This week's menu

It is Monday, and I have meals planned for the week. I'm patting myself on the back. I even made for dinner what I had planned for today! Without further ado, I present this week's meal plan.

Monday: borscht (ate it and forgot to photograph it. You know that means I was HUNGRY!)

Tuesday: BLT sandwiches, carrot sticks, celery, cucumbers

Wednesday: Whole wheat toast, an orange, and an omelette with bell pepper, spinach, and ham (eating alone on Wednesday)

Thursday: couscous

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: tacos

Sunday: pork chops, mashed potatoes, peas, baked butternut squash

What are you eating this week? For more menu ideas, visit  I'm An Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

a few meal plans

We are still waiting for baby girl to make her appearance, but mom is leaving and real life is going to hit hard. I have a c-section scheduled for Monday morning (42w + 1) if baby girl doesn't arrive before then. Because I have 2 previous c-sections, the risks of induction are too high...

Sorry, no food pictures today. This is 41 weeks.

Breakfasts:
pancakes
waffles
omelettes (w/bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach)
oatmeal and yogurt
cold cereal

Lunches:
peanut butter sandwiches, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers (or roll-ups)
grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (or roll-ups)
soup

Dinners:
Moroccan chicken and vegetable couscous
spaghetti and green beans
soft shell tacos or taco salad
bbq pulled pork sandwiches and green salad
fajitas
pork chops w/baked potatoes, green beans, squash and green salad

Menu for the week of 3/26

We will see how this week goes. I am 6 days away from my due date, although historically I take a week or two longer to go into labor. Trying to keep things pretty simple.

Monday: taco soup with tvp (I have never tried this before, but we ordered a #10 can for long-term food storage and tonight we will give it a trial run)  - topped with tortilla chips, tomatoes, avocados, cheddar cheese

Tuesday: Penne with artichokes w/crusty bread and green salad

Wednesday: Dijon chicken stew with potatoes and kale

Thursday: taco salad

Friday: homemade pizza (I think we'll do one pepperoni pineapple and 1 spinach bacon caramelized onion)

Saturday: French chocolate granola for breakfast, Chinese food for lunch (I got a gift card from a violin gig), sandwiches or whatever for dinner

Sunday: chicken pot pie crumble

As always, visit orgjunkie.com's Meal Planning Monday for more ideas...

Menu for the week of 3/19

The strawberry crisp from Sunday night - quick, easy, and delicious!

I had a culinary success on Sunday. Spur of the moment, I decided to invite the extended family over for dinner. I made meatloaf, baked sweet potatoes and regular potatoes (which we ate topped with cottage cheese and pepper), and my brother-in-law made his delicious garlicky green beans. For dessert, I made strawberry crisp. Both the meatloaf and the strawberry crisp got rave reviews! Few things makes me so happy as people enjoying food that I have prepared. 

For this week, here is the menu plan - mostly taking it easy and trying to keep things clean:

Monday: beef fajitas 

Tuesday: ham and cheese roll-ups (sandwiches in a tortilla instead of bread)

Wednesday:  leftover baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, meatloaf (again! It was that good!), green beans

Thursday: taco soup OR taco salad (depends on whether I get lettuce and tomatoes in my produce box on Thursday)

Friday: homemade pepperoni and pineapple pizza (sauce and cheese are in the freezer and I intend to make extra crusts to freeze) and a green salad or crudités

Saturday: pulled pork sandwiches from the freezer

Sunday: pancakes

What are you eating this week? Head over to orgjunkie.com to Meal Planning Monday for more tips and menu ideas.

Menu for the week of 3/12

Let me just say that things did not go as planned last week. I don't remember what we ate exactly - sandwiches and cereal and whatever else we could find without cooking. My 2 year old broke her foot jumping off our bookshelf - she is quite a spunky monkey! A sweet friend of mine brought us dinner on Saturday, we were invited to dinner on Sunday, and thus ended the week.

This week will be different!

Monday: pasta w/butternut squash sauce (saute an onion, a carrot, a bell pepper, and butternut squash. Add some chicken broth, a little milk, and purée when vegetables are tender).

