I am loving this menu planning! It’s no wonder so many people do it. It really simplifies the whole shopping and cooking process. I’m really bad about just buying whatever I see whether we need it or not but I told myself I was gonna stick to the 2-week menu planner shopping list from Kraft. I went in with my list, browsed a bit, then pulled out the list and began to shop. I found everything with no problem, with plenty to cook for more than two weeks.

It was time to decide on what to cook. There are a ton of recipes & tips and everything looked very good! Since the first day was a hurried mess, we cooked the pizza which was a hit with the guys! Please tell me I’m not the only one that spends an hour trying to decide what to cook….I’m not am I? This is what I loved about the menu plan, all the ideas were ready and waiting to be cooked. AND, it even gave me creative ideas for future meals. We all took turns picking out what we wanted to try from the 2-week planner. We even let little man pick one!

This week, we tried the South of the Border Chicken and Pasta Skillet and it was soooooo good! While my guys are meat eaters, they really loved this chicken dish. I think it’s because I don’t normally cook like this so it was a nice change for them. It was also a much simpler meal to make and *I* liked that. I usually go overboard when cooking a meal and I think with the hot weather, they appreciated that I didn’t with this.

South of the Border Chicken and Pasta Skillet

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups medium-size pasta, uncooked
• 2 Tyson® Boneless skinless Chicken Breast halves (about 1 lb.), thawed, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 6 oz. salsa
• 1 0 oz. frozen corn, unthawed (about 2 cups)
• 4 oz. (1⁄2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cubed
• 1⁄4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 cup Kraft Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta as directed on package.  Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 6 min. or until done. Add salsa, corn, cream cheese and cumin; simmer on medium-low heat 6 min. or until corn is heated through
and cream cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta; add to skillet with half the shredded cheese. Simmer 3 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining shredded cheese; cover. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

You can download the 2-week menu planner and find out about in-store recipe demonstrations at a Sam’s Club location near you and do your shopping and feel free to join right in with me in making these recipes. We can swap stories!

OVER TO YOU

Give your top 3 tips for menu planning and shopping for groceries.  Share with us what works for you!

I’ve been very overwhelmed lately so I have to give a huge hug and thank you to my mom who stepped in and “submitted” this recipe.  She’s actually the real foodie between us and I hope that one day she’ll start her own blog!

My mom said this is to die for!  It’s a little more work than  some recipes but she insists that it’s a must try.  I think it sounds delicious and hope to make it soon.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup (1stick) butter
• 1 chicken breast, cut into strips (about 1 cup)
• 16 (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• ½ cup sliced andouille sausage, casing removed
• 1/3 cup sliced yellow onion
• ¼ cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup sliced green bell pepper
• 1  sliced zucchini
• 1  sliced yellow squash
• 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
• 1 quart Andouille Cream Sauce (recipe follows)
• 4 cups cavatappi pasta
• ½ cup sliced scallion
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.  Increase heat to medium and add chicken, shrimp, andouille, onion, and bell peppers.  Sauté until shrimp and chicken are just cooked through.  Add zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes, cook 2 minutes.  Add andouille cream sauce, toss well and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and keep warm.  Cook cavatappi in boiling salted water until as dente: drain well.  Pour sauce over pasta, and toss, pulling shrimp, and chicken to the top. Evenly sprinkle scallion over pasta. Sprinkle parsley around rim of bowl and serve.

Note: Can also add ½ cup crawfish tails

ANDOUILLE CREAM SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• ¼ cup diced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3 ounces andouille sausage, casing removed (see note)
• 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
• 2/3 cup cold water
• ¾ tablespoon chicken base
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons blackening seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup jalapeno-jack cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

Place oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and sauté 3 to 4 minutes.  Add garlic, stir well, and sauté 2 minutes.  Add andouille sausage and sauté 2 more minutes.  Add crushed tomatoes and mix well to thoroughly combine.  In a mixing bowl use a wire whisk to combine water, chicken base, cornstarch, and cream.  Add liquid to the onion mixture.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.  Add blacking seasoning and cayenne and mix well to incorporate.  Add grated cheese to the sauce and blend well.  Allow to simmer until all the cheese has melted, 2 more minutes.

Note: I put the andouille sausage in my mini food processor to grind it up for the cream sauce.

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