Menu Plan Monday 8/27/12-9/2/12

Monday

Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers

Lunch: Dining out with friends

Dinner: P.F. Chang's Frozen Entrees

Tuesday

Breakfast: Smoothies

Lunch: Macaroni and Cheese and Broccoli

Dinner: Saucy Chicken and Green Beans (this one but subbing beans for asparagus)

Wednesday

Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers

Lunch: Dining out with friends

Dinner: Sandwiches

Thursday

Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers

Lunch: Ham, Cheese and Carrots

Dinner: Dining out after swimming class 

Friday

Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers

Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Green Beans

Dinner: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Saturday

Breakfast: Yogurt, Cheese, Fruit, Crackers

Lunch: Ellie has a dance rehearsal, so we'll be dining out

Dinner: Hopefully we'll be dining with my parents

Sunday

Breakfast: Pancakes, Sausage, Eggs, Fruit

Lunch: Sandwiches (hubby usually has salami, kids usually have PB&J, and I have whatever tickles my fancy)

Dinner: Slow Cooker Sprite Roast (beef roast, packet onion soup mix, can cream of whatever soup, can lemon-lime soda), Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Green Beans

Menu Plan Monday 1/16/12-1/29/12

Monday 1/16: Benihana for Mike's birthday

Tuesday 1/17: Brinner for Ellie's birthday (she LOVES pancakes!) - sausage, bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs for Mike, hard-boiled eggs for me (this is how I do it), fresh fruit

Wednesday 1/18: Slow Cooker Pasta Sauce Chicken, pasta (sauce loaded with veggies)

Thursday 1/19: Slow Cooker French Dip, sweet potato fries

Friday 1/20: Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken (only I'm going to throw it in the slow cooker), still trying to think of a dairy-free veggie side...SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!

Saturday 1/21: Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, rice, Sesame Green Beans

Sunday 1/22: Still deciding...may eat out or order in

Monday 1/23: Sprite roast (beef roast, packet of onion soup mix, can of cream of whatever soup, can of lemon-lime soda...cook on low 8 hours), mashed potatoes (to catch the gravy), roasted parsnips

Tuesday 1/24: Baked chicken (breaded in whatever crackers I have on hand with whatever spices inspire me at the moment), baked potatoes, onion broccoli (like this green bean recipe)

Wednesday 1/25: Brinner - sausage, bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs for Mike, hard-boiled eggs for me, fresh fruit

Thursday 1/26: Spaghetti with meat sauce loaded with veggies, garlic bread

Friday 1/27: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, sweet peas (from one of my cookbooks), naan

Saturday 1/28: Simple Slow Cooker Picante Chicken, rice, roasted broccoli

Sunday 1/29: Morton's Tri Tip Steak from Costco, Sesame Green Beans, roasted potatoes

Menu Plan Monday 11/7/11-11/13/11

Review of last week:


Meaty Monday: Slow Cooker French Dip with fresh fruit and veggies
Delicious as always!  I forgot to mention we butter and toast the rolls and then add caramelized onions and provolone cheese for those who want it...I prefer no cheese.

Tasty Tuesday: Simple Slow Cooker Picante Chicken (I always add extra veggies to the slow cooker) over rice with fresh fruit
Hit with the big one and hubby as always.  I didn't feel like chopping veggies, so I cooked up garlic green beans as a side.

Wild Card Wednesday: Mommy and Daddy are eating out before Bradley class with theBowmans; kiddos are eating organic chicken nuggets, green beans and fruit
Ended up sharing the nuggets.  They were good!  I love Earth's Best Organic.

Spaghetti Night: Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter only with green beans, since hubby doesn't like asparagus, and without Parmesan, since the big one (Ellie) and I aren't supposed to have dairy
Pretty good.  I added a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end because it wasn't strong enough for me.  Hubby ate the huge plate I served him and said we could keep it on the menu.  I decided to add browned, cubed chicken breast, and I'm glad I did because that's all the big one ate.  The wee one loved the green beans.


Free-for-all Friday: Leftovers if we have any, freezer raid if we don't
The neighbor kids were touting their tacos, and Ellie and I thought that sounded good, so I made some.