Tuesday: potato kale soup w/gruyère and broccoli cauliflower cheese soup (I have some friends coming for lunch). Also baking wheat bread for toast and sandwiches the rest of the week.

Wednesday: taco salad

Thursday: smoothies and supernachos


Friday: baked potatos, mini meatloaf, green beans


Saturday: beef fajitas


Sunday: Quick coq au vin with crusty bread

For lunches, we're eating leftover bean burgers, pbjs, grilled cheese, ham sandwiches, and we're snacking on popcorn, smoothies, apples and string cheese.

What are you eating this week? For more meal planning tips and ideas, please visit orgjunkie.com's Meal Planning Monday.

Menu for the week of 3/5

I love this crustless quiche, especially because I can saute the vegetables in this pan, add in the eggs & cheese, then put the whole thing in the oven and bake it!

Evidently, I am craving soup, soup, and more soup, for I have put it on the menu 3x this week. Two of them are tried and true; the new one is Moroccan chicken and butternut squash soup. It sounds delicious, and I already have most of the ingredients.


Monday: crustless quiche and green salad

Tuesday: Broccoli and cauliflower cheese soup with crusty bread

Wednesday: spaghetti, green beans

Thursday: West African peanut soup with chicken

Friday: Moroccan chicken and butternut squash soup

Saturday: baked potato bar, lemon pig cake (birthday party last Saturday was postponed due to illness among the guests)

Sunday: pancakes and/or leftovers

What are you eating this week? For more meal planning tips and ideas, please visit orgjunkie.com's Meal Planning Monday.

Menu for the week of 2/27

These are the beautiful contents from the box of produce I received a week and a half ago from our produce co-op. This Thursday, it is my turn to go downtown to the produce market and order for 12 families. I will definitely post on the experience!

I need to clean out the fridge and not spend any more money on groceries until the new month starts, so I am keeping it simple this week. I have spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, tomatoes, chicken breasts, and leftover cooked rice to use up. I have spent $536 on groceries this month, BUT that includes $110 for our annual Costco membership. (Last year our membership ended up costing only about $15 thanks to the 2% annual reward.)

Monday: chicken fried rice, green salad (chocolate zucchini bread for dessert)

Tuesday: Spinach and cheese strata

Wednesday: cauliflower crust pizza

Thursday: homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on crusty bread

Friday: leftover bean burgers from freezer, baked sweet potatoes and cottage cheese, green beans

Saturday:  pizza and a pig cake (my son's birthday party)

Sunday: leftovers or pancakes

Looking for ideas or tips for meal planning? Check out Meal Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com .

Menu for the week of 2/13

We haven't made crusty bread in a while. I love toasting it with butter and honey!

Monday: Pork potpie (I want to use this recipe as a springboard and instead of crust, use Mel's crumbly biscuit topping) and green beans

Tuesday: spaghetti with homemade sauce, crusty bread, and steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Shells and cheese with gruyere and butternut squash

Thursday: Crock pot baked potatoes with salsa and cheese, bacon, broccoli as topping options

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: dinner out (a birthday celebration in the extended family)

Sunday: invited to someone's house

Check out orgjunkie.com for more menu ideas and tips on meal planning.

Menu for the week of 2/6

I have decided to focus on cleaning my house and catching up on laundry this week, so I am scaling back on my cooking endeavors. We'll be eating easy things from the freezer, using up leftovers from the fridge, and a getting a little help from Costco. Most of these do not even require a recipe!

Monday: Costco pizza (pepperoni on sale for $5.99) - I'm removing about half the pepperoni and dressing it up with bell peppers, mushrooms, and pineapple. Fruit smoothies to drink and a green salad on the side.

Tuesday: Crockpot pork, red potatoes, and broccoli from the garden, maybe with cheese sauce (it is growing like mad!)

Wednesday: Vegetable lasagne to use up more of my spinach, mushrooms, yellow squash, and leftover spaghetti sauce.

Thursday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches w/Dijon mustard, dill pickles, carrot sticks.

