Halloween Mummy Dogs

Halloween Mummy Dogs

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen and thought it was perfect for our fun weekend!  I used 8 turkey dogs instead of hot dogs and just had 4 leftover breadsticks in the package.

Here is the recipe:
•1 package 11 Oz Pillsbury Breadstick Dough
•12 whole Hot Dogs
•Cooking Spray
•Optional Garnish: Mustard And Ketchup

Preparation Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll dough and separate at perforations creating 12 strips. With knife or pizza cutter, cut each bread stick in half making two thinner strips of dough. You will now have 24 strips of thin bread sticks. Wrap 2 strips of dough around each hot dog to look like “bandages,” stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog.

About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate “bandages” so hot dog shows through for the “face.” Place mummy dogs on a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown. When done let cool a bit and add some mustard eyes. I used a toothpick and dipped it into the mustard.

Menu Plan Monday

Good morning!  Welcome to another Menu Plan Monday!  Last week's budget wasn't awful. $15 at Target and $68 at Meijer.  It unfortunately wasn't my $50 goal either. I'm really going to have to work at it if we stick to that.

We have been a bit behind on our meal plans. Here is what last week's menu looked like (and what we really ate!):

Monday - Steak Fajitas (made with round steak) Chicken Enchiladas (Review: easy, husband enjoyed it, but the canned enchilada sauce grosses me out.  Will not make again without changing the sauce)

Tuesday - Sloppy Joes, Pioneer Woman Potatoes Au Grautin (Review: delicious potatoes!  Will be adding the recipe soon.  Added mixed veggies to the menu also)
Wednesday - Balsamic Chicken & Linguine We decided to make it a make-your-own kind of night. Jeremy had Totino's, I had turkey and swiss stuffed crescent rolls, and Calvin had veggies and cheese tortellini with red sauce.  Yum!  I need to do this more often!
Thursday - Pioneer Woman Steak Bites, Cheesy Garlic Risotto Balsamic Chicken & Linguine.  Delicious and easy.
Friday - Pioneer Woman Chicken Scallopine Pioneer Woman Steak Bites, Cheesy Garlic Risotto - YUM! To both.


Based on all of that, we need a week or two to eat everything I have planned but have not actually made for one reason or another. Here is the menu this week:

Mexican Monday - Steak Fajitas (made with round steak)

Comfort Food Tuesday - Cheesy ham & pasta bake

Make-Your-Own Wednesday - Leftovers, frozen foods, etc...

I'm-Ready-for-the-Weekend Thursday - Sausage & Mushroom Pizza (frozen pizza dough, frozen cooked sausage & fresh mushroom)

Thank-God-It's-Friday - Cheeseburgers, Fries, Veggies

And here is the grocery list for this weekend:
Grocery List
Milk (2) $5.00
Bananas $1.00
Buns $1.00
Mozzerella (2) $3.00
Green Pepper $1.00
Eggs $1.00
Cheese $2.50
Peanut Butter $3.00
Jelly $3.00
Sausage $2.50
Chicken $5.00
Cream $1.50
Zip loc bags $3.00
Cereal $3.00
1 lb lunchmeat $5.00
Bread (2) $3.00
Frozen Pizzas $5.00
$48.50

Turkey & Swiss Crescent Rolls

I put these together tonight for a very quick dinner when we wanted something light. 

Ingredients
Crescent Rolls (large can)
Deli Sliced Turkey
Swiss Cheese

Prepare crescent rolls as per package directions, but lay turkey and swiss slices on the crescent dough before rolling the crescent rolls.  Bake as directed and enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week I had a $50 budget. And a husband that went shopping with me.... disaster!  We spent $96 on groceries, which included $25 for Halloween candy (good grief!) and $14 on my husband's snacks, which would not have ended up in the cart if he wasn't with me... I do have to add that I was back to the store on Saturday for a few more items that we missed, spending an additional $16 on groceries.  Ridiculous.  I do think it made a difference that we were both home all weekend, which rarely happens, and as such we did not take advantage of home-cooked meals from either my parent's or my husband's, and we did not eat out.

