The slow cooker is a glorious kitchen saver on a wet and rainy day. When I planned today’s menu, I had no idea it was going to rain, especially since we’ve had such beautiful sunny weather the past few days.  It’s days like this where you don’t feel like doing much but curling up under a blanket with a hot cup of tea and watching a classic movie or reading a book that your slow cooker comes in handy.

The meatballs can be made the night before as discussed in our meal planning and placed covered in the refrigerator. Stuffing mix makes a great alternative to the bread crumbs and oats. It’s all a matter of what you have stocked in your pantry and what happens to be on sale at the grocery store. Remember to always keep your pantry stocked with everyday ingredients and have a list handy to write down what you may need on your next grocery trip. Keep an eye out on the store ads for extra savings.

As we begin our week of busy night meals, we start off with Teriyaki Glazed Meatballs. These served with Steamed Stir-Fry Veggies and Rice make a wonderful meal for your family. These also make a great appetizer at a party.

We start off with 1/4 pound  Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey Meat

Next, we add 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup quick oats and 1 egg

Add 1/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce and mix together with fingers until all ingredients are incorporated. Shape into tiny size meatballs. Recipe Note: I like to use my small scoop, makes the perfect size for kids and they all cook evenly.

 Heat just a little bit ofoil, about 1/2 teaspoon in a large skillet and place meatballs gently in. Carefully not to crowd for easy turning.

Carefully rotate meatballs in skillet to lightly brown on all sides, drain and place in slow cooker on low setting. Continue until all meatballs are finished. Meatballs will continue to cook in slow cooker. Once in slow cooker add Teriyaki Glaze Sauce and simmer for 4-6 hours.

Teriyaki Glaze

1 Cup Teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons mustard

2 Tablespoon Seasame oil

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and pour over meatballs. Stir to coat meatballs carefully. Serve with Steamed Stir-FryVeggies and Rice.

Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, share comments and your experiences with Menu Planning for your family.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

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A Busy Mom’s Menu Planning Day

Wow, can you believe the month is almost to an end? I hope you all have been enjoying the beautiful springtime weather we’ve been having. Almost every morning I wake to the sound of birds chirping and singing to one another. It’s such a beautiful happy sound. For the past two weekends, our family has been taking advantage of the lovely weather and taken a lovely road trip down Hwy 49 and gone hiking along the South Yuba River. On Day 2 of our Family Weekend Road Trip, we ended up in our county’s own backyard. South Yuba River Independence Trail Hwy 49 West. Flume and canal systems built to carry water now carry people.

Copyright Noel's Kitchen Tips.com

 The following weekend, we were accompanied by our older son and my sister-in-law along with our nieces and nephew as we hiked the East Trail of South Yuba River.

Copyright Noel's Kitchen Tips.com

Copyright Noel's Kitchen Tips.com

Today, before the family and I get started on our beautiful sunny day adventures, I’ve started to prepare for the upcoming week’s meals. Tonight we’ll be having Grilled Chicken Quesadillas and later in the day, I’ll prepare the meatballs for tomorrow night’s menu, Terriyaki Meatballs. Here’s a quick peek at this coming week’s menu. And be sure to check back as I’ll have the recipes posted for you. If you don’t happen to make the recipes on the same day as I do, they are easy enough to add to your upcoming monthly menus. 

Remember, to make it easier on yourself when planning, you can add the same dish to your menu every two weeks or once a month.

Noel’s Kitchen Tips Menu Week of March 27, 2010

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Quesadillas, served with black beans and Sweet Corn Tamalitos (corn cakes)

Monday: Teriyaki Glazed Meatballs, served with rice and steamed Stir-Fry Veggies

Tuesday: Fettuccine Romano, served with peas

Wednesday: Philly Cheesesteak Wraps

Thursday:Turkey Pot Pies with Cheddar and Dill Biscuit Crust- April’s Monthly Menu (posting soon)

Friday: Ham, Broccoli and Cheddar Calzones

Saturday: Shepherd’s Pie

A lot of the prepping can be done on your meal prepping day or the night before. When you are ready to use the ingredients, simply pull out of the freezer to thaw or right from the fridge. I’ll provide more tips on preparing this week’s meals as the week goes on.

Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, share comments and your experiences with Menu Planning for your family.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

Copyright Noel's Kitchen Tips.com

Enjoy your week…………..

Here’s a simple recipe that’s sweet and tangy and will be a perfect recipe for your upcoming summer time menu. With just a few simply ingredients, this meal can be made in the slow cooker and ready just in time for dinner.

Slow Cooker Catalina Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Catalina dressing

1 cup Barbecue sauce of your choice

1 Tablespoon Smoky Barbecue Rub(adds a little more zest with rich and smoky flavors of paprika, garlic, onion and spices)

1 1/2 cups water

Salad mix

Directions:

Place ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low setting 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve with sauce on a french roll, bun or regular sandwich bread. Add lettuce or even salad mix as I did in this recipe.  This is absolutely the most simplest recipe a busy mom or dad can make for their family on a busy weeknight. Shredded beef or pork could be used in this recipe as an alternative to chicken. Chicken tends to be more cost effective for a  food budget. Freeze any leftovers you have and serve this meal in another weeknight meal.

Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, share comments and your experiences with Menu Planning for your family.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

Roaming Around The Kitchen 

 Over the past few months the kitchen has been growing with visitors. I want to wish you all a Warm Welcome to the kitchen.

 Cooking is one of the most delightful, creative experiences anyone can have. The most knowledgeable cook does not try to keep in her head all the recipes she likes to make. She may in fact, cook a good deal by instinct, as her grandmother did. As a busy mom in today’s world we often overlook how easy it was to create a simple meal for our family. The meals we create don’t have to look fancy or contain a lot of expensive ingredients. A meal can be created with simple ingredients, a little bit of passion and a love for remembering how our parents or grandparents made those great comforting foods.

While roaming around the kitchen, you’ll find weekly and monthly menu ideas that are simple and won’t throw off your food budget. Throughout the month, I’ll add in some more family favorites for you to try, so make sure to check the monthly menu section frequently.

Each and every month I’ll be sharing a kitchen podcast to keep you all updated on the highlights of the kitchen, including what types of menus to try, kitchen tips and the best kitchen tools to use when making your meals. Each month I’ll incorporate holidays and event menus that may be happening during the month as well. Menus are also designed with a grocery budget in mind and what happens to be on sale.

 Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, share comments and your experiences with Menu Planning for your family.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

It’s been awhile since I’ve baked some cookies. Our son is really picky on what kind of cookies he eats. Can you believe the kid dislikes chocolate? I’m not a huge fan of chocolate used in certain recipes, sounds crazy I know but that’s how it is. For this reason, I make oatmeal cookies a lot, adding cranberries or raisins. Occasionally, I’ll add white chocolate, or coconut. I received my new sample supply of kitchen tools and spices this past week and I was anxious to try the Sweet Apple Sprinkle.

Here’s my recipe for Sweet Apple Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies:

Sweet Apple Oatmeal and Coconut Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flaked coconut

1 Tablespoon Sweet Apple Sprinkle

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream first 3 ingredients until light; beat in egg. Add oats, dry ingredients, coconut and Sweet Apple Sprinkle; mix well. Chill several hours.

Shape into balls about the size of a walnut and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or baking spray; flatten slightly with floured tumbler. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Makes 60 cookies.

Cookie Baking Tip: Space cookies to allow for spreading. Because ovens vary, watch cookies closely. Check for doneness just before minimum baking time is up. If some are thinner than others, you may have to remove them and bake the remaining a bit longer.

As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
 
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.

Sign up for my newsletter and get recipes, menu ideas, cooking tips and more delivered directly to you!

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