Chicken Enchiladas

I started something new. I found a website that will plan your menus for free. There are a lot of sites out there that will help you plan your menus but most have a fee and the meals usually have ingredients I need to buy that I can't imagine myself buying (too fancy for my taste). The site is Menu for Moms. So far the ingredients are my staple ingredients and things I cook on occasion. It focuses on preparing for more than one meal at a time and freezing ingredients for quicker preparation later. And it is free which to me is a great thing. So I am trying it out.

The first meal (Monday's) on this weeks menu was Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans, and Spanish rice. I also put apple sauce on the table. We didn't have a vegetable today. After all the preparation I put into this meal (because it was the first one), I just wanted it on the table. There were veggies in the enchiladas and rice. Not that they did my kids any good because I didn't put the veggies in their enchiladas (green peppers and onions) and no child ate enough rice to count as a vegetable serving.

After making this meal I have onions and cooked chicken in my freezer for the next time.

*I will not be putting the recipes fro Menus for Moms in this blog. If you are interested, you can go to their site. I will blog any alterations that I do to the recipe.*

dad-said it was surprisingly good. He ate everything. And packed some for his lunch the next day.
daughter7-ate two servings of applesauce and one bite of her rice. She then went to the kitchen and had a banana.
son5-said that the enchiladas were so good that he would eat them forever. He ate mostly the outside of the enchilada (tasted like quesidillas-his favorite food). Ate two servings of applesauce.
son3-ate three servings of apple sauce and the enchilada
mom-I also thought it was surprisingly good. I like enchiladas but have never made them with cream of chicken soup and sour cream. I really liked them. The refried beans turned out well too.

A little warning about menus for moms. Like I said before it focuses on having ingredients in the freezer or already in the fridge, so the first couple of days are a little intense, because you are starting from scratch.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Parmesan

Today was Pasta with Tomatoes and Parmesan. I cooked rainbow rotini and cut up tomatoes. Green beans (both from a can and freeze-dried) was the vegetable; and apple sauce was the fruit.

dad-rotini, tomatoes, parmesan, freeze-dried green beans, and apple sauce
daughter7-rotini with parmesan and apple sauce, ate tomatoes for vegetable
son5-rotini with parmesan, canned green beans, and apple sauce (2x)
son3-rotini with parmesan (2x), canned green beans, apple sauce (2x)
mom-piled rotini, freeze-dried green beans, tomatoes, and parmesan on top of each other; apple sauce

Everyone ate well. I thought it wasn't as good as normal, but I was also eating it cold. I don't like cold food. Daughter7 used to eat green beans really well. I had green beans I canned from my garden for many years and have recently ran out. I am wondering if she got so used to that taste that she doesn't like any other kinds. She will eat them, but she fusses about it in the process. There certainly won't be any home canned green beans in the house for a while.

Cheesy Hamburger

Yesterday we had Cheesy Hamburger. I browned up a pound of hamburger with dried minced onions, salt, and pepper. After it browned, I added about 7 slices of Velveeta Cheese. We ate it on Hamburger buns. Veggie was broccoli; fruit was apple sauce. Chips were available if fruit and veggie were eaten.

daughter7-ate half hamburger bun worth, apple sauce, the tops of her broccoli, and chips
son5-ate 1 1/2 buns worth with catsup, apple sauce, and broccoli
son3-ate 1 bun worth with catsup,apples sauce, broccoli, and chips
mom-ate one with potato chips on it, apple sauce, broccoli, and chips

It went over better than I expected.