Menu Plan Monday - Week of September 12

I love this time of year. Although here, in our part of Texas, the weather hasn't shown even the slightest sign of turning, the word "September" puts me in a whole new frame of mind. I start thinking of changing leaves, pumpkins (obviously I have an active imagination!) and heartier meals. 

Last week brought good news and bad news. The good news is my husband got a start date for returning to work after being on leave while caring for his mom after her stroke and we made it through our hectic schedule alive (!).

The bad news is I fell short when it came to following my menu plan...wait! Silver lining alert! That means I don't have to work quite as hard this week to come up with my plan! Here goes...I'll be sure to post some new recipes as my schedule allows this week.

Happy eating and have a blessed week!

Monday

Breakfast - Sausage rolls, juice
Lunch - Grilled apple, bacon and peanut butter sandwiches
Dinner - Sausage and pepper kebabs with Parmesan risotto

Tuesday

Breakfast - Bagel breakfast sandwiches
Lunch - Asian chicken noodle salad
Dinner - Italian stuffed flank steak, mashed potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash

Wednesday

Breakfast - Ham, cheese and spinach quiche
Lunch - Taco burgers, salad and fruit
Dinner - Stuffed muffaletta sandwiches, chips, raw veggies (we have a long evening of dance lessons so we'll pack this to take along)

Thursday 

Breakfast - Fruity breakfast shakes
Lunch - Croque monsieur and homemade veggie chips
Dinner - Cajun chicken pasta, green beans, salad

Friday

Breakfast - Blueberry waffles, bacon
Lunch - Hotdogs, tater tots, yogurt
Dinner - Family Fun Night! Homemade deep dish pizza and root beer floats

Saturday

Breakfast - Cinnamon rolls, fruit and coffee milk
Dinner - Taco ring, corn and black beans

Sunday 


Our church knows the way to get a teenager out of bed early on a Sunday morning is to feed them so most of our kids get a full breakfast when we arrive. The rest of us enjoy the kolaches, donuts, hot chocolate and coffee the church so graciously provides.

Dinner - Crock pot beef burgundy with egg noodles, glazed carrots

Menu Plan Monday - Back to School!

We're headed back to school.....pretty ominous sounding except we homeschool so it only involves heading to the dining room table! We're pretty formal..no P.J.'s please! One of the blessings of homeschooling (at least here in Texas) is being able to set your own schedule. We start the day after Labor day and take off most of December.
This year, I only have 5 students (my two oldest girls have graduated) 1 high schooler (yah...Algebra again), a 7th grader, 1 5th grader, a 3rd grader and a first grader and a list of extra-curriculars about a mile long....Cub and Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls, 4H, Civil Air Patrol, ballet, National Charity League, Student Council, ballroom dancing and the ever-present Irish dance. Whew! It's going to be a busy year! The only way I can have an semblance of sanity is to cling to any organizational tool I possibly can. Meal planning is one of my mainstays. The last few months, we have had quite an upheaval in our household when my mother-in-law suffered a stroke and subsequently moved in with us. All forms of schedule or organization pretty much went out the window. I think I've got my footing again (plus Grandma is moving into an assisted-living facility) so let's get this show on the road!!!

Here's my plan.....


Monday
Brunch - Hash brown casserole with sausage and biscuits
Dinner - Brisket,  BBQ baked beans and grilled corn

Tuesday
Breakfast - Free breakfast at Chick Fil-A (look online to make your reservation!)
Lunch - Monte Cristo sandwiches
Dinner - Italian flank steak and garlic mashed potatoes 

Wednesday
Breakfast - Secret toast with scrambled eggs (a la Nanny McPhee)
Lunch - Taco burgers
Dinner - Fajita steak salad

Thursday
Breakfast - Mini wheats with strawberries
Lunch - Grilled peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches
Dinner - Cajun chicken alfredo, carrots and salad

Friday
Breakfast - French toast and bacon, fruit
Lunch - Asian chicken noodle salad
Dinner - Family Fun Night!  Pizza, boneless wings, ice cream floats and a movie

Saturday
Brunch - Red velvet pancakes
Snack - Carmel apple nachos
Dinner - Thai style ribs, peanut noodle salad, spring rolls

Sunday
Breakfast - treats at church
Lunch - Sandwich stuff - everyone makes their own
Dinner - Chicken and dumplings

Wow! How did that happen?! Menu Plan for June 13 - 19

It's summer already and all of my organizational, planning, etc... resolve has completely derailed!! Why? In a word (or three hyphenated words) mother-in-law. The end of the school year was pretty packed out with one daughter graduating from high school and all of the surrounding hub-bub related to that; end of the year scouting activities; trying to tame our wild and crazy puppies and wrestling with ongoing homeowner duties (trying to get the pool blue again!, leaky pipes, etc...); throw in a couple of snake bites in the backyard and it makes for a busy day! Then, Grandma had a stroke. Actually three. So our house hold has grown from 9 to 10. And my plate juggling act? Needs a little re-working. So, slowly, we are acclimating to a new normal...I hadn't really mastered the old normal so this shouldn't be too hard! So, in my effort to reclaim some normalcy, I will start meal planning again. Otherwise we may starve!!

