Monday Meal Planning 9.10.12

September? Already? Really?

Anyway, here's what we're eating on this very busy week:

Monday: Slow Cooker Brisket BBQ Chili, steamed broccoli, corn chips

I cleaned out my spice cabinet to make this one! It calls for quite a bit of chili powder, so I have a box of macaroni and cheese ready for the girls in case it's too spicy.

Tuesday: Mar a Lago Turkey Burgers, sweet potato fries, cucumbers

Wednesday: Chicken and Leek Stroganoff, rice steamed green beans

Thursday: Pork Kabobs, Rice Salad

Friday: Baba Ghanoush, Falafel, cucumbers, tomato salad

Saturday & Sunday: Undecided. It's a crazy weekend and we'll have houseguests, so I'm not making decisions yet.

Pork and Black Bean Chili

I am sure I'm not the only one who does something like this: I get the inspiration to cook, but everything I want to cook uses less than a whole of everything. One pound of pork tenderloin, when two pounds come in the package. Half a bag of black beans. Half a bag of frozen corn. Half an onion. I found myself in this situation (and with those ingredients) a few weeks back, and this recipe is what resulted. Aaron thought it was one of the best batches of chili I've ever made, and even Gabbie, (aka She Who Will Not Eat Anything, Especially If It's All Mixed Together) ate it AND asked to take it for lunch one day. I'm sure the cheese and sour cream I put on top didn't hurt, but I was pretty thrilled nonetheless.

I love it when I can pull knowledge of other recipes I've made and know what flavors will work together, and put that all into one dish that turns out awesomely, which is exactly what happened here. Some snippets from Aaron's great-grandpa's chili recipe, and a soup recipe I make regularly helped inform this recipe. Try it today before spring gets a good hold on us and it's still cool enough to enjoy chili!

Pork and Black Bean Chili

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut in small chunks
2 small onions (or 1/2 a large onion), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 lb. dried black beans
1 1/2 c. frozen corn
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth (I used 1 container of knorr beef broth concentrate and a cup of water)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:
Chipotle or other hot sauce to add heat to your own bowl (optional)
Shredded Cheddar chesse
Sour Cream
Green Onions
Fritos

Put all ingredients into a crockpot, except the toppings. Stir well, cover, and cook for 10 hours (or more as needed to soften the beans) on low. Add toppings as desired, and enjoy!

Monday Meal Planning 2.27.12

Well, that was an unexpected absence. Things were CRAZY last week, and meal planning just didn't happen. I don't know why I do that - meal plans tend to make my life easier than flying by the seat of my pants and having to decide on meals last minute.

Well, wait, I do know a little of the reason I didn't do a plan. I have lost my will to cook a little bit. My kids, as adorable as they are, absolutely kill my will to cook by not eating anything. Seriously, anything. Sophie will eat cheese and carbs, and Gabbie will eat fruit and sugar. Not only do these two things not overlap, but they're not exactly what I want them to be eating all the time. I mean, the fruit isn't bad, but some vegetables and meat would be good too.

I'm hoping to win them over tonight with a pot roast. Who doesn't love pot roast? (Don't answer that.) I'm also making room in my freezer this week by making many of our meals out of things I've frozen (meat, pre-formed chicken pillows, bolognese, chicken, pizza dough). I'm hoping that makes this week much easier in terms of the time it takes to make the meals my kids refuse to eat. Ahem.

On to the plan!

Monday: Three packet pot roast, with carrots, potatoes, and celery

Tuesday: Chicken pillows, broccoli, rice pilaf

Wednesday: Cheese ravioli with bolognese, salad, garlic bread

Thursday: Chicken spaghetti, broccoli, fruit

Friday: Homemade pizza (like usual), salad, fruit

Saturday: Tomato, basil, parmesan soup, 7 layer salad

Sunday: (brunch) Most likely quiche of some sort, and fruit salad

Monday Meal Planning 2.13.12

Here we are, at the beginning of another crazy-busy week! This week we have ballet class, Valentine's Day and its related parties, two nights of 10K training for my husband, and I swear that this will be the week that I finally get my butt into the company provided gym that is loaded and which I get to use for free. I really have no excuse not to go!

Anyway, I was thinking this weekend that we have gotten in the rut of eating too much meat again. For a while we were only eating meat once or twice a week and I liked that, but now we're back to having meat almost every night. I'm hoping to work on that starting this week.

On to the meal plan!

Monday: Brisket, 7-layer salad, potato salad, macaroni and cheese (for the kiddos)

We actually had almost this exact same dinner last night, and since I made enough for two families, we're having it again tonight. It doesn't hurt that this is one of our favorite meals. I hadn't planned on cooking a big meal last night, but then we went to the butcher shop on Friday and brisket was on sale, and, well, I love a good brisket. I'll share the recipe for this and the salad tomorrow, probably. (I LOVE 7 LAYER SALAD, and I don't care who knows it.)