Now for this week:



Wild Card Monday: Organic Chicken Nuggets and fresh fruit for the kiddos while Daddy and I eat out before our Bradley class

Tasty Tuesday: Eating out after Ellie's swim class

Meaty Wednesday: Sprite roast (beef roast, packet of onion soup mix, can of cream of mushroom soup, can of Sprite, slow cooker low all day), mashed potatoes and cauliflower

Spaghetti Thursday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta (recommended by Jessie), honey butter green beans (saute beans in butter until just browning, remove from heat and stir in honey) and fresh fruit

Free-for-all Friday: Yummy leftovers!

Menu Plan Monday 10/31/11-11/6/11

Meaty Monday: Slow Cooker French Dip with fresh fruit and veggies


Tasty Tuesday: Simple Slow Cooker Picante Chicken (I always add extra veggies to the slow cooker) over rice with fresh fruit


Wild Card Wednesday: Mommy and Daddy are eating out before Bradley class with the Bowmans; kiddos are eating organic chicken nuggets, green beans and fruit


Spaghetti Night: Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter only with green beans, since hubby doesn't like asparagus, and without Parmesan, since the big one (Ellie) and I aren't supposed to have dairy


Free-for-all Friday: Leftovers if we have any, freezer raid if we don't

Menu Plan Monday: 4/10/11-4/17/11

Sunday
Lunch: Tacos, Enchiladas and Refried Beans (Slow Cooker Enchiladas: 1 can enchilada sauce or 1.5-2 cups homemade sauce, 1 package of at least 10 corn tortillas, .5-1 lb cheese, depending on your taste and health concerns.  :o)  In a 1.5-2qt slow cooker, pour a little enchilada sauce to coat the bottom.  Place a corn tortilla (or pieces of corn tortillas if they are not the same shape/size as the crock) on top then a layer of shredded or thinly sliced cheese; I like medium cheddar.  Pour more sauce over the cheese, and then add another tortilla layer, compressing everything.  Top with more cheese and sauce and tortilla, pressing each layer.  Repeat until you use the last of the enchilada sauce.  Cook on low for at least a couple of hours.  Serves 4-6.  Be sure to watch it; the edges will darken too much after a few hours.  I've found 2-4 hours works for me.)
Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Gobi and Brown Basmati Rice

Monday
Lunch: Hopefully lunching with Daddy
Dinner: Slow Cooker French Dip and Cheesy Vegetable Bake (Some combination of frozen veggies and cheese with a Ritz Cracker and butter topping)

Tuesday
Lunch: Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese and Broccoli (We'll just pour the mac-n-cheese over the broccoli)
Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce and Toast (Sauce: Brown ground beef with garlic, onion or shallot salt and garlic pepper; then add a jar of pasta sauce and veggies, like frozen spinach and grated carrots, and simmer while the pasta/squash cooks)

Wednesday
Lunch: Hopefully lunching with Daddy
Dinner: Chicken Green Bean Casserole (I skip the croutons and instead add a bag of stuffing mix to the soup/chicken/green bean mixture)

Thursday
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Dining Out

Friday
Lunch: Hopefully lunching with Daddy
Dinner: Frozen Pizza, Salad and Crudites

We don't know what our weekend plans are yet!

Note: We serve fruit with every meal.

Menu Plan Monday...on Thursday

So I'm a space cadet.  I'm sure you just didn't know what you were going to do without my meal plan this week.

Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - French Dip Tacos (Leftovers of Slow Cooker French Dip served on fresh flour tortillas, with au jus, of course) with sauteed green beans.  Seriously, buy the raw tortillas in the refrigerator section and cook them yourself.  It's worth it.
Wednesday - Picante Chicken that I didn't make last week served over rice, as always...gotta catch that juice!
Thursday - Dining Out
Friday - Leftover Buffet

Menu Plan Monday

Meaty Monday - Eh...dining out
Tasty Tuesday - Chicken with Apples and Onions and cheesy broccoli
Wild Card Wednesday - Slow Cooker French Dip and Crock Pot Applesauce
Spaghetti Night - Simple Slow Cooker Picante Chicken with extra veggies (yeah...I know it's not pasta)
Free-For-All Friday - Leftovers, anyone?

