Recipes and Leftovers Feb 3

This week I'm trying something new with the recipes.  Being more frugal and using leftovers in creative ways.

Monday 
I roasted chicken breasts with the skin on via barefoot contessa's instructions and proceeded to make her perfect Chicken Pot pie (I used Pillsbury pie crusts, Ina's are quite grand, but not worth the extra effort on a week night).  I roasted two extra chicken breasts that I used for chicken salad in the kids' lunches on Tuesday and in the southwest chipolte lettuce wraps for dinner the following night.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-pot-pie-recipe/index.html

Tuesday
Southwestern Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Cooking Light
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-lettuce-wraps-50400000104699/
I thought lettuce wraps were only for those watching their weight, but it seems that kids are a fan of anything that allows them to shun the use of silverware during consumption.
I used the leftover black beans and rice to make bean rice and cheese burritos for the kids' school lunches.

Wednesday
I had a grand plan to make a healthy fish dish, but due to an abundance of extra curricular activities, I had to react on the fly and came up with Giada's crepes.  Instead of peanut butter and jelly, we filled them with nutella, bananas, strawberries and whipped cream.  So it wasn't the healthiest of dinners, but it was a huge hit and they didn't need dessert!  The great thing about crepes is that you usually have the ingredients in the fridge/pantry so they do not necessitate a trip to the grocery store.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pb-and-j-crepes-recipe/index.html

Thursday
Tacos - whatever your family likes (beef, taco seasoning, tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and salsa), but since they don't take much time, I also made lasagna for Friday's dinner using the recipe below.  You could also cook up a double batch of ground beef and separate it before you add the taco seasoning and use it later in the week for your lasagna.

Friday
Lasagna from my mother-in-law's friend Diana Webb.

10 lasagna noodles (uncooked regular, not the no-cooking required kind)
1 jar of marinara sauce
3/4 pound ground beef (can substitute ground turkey, turkey sausage)
3/4 pound of ground sausage
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
16 oz container of cottage cheese
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you like it cheesier)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Cook the onions in olive oil for 4 minutes, add the garlic, beef and sausage and continue to cook until brown.  Add the whole jar of sauce and another 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat.  In a small bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley and egg.
Assemble the lasagna as follows in a 9x13 pan:  base layer is the half the ground beef mixture, then layer 5 lasagna noodles slightly overlapping, spread the cottage cheese mixture over the first layer of noodles, then add another layer of 5 noodles, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese directly over the dry noodles and finish with the rest of the ground beef mixture (at this point you can store it in the fridge for a day or so).  Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour.  Instead of beef/sausage I have also used a variety of vegetables that I saute or roast (broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, etc.) to make a veggie lasagna.