February menu, week 2

What an exciting week lies ahead!

We are getting ready to meet our Marine Son - he is due to return from deployment and we can't wait to have him back in the States.


We are also wrapping up History Fair...

Dinners this week will be of the using-up-leftovers and quick-and-easy varieties.


Sunday~ SUPERBOWL!  Sliders and hotdogs, chips & salsa
Monday~ Ds#3 has an Art Show at school, so we'll pick him up, see the art, and go out to eat
Tuesday~ Hubs has a History Fair meeting, and ds#3 will 'practice' for his interview with the judges, then we're out to eat with a friend
Wednesday~ Leftover roast and mashed potatoes
Thursday~ Breakfast for dinner
Friday~ Frozen pizza
Saturday~ on the road... picnic lunch at a state park on the way


Last week....

• Our taco night was a success.  Woo hoo!  (It only took a month...)
• I burned our spaghetti crockpot dinner.  It was sad.  And gross.                                
• So we went out to eat.

I also finished handling the last of 40 pounds of ground beef.
Have I mentioned just how much meat that is????

• I made hamburger patties & froze them
• I made sliders for Super Bowl Sunday
• I also tried making homemade beef sausage, and hubs (the sausage connoisseur) actually liked it!!!

Here's the recipe I used:
Approx. 2 lbs ground beef
1 tsp diced onion
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground sage
2 tsp salt

Mix together, and let sit in refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
Shape into links or patties.  Fry in pan or cook in oven at 325.
Can also be used as crumbles in homemade "skillets".

Share your menu marvels at Menu Plan Monday!

The end of January's Pantry Challenge...and our menu

Well, overall, the pantry challenge was less successful than I wanted it to be, but not too terrible.

• We went out to eat once a week, which I was not pleased about, but took one for the team.
• We did reasonably well with shopping, as I really did try to limit trips to necessities only.
• We did make a large purchase of ground beef through Zaycon Foods, and have been pleased with the quality and the price.  Forty pounds of ground beef is a lot.  More than it sounds.  A LOT.

We will probably continue the pantry challenge in some way this month - gotta think about it and devise a plan!

So this week?  Here's what's cookin':

Sunday~ Chili in the crockpot, served with noodles and shredded cheese
Monday~ Taco salad (have not been successful with a taco night at home yet... but I'm determine to try!)
Tuesday~ Spaghetti in the crockpot (both Mom & Dad have meetings after school, so we need something waiting for us)
Wednesday~ Roast in the crockpot, green beans  (the crockpot is getting some L-O-V-E this week!!!)
Thursday~ Breakfast for dinner
Friday~ Frozen pizza, tossed salad
Saturday~ Burgers on the grill

Share what's cookin' in your casa at Menu Plan Monday!

Menu, Pantry Challenge, and the end of January

Well, this week was amazing.
Amazingly crazy.
On Wednesday, I took LOTS of middle school girls to an opera.
On Friday, I tool LOTS of middle school boys to a "Men Sing" day at our local university.
Talk about your contrasts.

Anyway, the menu got a little wacky this week, but we managed.
Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday~ moving Marinated Flank Steak to today when I've got time to cook it.  Will serve with a tossed salad.
Monday~ Ham slices (frozen from Christmas), blackeyed peas (from the garden this summer), rice, collards (also from the garden)
Tuesday~ Breakfast for dinner: cheese grits, biscuits, eggs, bacon/sausage
Wednesday~ Leftovers (there are plenty - roast with gravy, grilled chicken, etc.)
Thursday~ Frozen pizza, tossed salad
Friday~ French onion soup
Saturday~ Out to eat for my sister's b-day

Breakfast consists of eggs for hubs and waffles for ds#3 (I use whole wheat flour).
I'm not a big breakfast fan, and have to wait to eat breakfast because of meds, so it's usually something like cheese toast.

Lunches are leftovers for hubs & me, and pb&j or 'pizza burritos' for ds#3 (pepperoni & cheese rolled in a tortilla).

Check out Menu Plan Monday for some inspiration, or visit the Pantry Challenge to boost your creativity!