Friday: bbq pork sandwiches (with leftover pork from Monday), green salad

Saturday: Bean burgers (from the freezer) with raw vegetables and hummus on the side or possibly sweet potato fries

Sunday: probably pancakes:)

What are you working on this week? What's on your menu? For more tips on menu planning, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

Menu for the week of 1/30

My beautiful broccoli!

It's Monday, and this is when I usually publish a menu plan for the whole week. HOWEVER, this week, I am trying something new - a produce co-op with a group of 12 women on my side of town. Every other Thursday, beginning this Thursday, I will get a huge box of produce for $25. I don't know what exactly will be in it, but I've been told it will be fairly common fruits and vegetables. Once every 6 weeks, I will take a turn to go downtown to the produce market and buy the produce, bring it home, divide it up, and wait for each woman to pick up her box. SOOOOO, today, I am planning meals based on things I already have in the freezer, the pantry, and my garden to minimize shopping (plus it's the end of the month and I've already surpassed my grocery budget, spending $624 in January).

This morning, I took inventory of the things in my freezer to help me keep track of what's there. Sometimes at the store, I think, "Oh, I need to buy more strawberries!" Then I get home and discover that I already have a package of frozen strawberries. I keep this list on my phone in ColorNote.

I'm also planning to make up several batches of pizza dough and put them in the freezer. Homemade pizza is so fast when you don't have to think about the crust. I will have 4 extra kids (cousins!) this weekend, so we'll need a lot of pizza on Friday night!

Monday: chicken pot pie crumble with green salad (I have leftover vinaigrette from THIS)

Tuesday: spaghetti with homemade spaghetti sauce, accompanied with steamed broccoli from our garden and focaccia with onions, rosemary, and feta

Wednesday:  Sweet and sour pork over brown rice with garlic and ginger green beans

Thursday: bean burgers (from the freezer)

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: pancakes for breakfast, grilled ham and cheese for lunch, dinner.... still up in the air.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to hurry up and make these blueberry muffin top cookies before my boys get home from school!

For more weekly menu plans, check out Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com

Menu for the week of 1/23

Dinner on Friday - can't wait!

Monday: Gourmet green salad with homemade red wine vinaigrette, Dijon pork loin roast, mashed potatoes, green beans (this is a farewell dinner for friends who are moving) Edit: The salad was amazing! The sweetness of the vinaigrette was the perfect complement for the pork. I will definitely be making these again.

Tuesday: chicken salad sandwiches (using Greek yogurt instead of mayo) Edit: Tasty, but a little dry in my Costco croissants. Maybe I needed to add more yogurt? Also good wrapped in a tortilla.

Wednesday: Coconut curry butternut squash soup with naan

Thursday: spaghetti with Mel's homemade sauce (from the freezer), crusty bread, green beans

Friday: Homemade pizza night (or maybe I'll try Mel's recipe)

Saturday: leftovers, pbjs, or pancakes (something easy!)

Sunday: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green beans (I'm hoping the leftovers will carry us through the rest of the month)

As always, check out Menu Plan Monday for more meal plans and tips!

What's on your menu plan for the week?

Menu for the week of 1/16

One of my favorite breakfasts-  an omelette!

In case anyone is counting down with me, I've got about 11 weeks to go before I hit my estimated date of arrival for our baby girl, Emily. When I went to the doctor right after Christmas, he looked at my weight, and said with a smile, "Looks like you had a very good Christmas!" He was right, and after the holidays, I was very ready to modify my eating.

When I lost my 30 lbs last year, in addition to regular cardio and resistance training, I was eating frequent, small meals and drinking about 96 oz. of water per day. Hydration and small meals are very much recommended for pregnant women, so I've been focusing more on that. I'm also trying to move a little bit every day, whether it be walking around the block, doing a pregnancy workout dvd, or simple resistance training.

On a typical day, I eat 5-6 small meals/snacks, about 2 hours apart. My plan for this week:

1st breakfast (7 am): Blueberry or banana oatmeal smoothie (1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1/4 c oatmeal, 1/2 water, 6 big ice cubes, 1 sliced frozen banana OR 1/2 c frozen blueberries)

2nd breakfast (9 am): Omelette w/spinach, bell peppers, maybe ham

11sies: Clif builder bar and an orange

Lunch (1:30 pm) Tuna fish sandwich on whole wheat pita w/carrot sticks and pickles

Snack (3:30 pm): Homemade wasa crackers and a cheese stick with apple slices OR whole wheat pitas and hummus and grapes

Here are the dinner plans for the week (usually served between 5:30 and 6 pm):

Monday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with baked potato chips, pickles, carrot sticks, and grapes

Tuesday: Mexican salad w/lettuce, spinach, shredded chicken, black beans, salsa, corn, bell peppers

Wednesday: Chicken Enchilada Soup Edit: This was absolutely delicious and very easy! I had enough leftovers to put in the freezer for another day.

Thursday: Baked chicken, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, green salad

Friday: Pita pizzas with homemade pizza sauce and various toppings: pineapple, cheese, bell peppers, tomatoes

Saturday: Shredded chicken flautas

Sunday: BLTs with avocado

I'd also like to try making this rosemary focaccia bread this week since I have feta cheese in my fridge to use.

Need any suggestions for your own menu plans this week? Try checking out orgjunkie.com's Meal Planning Monday party.

Menu for the week of 1/9

Garden vegetable crustless quiche

One of the good habits I began last fall was menu planning. Special thanks to Laura at orgjunkie.com for always hosting Menu Plan Monday and also to Tsh at SimpleMom.net for teaching me how to use pinterest for menu planning. I also use ziplist.com as a repository for my favorite recipes and to put together my weekly grocery list - then I access it via my phone at the grocery store. It's fantastic! Believe it or not, menu planning has become something I look forward to.

It's time to announce the winner of Tsh's e-book, One Bite at a Time! Congratulations to Kristi. Watch for an email from me with details on claiming your prize!

Kristi said...

I like to take a shower to overcome the whelms. It washes everything away.

For the rest of you, take advantage of promo code HAPPYNEWYEAR to save $1 and get One Bite at a Time instantly (it's available as a pdf, on Kindle, or Nook) for only $4. This code is valid through tomorrow (Tuesday 1/10). I have saved sooooo much money just by implementing the menu planning.

The project I'm currently working on from One Bite at a Time is establishing a morning routine and getting up earlier (hence going to bed earlier as well). It never occurred to me to have a morning routine that was for nourishing and preparing me for the day BEFORE I start mom duty. I usually have gone to bed so late that I wake up at the last possible minute (when my kids are trying to eat breakfast or get on the bus).  My routine so far is to read my vision statement for the year, to pray, to study scriptures, to review my weekly goals, and to review my daily task list. Today is my first day with that routine and so far, so good. 

Here is the menu plan for this week.

Monday: meatless tamale pies with green salad

Tuesday: black bean soup and cornbread

Wednesday: spaghetti/spaghetti squash with Mel's homemade sauce, crusty bread, green beans

Thursday: Garden Vegetable Crustless Quiche

Friday: pita pizzas on homemade whole wheat pitas, crudités (bell peppers, carrot sticks, cucumber), strawberry banana chocolate protein smoothies

Saturday: Dovi (African peanut stew) with spinach

Sunday: taco salad

For snacks this week, we'll be eating popcorn and apple slices, cheese sticks, homemade Knekkebrød (which I hope is like a Wasa cracker), nachos (my guilty pleasure) and the occasional FiberOne bar. The kids love these, but I prefer Clif Bar Builder Bar in Chocolate (20 grams of protein!). 

What's going on your table this week? Did you get a copy of Tsh's book? What project are you actually WORKING on?

Menu for the week of 1/3

Here are the cinnamon rolls I made for Christmas morning - my first time ever!

Hooray! I love a new year! Here's what we are eating this week:

Sunday: Fondue! My kids loved it! I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture. We had it with  Tracy M's meatballs, steamed red potatoes, steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and grapes.

Monday: Cinnamon cottage cheese muffins w/orange wedges and milk (I didn't like the way they turned out and will never make them again)

Tuesday: Chicken and sweet potato soup w/crusty bread  (Tuesday edit: so yummy! Definitely making this again!)

