Monday Meal Planning 5.9.11

Oh, what a crazy week we have upon us! In addition to being horrendously busy at work again (and Spring/Summer being my least favorite time to be so busy), it's Aaron's birthday tomorrow and we're throwing him a big birthday bash on Saturday. Thankfully I have a husband who likes to clean, so he's taking on the majority of getting the house ready, but I have a lot of cooking/prep work to do so we can feed the crowd. I will admit, I love throwing a party, so even though it's a lot of work I'm kind of looking forward to it.

In the meantime, here's what we will be eating this week:

Monday: Macaroni and cheese with bratwurst and peas

With food prices being what they are these days, we're using up every single left-over we can. I'm going for a zero food waste week this week. So, leftover brats from this weekend are going into the mac and cheese. Actually, it sounds pretty delicious to me!

Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese, Garlic Bread, Salad, Ice Cream Cake

This is what Aaron has requested for birthday dinner. Seeing as this is one of my favorite meals, I don't mind a little extra work in the kitchen on a weeknight for something so delicious.

Wednesday: Butternut Squash Enchiladas, Cilantro Rice

I made these a while ago and had more filling than I had tortillas to fill, so these will be super quick and easy using the leftover filling that I froze. Also, they're probably the best enchiladas I've ever eaten, so there's that.

Thursday: ???

I honestly can't remember what what we put on the meal plan for Thursday. I will update later if I can remember.

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: PARTY TIME!

We'll be serving up hamburgers, bratwurst, hot dogs, fruit, a couple different salads, cut up veggies and dip, chips, and two kinds of cupcakes (margarita cupcakes for the adults, and vanilla cupcakes for the kiddos or the pregnant). We want to keep it simple enough that we don't spend the whole party in the kitchen, but also serve people a great meal. This plan should accomplish both of those things. (P.S. That hamburger recipe made the best home-made on a grill burgers I've ever had. Even Gabbie, who usually turns her nose up at burgers, ate a good bit of a cheeseburger last night!)

Toddler (I should update this to pre-schooler!) Lunch Ideas
Monday: Oatmeal with brown sugar, mashed sweet potato, mangos, cheese (this is what she requested)
Tuesday: PB&J, banana, cucumbers
Wednesday: Noodles with butter and cheese, side of bolognese, broccoli, plum
Thursday: Rice, green beans, yogurt, raspberries and blueberries
Friday: Cheese quesadilla, salsa, peas, mango

(Also posted over at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.)