Christmas Week - Menu Plan Monday

Finally, the week we've waited for all year! It seems like each year the month of December gets shorter and shorter, and we end up not having enough time to do it all. I keep reminding myself to slow down, to not worry about doing everything, and to just focus on the important stuff. The presents will be shipped out late, we won't get to all of the holiday activities in town, but that's ok... we'll enjoy time together as a family and have a couple of really nice days with each other.

And to ensure that the next few days are a little less hectic, here's the menu plan for this week.


Breakfasts
scrambled eggs w/ bacon or sausage (we're using up the powdered eggs in my pantry), assorted toasts (might be frozen waffles, bagels, etc.)
Christmas morning: Breakfast Bread Pudding (from Dream Dinners), sausage, orange juice

Dinners
Winter Solstice: turkey medallions w/ cranberry sauce, apple-sausage stuffing, green beans
Tuesday: chicken with roasted root veggies (beets, rutabagas, turnips, carrots) and leeks
Wednesday: Leftovers Buffet
Christmas Eve: shrimp & crab cocktail*, spaghetti and meatballs, sourdough bread (shaped like a Christmas tree!), salad, grape juice
Christmas: prime rib roast (Dream Dinners), roasted potatoes with rosemary, green beans, chocolate cheesecake
Boxing Day: homemade chicken vegetable soup, sourdough bread, applesauce
Sunday: Leftovers Buffet or chicken fried rice and orange segments

* - Growing up, we always had fish, bread, and grape juice on Christmas Eve. I tried carrying on this tradition as an adult and we had a similar meal for several years. A couple of years ago I realized that most of the family disliked fish and actually dreaded the meal. We decided to instead have spaghetti each Christmas Eve and we've all been happy with the new tradition. All the same, I try to have some kind of seafood on Christmas Eve in homage to my childhood traditions. ;)

jFor more menu planning ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

this week's menu plan (posted on Sunday, but called Menu Plan Monday)

Monday: beef stir-fry -- sliced beef, Napa cabbage, peppers, carrots (and possibly some mushrooms that have been hiding in the pantry) -- and rice, egg rolls (from the freezer)
Prep tonight: soak beans for tomorrow's dinner; pull Monte Cristo Chicken from freezer, put tray in fridge to thaw
Tuesday: crockpot chili -- ground beef and ground pork (really need to use up the pork), beans, canned tomatoes, peppers and onions (from CSA basket), spices, other veggies -- and leftover rice from yesterday
Prep tonight: Pull corned beef out of freezer, put in fridge to thaw
Wednesday: Monte Cristo Chicken (Dream Dinners entree... we haven't made any new entrees there in a while; still using up the freezer stash!), green beans
Thursday: MUNCHKIN COOKS DINNER -- meatballs (from freezer) and spaghetti, homemade garlic bread, peas (she picked out this menu by herself)
Friday: pot roasted (in the crockpot) corned beef with root veggies (carrots, potatoes, beets), onion, and green beans
Saturday: leftovers or quick homemade soup
Sunday: lentil & rice tacos (with shredded lettuce or cabbage, salsa, avocado, etc. -- this feels like it needs a side dish, but I'm stumped. If we load the tacos up with veggies, do we *need* a side dish?

Wednesday and Friday are busy days, so I hope I've planned accordingly. I've posted the little reminders so I remember to pull stuff out of the freezer in time!

Breakfasts: toast/eggs, baked oatmeal, yogurt & fruit parfaits*, cold cereal (with almond milk)/scrambled eggs

* - (tricky since we seem to be becoming lactose intolerant, but we need to use up the yogurt & are crossing our fingers with the hope that we'll be ok with yogurt -- we aren't ok anymore with glasses of milk or heavy cheese dishes)

Lunches: English muffin pizzas, soup & peanut (or almond) butter sandwiches, sliced chicken sandwiches, hummus vegetable wraps, green smoothies & hummus with tortilla chips

For more menu planning ideas, see I'm an Organizing Junkie!

camping out with Menu Plan Monday

We're going camping in Yosemite tomorrow! This means I had to plan the menu for this week a little more carefully, taking into account the meals that have to be eaten at the campsite (dinner on Monday, all of Tuesday's meals, and breakfast on Wednesday) and cooking after we get home. We're having some of the leftover ham from last Saturday's dinner for a few meals and making use of some of our dehydrated foods. Since I know we're likely to be tired when we get home, we're relying on one of our freezer meals for an easy dinner after traveling back.

