Meal Plan Monday - March 27-April 2

Last week was a good example of how a meal plan can go awry. I had good intentions, and I had all of the ingredients. What I didn't have was time or a functional schedule. I also had a broken washer and dryer, a flat tire, and a sick child. But it's all OK. Since I did have so many ingredients on hand, I was still able to throw together easier meals, and we had take out several times. This week I'm going to assume things will fall apart and probably schedule in more take out if for no other reason than because we have a lot of activities coming up.

We did try one a new recipe, and it was amazing. So here's a review!

Green Chili Chicken Bake Over Rice With Spinach
I found this recipe for Green Chili Chicken Bake while surfing Pinterest in the middle of the night. One reason why I picked it was because I already had everything on hand, so I knew if I needed to swap meals some night, I could do it pretty easily. The base recipe is easy enough to throw together: mix up the cream cheese and green chilis with the spices, spread it over the chicken, top with cheese, and bake. Cook the rice and spinach (which was my addition) separately. It was fantastic. It tasted like a chicken enchilada which I just love. With that in mind, I did make a slight modification, and next time I will make one more.

I subbed in pepper jack cheese for the monterey jack because the hubby likes his food spicy. I didn't think it was very hot, but it did add a nice flavor. I also agree with the author that name brand chilis are needed. I found a can of generic in the cabinet (when did I buy those?), so I used them, but they weren't as delicate as the name brand. Next time, I think I could also mix in my 10 oz. package of frozen spinach (after it was thawed and drained) with the cream cheese mix before spreading on the chicken. This would save some time and help blend the flavors. It would also help soak up the residual sauce that we laddled out of the pan. This time we just layered rice, spinach, then a chicken breast with extra sauce spooned over. It was delicious though, and the leftovers were just as good. I will definitely make it again.

This Week's Meal Plan
This week I am going to hope for the best and plan for this worst.  I'm hoping I can get around to trying the Complete crockpot steak dinner, but I may just be lucky to survive on coffee Microwave Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Disclaimer: We deal with sensory disorders and immune deficiencies in our house, so not everyone eats everything I prepare. I am OK with that because it is our normal.  Sometimes Mommy is in survival mode, and we just have to do what works.

For my menu plan, I loosely plan breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, but I get more specific with dinners. I may assign days for specific meals, but that is always subject to change. I can't wait to review my new finds next week!

Breakfasts 
Muffins, frozen waffles, plain egg omelets, sausage, fruit 

Lunches
Dinner leftovers, Creamed tuna and peas over noodles, chicken breasts, mac & cheese, cheese/crackers, peanut butter, raisin bread, fruit, tomato soup

Dinners 
Monday: Sausage, potatoes, peppers, onions, zucchini sheet pan dinner
Tuesday:  Crock pot turkey breast, broccoli, carrots
Wednesday: Homemade pepperoni pizzas
Thursday: Oven pork chops, potatoes, and green beans
Friday: Takeout tacos
Saturday: Leftovers or takeout after community egg hunt
Sunday:  Complete crockpot steak dinner

Snacks
Slow cooker pumpkin applesauce, yogurt, fresh fruits/vegetables, chips/salsa, Choc-oat-chip cookies

This blog links up with the orgjunkie.com Meal Plan Monday linky party!