Operation: Freezer Cleanout (A.K.A. Lessons in Menu Planning)

We are going on a trip, and our freezer - and pantry, for that matter - is full of things that won't last until we get back.  I kinda forgot about this until this week, so now I'm desperately trying to creatively construct meals - preferably with nutritious element from our culinary collection.

The first day, I cooked a frozen cheese pizza with fresh pepperoni and a pepperoni broccoli stirfry.  I also threw a box of yellow cake and a box of raspberry Jello together to make one of my favorite desserts ever, it was incredibly tasty and just as moist and wonderful as the blue cake I made for my mother-in-law.

Last night we had frozen chicken strips, frozen chicken nuggets, the sad leftovers of a bag of frozen onion rings, frozen tater tots, a box of frozen veggies and a can of baked beans.  Ellie and I had a nutritious meal.  My husband?  Well, he did eat a single onion ring along with his strips and tots.  Onions are veggies, right?  Oh!  I rounded out my meal with Martinelli's sparkling apple-grape juice.  Yum!  I followed the meal with some of the yummy raspberry cake.

For lunch, my mom requested frozen Hebrew National pigs in a blanket, so I reheated some of the baked beans and cooked frozen peas and carrots with butter, shallot salt and garlic pepper.  It was a rather tasty meal.  Of course, I also had a piece of raspberry cake.

Dinner tonight was frozen P.F. Chang's beef with broccoli and frozen spring rolls.  The P.F. Chang's meal is not the cheapest, about the same price as getting it at the restaurant, but it sure is tasty, and we can round out the meal for much cheaper than dining out.  I also baked some frozen tropical fruit with some honey.  I produced a yummy fruit concoction resembling a crisp without the crisp topping.  I'll have to remember this.

I knew we had a lot of food in the freezer, but I really had no idea.

Review of this week's recipes

Meaty Monday:
Gluten-free pasta w/ sauce from a jar and crumbled spicy sausage - Always depends on the sauce; our new sauce didn't cut it
Did Sesame Garlic Broccoli tonight instead
Garlic Bread - sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds for added crunch and nutrition...yum!
Tasty Tuesday:
CrockPot Tuscan Chicken from Saving Dinner served over rice - served with Italian green beans (sauteed green beans tossed with Italian dressing)
Wild Card Wednesday:
Old Chicago!
Spaghetti Night (Well, since we did Spaghetti Night on Meaty Monday, we'll do Meaty Monday on Spaghetti Night):
Morton's Roast from Costco on the grill
Sesame Broccoli (like this recipe) - had to switch to sweet potato fries

Menu Plan Monday 12/28/09

(Sorry about the weird formatting; Blogger is acting up on me)

• Meaty Monday:
• Gluten-free pasta w/ sauce from a jar and crumbled spicy sausage
• Garlic Bread
• Tasty Tuesday:
• CrockPot Tuscan Chicken from Saving Dinner served over rice
• Wild Card Wednesday:
• Not sure yet - probably takeout
• Spaghetti Night (Well, since we did Spaghetti Night on Meaty Monday, we'll do Meaty Monday on Spaghetti Night):
• Morton's Roast from Costco on the grill
• Sesame Broccoli (like this recipe)
• Free-for-All Friday:
• Not a clue; no idea what we'll be doing

Menu Plan Monday 12/21/09

Menu Plan Monday

This week is all messed up, and not entirely because of Christmas!

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Some slow cooker chicken dish I have yet to select (depends on my ability to get to the store today)

Wednesday: Freezer cleanout (I see chicken dino nuggets in our future...)

Thursday: Tenderloin roast (hubby's choice), cheesy potatoes, cheese dip, Spicy Sesame Green Beans (only half spicy, though, for the wee ones)

Friday: Ham, Jello salad (yes, I said Jello salad), corn, peas, scalloped potatoes, whatever else we add to the list...

Review of this week's recipes

Meaty Monday:
Morton's Pot Roast from Costco – Good but not as sweet as I’d hoped, since it contained sugar, and very fatty
Stir-fried corn – Turned out better than I’d hoped!

Tasty Tuesday:
Last-minute change of plans led to dinner out

Wild Card Wednesday:
Last-minute doctor appointment led to takeout

Spaghetti Night:
Spontaneous dinner out with friends, conveniently also Italian

Free-for-all Friday:
Erickson Family Christmas!!!

