The Aloha Menu

We have been in Hawaii for a week. Wow, is it beautiful!
What we've eaten so far:
Monday- we landed and ate Subway sandwiches before heading to watch our Marine play softball
Tuesday- spaghetti in our cottage; Mom cooked to save some cash!
Wednesday- burgers and hotdogs and veggies on the grill. Yum!
Thursday- leftover pizza from lunch out
Friday- again, leftovers from lunch out
Saturday- Marine Son had a bunch of friends over for a cookout: burgers, chicken, shrimp, veggies on the grill, along w roasted potatoes, corn, and homemade Mac & Cheese. Fun time had by all!
Sunday- leftovers from the cookout. Last night we'll be able to cook- it's off to a hotel in the morning.

Pics soon!
Till then, visit Menu Plan Monday for inspiration!
http://www.orgjunkie.com

The week before HAWAII... and our 'use-it-up' menu

Next Monday, we will fly out to see our Marine Son who just happens to be stationed in Hawaii!!!!  We are terribly excited to see him, but also looking forward to a great adventure in a place we would otherwise never go.  So this week, we are using up all the perishable food... which will probably lead to some interesting meals.

The plan:

Sunday~ Blackeyed peas (from last year's garden), cucumber salad (cukes from a friend), zucchini fries (my son's new fave - yea for veggies!!!), fried green tomatoes
Monday~ Leftover spaghetti.  I may also make some pesto with our abundant basil, just to stretch the sauce for the pasta.  I will probably also make a Potato Torte for lunches during the week.
Tuesday~ Our 19th wedding anniversary!  Hubby & I will be enjoying a dinner out.
Wednesday~ Chili.  I have some taco meat that needs to be used up, and this is a good way to convert it into something interesting.  Plus my guys like it!
Thursday~ Breakfast for dinner.  We have a ton of farm eggs that I will use up, along with the potatoes that will not last for another 10 days.  We'll add bacon and perhaps some grits and call it dinner.
Friday~ If there are any leftovers, we will have those.  If not, I'll make sausage with peppers & onions for hubby, and ds#3 and I will probably have pasta.
Saturday~ Unless we have a bunch of ripe veggies by that time, everything should be used up.  We'll probably order pizza or go to our local Mexican fave.

Check out Menu Plan Monday for tons of menu ideas!

We made it! School's out...

And I have not planned a menu for this week.
Because I am breathing.
And not teaching 250 middle schoolers a day.
Pause.  Think on that.
And smile.

Instead, I'm going to post what we ate each day!
Sunday~ Graduation cookout for some students of ours whose families we grew to love. Too full for anything else!
Monday~ Good use of leftovers: coleslaw (cabbage from the garden), baked beans, zucchini 'fries' (zukes from a friend) and leftover sausage and chicken.  Yum!

Tuesday~ I forgot to take a picture.  We had comforting and easy spaghetti.  Full of tomato-ey goodness, mushrooms, basil, piled on top of whole wheat pasta... yumminess in a bowl.

Wednesday~ I made salsa early this morning so it would be ready for dinner tonight.  YUM! So easy with some fresh tomatoes, spring onions, a little jalapeno, salt... you get the idea.  We had nachos/open-faced tacos tonight for dinner - top your own with ground beef, beans, cheese, sour cream, homemade salsa.  Delish!

Thursday~ We finally had Breakfast for Dinner.  Organic sausage and thick cut bacon, potatoes, scrambled eggs.  I topped my potatoes with swiss chard and feta.  Yummy!

Friday~ Caprese salad w/tomatoes & basil from the garden.  Chicken, homemade mac'n'cheese, homemade coleslaw (cabbage from the garden) and green beans (also from the garden).

I'm seeing a tomato theme emerging here.

Saturday~ Again, forgot to take a picture.  I inventoried our fridge to see what food we need to use up in the next few days... because we're going to HAWAII!!!  Tonight, we had half a package of hotdogs, so I roasted those in the oven, and made homemade french fries.

I am linking up to Menu Plan Monday.

Is it JUNE already???? The last menu of the month

Well I missed posting the entire month of May.
It was ridiculously busy.
Between hubby & me, Memorial Day weekend was our first weekend of the month all at home together!
WHEW!

A rainbow: red and yellow cherry tomatoes, purple and green basil (all from the garden), a sprinkling of feta and a drizzle of olive oil.  Delish!

The broccoli that flowers.  It is done.  Beautiful while it lasted!