Tuesday: Valentine's Day Dinner! Heart-shaped Pasta with Four Cheese Sauce, Salad, Foccacia

On Saturday I hit my limit of togetherness with my toddler, and abruptly decided to leave the house for a little breathing space. With no plan in mind on where to go, I ended up at my favorite Italian grocer/bakery and purchased heart-shaped pasta, some pink pasta sauce, and a beautiful foccacia (not to mention some cannoli and eclairs, but those are long gone). I think pink sauce on heart pasta will be perfect for Valentine's day dinner.

Wednesday: Schweine-Schnitzel, Saurkraut Pierogi, Broccoli

Another of our favorite dinners, and another butcher shop impulse buy. We all love this dinner. Last time I made it I had a visiting toddler in the house and both she and Gabbie asked for seconds, which NEVER, EVER happens. It's that good! I'll have to share this recipe, too.

Thursday: Vegetarian Chili in the slow cooker, Corn Bread

I haven't settled on a chili recipe, yet. The cornbread is my mom's recipe, and is the perfect companion for any kind of chili.

Friday: As usual, Homemade Pizza, Salad

I love traditions, especially this one!

Saturday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

I know I said this would be a meat-lite week, and meatloaf is pretty much the opposite of that, but it's a request from the husband, so I put it on the plan.

Sunday: (Breakfast) Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs and Toast

This is one of Aaron's specialties, and I actually don't know what all he puts in it, because he usually makes as a treat for me and gives me a chance to relax with a cup of coffee while he cooks. He's pretty awesome sometimes.

Monday Meal Planning 1.6.12

I don't know what it is about 2012, but both my husband and I have started out this new year with renewed motivation. However, this has led to schedules that are way more crazy-busy than normal. This is also conference abstract season, which means I'm doing a heck of a lot more writing than normal, and, due to a very sad and unfortunate situation at work I'm possibly taking on a little heavier workload than normal for a couple of months. (Oh, and my favorite member of my team is taking on another, well-deserved role in our program, but that means I have to hire another person, and that takes months too, so even more work.)

So, what this all means is that I am having to find meals to make that are even quicker than usual. There are a couple repeats on this menu from last week, because I made last minute substitutions a couple of times when I wasn't in the mood for what we were planning on eating that night. (We had cheeseburger salad instead of squash, and spaghetti and turkey meatballs instead of tomato soup.)

On to the plan!

Monday: Broccoli Cheese Soup (half recipe), and fruit
Tuesday: Salsa Verde Chicken tacos (using my Foodie Penpals salsa from Elizabeth) and refried beans
Wednesday: Tomato Parmesan Soup, salad, fruit
Thursday: Butternut Squash Coconut Curry, Naan
Friday: Homemade Pizza (I'm thinking of doing something different this time using some fun ingredients from my pantry)
Saturday: Pappardelle Bolognese, Salad, No-Knead Bread
Sunday (brunch): Piggy Pudding (an old favorite that I haven't made in a long while - Aaron will be super excited!), smoothies

Monday Meal Planning 1.30.12

I was so busy last week that I felt like the week actually ate me. Needless to say, there was no meal planning, there was only fly-by-the-seat-of-my pants, last minute, what the hell are we going to eat tonight kind of dinners. Turns out, that's super stressful!

We're doing better this week, I swear it.

Here's what we're eating this week (weekdays only, we're undecided about plans for the weekend, so I'm not planning anything as of right now):

Monday: Ravioli Soup, Salad, Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Butternut Squash with Coconut Milk and Curry, Rice, Naan, Fruit
Wednesday: Mongolian Beef, Steamed Broccoli, Rice (making a double batch the night before)
Thursday: Tomato, Basil, Parmesan Soup, Salad, Bread
Friday: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Green Beans, Salad

Monday Meal Planning 10.24.11

I needed to flex my writing muscles this morning before I launch into proposal and report writing for the rest of the day, so I thought what better place to start than with food so that I'm completely distracted thinking about all of the yummy things coming up on our meal plan for this week.

(I'm such a dork!)

Anyway, the meal plan for this week is abbreviated due to some exciting-to-us happenings occurring later this week. A short meal plan doesn't mean that there's nothing good, though, and I can't wait to dig in to a few of these meals.

On to the food!

Monday: Chicken and Dumplings, roast beets

Last week sometime, Aaron and I were chatting about memorable meals. He brought up a bowl of chicken and dumplings he had once at a restaurant near where he grew up that he can still practically taste because he loved it so much. They were on special that night, and he looked for them every time he went back, but they never had them again while he was there. Talk about disappointment!

Anyway, last night I stewed some chicken to make stock and chicken allegedly for soup, but little does he know that I'm trying the Pioneer Woman's recipe for chicken and dumplings instead. I hope he's very pleasantly surprised!

Tuesday: 3 Packet Pot Roast, Celeriac Mash

A few weeks back, when I watched The Pioneer Woman's show where she made pot roast, I noticed she served her roast with mashed potatoes instead of with potatoes cooked with the roast. Since I still have plenty of potatoes and celeriac left over from the CSA (which has, sadly, ended for the season), I thought I'd serve my roast with this celeriac mash recipe (and of course, with carrots cooked with the roast, because those are about my favorite thing, ever). However, my celery roots are nowhere near the size mentioned in the recipe - I don't think the three I have reach the weight of the one listed - so I'll be halving this and using Yukon gold potatoes instead of the russet listed. So yeah. We'll see how that goes!

Wednesday: Quiche, fruit

I have a lot of eggs I need to use up, plus some leeks, orange and yellow peppers, and feta, so I'm thinking a roasted pepper, leek, and feta quiche sounds pretty darn good. I had something similar from a local food truck not too long ago, and it was fan-freaking-tastic. The main difference was they used goat cheese, but I think the feta I have on hand will substitute nicely. I will let you know for sure how it turns out.

Thursday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, raw vegetables, fruit smoothies

This is kind of a clean-out-the-fridge meal, and the kind that usually goes over better with Gabbie. After she cleans her plate and asks for more after a meal like this one, I often wonder why I kill myself to make more elaborate meals on a regular basis, but then I realize, it's because I love to cook. And eat. It all works out.

Monday Meal Planning 10.17.11

My life has become so out-of-control crazy busy lately, that I have to admit that I am incredibly proud of myself for continuing to cook a dinner for my family nearly every night. Especially since what I really want to do is crawl into bed, throw the covers over my head, and hide, but that's neither here nor there. Onto the meals for this week!

Monday: Wild rice stuffed acorn squash, bread, salad
Tuesday: Grilled chicken breasts, macaroni and cheese, roasted purple cauliflower
Wednesday: Taco Rice
Thursday: Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, salad
Friday: Pizza and salad
Saturday: Butternut Squash Enchiladas, Quick Spicy Rice
Sunday: Chicago dogs, french fries, roasted beets

Monday Meal Planning 9.19.11

Just a quick list this week - September is about to swallow me whole!

Monday: Chicken Fajitas and quick spicy rice
Tuesday: Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches, fries, watermelon
Wednesday: Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, and Kale (except with swiss chard this time)
Thursday: Chicken Strips, green beans, watermelon
Friday: Homemade pizza - individual style (i.e. everyone gets to top their own) - I cannot believe that this is the first time I've posted this link here. I love this pizza dough and it makes a pizza that I think is better than any takeout or delivery we can get near our house. So yummy!
Saturday: Dinner w/Aaron's family - I'll probably take a dessert as usual. Peach pie sounds fantastic.
Sunday: ??? I've been leaving Sunday dinner up to Aaron lately, so who knows what we'll end up with this week. I'm fully expecting something grilled; he wants to use up the last of our propane before grilling season is over.

Monday Meal Planning 8.29.11

I am in total shock right now after writing the title for today's post, because we're in the final days of August already. How in the heck did that happen so fast? I'm sure the month has passed in the blink of an eye because of how busy we've been, and it's just about to get even more busy! Here is what we busy people are planning to eat this week:

Monday: Take Out

Tonight we have Gabbie's preschool open house (she starts next week!) and then Gabbie's first ballet class, so I'm not even going to pretend to have time to cook. Chinese it is!

Tuesday: Twice Baked Potatoes, Salad

One of my favorite, fairly simple meals. So, so good and comforting!

Wednesday: Pepperoncini Beef, green beans

I didn't end up making this last week, but I want it really, really bad, so we're having it this week for sure.

Thursday: Oven-baked ratatouille and bread (Plus possibly some rosemary ranch grilled chicken kabobs so that there's something other than bread that Gabbie will eat)

Friday: Burritos, Quick Spicy Rice

Saturday: ??

Sunday:??

We haven't decided what we're doing for the weekend, so I didn't plan that far ahead. I cannot wait for the 3-day weekend!

Monday Meal Planning 8.22.11

Last week was a week of easy, dad-doable meals like sloppy joes, hot dogs, french fries, and macaroni and cheese, because I was out of town for most of the week. Then we were bad and ate out all weekend (except for breakfasts; I  made awesome breakfasts), so I'm forcing us to eat in all week, using all the wonderful produce we have from the CSA,the meat we have stocked in our freezer, and ingredients from my overflowing pantry. Even though I'm (really not, because I have a lot) limited to what I have on hand, we're eating pretty well.

Monday: Aloo Gobhi, vegetable rice, naan (and possibly baba ganoush to use up an eggplant before it goes bad)

I'm making the rice slightly more fancy than plain basmati, because I have a feeling Gabbie won't eat the cauliflower and potatoes. I'll start by sauteing onions in butter, use broth instead of water to steam the rice, and add in carrots, peas, and possibly corn to give it a little more nutritional punch. Because otherwise, my carb loving child would eat just bread and rice, and I just can't let that happen.

Tuesday: Stuffed zucchini, bread, fruit salad

We're down to our last gargantuan zucchini, and I plan to stuff the whole thing (it's seriously about 18 inches long) with all sorts of tasty vegetables and sausage. Aaron didn't notice the turkey sausage last time, but I'm a little wary of buying any right now due to recent ground turkey recalls, so he gets the full fat version this time. Really, though, it's only about 1/2 a pound at the most that I usually put in, so it could be worse.

Wednesday: Pepperocini beef sandwiches, sweet potato fries, cole slaw

There was a buy-one-get-one sale on roasts at the store last week, so I have 4 roasts to use up now (it ended up being about $2 per pound, I really couldn't pass it up!). I also have a jar and a half of pepperocinis in the fridge, so this works out perfectly. I've been making my sweet potato fries seasoned lately, using paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and they're fantastic.

Thursday: Marinated hot dogs, potato salad, fresh vegetables and dip

I read about marinated hot dogs a while ago, and was completely intrigued, so they're on the menu this week. I'm also making Aaron's grandma's recipe for potato salad, and if she told me the truth and it works out, I'll share the recipe. She's famous for leaving out "the secret ingredient," so you can understand why I'm feeling a little dubious.

Friday: Baked sweet potato and black bean burritos, quick spicy rice cheesified

I was looking for a second vegetarian recipe to add for the week, and these just look fantastic, plus they got great reviews, so they're going on here. I made a "cheesified" (TM Aaron) version of my quick spicy rice last weekend, and it was a hit, so I'll probably make it to go with these. Basically, I made the rice, then mixed it with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and a little softened butter, and baked it for 20 minutes, and then we all devoured the entire caserole dish worth in ten minutes flat (we had help from my parents and sister, lest you think we are complete gluttons).

Saturday: Pasta with pepperoni sauce, foccacia, salad

This is what you make when you have plenty of pepperoni and pizza dough left over from recent pizza making experiences, and a sick-of-pizza husband. (I really think he's just sick of the mess I make when I make pizza. I manage to get corn meal everywhere, I admit.)

Sunday: ???

Either leftovers, brinner, or a last minute, what do we have that needs to be used type meal. Or beer can chicken, because I've really been wanting to make that.

Monday Meal Planning (on Tuesday!) 7.18.11

This is a weird week meal planning-wise, because we may be heading up north camping this weekend, but we won't know for sure until tomorrow (depends on the forecast, which currently shows rain for the entire weekend - BOO!), and if we are we have to be ready tomorrow night because we're leaving immediately after work on Thursday. Aaron asked me to meal plan for the trip, and so I've been doing some campfire cooking research and now I'm even more confused than ever. Also, like everywhere else right now, it's incredibly freaking hot, and so the meals this week can all be made without turning on the stove or oven (or even the grill because I would feel bad making Aaron stand outside in front of a hot grill with heat indexes around 102 degrees!). I'm including last night's meal here as well, because it was really good and simple.

Monday: Turkey Sandwiches on Pretzel Rolls, cut up vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, radishes), fruit salad, cheese puffs

We bought some mini pretzel baguettes at Whole Foods this past weekend, and for dinner last night we split them, topped them with sliced turkey, meunster (or monster, if you're Gabbie) cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and Swedish mustard. They were fantastic! We also gave in to Gabbie's request for Cheetos last night, but used them to help her with counting and math (we're doing some homeschool-style preschool in the evenings this summer). I asked her how many cheese puffs she wanted, and then we counted them out, and handed them to her one-by-one asking how many she had on her plate and then how many she had left, using some good-old finger math. Then she ate them all and was a very happy girl!

Tuesday: Italian Vegetable Hoagies, chips, fruit salad

Another no-cook meal, and this one is vegetarian to boot. I've been feeling like I've been eating too much meat lately, so I'm trying for at least 3 meat-free dishes a week if I can get away with it. Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell that by the meal that I have planned for...

Wednesday: BBQ pulled pork, cole slaw

We're having a "southern food" lunch potluck for book club tomorrow, so I'm making crockpot pulled pork. Left-overs will become dinner, and I don't even mind that I'll be eating the same thing all day, because it's easy and I have little to no motivation to do anything extra when it's this hot out.

Thursday: Dinner at my parents' house

No idea what we'll have, but I'm guessing it will come straight out of their garden, and I can't wait!