Wednesday: Taco chicken bowls

Thursday: Pasta (w/sauce from the freezer), green beans, crusty bread

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: Bean thing (black beans, diced tomatoes, assorted spices, cheese, wrapped into a tortilla)

Sunday: I'm thinking of doing a turkey, just to have all the fabulous leftovers. Am I insane to do turkey again so soon? I have one in my freezer. (Saturday edit: we got invited to someone's house for dinner. I'll save the turkey for another week.)



P.S. Have you checked out my giveaway? It's open til January 8th.

Menu plan for week of 12/19

Fruit platter pie

Monday: ham and cheese sandwiches, blackberries, bell peppers, leftover fruit platter pie

Tuesday: Tracy M's homemade meatballs (freezer friendly), Mel's classic marinara (freezer friendly), pasta, green beans, crusty bread

Wednesday: Hearty bean burgers and homemade crispy sweet potato fries 

Thursday: Mom's minnestrone soup and crusty bread

Friday: homemade pizza and crudités (cucumbers, bell peppers, carrot sticks)

Saturday (Christmas Eve): lasagne, green salad, crusty bread

Sunday breakfast/brunch: overnight cinnamon rolls, shredded potato baskets with eggs, bacon, and cheese

Sunday dinner: baked ham, ham sauce, gratin dauphinois, green beans, sweet potatoes, green salad

Menu for the week of 12/12

I cannot believe that is is the middle of December already! It is looking like a fabulous week to me because we have two nights of Christmas parties and one night of leftovers. Woohoo!

Friday night is pizza night!

Monday: leftover taco soup and quesadillas

Tuesday:  borscht and pelmini (Russian dinner with friends)

Wednesday: whole wheat pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup

Thursday: Cilantro lime chicken tacos

Friday:  homemade pizza (use dough from freezer)

Saturday: Christmas parties

Sunday: beef tacos (hard and soft shell) and 7 layer dip

I'm hoping to get some freezer cooking done as well, having found some great ideas on Pinterest!

http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/04/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker.html

http://redicklife.blogspot.com/2011/09/freezer-to-crockpot-meals-part-ii.html

Menu for the week of 11/28

Homemade turkey soup with broth from the turkey carcass

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I'm a bit late this week on my menu plans.

Our grocery bill for November is higher than I had hoped - I spent a total of $494.94. In defense of my spending, some of that food is yet to be eaten: another lovely turkey in the freezer, string cheese, Wasa crackers, protein powder for my breakfast smoothies...  My husband survived November without spending any money on lunches! The boys sometimes had homemade lunches to take to school, but more often had hot lunch. We kept to my goal of $40 on school lunches.

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Monday: Sunday leftovers (mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, salad, pumpkin pie)

Tuesday: homemade turkey and vegetable soup with broth from the turkey carcass, cornbread muffins

Wednesday: salami sandwiches on baguette, blackberries, chips, cranberry chocolate oatmeal cookies 

Thursday: beef fajitas

Friday: homemade pizza

Saturday: Mom's minestrone soup

Sunday: sandwiches

We're keeping it pretty simple this week. What are you eating at your house?

Menu for the week of 11/21

Cranberry pumpkin muffins (Wednesday)

For some weird reason, nothing sounds good to me at all. It is hard to plan meals in those cases. Luckily, I have two helpful and hungry boys sitting with me to help make decisions.

For Thursday, we have a number of guests who are bringing food items, but our meal should look something like what is planned below. I don't know what kind of leftovers there will be, but I intend to claim the turkey carcass for making broth and we'll likely have turkey soup either Friday or Saturday.

In our grocery budget tracking, we have spent right around $350 this month and the shopping for this week is already done. The goal is to stay at $400 or less. One week to go - can we do it?