Our garden is in full swing - the lettuces are just about done, and the cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen.  We have lots of big green tomatoes and I can't wait until they are ready - my favorite is the Cherokee Purple.  So juicy and beautiful!

This week is the final week of school for students, and boy, has it been a sprint to the finish.  Friday was our final concert of the school year - for Memorial Day - it was a success.  Great way to wrap up the year.  This week will feature Field Day, in-class Talent Shows, and Promotion Ceremony for our 8th graders.

So what will we eat?
I thought you'd never ask.
Sunday~ out to dinner with extended family to celebrate birthdays.
Monday~ HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Please thank someone who has served, and remember those who paid for this holiday. We will grill burgers & sausage.  I'll make coleslaw with our cabbage to go with.  And for dessert, I'm making some kind of something... I haven't decided what!

The cabbage has been harvested.

Tuesday~ Scouts, and leftovers.  Fried chicken, beef tips w/gravy & egg noodles, turkey w/scalloped potatoes... certainly you can find something. :)
Wednesday~ Breakfast: eggs, bacon, grits... hopefully some blueberries from our bushes.
Thursday~ Local baseball game with some friends.  We'll enjoy some ball park food!
Friday~ LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!! We will celebrate by going out to dinner!
Saturday~ TBA... because I can decide then!

Share your menu marvels at Menu Plan Monday!

April and May... and the busy life menu

Time is short so I'll make this quick!

Broccoli from our garden... it's flowering!

Last week's whole roast chicken was a success!  It was beautiful - moist and juicy, and delicious to boot.  We had two meals of sliced chicken, I made stock, and we're finishing the last of it this week.

Sunday~ Leftover roast beef, mushrooms and homemade gravy, over whole wheat egg noodles with broccoli from the garden

Fresh picked!

Monday~ Last of the chicken made into bbq sandwiches, with homemade mac'n'cheese, peas from last year's garden, and greens from this year's garden!
Tuesday~ Spaghetti before we dash off to Scouts
Wednesday~ Breakfast for Dinner (we haven't had this for the past several weeks that it's been listed!)
Thursday through Saturday~ Mom's traveling, so the boys will be fending for themselves!

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!

It doesn't slow down! April Menu #4

Life is running full steam ahead, and it isn't going to slow down until school is out at the end of May!

I've been hunting for a source of local grass fed meat, and I have found it - at our Farmers Market!  It has grown so much over the past two years, and anything that we don't grow in our garden, I can find fresh there.  Yum!

On Saturday, we made cheeseburgers with some of the beef I got at the Farmers Market.  I could definitely taste a difference.  It wasn't a good or bad difference - it was just different.  The cheeseburgers were great and we plan to have them again!

So this week?
Sunday~ Whole roast chicken (Farmers Market), roasted potatoes & green beans (in the pan with the chicken).  This is actually the first time I've *ever* roasted a whole chicken...I'm a little nervous about it!
Monday~ Tacos with our grass-fed beef.  May also try tostadas with some leftover roast that I need to get eaten.
Tuesday~ Scout night: leftover chicken with pasta, salad with lettuce from the garden
Wednesday~ Breakfast for Dinner.  We never got to it last week.
Thursday~ Leftovers, or sandwiches for supper (if there are no leftovers)
Friday~ Roast in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli from the garden
Saturday~ Leaving it open :)

What's your plan for the week?  Share on Menu Plan Monday!

Full steam ahead... April Menu #3

I missed posting last week entirely-
it's been so hectic that I didn't get to it!
(No worries... we did eat.)

Our garden is in full production of all sorts of green things:

This weekend I discovered why broccoli has 'florets':
if you don't harvest and eat them in a timely manner, THEY FLOWER!
They produce pretty little yellow flowers, which are edible, but let me just say that it's pretty weird eating broccoli with flowers.  I made them into a quiche where they are somewhat disguised, but we can still eat them.

This week is full of standardized testing at school, and we will all be in need of some serious comfort when we come home at the end of the day.
Sunday~ pizza for lunch, and fend for yourself at dinnertime (no one was very hungry)
Monday~ Homemade Cheese Ravioli (made with wonton wrappers) and tomato sauce, and a tossed salad to go with (lettuce from our garden)
Tuesday~ Leftover chicken cacciatore from last week, on top of mashed potatoes
Wednesday~ Homemade whole wheat mac'n'cheese, steamed broccoli from the garden
Thursday~ Breakfast for Dinner: eggs, bacon, grapefruit, strawberries, cheese grits
Friday~ Roast beef with mushrooms over mashed potatoes, sauteed swiss chard (garden)
Saturday~ TBA :)

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!