ripeness. If you end up with unripe fruit that you need to use, you can hasten ripening by putting them in a paper bag and rolling down the top. Leave them in the bag at room temperature until they ripen, checking them each day with a gentle squeeze.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 114 calCarbohydrates: 7 gProtein: 2 gFat: 10 gSodium: 200 mgFiber: 5 gSugar: 1 g
Easy Homemade Guacamole Step By Step Permalink
🗓️ Day 5
- Cowboy Hotdogs
- Apple Slices with Cheddar Cheese
Cowboy Hot Dogs
Grilled onions and cheddar cheese dress up hot dogs in this easy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 6 beef franks
- 6 hot dog buns
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- Mayonnaise
- Deli style mustard
- BBQ Sauce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Grill or fry hot dogs. While hot dogs are cooking, sauté onion in oil over medium heat until browned.
- If desired, heat buns. Serve hot dogs with desired toppings.
Notes
Calories are based on one hot dog in a bun topped with 1 tsp. mayonnaise, ⅙ of the sautéed onion, and 1 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 356 calCarbohydrates: 24 gProtein: 12 gFat: 24 gSodium: 753 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 4 g
Cowboy Hot Dogs Permalink
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