Menu Plan: Week of 11/29/10

The weather on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving made us cancel our travel plans for Thanksgiving, so we actually ended up staying home and cooking a turkey feast for the four of us. (My husband made the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy - I made the green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.) Although we missed our family, it turned out to be a very nice, cozy day for our little family.

I'm looking forward to more of a "planned" menu this week. I'm trying a couple of new dishes and just trying to keep things simple and healthy. (I'm focusing on "healthy" because, I must admit, my jeans are fitting quite a bit tighter as I type this.) :-)

Here's what we have planned for this week:

Breakfasts:
Whole Wheat Pancakes (Freezer)
Granola bars
Cold cereal and bananas
Cinnamon Raisin Toast and yogurt

Lunches:
Tomato soup, grilled cheese, carrot sticks
Chicken strips, cottage cheese, apple slices
Hummus and pita chips, carrot sticks, raisins
leftovers

Suppers:
Monday: Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken (new recipe), pasta with marinara sauce, broccoli

Tuesday: Lentil Burritos (new recipe), mixed vegetables, apple slices

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, oven fries, corn

Friday: Chicken Noodle Casserole, lettuce salad, orange slices

Saturday: Father-in-law visiting so probably out to eat

Sunday: clean out the fridge night!

Please visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for great menu planning ideas.

Menu Plan: Week of 11/22/10

First, allow me to apologize for my total lack of blogging lately. Life has been busy. I have realized this past week that I have definitely bitten off a bit more than I can chew with some of my obligations and volunteering, and while I'm happy to do it all, it certainly doesn't leave a whole lot of time for the "extras" like blogging. I'm hopeful things will slow down soon and get back to normal (once I learn how to say "no.")

Second, can you even call this a menu plan? Nope, not really. We are traveling to South Dakota for the Thanksgiving holiday and will be gone the majority of the week. (Thanks in advance to my mother-in-law who will do all of the cooking while I sit in front of her glorious fireplace in my slippers sipping a hot cup of coffee or cocoa. Yes, I really am quite spoiled when we visit.) That being said, there is not much cooking for me this week. Since we'll be gone, I don't want to go grocery shopping and I don't want to have any leftovers, so this is what I have (kind of) planned so far:

Breakfasts:
Cold cereal and toast
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes (freezer) and bananas

Lunches:
Poor Man's Pizza, carrot sticks
Chicken strips, cottage cheese, apple slices

Suppers:
Monday: Three Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta, romaine salad, green beans, apple slices

Tuesday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, orange slices

Wed. - Sun.: out of town!

For menu planning ideas (and most certainly some great recipes to use leftover turkey!), please visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan: Week of 11/15/10

This week’s menu is pretty simple. I’m using mostly what I have on hand, in addition to carrying over some items from last week. Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Breakfasts:
Giant Breakfast Cookies (carryover from last week)
CrockPot Apple Oatmeal (carryover from last week)
Cold cereal, toast and bananas
Whole Wheat Muffins (freezer)

Lunches:
Ham and cheese melts, tomato soup, orange slices
Hummus and pita chips, carrot sticks with ranch dip
Chicken strips, cottage cheese, apple slices
Leftovers

Suppers:
Monday:
Tator Tot Hotdish (made with ground turkey)(carryover from last week), lettuce salad, orange slices

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Hubby working late – soup and sandwiches for me and the kids

Thursday:
Hubby working late again – Egg and cheese English muffins, bananas

Friday:
Spinach Stuffed Shells (doubling recipe for friend who just had a baby), lettuce salad

Saturday:
My birthday – out to eat!

Sunday:
Chicken Tacos, refried beans, chips and salsa

Please visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas.

Today is one of those great mornings...

where I'm happy and really, really enjoy my job as a stay-at-home mom to my two kiddos and wife to a very busy husband.

But then again, I'm the only one up and the house is blissfully quiet.

I woke up early (5:20 a.m. - thanks to not having adjusted to Daylight Savings Time yet) and turned on the coffee pot. I showered, did the whole makeup/hair/get dressed routine, and then wandered into the kitchen to make this yummy Applesauce Bread as a morning breakfast treat for my hubby and lil' ones. It is 7:05 a.m. I'm dressed and ready for the day. The bread is done and waiting for my family to tear into it. The house smells fantastic. The coffee is awesome. And the house is still blissfully quiet. Which is good because we have a busy day ahead of us, filled with preschool for the 3-year-old and an early childhood class for me and the 2-year-old.

I thank God often for this opportunity He has given my family. He has blessed us with the ability to have me stay home full-time with my kiddos. I know there are plenty of moms who love their careers and having that career outside of the home is a great thing for them and their families. But I also know there are moms who long to stay home with their kiddos but are financially unable to do so. And because of that, I can never forget give thanks for the blessing of being a SAHM.

SAHM, I am.

Now, I need to make sure I bookmark this post. I need to read...and re-read...and re-read again - when I have that inevitable day (likely this evening) when I'm exhausted, the kids are fighting and yelling "Mama!" every 6 seconds, supper is burning, and the cat puked on the rug. Remember, it's all a blessing....

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Menu Plan - Week of 11/8/10

Ahhh….home sweet home. I am glad to be home again with my little family and settling into our routine. I love traveling to see family but it is always sooooo nice to get home, get unpacked, get the house cleaned, and sigh a little “I love my house and my family” sigh.

And part of that routine is menu planning. I haven’t posted a menu plan for weeks and I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things again. Here is what I have planned so far for the upcoming week:

Breakfasts:
Giant Breakfast Cookies
CrockPot Apple Oatmeal (new recipe)
Cold cereal, toast and bananas
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes (from freezer)

Lunches:
PB&J, raisins, pickles
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks with ranch dip
Chicken strips, cottage cheese, apple slices
Leftovers

Suppers:
Monday:
Stir fry made with leftover grilled pork chops, green beans and mushrooms from Sunday night

Tuesday:
BBQ Chicken Drumsticks, Ranch potato wedges, Mixed vegetables, Apple slices

Wednesday:
Black Bean Salsa Chicken (new recipe), Chips with salsa and sour cream

Thursday:
Hubby working late – leftovers for me and the kids

Friday:
Hubby working late again; Three Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta (new recipe) and fruit for me and the kids

Saturday:
Tator Tot Hotdish (made with ground turkey), lettuce salad, orange slices

Sunday:
Hubby’s choice…probably out to eat!

Check out I'm An Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas.