menu plan: 9/18–9/23

 

It is Sunday and time for another menu plan! I apologize for not posting my menu last week…I actually posted my menu at the Sisterhood page. Next time I post over there I will link here.

 

Menu planning keeps me sane! This week I have PT (physical therapy) Monday, Wednesday and Friday right after school. On Tuesday, it is Back to School night at my school AND my daughter’s school AND Big Man works until 5 – so its an easy crockpot sort of recipe!

Sun 9/18

Pork Roast, Roasted Veg (potatoes, carrots, butternut squash)

Mon 9/19

Italian Stuffed Sweet Peppers with pasta

Tue 9/20

Chicken & Black Bean Burritos, spanish rice – I am using this recipe as a base then when I come home from work I will shred chicken add black beans in for 2 hours – then make the burritos and slide them in the oven while I make rice.

Wed 9/21

Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops, Roasted Cauliflower, & sweet potatoes

Thu 9/22

Teriyaki Chicken Cordon Bleu with buttered noodles & green beans

Fri 9/23

Steak, potatoes & salad  (Big Man’s favorite night of the week)

 

Food to prepare for week ahead:

Eggy Muffs

Broccoli Soup

Leek & Potato Soup (Big Man’s signature soup – sorry, not real recipe – he combined a few)

Rice Krispie Treats – making them has to be better than buying packaged ones, right?!?

 

A few Notes:

*Last week, Christy M. of SJ mentioned saymmm.com and I had to check it out! I am going to use that site for meal planning – I checked into and I definitely will be using saymmm.com to log my menus.  I think it will be cool to have a calendar-style log of the meals I plan.  How do you menu plan?

*You may notice, I don’t plan a Saturday dinner. I feel like one day a week can be spontaneous!!

 

What’s on your menu??

menu plan: 9/4–9/10

I have been menu planning for the last year or so. I started planning after seeing a ton of bloggers linking up their menus. I loved seeing what others were feeding  their families. I was inspired and found tons of ideas from all different types of menus: vegetarians and meat-atarians alike! I stopped blogging my menu, not really sure why, but I have been menu planning still!! My family survives on a pretty tight budget and menu planning is the best way to ensure we shop the sales and don’t waste anything we do buy. I keep the freezer and pantry stocked as much as possible. I take a quick inventory then check the sales ads and then put together a menu.

I don’t know why I haven’t blogged my menu but I am going to start doing that again. Today, I stumbled to the Shrinking Jeans site and they are hosting a new menu plan link up! I LOVE menu plan link ups! AND next week, I will be writing my menu plan for the SJ site!

Sunday 9/4: Barbecued Chicken Breasts. Salad and Grilled Veg

Monday 9/5: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup & a BIG salad & cornbread

Tuesday 9/6: Sausage, spinach & tomato over angel hair pasta & salad

Wednesday 9/7: Sloppy Joes, oven fries & a salad

Thursday 9/8: Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash over mashed potatoes & green beans

Friday 9/9: Homemade Quesadillas with Rice & Beans

Saturday 9/10: Burgers & Oven Fries and Beer (after first week of school, we will be ready for this)

 

School Lunches: leftovers from dinner, salads, and sandwiches

Snacks: fruit, carrots dipped in peanut butter, hardboiled egg & cheese stick, yogurt (I like yoplait in the blue cup with desserty flavors like red velvet cake)

Desserts: yoplait yogurts & fruit, banana soft-serve –often with extra fruit added in. AND now I may have to make Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING THIS WEEK???

going bananas

3 dozen eggs

3 gigantic leeks

5 pounds sweet potatoes

5 pounds yukon gold potatoes

3 pounds broccoli

2 heads cabbage

2 heads green leaf lettuce

5 big sweet onions

2 pounds green beans

3 pounds plums

5 big Piñata apples

1 cantaloupe

5 pounds bananas

Not the best picture of the total haul. I don’t usually take pictures of my groceries but I was sort of impressed. I spent $30 and came home with 3 “green” shopping bags loaded, plus a bag with the eggs.  I came home and unloaded the produce and I gotta tell ya, I was excited! YES!!! Fruit and veggies excite me! I am still a meat-eater, but I love my fruits and veggies.  My fridge is full of wonderfulness.

Expect recipes, food ideas, and just yummy produce pics to follow soon!

Tell me, what is your favorite way to get extra fruits and/or veggies into your diet??

mindful menu – week of 5.2.2010

Sunday: Pork Tinga a la Rick Bayless

Monday: Shrimp Scampi Florentine.  I am following this recipe but I am going to make this pesto for it and not use a jar like the recipe actually calls for. I am not exactly sure about the pesto part – pesto is not my fave but I have never made it myself.

Tuesday: Picnic Dinner of BLT and tuna macaroni salad

Wednesday: Kid’s Choice: Ravioli with Meat Sauce and a big old salad.

Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a spinach salad.

Friday: POM & Balsamic Glazed Chicken.

**I am focusing more on real food and eating like a real person. This is important to me! I need to eat like a normal person, a normal healthy person. I need to be a good role model for my daughter. I grew up watching my mom on every diet under the sun. Why did she diet so much?!? Well, my mom was forever on the hunt for a new man or she was trying to keep current man happy. Stepdad #2 was a health freak and a body builder so mom became a health freak and by extension so did me and my sister.  I could go on and on and tell you stories but I won’t. I want to lead by example and I want to be healthy for me as much as for my daughter. I don’t want her to have food issues.

Real food is my new goal. Not necessarily low calorie but high nutritional value will be the focus. Balance as well.  I never really learned how to eat and prepare healthy foods. I am learning so that I can teach my daughter so that she never feels helpless and out of control the way I did.  Normal foods like spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, are staples in my house! I have increased the nutritional and health of these staples by adding veggies in and choosing lean meats.

As Always, Thank You Jenna! Menu planning is huge part of my “REAL FOOD” revolution.  If you are menu planning, link up with ChiveTalkin. If you are not menu planning…well, why the heck not?!?!