Menu Plan Monday

Summer is almost over and my house is starting to buzz with the excitement and anxiety of a new school year. I love this feeling of anticipation, of a fresh start coming up, it makes me want to start over too. So it's time to get myself organized... again!



This summer we joined a CSA (that's community supported agriculture) and have really enjoyed getting a weekly box of vegetables from a local organic farm. However, it has been a bit of a challenge to learn how to use them all, especially the kale and kohlrabi. I did find a fantastic recipe for kale tacos that my family will eat but so far the kohlrabi has been a dismal failure. Fortunately this week we don't have either vegetable in our box.

We have:

1 pint Sungold cherry tomatoes
1½# slicing tomatoes
1½# Roma beans
1½# all-purple potatoes
2 fennel bulbs
1# summer squash
1½# tomatillos
1 bunch carrots
1 cucumber
1 sweet fresh onion
2 jalapeno peppers
1 head garlic
1 red butter head lettuce
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch chives

Most of the vegetable will be used in our meals but I'm also going to make a chile verde salsa with the tomatillos, jalapenos, and cilantro. I love the fact that an abundance of vegetables has pushed me to build vegetarian menus with meat on the side instead of meat based menus with adjustments for our vegetarians.

• Monday - Patty Pan Squash with eggs, purple potato galette, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers
• Tuesday - Spanish Rice, Nachos with beans, Salad
• Wednesday - Roasted Vegetables with Polenta , turkey sausage, french bread
• Thursday - Chicken and Fennel made with chicken and Chick'n Cutlets, golden couscous
• Friday - Make your own pizzas
• Saturday - Community Garage Sale - Sandwiches or Leftovers
• Sunday - Bob grills something yummy

Thanks to Laura at www.orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Check out her blog for more great ideas!

Menu Plan Monday

Honestly, I don't feel like planning at all this week! But I've got to do it so here goes...

• Monday - Hey.. Monday is done! Yippee! (and I'm not telling you what we ate because it was shameful. Truly shameful.


• Tuesday - Spicy Roasted Chicken with Avocado, Rice, Romaine Salad .


• Wednesday - Lasagne, Salad, Focaccia.


• Thursday - Steak Quesadillas, Black Bean, Pepper, and Corn Relish.


• Friday - Dinner and a movie!


• Saturday - Two birthday parties and a major formal dance for my high schooler. We will be having something very easy.. probably Soup and Panini..


• Sunday - Bob cooks something delicious.

Focaccia

pinch of sugar
2 3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil - this is a an occassion to use really good olive oil. It will make a huge difference.
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon course sea salt


Sprinkle yeast into 1/4 cup of water and let stand about ten minutes.

Stir in remaining water and olive oil. Add flour one cup at a time.
Dough will be soft. Add salt.


Knead dough until smooth and springy, about ten minutes by hand or five minutes with an electric mixer and dough hook. (I'll admit it.. although I love to knead bread I almost always use the mixer now. I think hand kneading makes better bread but the mixer is just so easy.)

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plasic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for about one and a half hours. After the dough has doubled in volume spread it into an oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise thirty minutes. Uncover and gently poke the loaf every four inches, cover again and let rise another hour. Heat oven to 425. Brush the loaf with olive oil, allowing indentations to fill with oil, and sprinkle with more salt. If you like you can also sprinkle with fresh rosemary or basil.


Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve warm.

Check out Orgjunkie.com for more Menu Plan Monday menus!

Menu Plan Monday

The Super Bowl seems to be our traditional "end of the holidays" blow-out. It is the final indulgent meal in a season full of bad-for-you food. Today we start a new season of healthy eating... and the best way to stay on target is to plan ahead. Thankfully there's Laura and Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie to help keep me on track!

Monday - Steak Sandwiches, Baked French Fries, Green Salad
Tuesday - Salsa Chicken and Rice, Corn and Black Bean Relish
Wednesday - Chopped Salad with Spicy Pork and Buttermilk Dressing
Thursday - Chicken Vegetable Soup with Noodles
Friday - Make Your Own Pizza
Saturday - Bob Cooks
Sunday - To be decided later...

My nutritional goal for this week is to stop drinking soda... again. It's one of my toughest habits to break.

Menu Plan Monday

If you believe the weather forcast, we have a cold, wet week ahead of us. With this in mind I'm trying to plan some nice warm meals that can be cooked in the crockpot for Monday and Tuesday. Of course, this is assuming that we won't lose power and end up eating sandwiches. Last year we had a terrible storm in December and some people in our area were without electricty for weeks. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.

