Meal Planning Monday: Apr 25 - May 1, 2011

The menu this week is simple.  Very, very simple.  DH will be out of town and a friend is visiting with her young son.  The kids are out of school and since we'll be spending the week catching up, we'll be spending little time in the kitchen.  Yay!  :D

Monday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - leftovers from whatever was left over in the fridge.  Anything goes.
Dinner - Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce and tossed salad.

Photo Credit

Tuesday (Beef)
Breakfast - Smoothies
Dinner - Beef Tacos (soft tortilla shell, beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese with sour cream and salsa)

Wednesday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Pancakes, sausage, fruit
Dinner - Vegetarian Chili with fresh buns

Thursday (Chicken)
Breakfast - Eggs, turkey bacon, toast
Dinner - Chicken Tenders with veggies and dip, fruit

Friday (Vegetarian)
Breakfast - Cereal, milk, fruit
Dinner - Snack Platter (veggies with dip, fruit, cheese, crackers, pickles), homemade ice cream

Saturday (Pork)
Breakfast - Anything goes!
Dinner - Pork Pineapple Kabobs, rice, green beans

Photo Credit

Snacks this week will include:

• crackers and cheese
• veggies and hummus
• yogurt with granola and fruit
• oranges and almonds
• apples with peanut butter

I'll be baking Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

PS!  Remember that we're giving away a gorgeous handmade denim bag made by Blue Jane's Handbags for Hope!  You can enter by letting us (and her!!) know that you appreciate her efforts.  After all, she has made over 1130 bags and given over $10,000 to charity!

You have 3 chances to win: 
1)  Comment on our Facebook Page.
2)  Comment on our original giveaway post.
3)  Comment on Blue Jane's Facebook Page.

But hurry, the giveaway ends Friday morning at 8am MDT! :D



 

Meal Planning Monday: March 14-20, 2011

Welcome to Meal Planning Monday! Every Monday I'll feature what my family is having each week. I won't include lunches, because we have whatever is left over from dinner the night before. I try my best to do three vegetarian meals and one beef, pork, and chicken meal. That leaves one night for leftovers or eating out. So here goes:

Monday
Breakfast - Cereal, milk, fruit
Dinner - Spaghetti with vegetable sauce and caesar salad

Photo Credit
Tuesday
Breakfast - Steel cut oats with raisins and nuts, milk
Dinner - Pork tenderloin with mushrooms & leek, rice, and lettuce & spinach salad

Wednesday
Breakfast - Cheesy eggs, fruit, yogurt
Dinner - Tacos stuffed with a choice of ground beef (or beans), tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream

Thursday
Breakfast - Fruit smoothies made with yogurt & protein powder
Dinner - Sweet & sour meatballs, rice, broccoli

Friday
Breakfast - Oatmeal with blueberries, milk
Dinner - Spinach and ricotta frittata, tossed Salad, toast

Saturday
Breakfast - Eggs benedict, turkey bacon, fruit Salad
Dinner - Homemade Pizza loaded with veggies and meat

Snacks this week will include:

• pineapple & sunflower seeds
• crackers with hummus & cucumber
• granola bar
• apple with cheese or peanut butter
• cucumber & laughing cow cheese

I try bake once a week and this week I'll make some chocolate chip slab cookies, as requested by my little guy.

If you need recipes for anything, let me know!

What are you having this week?

Taking the Frustration Out of Dinner

Is dinnertime the most frustrating time of the day for you? The kids are antsy from sitting in a desk all day at school(well, except for Laila's kids and other homeschool families), and they're hungry, and you have no idea what to make. Here is a simple solution to getting dinner on the table in a hurry so that you can spend significant time with your family.




Photo Credit

The night before, decide what you'll make for dinner the next day. Poke through the pantry and the fridge and then thumb through a cookbook (if needed), and come up with a dinner plan. This should not take more than 10 minutes. (Believe me when I say it's much easier to find the ingredients you have to work with before you look through cookbooks.) Mark the page in the book and leave it by the stove.

In the morning, take a quick peek at the book (if you're even using one) and take out all the non-perishable ingredients. For me, this includes potatoes, carrots, peppers, etc - anything that won't go soggy or dry out. Leave them on the counter near the cookbook (make sure they won't interfere with breakfast preparation).



Photo Credit

When you get home, you don't have to struggle with rummaging around trying to find something for dinner. You've taken the thought and frustration out of it - simply dice up the veggies and the meat you'll need to complete your meal, and most of the work is done.

I'll be posting tips on meal planning and shopping in the near future.