Friday nights are either date night (kids go to the gym where they have a date night for members) or Friday Family Fun Night. Usually we try to rotate these. We all have a vote for dinner. Mine was Mexican, per usual… R said Mellow Mushroom, so that won us all over. We all love this place for tons of reasons. They have a killer mushroom soup, which R always orders. E and K usually get the cheese pizza and cheesy meatballs. The hubby always gets the Might Meaty. As for me, I always get something different. I think at this point, I have had almost everything on the menu. I got the House Calzone. I didn’t pull out my camera, but here is a picture I found on the web. I ate half of it and some of R’s soup. Best thing is we were all together!
Category: Leftovers/ Freezer Meals
Chinese Take Out
Crazy week!
Sat.-Monday were my only cooking nights. Tuesday I had a meeting in the evening. I had my leftover oxtail from Date night. Sadly, no mojitos.
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/17/oxtail-and-mojitos/
Wednesday was gymnastics, another meeting, so we had leftover baked ziti from the freezer.
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/27/baked-ziti/
Tonight, my husband has a very late night, so the girls and I took a vote and decided on Chinese. Chinese take-out that is; egg drop soup, egg roll, crab Rangoons, shrimp and broccoli, and chicken lo mein. This is what was left over from a ton of food. LEFTOVERS!!! 
Meal Plan 8/18
This week is going to be CRAZY!!!
Breakfast: Going to make biscuits, put some breakfast sandwiches together and freeze. Homemade breakfast sandwiches! Yogurt, fruit, and granola parfaits.
Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers from dinners, salads
Dinners:
Sat- Chicken, veggies, potato/macaroni salad
Sunday- Beef Stroganoff
Monday- Rib eye steak, veggies, baked potatoes
Tuesday- Baked Ziti (from freezer)
Wednesday- Leftovers and clean out the fridge night
Thursday- Another night of leftovers and clean out the fridge night
Meal Plan Sunday 7/28
Monday-Errands and out to dinner…The girls have been begging to go to Taco Mac.
Tuesday- White wine roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/01/white-wine-roasted-chicken/, I will probably do it a bit different this time, because I already have chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.
Wednesday- Leftover lasagna from freezer, Bruschetta, salad
Thursday- Cheese bacon wrapped hotdogs
Friday- Fish and chips with broccoli
Back to school week for me, so I am trying to make this week pretty easy.
Grocery List- After I figure out what else I need to get for the week (breakfasts, lunches, etc), then I will make a master list divided up by sections in the grocery store.
White Wine Chicken- mushrooms, onion, garlic, white wine, chicken stock, carrots, celery, chicken (I already have some in my freezer)
Bruschetta- bread, mozzarella, tomato, basil,
salad stuff, croutons
hot dogs, cheese, buns, bacon,
Fish (will actually buy later in the week, so it is fresh), fries, frozen peas
What is on your meal plan? I am especially excited about hot dog night!
Meatloaf, Cornbread, and Mashed Potatoes
The comfort food trifecta. Yum! I had originally planned on having this on Wednesday night, but E begged me to make it tonight. I had my parents over as well, so I made a huge amount of food!
Cast Iron Cornbread: I made the cornbread first. Preheat oven at 425. Heat your 9 or 12 in. pan. Add about 1/3 stick of butter to melt. Combine the following: 2 cups of cornmeal, 1 egg, 1 cup sugar, 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, and a pinch of salt. Combine in the heated pan and melted butter. You should hear a sizzle. Then put in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. 
Meatloaf: I let 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground Italian sausage come to room temperature in a bowl. I sautéed 1 small onion and 2 cloves of garlic in a pan, about 8 minutes. I do this to avoid raw onion chunks in my meatloaf. Take off the heat and cool for a few minutes.
To my meat, I added 1 egg and the onion and garlic. The rest of the ingredients I eyeball a little at a time until the right consistency; Worcestershire sauce (2 tablespoons), about a glass of red wine, a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce, a squish of tomato paste. I use the tube, so that is why I say squish, but if you use the can, about 1 tablespoon, and about a cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. I get in there and mix it up with my hands. Mix just enough to combine the ingredients. I do not use ketchup at all. The tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine, and Worcestershire combo is better and gives the meatloaf so much more depth of flavor than ketchup ever could. I take my mixture, form in a long loaf shape, and put it on some aluminum foil in a long baking dish.Top with more tomato sauce. 350 for 45 minutes. We had only 1 chunk leftover….perfect for a couple of meatloaf sandwiches! Always make extra for this!
Mashed potatoes: Ok, so I learned this really cool trick from someone on TV, in a cookbook, or one of my food magazines. I honestly can’t remember where I heard this, but boil your potatoes in milk, cream, and butter instead of water! Add some salt and a touch of pepper. The potatoes cook with these flavors! GENIUS! When they are fork tender, strain them out but keep your liquid. Then add your cooking liquid a bit at a time to your desired consistency. Plus, I added a bit more butter… Oh, and we had peas. Gotta add the veggie!
Fun Foodie Family 