Friday through Sunday: Campfire food!

Here's where the research I've been doing comes in. My favorite thing growing up and going camping was grilled cheese made in a pie iron, and this post has some great ideas for using the pie iron to make slightly fancier meals. About.com has some great camping recipes too, and I've been having fun perusing these. I'm not sure what all we'll be eating, except we will be using the pie iron for at least one meal, we'll be having hot dogs over the fire at least once, and I cannot wait to make s'mores using a peanut butter cup in place of the normal chocolate bar. YUM!

Monday Meal Planning - 3.7.11 (Okay, so really 3.9.11)

I should probably change the title of these posts to “Weekly Meal Planning,” since Mondays aren’t happening. But, I want to post meal plans all the same. We’ll just pretend today is Monday for this one, right?

It’s my first week back to work, but I’m only working half days, so it’s kind of a mixed bag of quick and complex meals this week.

Monday: Chicken Strips, French Fries, Salad (cut up veggies for the kiddo who won’t eat lettuce)

These chicken strips are FANTASTIC, and super easy. My husband and daughter are huge fans. HUGE. I made the mistake of making them once and now they’re on frequent rotation in our house.

Tuesday: Hot sub sandwiches, chips, fruit salad

For the subs, I took a loaf of Italian bread from the supermarket, cut it in half and hollowed it out, leaving about a ¼ to ½ inch shell (and then the toddler and I ate the entire inside of the loaf of bread – delicious! Also dinner-ruining, but worth it). Then I layered on the deli meat and sliced cheeses of choice; this week that included deli ham, turkey, and salami, as well as muenster and Colby jack slices. I wrapped the whole thing in foil, and baked it at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes (it could have used another five if I wanted the cheese to be really melty, but 10 minutes was fine). After it came out of the oven, I sliced it into three parts, and topped each sandwich with chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and Italian dressing. Delicious!

Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, Salad

I had about a ¼ pound each of ground beef and pork, so I sautéed that up with some mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper, and added in a jar of marinara. Served over buccatini, this was a delicious meal.

Thursday: Slow Cooker Spiced Chicken Stew with Carrots, Orzo

Aside from using chicken breasts instead of thighs (Aaron has a weird thing about thigh meat. I don’t know.) we’re staying pretty true to this one. Looks easy enough and absolutely delicious! Also, it doesn’t use onions, which I still can’t eat because it makes the baby spit up a lot, so that makes it a winner in our book!

Friday: Clean out the freezer vegetable bean soup, bread

I made this once before, and Aaron loved it. Basically, I use a box of stock, a quart sized bag of the tomatoes I processed and froze last summer, a bag of beans (also processed and frozen last summer), and whatever vegetables I have in the fridge or freezer. I also added slices of chicken sausage last time, which I think clinched it with Aaron. I think I’m out this time, though, so he may have to suffer without it.

My sourdough starter should be ready to use to make bread by Friday (another post forthcoming), so we’ll probably have a fresh loaf of bread on the side. Mmmm….

Saturday: Some sort of curry using up a butternut squash, Naan
 I typically make this dish, but Aaron wanted to try something else, so I’m not sure yet what dish I’m making. (This from the man who recently complained that I try too many new recipes, and he can never remember what he’s eaten. Poor guy.)
 Sunday: Leftovers (or possibly the meal from Saturday night if I don’t feel like cooking on Saturday)

Monday Meal Planning 1.24.10

Since Sophie is a whole month old now (!!!), I figured it's time for me to get back in the swing of things. One big part of starting to feel normal again is planning out our meals, so here we go!

Monday: Cuban Sandwiches, sweet potato fries

We're making the sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, with this slow-cooked pork, ham, swiss cheese, dill pickle slices, and mustard. I cannot wait to dig in!

Tuesday: Macaroni and Cheese Soup, Salad

I've seen a couple recipes for this lately, so I took at as a sign to add it to our menu. 

Wednesday: Pulled Cuban Pork, Yellow Rice with Peas

I know we'll have leftovers, so I'm going to take advantage of that and have a night that's light on cooking.

Thursday: Mashed Potato Quesadillas, Chips and Guacamole

Something I've been wanting to try for forever now. It is so happening this week.

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Korean Beef Short-Ribs, Rice, Edamame

(Gabbie calls Edamame, "Mommy Beans", and it's so cute I can't bear to tell her any different.)

I've been wanting short ribs for a while now, and this recipe sounds DELICIOUS. 

Sunday: Dinner/Late Lunch Out

I have been dying for a good cheeseburger for a while now. I think Sunday looks like a good day to fulfill that craving.