This week we will start our Advent Countdown Calendar. We have a cabinet with 24 drawers that I fill with candy somedays and notes others. I have always tried to have a good mix of fun, education, and candy, however, In 2006 I only did candy. Yesterday Zane and Taylor started talking about how much fun our Advent Calender "used to be" and when I said it will be fun again Zane replied "No it won't because you are working now." Ah.. guilt.. such a Christmas-y emotion! I haven't taken out the cabinet yet but tomorrow we will officially start the season.

Hanukkah also begins this week, December 4th through the 12th, and we will having a celebration Saturday night. When I was a teen I spent one night of Hanukkah with my best friend's family each year and it's a tradition I have tried to continue with my own children. I feel it is very important that they grow up appreciating and understanding other religious traditions, as well as learning about the foundations of their own religion.

Well this is a bit long-winded... so on with the menu!

• Monday - Beef Stew, French Bread


• Tuesday - Chunky Bean Soup with Ham and Kale


• Wednesday - Quesadillas and Salad


• Thursday - Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Roasted Sweet and White Potatoes


• Friday - Broccoli Quiche and Fruit Salad


• Saturday - Chicken Soup, Latkes, Applesauce, Honey Cake


• Sunday - To Be Decided Later

Thanks to Debi at orgjunkie.com for hosting. If you don't know her go visit.. she's got lots of great ideas.

Have a good week!

Menu Plan Monday

We've got lots of leftovers to make use of this week. The problem is making them palatable to my family.

• Monday - Beef and Chicken Fajitas (nope.. not a leftover)
• Tuesday - Turkey Potpie
• Wednesday - Potato and Ham Soup
• Thursday - Thai Peanut Noodles with Brocolli and Peppers
• Friday - Dinner and a Movie
• Saturday - Bob cooks
• Sunday - To be decided later

It's not very creative this week. Next week I'll get back to more detailed menu planning.

Menu Monday

Oh this is such an easy week to plan since the Thanksgiving menu is kind of set in stone.

Monday - Macaroni and Cheese and Chicken Strips
Tuesday - Salmon, Steamed Red Potatoes, Asparagus
Wednesday - 20th Anniversary (OUR'S!) Dinner Out with family.
Thursday - Thanksgiving Feast
Friday - Soup and Leftovers
Saturday - Who knows...
Sunday - Something that's not Turkey

Have a great week everyone!

Menu Plan Monday

I have eight days until my Thanksgiving guests arrive. I am trying to keep meals very simple this week so that I have time to plan, clean, and work some extra hours. Hopefully I'll be able to work from home next week and enjoy having family around.

• Monday - Chicken and Dumplings
• Tuesday - Steak (left over from Sunday) Quesadillas and Salad
• Wednesday -Baked Ziti and Green Beans
• Thursday - Thai Peanut Chicken with Rice Noodles
• Friday - Dinner and a movie
• Saturday - Ham and Cheese Panini with Tomato Soup
• Sunday - Undecided

Thanks to Laura at Orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday!

Monday, monday... lala.. la.. lala lala

My goal for this week is to use up everything in my freezer. With Thanksgiving only three weeks and four days away (yes it really is!) I need to clear some space. My refrigerator is pathetically small thanks to the dunderhead who designed my kitchen. When we moved here our traditional style side by side refrigerator blocked the door of the pantry. The refrigerator that replaced it is "counter depth" and cost a whole lot more for the delightful feature of having less space! Now I'm toying with the idea of buying a very cheap refrigerator to put out in my garage. We have a perfect spot right next to the door from the kitchen so it wouldn't be a ridiculous trek out to gather stuff from there. It feels a little wasteful to have two refrigerators but right now I'm wasting time and money running to the grocery store three times a week simply because my fridge is too small to hold enough fresh food. Anyway... on to the menu!

• Monday - Pasta Alfredo, Garlic Shrimp, Salad


• Tuesday - Thai Peanut Chicken with Broccoli and Rice Noodles (we skipped this last week so I'll try again)


• Wednesday - Slow cooker Beef Stew


• Thursday - Chicken Tomatillo Enchiladas


• Friday - Turkey Burgers, Potato chips, Salad


• Saturday - Bob Cooks Something Delicious


• Sunday - Soup and Panini (this is becoming a Sunday tradition

Thanks to Laura at http://orgjunkie.com/ for hosting Menu Plan Monday every week. If you haven't seen her new blog go check it out!

Another week rushes by...