I'm also planning on making a big green smoothie to drink before heading out and another when we get back since we're not going to have a lot in the way of fresh produce while camping. I'll also be taking a few packets of Greens To Go along with us.


Camping Day Meals
Monday: [B] eggs, toast, fruit [L] peanut butter or almond butter & jelly sandwiches, canned peaches, pickles [D] BBQ pork sandwiches, green beans
Tuesday: [B] scrambled eggs, ham, grits [L] cheese, crackers, ham, apple slices [D] baked beans, hot dogs, blueberry applesauce, green beans
Wednesday: [B] bacon fried rice, [L] burgers at Sonic on the way home, [D] chicken enchiladas (Dream Dinners entree), summer squash

The remaining dinners
Thursday: chicken vegetable soup with butternut squash ravioli (added instead of noodles)
Friday: sloppy joes, CSA veggies (no idea what's coming yet)
Saturday: Cornflake Crusted Chicken (Dream Dinners entree), buttered potatoes, CSA veggies
Sunday: all the fabulous leftovers!

For more menu planning ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

another Menu Planning Monday!

Here's what we're having this week...

Monday: ham & beans, sliced beets, corn
Tuesday: hot dogs, sodas, cotton candy (we're going to the beach boardwalk for their 75 cent night)
Wednesday: Honey Garlic Orange Chicken (Dream Dinners entree), rice, carrots
Thursday: teriyaki pork tenderloin, rice, stir fried veggies
Friday: spaghetti & Italian sausages, garlic bread, Zucchini Moons

Saturday: Christmas in July! - ham, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, sparkling apple cider, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, Christmas cookies
Sunday: all the awesome leftovers

Breakfasts: eggs & toast, eggs & cereal, smoothies
Lunches: leftovers, bean & rice burritos, egg salad & crackers with fruit, PB&J, canned soup

For more meal planning ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Weekend at the farm + Menu Plan Monday

We had a nice, relaxed couple of days this weekend. Saturday we went to our CSA's community day at the farm. This was Chickadee's first visit to the farm, although Munchkin has visited there several times. We got to see their new baby goats, pick blackberries, meet the farm dogs, and the kids climbed all over the straw bale forts. Chickadee had a great time pulling handful after handful of straw out of the bales!



Father's Day breakfast was the traditional cinnamon rolls and orange juice, and the girls presented Daddy with a bound picture book titled "Daddy's Adventure Book" (inspired by the scrapbook from the movie Up!). The book showed pictures of him with the girls (mostly Munchkin since Chickadee is less than a year old, and has had fewer years to accumulate pictures) from 2001 to the present. He cried and said it was the best present ever. :)

The rest of the day was spent dismantling Munchkin's bed and rearranging her room in preparation for her new bed arriving tomorrow morning. She has slept in one of those lofted beds with a ladder and a slide for the last 6 years, but she's a bit too big for it now. While she's going to miss her old bed, she's pretty excited about the new one.

Breakfasts:
eggs & cold cereal/toast/waffles, sausage or bacon, radish hash browns

Lunches: leftovers, green smoothies, tuna salad and crackers, Monterey Chicken quesadillas, cioppino (maybe... we have some in the freezer and only two of us like it, so it's a better lunch option than one for dinner)

Monday: pulled smoked pork w/ BBQ sauce, collards, cornbread
Tuesday: linguine with chicken & Alfredo sauce, salad or broccoli
Wednesday: veggie chili (from freezer), salad or broccoli
Thursday: Teriyaki Tomato Rice & Beef, zucchini
Friday: Leftover Buffet or grilled sausages, peppers and onions
Saturday: Blackberry Balsamic Chicken (Dream Dinners entree from freezer), salad, cornbread
Sunday: soup (canned or a simple homemade veggie soup) & grilled cheese sandwiches

For more meal planning ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

long time, no menu!