Monday Meal Planning 11.15.10

When I sat down to plan our meals for the week yesterday morning, I could not think of a single thing to put on the list. That rarely happens to me, as there are usually a few recipes I'm dying to try. So I surfed around the 'net for a while, then I surfed around my archives for a while, and I managed to put together several recipes that should suffice. This whole thing is made doubly hard since I can barely fit any food in my stomach lately, as it's being squished by the baby. Being able to only take a bite or five of food kind of kills my will to cook. However, there's the whole having a family to feed thing that takes precedence, so I will soldier on.

Monday: Taco Rice

Quick and easy tonight since we have tumbling class. I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and then again yesterday when I was surfing for ideas, and it sounds like some amazing comfort food. Now I just have to try to avoid mixing the rice with melted butter, sour cream, and cheddar cheese before adding the toppings, even though I think that sounds totally better.

Tuesday: Pot Stickers and Sesame Noodles, Edamame

We still have pot stickers in the freezer (I apparently made a HUGE batch), so we'll be eating those with a side of sesame noodles. I'm halving the recipe for the noodles because it takes us forever to make it through a whole pound of them.

Wednesday: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash, Rice, Naan

We have approximately a dozen butternut squashes (plus assorted other squash) from our CSA so it's time to start using them up. This recipe has become a total comfort food in our house because it's so good and filling.

Thursday: Egg Salad Melts, Fruit

I didn't get to these last week, but the craving is strong so they WILL be happening this week.

Friday: Leftovers/Take-out

Saturday: Pizza

I still haven't gotten around to making this pizza recipe, but it needs to happen soon, and I'm thinking Saturday will be the perfect day for it. I'm planning to top it with pepperoni and black olives (my current favorite topping combination).

Sunday: Something in the crock pot.

I haven't decided what to make for Sunday yet, but there are a few possibilities, including Italian Pot Roast, Split Pea Soup, and Jamaican Red Bean Stew

And now, for Toddler Lunch Ideas:

(As an aside, do you know what kills me? It's when my child will scarf something down at dinner time, eating second and even third servings, and then when I send the same thing to lunch for her two days later, she won't even touch it. I just don't get it.)

Monday: Bagel and cream cheese, mandarin oranges, peas
Tuesday: Soy dog, cheese slice, carrot sticks, grapes
Wednesday: Grilled cheese, green pepper slices, strawberries
Thursday: Edamame, naan slices, yogurt, sliced peaches
Friday: English muffin pizza, yogurt, fruit strip

Monday Meal Planning 11.1.10

I cannot believe that today is the first day of November already! The weather decided to be seasonally appropriate today (sadly) and it is pretty frigid out there. The only thing good about seasonally appropriate weather is that it makes it the perfect time to eat seasonally appropriate food. There. I think I've said "seasonally appropriate" enough.

We'll see how we do with actually eating what we plan this week. We haven't been good at it for a few weeks now, and I think making a plan and actually sticking to it will take care of some of the overwhelmed feeling I have lately. We'll see how it goes. On to the plan!

Monday: Turkey Pineapple Chili & Cornbread

I needed something super fast for tonight because we have to leave the house by 6:15 tonight for Gabbie's tumbling class. While chili is usually a long, slow dish to make, this one is ready in 10 minutes flat, and it's a house favorite.

Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti, Steamed Broccoli

I've been wanting to try this recipe for ages, but haven't gotten around to it. I have all the ingredients at my house right now, so I don't have an excuse. Everyone raves about it, and I can't wait to dig in!

Wednesday: Crock Pot Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Sandwiches, Sweet Potatoes

I have a 3 lb pork roast in my freezer that is taking up too much space, as well as a head of cabbage, carrots, and a bunch of small white sweet potatoes (I can't wait to try them!) from our CSA, so this meal is perfect. It uses up everything I have that needs used up! Plus it has great reviews and sounds delicious to me. You can't get much better than that!

An interesting side note - my child who won't eat anything LOVES cole slaw (usually - this will be the one time she refuses to eat it, I'm sure). Bizarre, but I'll take it.

Thursday: The Best Quiche Ever!, tomato salad

After such a meat heavy few days, it seemed perfect to have a lighter meal. We get our last egg share from our CSA this week (and are VERY, VERY SAD about this, as the eggs were the best we've ever eaten), and so The Best Quiche Ever! will be fabulous, I'm sure.

Friday: Ranch Macaroni and Cheese, roasted brussels sprouts

Friday is supposed to be one of the colder days this week, so a nice comforting bowl of macaroni and cheese sounds perfect. Mmmm....

Saturday: Baked Chipotle Beef Taquitos, red rice, chips and salsa

I've made the chicken taquitos from Our Best Bites several times, but never the beef ones. I'm pretty pumped to try them though. I'll have to hold back on the chipotles and sauce so Gabbie can eat them, and substitute monterey jack for the queso fresco so I can eat them, but I think they'll still be fantastic.

