Mexican Bean Soup

Mexican Bean Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Canola oil
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 5 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3-4 c. chicken broth
• 1 15 1/2-ounce can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn (I like white best)
• 3/4 c. salsa
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp chili powder or cumin

Cooking Directions:

Heat oil in large pan. Add zucchini and scallions, stirring cook until soft, about 3 min. Add broth, beans, corn, chili/cumin, lime, and salsa. Bring to boil. Reduce heat & simmer for about 3 min. Stir in cilantro.

Tomato Cream Pasta

A delicious pasta and kids are sure to enjoy!

Tomato Cream Pasta (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Penne pasta or other tube pasta
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 1t dried basil
• 1/2 to 3/4 c. whipping cream
• 1/3c parmesan cheese
• Optional: Red pepper flakes- if you want a kick
• Broccoli
• Optional: Chicken or shrimp

Cooking Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.

Cook tomatoes over medium – high heat in skillet until thickened about 5min. Add basil and cream. Bring to boil then reduce heat. Add frozen broccoli and meat. Cook until thickened. Toss with pasta and cheese. Serve immediately.

Chicken Ranch Salad

This is deceptively delicious. My husband has always hated Ranch dressing and neither of us really like breaded chicken. But for some reason, this salad always tastes so good to us. It's a great meal to trow together last minute, we usually have the ingredients on hand. And I will say, Popcorn chicken tastes much better than the regular nuggets (or dinosaurs) we get for the kids.

Chicken Ranch Salad

Ingredients

• Romaine Lettuce
• Chopped Veggies: celery, carrots, peppers, cucumber, tomato, etc
• 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1 to 2 cups popcorn chicken, cooked (or throw in some of your kids chicken nuggets)
• Ranch dressing

Cooking Directions:

Pre-cook chicken and combine all ingredients. Serve with Ranch dressing.

Weekly Menus

Thank you to everyone who is participating in my trial group! On the side bar, you will find the weekly menus. I have everything compiled for the first 5 weeks so as for now, you can just reply here and let me know which week you want to start out with. I will email you the recipes and shopping list for the week.

As a reminder, information I am trying to gather about each week is:

-What your family liked/disliked, esp. kids

-Cost of the weekly menu

-Difficulty of the meals

-Did the week work well, meaning variety of meals.

-Or just anything you have to say