Menu Plan Monday 12/14/09

This week is an easy week for me. I deserve it!

Meaty Monday:

Morton's Pot Roast from Costco

Stir-fried corn

Tasty Tuesday:

Tuscan Chicken from SavingDinner.com (received in an email from Flylady...I don't feel right posting it, so if you want it, message me or comment with your email address) over rice instead of pasta (I love it when the veggies are part of the main dish!)

Wild Card Wednesday:

Cranberry Stuffing Turkey Breasts from Costco

Roasted green beans

Spaghetti Night:

Fancy pasta with sausage (haven't decided which fancy pasta or sausage yet)

Free-for-all Friday:

Whatever's left!

Review of this week's recipes

Review of this week's recipes:

Meaty Monday:
Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs – They were good, but the meatballs themselves could have used more seasoning (the only seasoning was in the breadcrumbs) and they didn’t hold together well. They have hope, though!
Roasted Parsnips – I also made some with cinnamon and sugar. They were ALL good!!!
Garlic Bread – Well, our bread molded spontaneously, so no garlic bread for us… :o(

Tasty Tuesday:
CrockPot Brown Sugar Chicken over rice – It was very good but tasted just like Picante Chicken. Since the Picante Chicken has fewer calories and more veggies and is less work, we’ll dump this recipe and keep that one.
Garlic Sesame Green Beans – Good as always, though I forgot the almonds and made the beans without red pepper flakes so that Ellie could eat them (I like them better that way, anyway). I also added chopped garlic to the oil (because I accidentally started to make my garlic green beans instead of Mike's). I give a huge thumbs up to veggie recipe that makes my toddler ask for more until there is no more.

Wild Card Wednesday: Changed to a meal out, since Mikey’s chiropractic appointment got in the way.

Spaghetti Night:
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce – Since I doubled the meatball recipe on Monday, I decided to just break up the meatballs into sauce. I’ll have to try this recipe another time.
Honey Mustard Broccoli - MUCH better with Ken's Steak House Honey Mustard dressing than with Safeway Honey Mustard
Garlic Bread

Free-For-All Friday: Whatever is left!

Family Dinner (Saturday or Sunday): Ditched the food plans when the family plans changed...had yummy brinner

Menu Plan Monday 12/7/09

Here I go with my first week of complete menu planning! I'm very excited!

(Oh, and be sure to check back at the end of the week for a review of this week's menu!)

Meaty Monday:
Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs
Roasted Parsnips
Garlic Bread

Tasty Tuesday:
CrockPot Brown Sugar Chicken over rice
Garlic Sesame Green Beans

Wild Card Wednesday:
Ham Sandwiches
Fruit Salad

Spaghetti Night:
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Honey Mustard Broccoli
Garlic Bread

Free-For-All Friday:
Whatever is left!

Family Dinner (Saturday or Sunday):
Slow Cooker French Dip
Sweet Potato Fries

Menu-Plan Plan

I've been agonizing over menu planning for the longest time. I follow Jessie's Menu Plan Monday blog posts. I follow the Menu Plan Monday blog posts she references. I follow FLYLady's menu plan ideas and testimonials. I have done SO MUCH research into this to try to figure out how to make it work for me. My stumbling block is my recent vegetarian history. I have no arsenal of recipes to fit into a plan! Thankfully my husband finally heard my plea for a new slow cooker and bought me a 6-qt. Crock-Pot from Costco for our anniversary. I have jumped into slow cooking feet first! Now I'm motivated. Now I do have a new stumbling block: I have to stay dairy free for my son. Hopefully this will only be temporary like it was with my daughter (14 months temporary, but still...), but for now I have to work hard for my recipes. (If you have any good dairy-free slow cooker recipes, please share!) So...

Here's my menu-plan plan:

Meaty Monday - Slow-cooker beef recipes
Tasty Tuesday - Slow-cooker chicken recipes ("Tasty" because chicken tastes like whatever you do to it) :o)
Wild Card Wednesday - Whatever I feel like, pork, vegetarian, slow cooker, not slow cooker...
Spaghetti Night (Yeah...nothing really goes with "Thursday") - or whatever pasta dish sounds good
Free-For-All Friday - Leftovers, anyone?