Week 3 of the January Pantry Challenge

Well.
I feel like a failure at the Pantry Challenge so far.
We went out to eat on Friday...
Not because I wanted to, but it is a way for the family to release some stress...


So hopefully this week will go a little better.  It's going to be REALLY busy, but we have a plan, so that should help.

Should.

I hope.

Chocolate helps, too.

Sunday~ Pasta Fagioli
Monday~ Steak, sausage, and chicken on the grill
Tuesday~ Meatballs, gravy with mushrooms, egg noodles, green beans
Wednesday~ Mom is taking the girls in choir to see Madama Butterfly, so the guys will fend for themselves
Thursday~ Tacos (we've gone out to eat for Mexican once a week since we began this challenge... so this week, we're trying for a meal at home...)
Friday~ BBQ pork, collards, baked onion rings
Saturday~ Flank steak on the grill, tossed salad (Mom has a rehearsal so Dad will be in charge of dinner!)

Here's to a more successful week...


Share your menu at Menu Plan Monday and get inspired by the Pantry Challenge!

Pantry Challenge update - midweek

I'm participating the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats this month.  It's a good way to use up groceries, discover freezer adventures, and trim the budget!

This week has been going fairly well - I had to revise the original plan because I wasn't going out of town as I thought when I made our menu.  We've followed the plan thus far, except I switched our beef roast to Wednesday, and we'll do tacos on Thursday.

I did order some ground beef from Zaycon Foods this month.  I have ordered their chicken before and been pleased, so I'm hoping it will go as well with the beef.

Can't wait for the long weekend ahead!!!

Pantry Challenge: The plan as it was...and the changes

Here was the original plan:
8~ Turkey (from the freezer) & gravy, stuffing, broccoli with cheese OR green beans
9~ Taco Night! (I'm going out of town later this week, so gotta get it in early)
10~ Hubby & ds#3 are attending a dinner together, so Mom's on her own
11~ Leftovers
12 - 14 ~ I could make dinners, but I'm going out of town to a conference, and I know my guys will eat out...so I'm not going to obsess about it.


I am no longer going to be out of town, so here's the amended plan:
Sunday~ Turkey (from the freezer) with gravy, stuffing, green beans (this has not changed)
Monday~ Breakfast for Dinner (change #1)
Tuesday~ ds#3 has artwork on display at an art gallery downtown - thinking I might take him to the reception, then meet dh at a local seafood restaurant as planned
Wednesday~ Since I'll be home... Taco Night! (change #2)
Thursday~ Roast in the crockpot, whole wheat egg noodles, tossed salad (change #3...moved from last week)
Friday~ Either macho nachos with taco leftovers OR pasta fagioli (bump up from next week)
Saturday~ Leftovers


Share your progress on the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats.
Revel in menu marvels with Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

Pantry Challenge update

I've been participating in the Pantry Challenge at Good Cheap Eats. This week has been a decent week, with a couple of changes (what else is new??) but overall, successful.

Wednesday, we went out to eat, because I walked in the door later than usual, hubs was starving when I got there, and he wanted to go to our fave Mexican spot.  So we did.

Thursday, I made chili mac as scheduled and it was YUM!

Friday, roast was on the menu.... but I discovered a container of beef chunks with mushrooms and some kind of gravy, so I decided to be brave and toss that in the crockpot with a little more gravy.  I came home to discover a yummy concoction, hot and ready to eat.  Just heated some egg noodles, and dinner was on.  (Small triumph!)

Saturday, we'll see a reappearance of Thursday's chili.  This was not on the planned menu, but hubs wants to watch football, so my take on Rachael Ray's Chili Cheese Fries is what's for dinner!  I'll roast the potato wedges in the oven, pour on my chili, and top with cheese.  Happy people! :)  Oh.... and for lunch on Saturday, I passed off some dried out chicken as BBQ chicken sandwiches (SMOTHERED - and I do mean SMOTHERED - in BBQ sauce.)  My boy was delighted - he ate two.


I *did* go to the store this week - mostly for non-food items (Rx, toilet paper, etc.), but I did pick up some tea bags and cheese.  So far, so good!

I won't be going out of town next week as planned, so I'll shift a few things around to accommodate dinner.

Every day's an adventure - join in the Pantry Challenge and share yours!