Here is our plan for the week:

Monday: homemade pizza, raw veggies, and orange dreamsicle floats

Tuesday: tacos made with homemade taco seasoning

Wednesday: cranberry pumpkin muffins (breakfast)
baked potatoes, baked lemon rosemary chicken, green beans, butternut squash, green salad and cranberry chocolate oatmeal cookies

Thursday: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green beans, green salad, fruit salad, rolls, pumpkin pie,

Friday: leftovers - turkey soup?

Saturday: leftovers - turkey sandwiches with artichoke and sundried tomatoes?

Sunday: lasagne, crusty bread, green salad, layered pumpkin pie toffee cheesecake or cranberry pecan tarts

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Traveling to see family? Staying home and hosting? Keeping it quiet?

Menu for the week of 11/14

Caramelized onion, spinach, and bacon pizza (Monday)

Lemon garlic tilapia, mashed potatoes, and spinach salad (Tuesday)

Peanut sauced chicken pitas (Wednesday)

Garden veggie crustless quiche (Friday)

We are half-way through the month and our grocery bill is at $234. Our school lunch bill is at $40 (we pay in advance in increments of $20 per child, so that's one payment per boy.) No money spent on lunch out for hubby and no dining out bills. Who wants to eat out when the food at home is so good? Here's what we're eating this week:

Monday: Caramelized onion, spinach, and bacon pizza and green salad

Tuesday:  lemon garlic tilapia, mashed potatoes, spinach salad (lunch w/hubby home)
                 hamburgers (dinner)

Wednesday: Peanut sauced chicken pitas

Thursday: spaghetti, green beans, crusty bread

Friday: Garden veggie crustless quiche, crudités

Saturday: peanut squash soup and crusty bread

Sunday: leftovers

Menu for the week of 11/7 & Harry Potter dinner plans

On the menu this week: Italian lentil soup

On a routine grocery run last week, I was thrilled  to find several packages of whole chicken cut up and marked down to $.69/lb for quick sale. I grabbed several and put them in my freezer. I had one thawing in the fridge over the weekend.This morning after the boys left for school, I got out the crockpot and threw in some celery leaves, cut up carrots, onions, and a whole chicken (cut into pieces). I added some water,  salt and pepper, 2 bay leaves, and a sprinkling of garlic powder. That will be our broth and at least some of our chicken for the week. Yummy!

Entering the 2nd week of the month, I've spent $91.56 on groceries for our family of 5. Nothing yet on dining (which includes school lunch bills and hubby school lunches when he forgets to take food.) My goal for the month is to keep our grocery bill at or below $400, to send lunches to school with the boys at least 3x/week, and to send lunch with hubby every day. I will be reporting on this every Monday with my menu plans.

Here's our menu for the week:

Monday: pizza (we won free pizza from Papa John's!), cucumber slices, carrot sticks

Tuesday: Moroccan chicken and couscous (the one thing on last week's menu that we didn't get to)

Wednesday:  Ben's Italian lentil soup and crusty bread

Thursday: Lemon tilapia over spinach with a side of sweet potatoes

Friday: Hawaiian haystacks over brown rice, topped with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, chow mein noodles, dried coconut, pineapple chunks, green onions, with a side of steamed broccoli

Saturday: A Harry Potter themed meal for our son's birthday party, which will include: 

Dragon Burgers (hamburgers)
Hippogryff cheese (cheese)
Devil’s Snare (alfafa sprouts)
Nightshade slices (tomatoes)
Gurdy root (onion rounds)
Sliced gillyweed (pickles)
Scurvy grass (celery)
Mandrake roots (carrots)
Sneezewort (bell pepper slices)
Abyssinian shrivelfig (apple slices)

I'll try to get some good pictures of the party to share with you next week .

Sunday: Chicken noodle soup, crusty bread, garden vegetable crustless quiche (I have family coming for dinner and some may prefer quiche to soup; if there is leftover quiche, I will eat it for breakfast the next day!)

One of those days, I am going to make Vietnamese Chicken Salad for lunch with some of that chicken that came out of the crockpot. Just for me. I know no one else will especially love it or even eat it, so I'm not going to make it an evening meal.

For breakfasts, we will have oatmeal, rice pudding with the leftover rice, oatmeal pancakes, and possibly some granola.

What are you eating this week?