Week One Menu (and recipes!)

Here's a sample of a one-week menu from the Watson house:

Breakfast - Cream of wheat, cereal, toast, oatmeal, or yogurt (your choice - my kids get their own breakfasts - these are the things available)

Lunch - leftovers, soup, sandwich (your choice - it's usually just me and Kirsten home for lunch, so I keep it simple)

Dinner:

Day 1 - Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, crusty rolls (your family's favorite brand)
Day 2 - Ham, steamed broccoli, baked paprika tomatoes
Day 3 - Chicken Pot Pie
Day 4 - Garlic Lover's Pot Roast
Day 5 - Goat Cheese Pesto Pizza, roasted Asparagus
Day 6 - Spaghetti
Day 7 - BLTs, broccoli slaw

Recipes -
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup - 2 quarts water, 8 chicken bouillon cubes, 6 1/2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles, 2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted, 3 cups cubed cooked chicken (or 2 large cans of chicken meat), 1 cup sour cream, minced parsley (fresh or dried) In a large saucepan, bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add noodles; cook, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN. Add soup and chicken; heat through. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Sprinkle with parsley.

Baked Paprika Potatoes - Canned whole potatoes - enough for your family; melted butter - enough to coat potatoes thoroughly; paprika - sprinkle over potatoes until coated. Bake with ham until browned, stirring a few times.

Chicken Pot Pie - 1 (8.5 oz) sheet frozen puff pastry, 3 cups chicken broth, 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces, 3 carrots-sliced, 6 red potatoes-scrubbed and sliced, 1 cup thinly sliced celery, 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup frozen peas, salt and pepper to taste, 1 egg-lightly beaten. In a large saucepan, combine broth, chicken, carrots, potatoes, and celery. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. In a jar, combine the milk and flour. Close the jar and shake until smooth. Stirring constantly, pour the flour mixture into the chicken mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and stir until thickened (about 1 minute). Stir in the peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour the mixture into a 9x13. Unfold the puff pastry and place over the filling. Brush the top of the pastry lightly with the egg. Bake 10-15 minutes til the pastry puffs and is shiny golden brown. makes 6-8 servings.

Garlic Lovers' Pot Roast - 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds), 10 cloves garlic-peeled and cut in 1/2 lengthwise, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper,
2 tbl. vegetable oil, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots, 1 cup chopped celery, 2/3 cup water
Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, make 20 evenly spaced small slits about 1 1/2 inches deep all over the pot roast. Using your fingers, insert the garlic cloves as deep into the slits as possible. Season the roast on all sides with the salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat. Add the oil and carefully add the meat. Sear the meat on all sides until very well browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Add the vegetables, carefully add the water and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to low to medium-low and cook until the roast is very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, turning 2 or 3 times during the entire cooking time, adding a little more water, and wine if desired, as needed so that a little liquid always is on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the meat to a platter and let rest 10 minutes. Slice or pull the meat apart into serving pieces and drizzle the pan juices over the top.

Goat Cheese Pizza - 2 ready made pizza crusts, 1 jar basil pesto, 1 log goat cheese. Spread pizza crust with olive oil. Pour on desired amount of pesto and spread close to crust edge. Crumble goat cheese on top. Bake at temperature recommended on pizza crust directions, or at 375 until goat cheese begins to brown. (note - goat cheese won't melt like regular pizza cheese)

Roasted Asparagus - 1 lb asparagus spears (thick spears are best for roasting), 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, Kosher Salt, black pepper, Lemon juice (optional). Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse clean the asparagus. Break the tough ends off of the asparagus and discard. Lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the spears, roll the asparagus back and forth until they are covered. Sprinkle with salt, and pepper. Place pan in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus spears are, until lightly browned. Drizzle with a little fresh lemon juice before serving.

Spaghetti - hamburger, Italian sausage, tomato sauce (2 large cans for every 1 tomato paste), tomato paste, garlic, onion, marjoram. This is my grandmother's recipe and I just make it to taste - we like a lot of hamburger and sausage, not too much garlic, onion, or marjoram. Or you can skip making it yourself and just buy your favorite spaghetti sauce! (skip the hamburger, and Italian sausage on the shopping list and add your jar of spaghetti sauce)

Broccoli Slaw - (in the Hickory Stake Relief Society Cookbook!)

Shopping list:
Produce - asparagus, broccoli, grapes, purple onion, lettuce, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, red potatoes
Meat - ham, bacon, hamburger, Italian sausage, chuck roast, chicken
Dairy - sour cream, goat cheese, milk
Bakery - pizza crusts, bread
Frozen - rolls, broccoli, peas
Canned - chicken (2), cream of chicken soup (2), whole potatoes, basil pesto, soups, tomato sauce (2 for every one tomato paste), tomato paste, chicken broth
Dry Goods - egg noodles, raisins, cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat
Misc - sunflower seed, mayonnaise

I hope this isn't confusing to you - let me know (Candice Watson) if you have any questions about any of the recipes or shopping lists or anything.

Is there anyone who would be willing to share a week's menu, recipes and shopping list?