Monday:

Breakfast - Homemade croissants and fruit
Dinner - Pierogi with ham and peas in a bechamel sauce; salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Breakfast pizza - easy pizza crust with scrambled eggs, tomato, cheese, bacon
Dinner - Chiles Rellenos, crunchy beef tacos, avocado salad

Wednesday:

Breakfast -Dutch Baby with berries and syrup
Dinner - Crockpot beef and chicken fajitas with onions, peppers and zucchini served on flour tortillas

Thursday:

Breakfast -Breakfast burritos
Dinner - Thai Beef Salad with Crispy Noodles

Friday:

Breakfast - Sausage cheese bread
Dinner - Family Fun Night!!

Saturday:

Breakfast - BLT and fried egg and cheese sandwiches
Dinner - Monterey Chicken, rice, creamy corn casserole

Sunday:

Breakfast - Donuts at church
Dinner -Hot dogs on the grill

Menu Plan Monday February 21 - 28

Busy, busy, busy! This week has my husband fulfilling his rodeo committee duty for the year, preparing for our dance school's fundraiser (collecting donations, extra dance practice, baking cookies, making desserts for auctioning, teaching my husband to Irish dance....don't ask...)  my younger girls are hosting and Irish dancing at a tea party, my boys have their Blue and Gold Banquet for Boy Scouts and my 17 year old gets her braces off! Whew!....I'm really looking forward to coming up for air next week!
Despite the frenzied pace, we still gotta eat. Here's my plan....

Monday -
Breakfast - white chocolate macadamia and coconut muffins my daughter made...yum!
Dinner -  Creamy parmesan dijon chicken with penne(hopefully third time's the charm! This dish keeps getting held over), green beans, salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast - egg, sausage and cheese quesadillas
Dinner - Meatballs stroganoff with egg noodles and brown sugar glazed carrots

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Pigs in pancake blankets
Dinner - Dance night - dinner out

Thursday:
Breakfast - yogurt and granola parfaits
Dinner - Boy Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet

Friday:
Breakfast - Biscuits and sausage gravy, bacon (yes, we love our pig!), oranges
Dinner - Family Fun Night! Pizza, boneless BBQ wings, chocolate milkshakes

Saturday:
Breakfast -Oatmeal, toast, fruit
Dinner -Mexican shepherd's pie, rice

Sunday:
Breakfast - Kolaches on the way to church
Dinner - Irish dance school fundraiser

Menu Plan Monday February 14 - 20

In our house, we take Valentine's day very seriously! It starts on February 1st when the kids put out their mailboxes (cute little tin mailboxes I found in the dollar bin at Target and then embellished with the kid's names). Cupid then visits each night and puts a little treat in the boxes. Sometimes it's a little candy, sometimes a note but it definitely gets the kids out of bed each morning and reminds them of how much they are loved.
This year is also my first Valentine's in our house so I had fun creating a tablescape with what I have (translation- yes, honey, I'm buying more dishes before next year!). I did make some topiaries, though. I carved a heart out of green styrofoam and covered it in sheet moss and faux ivy and set it atop a stick I found in the yard. The rose topiaries are just silk roses stuck in a styrofoam ball again on a stick from the yard.

Simple, easy and fun crafts!

Monday: Happy Valentine's Day!!
Breakfast - Heart shaped red velvet chocolate chip pancakes dusted with powdered sugar, strawberries

Dinner - Heart shaped personal sized homemade pizzas, chocolate lava cakes

Looks like I'm running the line at a resataurant...nope, just dinner

They didn't make it long enough to photograph the gooey"lava" inside!

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Spinach, bacon and Swiss cheese omelets
Dinner - Creamy parmesan mustard chicken with penne, glazed carrots, salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast -Homemade doughnuts
Dinner - Portable dinner - Shredded chicken sandwiches with white BBQ sauce, veggie sticks, apple sauce

Thursday:
Breakfast - Cuban breakfast wraps - eggs, ham, provolone cheese, a little mustard and a pickle rolled in a tortilla.
Dinner - Stir fry beef with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and water chestnuts in a peanut sauce (I'm using this peanut sauce recipe because it has no sugar in it) on a bed of noodles.

