Menu plan for the week of January 12

So I learned something last week.  The crock pot is a good thing.  A very good thing.  But too much of a good thing is not a good thing.  I actually made 4 of the crock pot meals last week, and they were good (stay tuned for my favorite from the week), but I felt so much pressure to get the food in the crock pot at the right time each day.  This was further complicated by the fact that our crock pot seems to cook very hot, so most recipes need to be cooked for less time than stated, and I haven't quite figured out the conversion yet.  I ended up scrapping one of the meals altogether (I'll make it this week), and rearranged a couple of others.  Anyway, the moral of the story is I should limit my crock pot meals to 2 or fewer each week.

On another note, you'll notice that my next week Monday meal is back.  That's right--the thing I committed to doing on Mondays starting in September has moved to Tuesdays, so I'm back to staying home on Mondays (praise God and Hallelujah!)

Here's what's on the menu this week (see if you can guess who helped me plan):

{Source}

--Zuppa Toscana (yes, it's in the crock pot), carrots, salad
--Tacos with veggie toppings
--Corn dogs, corn
--Pizza Casserole (double and freeze extras), green beans, salad
--Nachos with guacamole and veggie toppings
--Pizza and chicken pizza, salad
--Beef ravioli casserole (this is the crock pot meal deferred from last week), salad, mixed veggies

Next Monday:

--Baked bone-in chicken breasts, baked potatoes, salad, cooked carrots

Other:
--Taco seasoned beef/turkey
--Hamburger patties for the freezer
--Canned pinto beans
--Apple pancake puffs
--Cinnamon Swirl Bread
--Greek yogurt


Still here?  So my favorite crock pot meal from last week was Chicken and Rice Casserole.  It was creamy and delicious and was just the epitome of comfort food.  Here's what you do.

1. Spray the inside of a large slow cooker (mine is 6 quarts) with cooking spray.  Combine 1 can of cream of celery soup (I made my own using this recipe) and 1/2 c. brown rice in the greased slow cooker.  Stir until well combined.
2. Lay 1.5-2 pounds of raw cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and pour another can of cream of celery soup on top.
3. Sprinkle with 1 packet of dry onion soup mix (use this recipe to make your own) and pour 2/3 c water over the whole thing.
4. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours (more like 2.5 in my cooker), or until both chicken and rice are fully cooked but not dry.