I did it again. I got too busy to make a menu, but found that the week(s) ended up even more hectic without one. I'm still pretty busy, but I'm going to try to post SOMETHING so I have some sort of a guideline.

The temperature was in the 90s today and it's expected to stay pretty hot for the rest of the week, so I'm gearing meals towards using the oven as little as possible.

Breakfasts:
smoothies
quiches (we have several single serving quiches from Trader Joe's)
blueberry bran muffins with yogurt (or another smoothie)
French toast (freezer) or waffles (freezer) with yogurt

Lunches:
Salads
Salads
Salads (chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, green salad, fruit salad, etc.)
smoothies with hummus and crackers
sandwich (PB&J, meat or egg salad, veggie, etc.) with yogurt

Dinners:
Beef Carbonara with noodles (Dream Dinner entree from freezer, make in crock pot)
Carrot Top Soup
Subway $5 footlong sandwich (evening activity at the school, so we're having dinner out)
steak tacos (cook steak on Foreman grill, slice, saute vegetables in skillet)
Brown Rice Vegetable Risotto (substitute broth for the wine)
BBQ Pork Sandwiches (Dream Dinners)
leftovers

For more meal planning ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

slightly late Menu Planning Monday

Since I was out of town last weekend, I didn't have a menu plan. Once again I was reminded of how much easier the week flows when I do have one!

Monday: hot dogs, mac & cheese, assorted leftover veggies
Tuesday: Hoppin' John, greens
Wednesday: Steak & Onions with Potatoes (from the freezer, Dream Dinners meal), asparagus
Thursday: Chicken Parmesan (Dream Dinners), garlic bread, salad
Friday: lentil & rice tacos, corn, carrot sticks
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: frittata, salad or other veggies (depending on what produce we have left by then)

Breakfasts - Amish Baked Oatmeal and bacon or eggs, frozen breakfast sandwich, biscuits & sausage gravy with eggs

Lunches - egg salad, baked tofu, PB&J or corned beef sandwiches (made from last week's leftover corned beef), yogurt or cottage cheese and soup, cheese & cracker plate with fruit

See what other people are planning for their menus this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Planning Monday - better late than never!

We're going out of town Sunday evening, so I only have to plan this weeks menu from Monday to Saturday.

Monday: pumpkin ravioli, oven fried chicken, sauteed greens
Tuesday: cheese manicotti (from freezer), garlic bread, sauteed greens
Wednesday: Oven Fried Pork Chops, roasted beets, sauteed cabbage, applesauce
Thursday: "Breakfast for Dinner" - sausage links (from freezer), waffles, applesauce
Friday: Bacony Lentil Stew (I have a bunch of bacon ends that I need to use up), sauteed cabbage, Mountain Pie
Saturday: leftovers

Breakfasts: yogurt, cereal; eggs, toast
Lunches: nori rolls (avocado, carrot, rice, nori), teriyaki meatballs; leftover oven fried chicken, fruit; PB&J/ham & cheese sandwiches, tortilla chips or pretzels; Crock Pot Falafel, hummus, pita chips, carrot sticks and/or cucumber slices; smoothies, popcorn

Coconut Rice

This works well for a breakfast dish or a dessert, although some people serve it on the side with a spicy curry. It's quite nice with slices of fresh mango, but it's good on its own as well. This is an especially nice treat for those who are avoiding gluten and/or dairy.

Coconut Rice

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 cups coconut milk or cream
• 1 cup sugar (I prefer either raw or brown sugar)
• 2 tsp. salt

Cook rice. While rice is cooking, combine coconut milk or cream, sugar, and salt in a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir well and set aside.
When rice is cooked, remove from heat; pour coconut mixture over hot rice and stir well. Let sit covered at least 30 minutes to allow rice to absorb mixture. Do not refrigerate.

time for Menu Planning Monday (with recipe links)

Our schedule has been shuffled around this week -- my class on Thursday has been cancelled for the week, but Munchkin won't be riding in her usual carpool to class on Friday! Just when I thought there'd be a little extra free time, I find it's being traded elsewhere. Oh, well!