So this week... I have been perusing Pioneer Woman recipes, especially after finding Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich and enjoying it - and the simplicity of the recipe!

So this has become Pioneer Woman Week!
Monday - Steak Fajitas (made with round steak)
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes, Pioneer Woman Potatoes Au Grautin
Wednesday - Balsamic Chicken & Linguine
Thursday - Pioneer Woman Steak Bites, Cheesy Garlic Risotto
Friday - Pioneer Woman Chicken Scallopine

Possible Weekend Meals & Treats:
Pioneer Woman Fettuccine Alfredo
Classic Cheese Fondue
Apple Crisp
French Bread

The grocery list is a bit over $50 this week.  Let's see what we end up with:
Grocery List
Milk (2) $5.00
Bananas $1.00
Buns $1.00
Iceberg lettuce $1.00
Salted butter $2.50
Heavy Cream (3 c) $2.00
Garlic $0.25
Sharp Cheddar $1.50
Olive Oil $5.00
Yeast $5.00
Linguini $1.00
Arborio Rice $3.00
Yellow onion $0.50
White Wine $4.00
Cream Cheese $1.00
Mushrooms $1.00
Lemon $0.50
Fresh Italian Parsley $1.00
Fettuccine $1.00
2 cups Parmesan $3.00
Zip loc bags $3.00
Saran wrap $1.50
Drano $2.50
Cereal $3.00
1 lb lunchmeat $5.00
Bread (2) $3.00
$58.25

Light Potato Soup

This recipe was a light version of potato soup, one of my husband's favorite restaurant soups.  I think it tasted kind of like a big bowl of thin mashed potatoes. 

Courtesy of Prevention RD

Loaded Potato Soup from Cooking Light

4 (6-ounce) red potatoes (I used about 7 small russet potatoes)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% milk, divided (I used 1/2 skin, 1/2 whole)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 turkey bacon slices, halved
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 tsp thinly sliced green onions (omitted since we didn't have any on hand)

Directions:

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.
While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil SLOWLY (you don’t want the milk to curdle!). Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.

Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon. Yield: 4 servings (about 1 1/4 cup each).

Garlic Cheddar Quick Bread

This tastes almost EXACTLY  like Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits! I loaded butter on mine and served with Baked Potato Soup.  I should have warmed the bread first to make it even better!

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Stephanie Cooks:

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
4.5 tsp. baking powder
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder (could be doubled if you like a lot of garlic)
1/2 tsp. Italian seasonings, divided
1.5 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the flour, baking powder, cheese, sugar, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl combine the milk, oil, and egg. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened.

3. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Top with additional 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

4. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Pioneer Woman Steak Bites

I can't believe I've never written about Pioneer Woman's Steak Bites! We have eaten these quite a few times. It's a great way to prepare sirloin steak.  The steak is perfectly cooked, and the butter sauce is fantastic!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 pound Sirloin Steak (without Much Gristle) OR Pre-cut Beef Tips
Kosher Salt To Taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste
2 Tablespoons Butter

Preparation Instructions

Trim off the large obvious piece of fat that runs along the side of the meat. Next, cut strips less than 1-inch wide. Rotate the meat and cut into small bite-sized pieces. If you see any more large chunks of fat, gristle or long silvery membrane, cut them off.

Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss the meat around a bit to thoroughly coat with the seasonings.

Next, turn on your ventilation fan overhead. Heat the skillet over medium high to high heat. As the pan heats, add about 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Allow the butter to melt, then brown, before you add the meat.

Place some of the meat in the pan in a single layer. It should sizzle loudly when it hits the pan – if it doesn’t, the pan isn’t hot enough. Don’t stir or disrupt the meat for 30-45 seconds. You want it to sizzle and brown on one side. Scoop as many steak bites as you can with your spatula and flip them over. Repeat until all the meat is turned. Cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds—just long enough to sear the outside of the meat but NOT cook the inside.

Remove the meat to a clean plate. Add a little more butter to the pan and repeat the cooking process with the next batch just as before. Lastly, when all the meat is nicely browned and removed to the plate, pour all that browned/blackened butter all over the meat. And enjoy!