Fall Dinner Ideas

So this is the way I plan meals around here.  I try to come up with 6 weeks worth of dinner ideas at a time according to the season, etc.  Then I use those ideas to plan weekly meals.  It's been working for almost a year now.  I just finished the September-October ideas and thought I would share them with you all.  These are all dinners that most of my family likes most of the time, except for the ones highlighted in yellow.  Those are new recipes that I want to try, so don't hold me responsible if you try them and don't like them - but let me know so that I don't try them at my house :)

September-October Dinner Ideas

menu on monday

Thinking about menus for the week.  Saw a good recipe for Garlic Parmesan Chicken over on allrecipes.com so I'm thinking about that now.  But here is what was at our house last week.  And, yes, we ate mostaccioli 3 nights in a row :)

Monday - make your own pizzas

Tuesday - Tuscan Chicken with pasta straight from Italy (thanks Amber), green beans, bread

Wednesday -  corn dogs, salad, green beans (*these were veggie corn dogs from Trader Joe's - I never would have bought them, but the boys chose them and I didn't see that they were veggie until they were already in the oven.  I didn't have one, but Brian and the boys all liked them and even commented that they weren't greasy like other corn dogs tend to be.  I never did tell them they were veggie dogs :)

Thursday - chili and cornbread

Friday - mostaccioli (my contribution to an Italian feast that was brought to our house for a student ministry meeting - YUM!)

Saturday - mostaccioli

Sunday - mostaccioli for the adults, PBJs for the kids

Menus

This was the menu from last week.  I get such great ideas from other people who post their menus so I thought I would contribute, too.

monday - leftover chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, peas
tuesday - chicken quesadillas (recipe below), chips & salsa
wednesday - pork burgers
thursday - toasted turkey and cheese sandwiches, carrots, red pepper slices
friday - pizza
saturday - dinner out
sunday - cilantro-lime chicken, roasted asparagus, risotto, salad


Chicken Quesadillas


4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
8 flour tortillas
2 cups Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, shredded


In large skilllet, cook chicken with garlic and ground pepper until thoroughly cooked.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  Next, simmer tomatoes, green peppers, and onion, continuing to simmer until liquid is evaporated.  Remove from skillet and set aside.  (I usually chop the chicken into smaller pieces with a food chopper while the tomato mixture is simmering).


Mix the chicken back into the skillet with the tomato mixture.  Top half of a tortilla with some of the chicken mixture.  Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top of that and then fold the other half of the tortilla over the mixture.  Place the tortilla in a nonstick skillet or a griddle over medium heat until each side is lightly browned.


Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, whatever your heart desires.


**We usually only end up eating four of these (the recipe makes 8), so I freeze the filling and just warm it up for a quick, easy meal another day