Friday:
Breakfast - Homemade cinnamon bread French toast, sausage links
Dinner - Family Fun Night!! Chili Frito pie and hot dogs, The King's (yes, I mean Elvis) s'mores - Peanut butter, chocolate,  toasted marshmallow and banana on graham crackers

Saturday:
Breakfast - Homemade chocolate croissants and coffee milk
Dinner - Crockpot onion, Swiss, mushroom burgers - mix ground beef with onion soup mix, form into patties, put in crockpot, cover with another packet of onion soup mix, sliced mushrooms and a cup of water and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve on toasted buns with Swiss cheese and sweet potato fries.

Sunday:
Breakfast - Kolaches on the way to church
Dinner - Crockpot stuffed bell peppers, salad

For hundreds more meal ideas and recipes go to www.orgjunkie.com. Have a great week and happy eating!

Valentine Door Decor

Thanks to my friend Mary, I was inspired (ok, I totally copied her) to decorate my front door for Valentine's day. She found these super cute heart-shaped floral wreaths at Big Lots and had one on each of her beautiful double front doors. Well, I only have one door and it's not so beautiful so a little embellishment is always in order. So I trotted myself over to Big Lots and bought two wreaths ($10 each) and this is where my copy-catting ways end. I then found some pretty wire-edged red ribbon at Walmart ($1.46), measured and cut a length that suited my door, sewed the wreaths to the ribbon using a little piece of felt  to reinforce each one on the back and finally, thumb-tacked it to the top of my front door.

Voila! Cupid should feel right at home! (better picture tomorrow when it's light!)

I was kind of on a roll at this point so I decided to decorate the gate to my backyard as well.

One heart shaped grapevine wreath ($4.99 at Michael's)

and a trip to the backyard to clip some berries off my shrubs..

and I am all done....

Menu Plan Monday February 6 - 12

We have been huddling for warmth for the better part of a week now. Fires in the fireplace, soup on the stove, lots of hot chocolate.... Temperatures have been reaching lows we haven't seen in a long time, if ever. I'm not a big fan of the sweltering summer we suffer through each year and always look forward to winter. I guess the saying, "be careful what you wish for because you just might get it" applies here! Maybe if we had some pretty snow to show for it.....

Due to the weather, which has brought with it icy roads and rolling blackouts, all of our extra-curricular activities were canceled last week. So, a few things on our menu were substituted and carried over to this week.

Sunday:
Breakfast - homemade pop tarts - cinnamon brown sugar, strawberry and pineapple (check out my tutorial!)
Dinner - Super Bowl loaded nachos, BBQ boneless wings, root beer

Tortilla chips loaded with black beans, corn, chili, queso with ground beef, black olives and sour cream.

Monday:
Breakfast - Breakfast pizza - sausage, scrambled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, carmelized onions on a pizza crust

Dinner - Extra dance class - Apricot pork chops in the crockpot, long grain and wild rice, green beans (held over from two weeks ago)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Vegetable and cheese frittata - I love this because it's a great way to clean out your produce drawer. I just kid of made it up - 6 eggs, whisked with a little milk, salt, pepper and garlic. Pour into a screaming hot oven safe pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Layer in tomatoes, bell pepper, squash and cheese. Let cook for about 5 minutes then transfer to a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until set and slightly golden. Remove from oven. Loosen edges with a spatula and it should slide right out. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

 Sorry about all of the dark pictures...I've had to take them with my phone!

Dinner - Taco salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast - S'mores malt o meal
Dinner - Dance night so we'll eat a portable dinner(the one we didn't have last week) -  chicken, bacon and ranch wraps, chips, yogurt

Thursday:
Breakfast - Homemade English muffins, jam, eggs

Dinner - Chicken manicotti with chive cream sauce, salad, homemade garlic rolls

Friday:
Breakfast - Ham, cheese and egg on homemade croissants
Dinner - Family Fun night! Homemade pizza rolls - egg roll wrappers filled with all our favorite pizza toppings, fruit pizza - sugar cookie crust topped with strawberry cream cheese and an assortment of fruits and drizzled with chocolate

Saturday:
Breakfast - Peanut butter pancakes with warm grape jelly drizzle and bacon

Dinner - Hamburger steaks topped with grilled onions and queso, mashed potatoes and salad

To find lots more menu ideas, visit www.orgjunkie.com. Have a great week and happy eating!