Sunday, August 26, 2012

Well hello, hurricanes....and the end of August menu

What would back-to-school be without a hurricane to make things exciting?
Just as the kids are getting trained, and we're all back in a routine, we have a couple of days off thanks to Tropical Storm / soon to be Hurricane Isaac.
The joys of the Sunshine State. ;)

Last week went relatively smoothly, getting back to school, and the menu worked well too.  A few days were flip-flopped, but everything worked well.  On Saturday, we spent the day prepping for a potential hurricane, and hubby grilled instead of having roast.  Yum!!!!  
For this week?

Here's hoping we have power all week long!

Sunday~ leftovers from the grill for lunch (burgers & dogs), spaghetti for dinner
Monday~ BBQ chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, corn on the cob
Tuesday~ Pasta fagioli in the crockpot
Wednesday~ hoping that we keep power.... Breakfast for Dinner
Thursday~ again, hoping we have power... Taco Night
Friday~ PAYDAY!  If all is well, let's go out to eat!  (If nobody has power, we'll grill some sausage and chicken)
Saturday~ TBA, depending on what we live through this week! :)



Sunday, August 19, 2012

The kids are coming...August Menu #3



Our students are back at school this week.  If last week's orientation is any indication, we're going to be swamped!

Last week went mostly according to plan, but toward the end of the week, we discovered that lightning zapped our garage door opener and our telephone.  And, I think, our oven.  It's not turning off unless I flip the breaker. :(

Here's what's cookin' this week:
Sunday~ Meatballs with brown gravy and mashed potatoes for lunch, leftovers for dinner
Monday~ Frozen pizza to wrap up our first day with students!
Tuesday~  Chicken Pesto Pasta (Scouts night)
Wednesday~ Taco night!
Thursday~ Leftovers/Sandwiches (hubs has class tonight)
Friday~ Out to dinner @Olive Garden with a gift card.  YUM! (And a nice way to end our first week)
Saturday~ Crockpot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans

I made some homemade Chocolate Cookie Dough Larabars for lunches.  My son loves these, but they are pricey!  These are a perfect homemade treat, and he (and my husband) like them just as well, if not better than the store-bought version!  I also made a chocolate cake - one for my house and one for my parents.  My mom was in the hospital this week, so that's her treat for coming home!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Officially back-to-work menu

This week, teachers go back to work.  We don't have students yet, but we'll be plenty busy with meetings and preparing to greet our kids.

Last week's menu worked pretty well, with the exception of a couple days.  I needed some emergency dental work done, so we adjusted, and some things will carry over to this week.

Sunday~ leftovers for lunch; burritos for dinner
Monday~ Pioneer Woman's Chili (I made a double batch earlier in the month, so I'll pull it from the freezer)
Tuesday~ FFYS...Mom's got a meeting and the guys have scouts
Wednesday~ Taco night
Thursday~ Chicken with mushroom gravy, whole wheat egg noodles, salad
Friday~ Potato Torte, salad
Saturday~ Eggplant parmesan


Monday, August 6, 2012

August is here...a menu and getting back in the routine

July was a busy month.
The garden was in full swing, so I put lots of tomatoes and peppers in the freezer, and we had cucumbers coming out of our ears.
We tried to savor the last vestiges of our vacation.
My youngest boy entered the world of orthodontia.
And here's August.

It's time to get back into routines, to buy new clothes (because he outgrew all his other clothes!), time to get ready for school.

So, after a chat with my hubby, who will taking a grad class and a gifted-endorsement class this semester, we decided to formulate a simple plan for meals.

Sundays~ probably crockpot or grill, something that takes a little more time (because we have it)
Monday~ comfort food, until his grad class starts.  Then it will probably be sandwiches on the run.
Tuesday~ Scouts night, so quick and easy.
Wednesday~ Taco night!
Thursday~ hubby's gifted class night, so leftovers
Friday~ Pizza night.  Hubs even said he was open to making pizza - this is a HUGE shift and one that excites me!!
Saturday~ grill, or something more labor-intensive.  Catch up on the week.
Of course, we reserve the right to change the plan without notice.

And with that, here's our menu plan for this week!
Sunday~ BBQ chicken (in the crockpot), baked potatoes, tossed salad for lunch.  Dinner was a huge batch of Pioneer Woman's Chili (I stuffed some peppers with it, I froze half of it for another night, and we ate dinner with what was left!)
Monday~ Spaghetti and tossed salad
Tuesday~ Bourbon chicken, rice, mandarin oranges, cucumber salad
Wednesday~ Taco night!!!  Everything from taco salad to burritos to nachos.  Yum!
Thursday~ BLT's, chips, pasta salad
Friday~ Grill! Burgers and Dogs.
Saturday~ Sticky chicken, scalloped potatoes, cucumbers, blackeyed peas