Menu Plan week of 6/13/10

So, I've slacked on planning our meals for quite some time.  I am really struggling with feeding our family right now!  I have forgotten a lot of our favorite dishes since my WONDERFUL friends provided us with meals practically DAILY for FIVE WEEKS when I was on bed rest.  Also, Hubby is home for lunch each day and we prefer hot lunches when possible PLUS when I breast feed, I have an aversion to most foods (not all the time, just when I am actually feeding which happens to be during each and every meal). 

It's definitely time to go back to planning things out!  I'm planning a list of meals to choose from for the week.  We struggled with enjoying meals when planned for each day, so we'll try this method!  Once I get back on track with grocery shopping, we'll work on making some healthier choices.

Breakfasts:

• cereal
• bagels
• toast
• pop tarts (pampering/spoiling for last week of Hubby teaching summer class)
• donuts (for me - I need my calories and I don't have an aversion to these)
• pancakes
• eggs
• French toast

Lunches:

• grilled cheese with meat inside
• peanut butter and honey or jam
• chicken fingers
• spaghetti o's
• bagel pizzas
• ramen noodles

Dinners:

• ravioli and meatballs
• hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill
• beef stroganoff
• pizza
• tacos
• chicken alfredo

What's on your menu this week?

Menu Planning Monday - Week of 11/16/09

Wow - it's been awhile since I've done a formal menu plan!  I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow.  I need to start re-stocking my pantry - we had a pretty tight couple months here financially and were blessed to be able to live off of my coupon habit.  I know our schedules will be crazy until Thanksgiving, but at least I can try!

Breakfasts:  Bagels and cream cheese with yogurt for mom and little man.  Cereal or toast for dad.
Lunches: Sandwich and applesauce for dad.  Leftovers, macaroni and cheese, bagel pizzas, or grilled cheese with tomato soup (basically whatever my cravings dictate!).
Dinners:
Monday - Spaghetti Pie with meatballs
Tuesday -Hot paninis
Wednesday - Chicken patties
Thursday -  Fast food take out - Hubby and I are both performing in the Wind Ensemble concert and won't have time to eat regular food
Friday - Stromboli
Saturday - Pork roast with herbed rice
Sunday - Roast Chicken and au gratin potatoes

Join in the menu planning fun at orgjunkie.com!

Menu Planning Monday - Week of 10/19/09

Well, menu planning is definitely more difficult with morning sickness to contend with!  I am still trying to stay on track with $200 or less per month for groceries - I am now using an all-cash system to help ensure I am extra careful.   Click on over to orgjunkie.com for recipes and menus galore!

Here's my plan for this week:

Breakfasts:  Toast/cereal and coffe for hubby, cereal for Baby, salty leftovers for me
Lunches:  Sandwiches and applesauce for Hubby, fruits and veggies for Baby,  anything I can get down for me

Dinners
Monday - Chicken Quesadillas
Tuesday - Burgers
Wednesday - Prime Time Pizza Pie
Thursday - Stew
Friday - Pork Chops and Taters
Saturday - Meatball Hogies
Sunday - Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs

Menu Planning Monday - Week of 10/12/09

We are attempting to eat just out of the pantry this week.  I am buyimg milk, bread, potatoes, cream of mushroom soup, and buns today.  Normally, pantry meals wouldn't be a big deal since we do have a nice stockpile going, but add in all-day queasiness from pregnancy and things get a little tricky.  My menu for the week will be just a basic framework.

Breakfasts: 
Hubby eats toast or cold cereal.  I eat anything salty I can get my hands on (for example - chili, cheese and crackers, soup).  Baby eats cheerios and yogurt with fruit.

Lunch:
Hubby takes a sandwich and applesauce to work.  I eat leftovers.  Baby shares with me and has some extra veggies and fruit.

Dinner:
Monday - Meatball hogies with a side of pasta
Tuesday - Chicken Drumsticks in the crockpot with taters on the side.
Wednesday - Enchiladas
Thursday - Stromboli (recipe below)
Friday - Roast Pork Chops with homemade oven fries
Saturday - Leftovers ("Dinner:  the Best Of")
Sunday - Ramen Noodles with egg (egg drop soup) and veggies

Stromboli
Preheat oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400 degrees
Ingredients:
pizza dough (refrigerated, box mix, or homemade)
shredded Italian cheeses
favorite Italian meats
cut up veggies
pasta sauce for dipping

Make pizza dough
Roll dough out to size. I prefer smaller individual strombolis so they can be personalized.
Layer cheese, meats, and vegetables
Carefully roll stromoli into a log
Place on baking sheet or stone
Bake for 18 - 25 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Serve with warmed pasta sauce.

Menu Planning Monday - Week of 9/28/09

What a fun weekend!  Hubby and I went back to our college Alma Mater.  There was a memorial concert for the man who made the music department what it is today.  I got to play in the alumni wind ensemble on French horn and Hubs got to play lead alto sax in the alumni jazz band.  Both groups were fantastic.  It was great to get "Pierre" out of his case again - the last time I played was April and before that, the time is measured in years!  It was great fun to play, to hang out with old friends, to meet other alumni (6 DECADES were represented!), to see professors, and to introduce Baby to everyone!

With that said, we are exhausted.  We left Friday evening within minutes of Hubby coming home from work.  We stayed an hour away from the school at my parents house so they could help watch Baby - we drove back and forth each day.  The concert itself started at 2pm and ended at 5pm.  We finally got home at 8:15pm.