Sunday: Leftovers

This looks to be a heavy cooking week, so I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for lunches AND Sunday dinner. We tend to do our bigger meal for breakfast on Sunday anyway (ricotta lemon pancakes or pumpkin maple cinnamon rolls are on tap for this week).


 
And then this week on "Will the Toddler Eat It/Anything" (aka Toddler Lunch Ideas):

Monday: Cheese, Crackers, Grapes, Yogurt
Tuesday:  Mini Bagel, Peanut Butter, Apple Slices, Carrot Sticks
Wednesday: Soy Dog, Green Pepper Slices, Yogurt, Banana
Thursday: "Noodles and Sauce", Broccoli, Yogurt
Friday: Pork, Cole Slaw, Kiwi, Cheese

Monday Meal Planning 10.18.10

I cannot believe that we are half-way through October already. Time is definitely slipping through my fingers lately, and I want it to slow down, just a little, while simultaneously speeding up to when this baby is due to arrive. Can someone arrange that for me? Thanks.

It feels like another surge of nesting has hit me, but unfortunately the surge of energy that is needed to accomplish everything I have to do has not accompanied it. My house is a bit messy after a very busy weekend, and I want to make it sparkly clean and get dinner to the table in a reasonable amount of time. In order to make this happen, I focused on quick meals when planning this week. The only non-quick meal I have on the plan is for Sunday, and that's because I'm big on one big family meal per week (not like we don't eat dinner together every night, we have to have one fancy meal happen every week). Anyway, on to the plan!

Monday: Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Peas, Salad

This may not seem quick, but it is. Mostly because I made it yesterday to take to Aaron's grandma's house and we have leftovers. We all ate a ton, but still have a ton left, so it's making its appearance again tonight. The recipe listed is exactly the same as the one I use; the only modification I make is to use cheddar cheese soup because I like them as cheesy as possible.

The refrigerator is high on my "Make Sparkly Clean" list, so I'm emptying as much out of it tonight as I can. There's also a pumpkin pie in there with my name on it. This dinner is going to be FANTASTIC.

Tuesday: Eggplant burgers (with some made into smaller patties for Gabbie), French fries, Carrot sticks

We have one more eggplant from the CSA to use, and we've eaten enough baba ganoush lately to supply a small village. This sounded like an interesting way to use up the eggplant, so we're going to try it.

Wednesday: Quesadillas, rice

All other leftover veggies are going into quesadillas this night. I like them with zuchini, mushrooms, and onions. Gabbie prefers straight up cheese and refried beans. Aaron will eat anything, and that's why he's awesome.

Thursday: Pork chops with Saurkraut, mashed potatoes, broccoli

This one is a crock pot meal. I put down one can of 'kraut, top with pork chops, top with another layer of 'kraut, a heavy sprinkle of brown sugar, and a peeled, cored, quartered apple or two, then serve it over mashed potatoes. Yum!

Friday: Pot stickers, rice noodles, edamame

I still have quite the stock of frozen pot stickers, and since we love them we're diving in once again. I'll probably make some sort of sauce for the rice noodles and edamame, and most likely it will include soy sauce, chicken broth, and scallions.

Saturday: Out

Aaron's mom is going to be in the state, so we're heading out to visit her on Saturday. My job will be to make the food run, so I hope they don't mind eating according the whims of a pregnant, prone-to-sudden-strange-cravings, woman.

Sunday: Chicken Cacciatore, Noodles, Peas

I saw this recipe this morning and added it to our plan. It looks fantastic, and I can't wait to try it!

Finally, on to what the toddler is eating for lunch this week:

Monday: Waffle w/pear butter for dipping, yogurt, strawberries (this is called a "we need you to actually eat something today" kind of lunch)
Tuesday: Bean and Cheese quesadilla, green pepper slices, mandarin oranges
Wednesday: Eggplant patties (assuming she likes them), peas, yogurt, grapes
Thursday: English muffin pizza, applesauce
Friday: Apple Pumpkin muffin, grapes, cucumber slices, cheese cubes

Monday Meal Planning 8.23.10

I know it has been a while. I am more than aware. I am also more than busy, what with working the equivalent of two positions at work, toddler potty training (and fighting with 2-year-oldness), baby stuff, husband stuff, house stuff. It's very nearly more than I can handle. I daily give praise for my husband who is such a great help with everything, because otherwise we would be living in squalor, eating ramen or take out for every meal. Instead he helps me get a nutritious meal on the table several times a week and is a clean freak.

Anyway, here's what we're planning to eat this week. We're keeping it simple because I have a lot of long hours that I will be working in addition to some home improvement projects. Like I said, more than busy. Recipes that are starred will be appearing soon.

Monday - Grilled cheese, tomato and avocado, chips, broccoli slaw*
Tuesday - Tortellini with fresh tomato sauce*, salad
Wednesday - BLTs, veggies and dip, fruit
Thursday - Slow Cooker Cheesesteaks, cucumber salad, fruit
Friday - Appetizers for dinner - Artichoke dip, bruschetta, veggies and dip
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas Suisas, Creamy Black Beans

In addition, in order to make our mornings go a little more smoothly, we have started planning out Gabbie's lunches for the week. I'm always on the lookout for new toddler lunch ideas, so I thought it might be helpful to others if I put our ideas here. We're testing out a couple of new things this week, so I don't know about the success of all of these recipes, but I can definitely update next week with what did work! Another important note is that she has to have a cold, finger food lunch two days a week (Wednesday and Friday) because they have picnic lunches those days.

Monday - Soy dog, yogurt, cantelope, carrot sticks with dip
Tuesday - Egg salad*, crackers, cheese sticks, grapes
Wednesday - Cold tortellini with sauce for dipping, cucumbers, banana
Thursday - Mexican Roll-ups*, yogurt, cantelope
Friday - Salami, cheese, crackers, carrot sticks, mandarin oranges

Monday Meal Planning 3.22.10

We did pretty well at making meals out of food we had on hand all last week as planned.  The only exception was Thursday night when we bought subs and beer and plopped down in front of the television to engage in some March-type madness. (GO STATE!)

I went grocery shopping today and all of the space I had managed to make in the pantry and refrigerator last week is now filled up again. My meal plan this week is designed to clean things out even more. My list is designed so that I would only have to buy a few produce items and some meat (we got a jonesing for pulled pork and lasagna). I've been doing good at keeping my grocery bill low, and this week managed to buy produce, a few canned goods, meat, and some mascara for less than $75.

As long as you don't count the special trip I made to the Middle Eastern bakery yesterday to buy fresh-baked pitas.

Mmmmm....fresh baked pitas. So good!

Anyway, onward to the meal plan!

Monday: Turkey Patty Pockets, Hummus and Veggies

A recipe I will be sharing this week, adapted from the most recent edition (April 2010) of Everyday Food (EDF). We actually ate this last night, because we were in the mood for something fresh-tasting and were dying to eat more of the fresh baked pita bread. We ended up very pleased with how this meal turned out. I can see this ending up in rotation fairly frequently.

Tuesday: Crispy Rice with Mushrooms and Carrots

Another EDF recipe that we are really looking forward to eating. Fried rice topped with a sunny-side-up egg, and surprisingly still fairly low in calories, plus vegetarian. This sounds like it's right up our alley.

Wednesday: Spicy Shredded Pork Tacos, Grilled Zucchini

The cover of EDF this month shows a pulled pork sandwich, which is what put us in the mood for the same. I bought my brother The Pioneer Woman's cookbook for his birthday last month and the shredded pork recipe was the first he tried, and then he called me to rave about it. I'm going to throw the ingredients together in my crockpot, and then eat half in the tacos and half later in the week slathered in BBQ sauce and topped with cole slaw on a fresh, grilled bun. Excuse me for a moment while I mop up the drool that just happened. Given the nice weather we've been having lately, I've been jealously smelling everyone in the neighborhood grilling their dinner and dreaming of BBQ, so I am quite eagerly anticipating this meal.

Thursday: Mushroom Caraway Soup, Roasted Broccoli, Bread

Even though it has been, as I mentioned above, absolutely beautiful outside lately, I still crave soup about once a week. This mushroom soup caught my eye while meal planning so we'll be giving it a try. The broccoli is mostly for Gabbie's sake, since it's her favorite food lately (so weird, but I'll take it).

Friday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches topped with cole slaw, Sweet Potato Fries

I CANNOT WAIT FOR FRIDAY JUST SO I CAN EAT THIS!

Saturday: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

Funny story here: when I was planning out our meals for the week, I read the list to Aaron, like usual, for his approval. When I came to this, I said, "The Pioneer Woman's Lasagna," and he whined, "Why can't you make your lasagna? I love your lasagna!"

My lasagna is the Pioneer Woman's lasagna. Apparently I've tried so many recipes I have the poor guy confused. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised come Saturday.

Crockpot Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes

This one is really easy. It took me all of 5 minutes to throw this in the crockpot, and most of that 5 minutes was for peeling the sweet potatoes. You could do this a million ways, I'm sure, but I stuck with incredibly simple, and it turned out perfectly.

Crockpot Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes

1 pork loin roast (ours was about 3 pounds)

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick slices

chili powder

salt & pepper

Place the pork loin in the crockpot. Sprinkle liberally with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Rub in the spices, flip the pork loin and repeat with the other side. Add in sweet potatoes and 1/2 c. water around the sides. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours.