Tag: eats

Monthly Menu Plan: January

Posted on Posted in cooking & recipesTagged , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

It’s time for another month of menu planning!

Rather than planning my family dinners night by night, or week by week, I’ve taken the habit of planning out one menu for an entire month. This makes my grocery shopping much easier since I’ve already decided what dinners I’ll be making, I only have to pick up the ingredients missing for that week and the very regular cast of breakfast and lunch foods.

And the looming nightly dinners are now much less intimidating. No longer having to stand in front of the refrigerator scratching my head, trying desperately to figure out something nutritious and delicious to make for dinner? Love that. And by doing this monthly rather than weekly, it leaves more time for life in the days in between. It isn’t rocket science, and thanks goes to Simple Mom who inspired me with this idea.

So here’s my menu for the month of January:

Week One

Monday: chicken strips, sweet potato fries & sweet corn
Tuesday: Fettuccine Alfredo w/ grilled chicken and Caesar salad
Wednesday: Hamburgers w/ choose your own sides
Thursday: *BBQ Chicken Teriyaki w/ mixed veggies & basmati rice
Friday: Grilled cheese & pepperoni w/ clam chowder
Saturday: Book Club – I’ll be out for dinner
Sunday: Swedish Meatballs

Week Two

Monday: Steak & Cheese Sandwiches
Tuesday: Spaghetti and meatballs w/ Texas toast & Caesar salad
Wednesday: *Beer Battered Fish w/ mashed potatoes & veggies
Thursday: *Orange Chicken w/ mixed veggies & basmati rice
Friday: Grilled cheese & pepperoni w/ chicken noodle soup
Saturday: Still haven’t decided – any ideas?
Sunday: Homemade spinach & Alfredo pizza

Week Three

Monday: *Beef toquitos w/ blue corn chips and salsa
Tuesday: ABC pasta w/ garlic and olive oil, with Caesar salad
Wednesday: Hot Dogs & Macaroni & Cheese
Thursday: *BBQ Chicken Teriyaki w/ mixed veggies & basmati rice
Friday: Grilled cheese & pepperoni w/ beef stew
Saturday: Meatball Subs / w provolone cheese
Sunday: Enchilada style Mexican pizza

Week Four

Monday: chicken strips, mashed potatoes & corn
Tuesday: *Gnocchi w/ marinara sauce, with texas toast & caesar salad
Wednesday: Mozechilli Casserole
Thursday: *Orange Chicken w/ mixed veggies & basmati rice
Friday: Grilled cheese & pepperoni w/ tomato soup
Saturday: GAME NIGHT homemade pizzas
Sunday: Make Your Own Burritos

* Trader Joe’s Freezer Food

That’s it for January! Remember, the most important part of this process is flexibility – make a plan, but  don’t get eaten up about it if you decide to switch things up – maybe your dinners for Wednesday and Thursday need to be switched for a week or you make plans at the last minute – that’s fine – this isn’t homework, so it shouldn’t feel like it – the whole goal is to make YOUR life easier! So have fun with it!

If you’re making a menu plan for the month of January be sure to leave a comment with a link to your post in the comments section below.

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Kitchenaid & Cuisinart Appliances!

Posted on Posted in contests & giveaways, eatsTagged , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

So it’s kind of an on-going thing in our house that dh will ask for some yummy baked good, like my world famous(ish) chocolate chip cookies, and I’ll laugh and laugh, and say, “Maybe if you buy me a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer.” And of course at the price they go for, this hasn’t happened yet. Well if I win the giveaway at My Wooden Spoon, dh will be getting a whole lot of cookies!

Lori is giving away your choice of either Kitchenaid Immersion Blender, a Cuisinart Food Processor, or a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer!  Well you know which one I put my vote in for, but I want to share the love and make sure you all get a chance to vote for one of those awesome gifts, too. There are four (4) ways to enter this contest:

  1. Leave a comment telling her which one you would choose.
  2. Vote for My Wooden Spoon’s Shrimp Stroganoff Casserole over at the Velveeta Casserole Challenge.
  3. Twitter this giveaway.
  4. Blog about it.

So easy! So get a move on and head over to enter RIGHT NOW, okay?

October’s Month-Long Menu Plan

Posted on Posted in eatsTagged , , , , 4 Comments

A few months ago I decided to start making a month of menus (idea inspired here @ Simple Mom) to end the dreaded nightly “what in the heck should I make for dinner?” debate. I think it’s a wonderful idea and I think my husband would agree. Even when he does come home at night to find me half passed out on the couch after a long day of chasing a two year old around the apartment and learns he’s making dinner, he at least doesn’t have to scrounge for something to make – I’ve got a menu. And most nights I make dinner, I swear.

And I’ve had a lot of people tell me it’s a good idea here in blogland, too, so I’ve decided to make this a “meme” of sorts – I’m challenging you, my readers, to make a month-long menu plan also. If you’d like to play along you can put my handy dandy so clearly self-made button on your post, in your sidebar and anywhere else you’d like. And be sure to comment here and let me know you are playing because I’m too lazy to put up a Mr. Linkey. 😛

So here’s what’s cooking this month. First, the weekly theme

Mondays: freezer food-ish
Tuesdays: italian night
Wednesdays: all american meal
Thursdays: soup & sandwich
Fridays: stir fry / skillet meal
Saturdays: pizza night / mexican night
Sundays: something easy & preferably light

Week One

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie (Mrs Budds)
Tuesday: Gnocchi, Red Sauce w/ Ground Beef, Garlic Bread
Wednesday: hot dogs, beans, macaroni & cheese
Thursday: Grilled Cheese & Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday: orange chicken, basmati rice & asian veggies
Saturday: Spinach & Feta Pizza
Sunday: Breakast Pizza For Dinner (I got this recipe from Sues2u2 @ My Musings in a comment on this post – if you have a recipe you think I should try, just leave me a comment in this post)

Week Two

Monday: COLUMBUS DAY Chicken Strips, Potato Wedges & Corn on the Cob
Tuesday: Fettucini Alfredo w/ broccoli & grilled chicken & caesar salad
Wednesday: hamburgers w/ choose your own sides
Thursday: Grilled Cheese & Clam Chowder
Friday: BBQ Style Teriyaki Chicken, basmati rice & asian veggies
Saturday: Popcorn chicken, sweet potato fries & corn on the cob
Sunday: Enchilada Style Mexican Pizza

Week Three

Monday: Frozen Pizza, mozzarella strips & jalapeño poppers
Tuesday: spaghetti & meatballs w/ caesar salad
Wednesday: Steak & Cheese Sandwiches
Thursday: Grilled Cheese & Chili
Friday: orange chicken, basmati rice & asian veggies
Saturday: It’s Game Night at Chez Momma, so we’ll do a cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and two spinach feta pizzas and maybe some homemade breadsticks, too? I might even make a dessert (maybe)
Sunday: Swedish Meatballs & egg noodles

Week Four

Monday: Frozen Apps: Potato Skins, Mozzarella Strips & popcorn chicken
Tuesday: multi colored spiral pasta w/ garlic, olive oil & caesar salad
Wednesday: beer battered fish, mashed potatoes & carrots
Thursday: Grilled Cheese & Italian Wedding Soup
Friday: HALLOWEEN (we’ll pick something up while we’re out)
Saturday: 1st of NOV build your own burritos
Sunday: Baked Brie wrapped in philo dough w/ cherry preserves