I am planning some easy meals this week for my own sanity and recovery.  Next week will be busy too with BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!  On to the plan....

Monday:  BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (scroll down on my past post for recipe - I simply add a little bbq sauce rather than mexican seasonings - yum!)
Tuesday: (possible childcare at church)  Chef Boyardee night
Wednesday: Meat Pie (recipe on my past post)
Thursday: Chicken and Dumplings (recipe on this blog with pictures!  SUPER YUMMY!)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Meatball subs
Sunday: Chicken Alfredo

Link up on Orgjunkie.com with your own menu plan!  By planning menus, I have been able to trim our grocery budget considerably!

Menu Planning Monday - Week of 9/21/09

I am actually feeling like I am on top of things!  Here it is, Sunday night, and I already have a good idea of what is on my plate for the week! We had a good night of sleep with baby for a change and are praying it continues.  I am going to jump right on in!

We have a BRAND NEW toaster oven (special deal at $15 at Target last week) so toast is back on the breakfast menu as a staple along with Cheerios and my new favorite Kashi Honey Sunrise cereal.  Lunch for Hubby is either peanut butter/honey sandwich or cold cuts with applesauce and water.  Lunch for me is whatever we have leftover from dinner or Lean Pockets that I picked up on sale.

Monday - Turkey filets (turkey breast wrapped in turkey bacon) with Au Gratin potatoes
Tuesday - Burgers (I do childcare at church in the evening so we eat seperately)
Wednesday - Crock Pot Sesame Ginger Pork Chops and Taters (see recipe below - I am making it up as I go)
Thursday - Prime Time Pepperoni Pizza "Pie" (from our newspaper - see recipe below)
Friday - Cookout at neighbor's
Saturday - Dinner out on campus - we are participating in the bands for an alumni memorial concert in honor of the founder of the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band.
Sunday - Pizza - probably frozen, possibly ordered.  We have the concert in the afternoon and a long drive home (nearly 3 hours).  I know I won't feel like cooking!

Head on over to orgjunkie.com to join in the menu craze!

Crock Pot Pork Chops

Using a divided crock, I will make pork chops in a sesame ginger glaze with seasoned roasted potatoes.

In one side of crock, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil in bottom.  Place pork chops in crock.  Pork chops can be raw or can be seared on each side.  I plan to sear mine first.  Add about a 1/4 cup water and a 1/4 cup Lowry's Sesame Ginger marinade.  Cook on Low for 4-6 hours until pork is done.

In other side of crock, place cleaned and cubed potatoes.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Season to taste.  I plan to use seasoned salt and some dry mustard and probably just experiment with the different spices I have on my rack.  Cook as directed above.

To serve, place pork chop and potatoes on plate.  Add a side of salad.  Drizzle just a little marinade over the pork chops.

I hope this recipe works!  I will let you know!

Prime Time Pepperoni Pizza "Pie"
 Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch (4 cup volume) frozen pie shell
1 package (8oz) shedded Italian blend cheese, divided
2 oz thinly sliced pepperoni (about 20 - 30  1 1/2" - 2" diameter slices) cut into quarters, divided
1 can (12 fl oz) evaporated milk
3 large eggs, beaten
2 Tablespons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

PREHEAT oven to 350
SPRINKLE 1 cup cheese and half of pepperoni pieces onto bottom of pie shell.
WHISK evaporated milk, eggs, flour, basil, and garlic powder in medium bowl until blended.  Pour mixture into pie shell.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Decorate top with remaining pepperoni pieces and any other toppings you like.  Place quiche on baking sheet (if pie pan is made of aluminum foil).
BAKE for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
COOL for 5 minutes before serving.
TIP:  Choose 1/4 cup of any of your favorite toppings (such as chopped onions, red or green peppers, or sliced black olives) and add as topping with the remaining pepperoni pieces.

Menu Planning Monday

 

Well, our grocery budget looks pretty good this month.  I strive to spend less than $200 each month for our family of 2 adults, 1 toddler, and 1 dog.  So far, I have only spent $40.  We were blessed by a gift of a LOT of freezer food from my mother.  Her school has a fund raiser that involves lots of delicious frozen food (similar to schwan's without the delivery).  She purchases monthly and often blesses us with some food as well.  I will use this gift to stretch our budget and stock up on a few items - mainly coffee and dog food - this month (especially with the big Kroger MEGA sale - our stockpile will grow!).  Check out my other blog if you want details on the sale or many things regarding saving money.

To help stretch the budget, I want to start planning out more meals than just dinners.  We don't have a ton of variety for breakfast or lunch, but I know I tend to eat poorly myself (being the only adult home most days) if at all for breakfast or lunch if I don't plan ahead.

I challenge you to take a few moments and brainstorm all the meals your family enjoys.  Do this exercise over a few days since you will surely remember old favorites that way.  I started my list here.  I will be growing the list and organizing it until it becomes a great meal database that will aid my menu planning while pleasing the palates in my home.

Meals:
Breakfasts - cereal, toast, pancakes, cheese (I prefer salty in the morning)
Lunches - peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches or cold cuts for Hubby, leftovers or sandwiches for me

Dinners:
Monday - enchiladas
Tuesday - pulled pork bbq sandwiches
Wednesday - burgers
Thursday - quesadillas
Friday - meatball hogies
Saturday - dinner out!!!  We're going on a DATE!!!!
Sunday - pizza

Click on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie to see more menu ideas plus recipes!