I just know everyone got their chicken cooked and veggies chopped over the weekend. Now we're ready for Tuesday's menu. I've included recipes for the banana pancakes as well as the chicken spaghetti (which can be made with any pasta).
Chicken spaghetti is one of those old casserole recipes that most folks, kids especially, seem to love. I'm all for casseroles. They're a great timesaver, since you're basically dumping stuff into a pan and baking it, but they also have a tendency to be large recipes, so leftovers for lunches later in the week. Leftovers are always a good thing, especially when you're trying to stretch your budget. You can put pretty much anything in. If you like veggies, or you have some leftover veggies like peas and carrots, throw them in. The old fashioned casseroles can take almost anything.
And the pancakes... I make them in large batches and freeze whatever we don't eat in serving size batches in zipper sandwich bags. That way, if someone's hungry they can just pull a bag out of the freezer, nuke for 15 seconds or so, and eat something homemade instead of grabbing a bag of cookies.
Also, I grated that whole pound of cheese I bought, since I knew we were making a casserole, and that's what I'm using for the grilled cheese sandwiches. Just a 1/4 cup or so per sandwich.
Tuesday's Menu
Breakfast: Banana pancakes, syrup, juice, milk
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches, celery/carrot sticks or sliced tomato
Dinner: Chicken spaghetti (recipe below), cooked carrots or salad
Banana Pancakes
1 C self-rising flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 C milk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 ripe bananas, mashed (peel, put in a zipper bag and squish, fun for kids to do)
Combine flour and sugar in one bowl. In a separate bowl, blend the "wet" ingredients: egg, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla and mashed banana. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. The batter will be a bit lumpy.
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray or oil lightly. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake (I use an ice cream or cookie scoop). Brown on one side. It'll be ready to flip when there are bubbles covering the surface and the top seems to being drying out slightly. Flip and brown on the other side, about a minute or so. Serve with warmed syrup.
Chicken Spaghetti
2 C cooked chicken
3 C dry spaghetti, broken into pieces (about 1-2 inches in length)
1 can Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 C grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 C finely diced green pepper(I often use a can of diced green chilis instead, if I have them)
1/2 C finely diced onion
1 C milk, pasta water, OR chicken broth (if available)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup additional grated cheese
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook the pasta according to package directions, but cook until al dente rather than cooking it completely. It'll cook more in the oven. We like our onions and peppers a little crunchy, but if you don't, now's the time to saute them for a few minutes in a tiny bit of oil or butter. Mix the pasta with the remaining ingredients (except the additional cheese) until thoroughly combined. Spoon into a casserole or baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray or a little oil (this'll make cleaning it a lot easier). Bake for 40 minutes, sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Weight Watcher's points: 7 pointos per serving, 8 servings per recipe.
ADDED BONUS! This casserole can be made a frozen, uncooked, for a couple of months. So if you want to make an extra one for later, or if you want to cook ahead, go for it. Just pop it in the oven, still frozen, and add about 15 minutes to the cook time. It can also be kept refrigerated, uncooked, for several days.
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