The only post I managed to complete last week was my menu and now it's Sunday and I'm working on the menu again with very little else to say... that's kind of sad. But I had a nasty cold last week so I'm going to cut myself some slack about not writing. I got through the first week of work and we mostly stuck to the menu although I did have a mini midweek melt-down that required a visit to Ruby Tuesday's. Here's hoping this week will be good and I'll be getting back to semi-regular blogging very soon.

• Monday - Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans
  


• Tuesday - Shredded Beef and Potato Soup with Chimichurri, Tortilla Chips
  


• Wednesday - Thai Peanut Chicken with Broccoli and Rice Noodles
  


• Thursday - Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage, Salad
  


• Friday - Slow Cooker Roast with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions
  


• Saturday - Make Your Own Paninis and Tomato Soup
  


• Sunday - To Be Decided Later

Menu Plan Monday

Monday again?! I'm really not ready for this week. Last week was hard.. nothing went like it was supposed to and I'm terribly behind around here. I did manage to stick to my menu for almost the whole week and I'm really proud of myself. It took me three weeks to get to this point and now I have to embrace a new challenge. Tomorrow I will start working four hours a day and I need to figure out how to do that, and keep up on everything around here, and still find time to write. Everyone in this house is going to have to pitch in... and everyone seems to be willing right now. Zane is actually excited to take over some of the cooking. Sunday afternoon he sent me an email (he knows how to get my attention!) with his menu and grocery list for Thursday.

• Monday - Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup, Ham or Turkey and Cheese Pannini, Salad

• Tuesday - Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans

• Wednesday - Spiced Roast Pork, Baked Yams, Rice, Spiced Apples

• Thursday - ZANE COOKS! Lasagne, Salad, and Homemade Ice Cream for dessert.

• Friday - Shredded Beef and Potato Soup, Tortillas

• Saturday - Bob Cooks

• Sunday - To be determined later
  
  

Menu Plan Monday

I'm trying to get a jump on the week by posting this Sunday night and making up a grocery list so I can get my shopping done early tomorrow. Most of the recipes for this week come from the WW Turn-Around cookbook.

• Monday - Sole, Lemon-Dill Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans


• Tuesday - Roasted Chicken with Acorn Squash and Potatoes


• Wednesday - Shredded Beef and Potato Soup with Chimichurri, Corn Bread


• Thursday - Lasagne and Salad


• Friday - Dinner and a movie


• Saturday - Fruit-Stuffed Pork Loin, Salad


• Sunday - Soup and Panini

Thanks to Laura at http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com/ for the inspiration to get this aspect of my life in order

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't completely stick to the plan last week but I stayed pretty close to it and life really was easier! This week I'm trying to be even more organized. The recipes in red are from the WW TurnAround Program Cookbook. It was on sale at last week's meeting and so far it's really been worth the $13 I paid for it! If anyone wants a specific recipe I'll be happy to post them.


9/29 Ah.. best laid plans.. LOL We had a few last minute substitutions. In blue is what we actually ate.

Monday - Chicken Fajitas, with Grilled Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes, Corn Tortillas, Avocado Salad - We ate this. It was yummy.

Tuesday - Pork Chops, Tuscan Beans with Sage and Pancetta, Salad We also ate this and I will definitely cook it again.

Wednesday - Scallop, Orange and Asparagus Stir-fry with Rice noodles Sandwiches and chips thanks to a last minute notice of a school meeting

Thursday - Stuffed Shells and Salad Chicken and noodles, icky and not on my diet

Friday - Grilled Chicken Over Spinach - Allrecipes Hamburgers.. Bob had a craving and I was weak. But we did keep the calories and fat down with 95% lean ground beef.

Saturday - Grilled Salmon, Red Potatoes, Swiss Chard with Tomatoes Hey, we haven't stuck to the plan for four days.. we are now in a free-for-all free fall mentality. Pizza for the kids, a sandwich for Bob, Polenta with mushrooms and parmesean for me.

Sunday - Ham and Cheese Panini, Tomato Soup, Salad

Menu Monday

Ok.. this is now the third week I have attempted to post my menu! Last week I actually got Monday through Friday planned by Thursday morning. Not my most successful week for planning but I did actually stick to my guns and we didn't eat out! Today I'm really going to do it though... here we go... the menu for this week will be...

Monday - Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms, French Bread, Pear Crisp
Tuesday - Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted White and Sweet Potatoes, Cinnamon Apples
Wednesday - Baked Ziti with Chicken Sausage, Green Salad
Thursday - Shrimp Paella, Tortilla Chips, Beans and Guacamole
Friday - Balsamic Chicken with Asiago Cheese on Sourdough Bread, Spinach Strawberry Salad
Saturday - Bob Cooks
Sunday - To be determined later