DINNERS

Monday: white chicken chili, tortilla chips, broccoli
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Hamburger Barley Stew, muffins
Thursday: Turkey Medallions with Savory Cranberry Sauce (Dream Dinners meal from freezer), stuffing, green beans
Friday: lentil & rice burritos with salsa, lettuce, and cheese
Saturday: pumpkin ravioli (from freezer), oven fried chicken tenders, green beans
Sunday: frozen or homemade pizza, veggies

BREAKFASTS:
quiche (from freezer)
muffins (freezer) and eggs
sandwich made from English muffin, sausage patty, and fried egg
smoothies (to use up the browning bananas)
cereal and eggs

LUNCHES:
yogurt and bacon & cheese muffin
PB&J or ham sandwich
leftover chili
smoothie
things from freezer like burritos, pot pies, etc.

See what other people are planning for their menus this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

...and we're back! Menu Planning Monday

I certainly missed having a menu plan last week! From Wednesday on, every night I had to figure out what we were having for dinner. Planning it out in advance certainly makes it easier.

Dinners -
Monday: roast chicken, roasted root veggies (sweet potatoes, rutabagas, beets)
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner - since it's Fat Tuesday/Pancake Day/Mardi Gras for much of America, having pancakes for dinner seems like a fine idea! Pancakes, sausage, yogurt and fruit smoothies
Wednesday: black bean & vegetable soup, corn bread
Thursday: "Pizza Fondue" (pizza or spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese melted together) with meatballs, Italian sausage slices, mozzarella sticks, and garlic bread as dippers
Friday: Mango Glazed Pork Chops (from freezer), rice pilaf, carrots or sweet potatoes
Saturday: homemade chicken soup, crackers, fruit salad or smoothies
Sunday: leftovers

Breakfasts - scrambled egg burritos, smoothie and hard boiled eggs, breakfast sandwiches (the remaining pre-made ones from the freezer plus fried egg/cheese/toast sandwiches), cereal and eggs, waffles (from freezer) with sausage and eggs

Lunches - salmon burgers (from freezer), soup with bacon & cheese muffins (modified from this recipe), yogurt with bacon & cheese muffins, ham & cheese sandwiches or PBJ, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, hummus with tortilla chips & veggies

For more meal planning ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie!

It's time for Menu Plan Monday!

It's been confirmed -- with the busier schedule now that I'm back in school, the menu plans really help.

Breakfasts

• eggs and toast/bagel/English muffin (with butter or butter & Marmite)
• homemade breakfast burritos (salsa, scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese in a tortilla)
  
• Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich
• eggs and hot cereal
• monkey bread and eggs (probably weekend morning)
  

Lunches

• cottage cheese (we have a lot!) and soup
• ham sandwich, fruit
• PBJ (or something equivalent made with cashew butter) and yogurt
• chicken nuggets (from the freezer, I swear!), mixed veggies
• taco salad (I'm hoping to make a batch of it sometime this week)
  

Dinners

Monday: homemade tacos, mixed veggies
Tuesday: Poppy Seed Chicken casserole, green beans
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: pork chops with raisins and apples (from freezer), roasted Brussels sprouts
Friday: chili dogs, corn, fruit cocktail
Saturday: roast chicken, rutabagas
Sunday: Soup & Bread Night -- hamburger soup, cornbread or scones

For more meal planning ideas, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie!

I forgot the breakfasts and lunches!

I typed out the plan for this week's dinners, but I forgot to add the breakfasts and lunches... right after I had just said I was planning those out too! Fortunately I can type up another post and link it to the original. ;) The dinner portions of the weekly menu can be found here.

Breakfasts

• eggs and toast (with butter or butter & Marmite)
  
• Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich (found a few boxes of them from the grocery salvage outlet for less than I could make them from scratch)
• eggs and cereal
• banana bread, eggs, and bacon or sausage (probably Saturday)
  
• repeat one or two
  

Notice a theme here? If I don't have eggs for breakfast, I can really tell later in the day. I'll get tired and cranky, and I need all of my energy right now.

Lunches

• tuna melt, tomato soup
  
• salmon burger patty (frozen), tartar sauce, mixed vegetables
• enchilada (frozen), mixed vegetables
• cheese and crackers, canned soup, fruit
• dinner leftovers