Getting ready for January... Menu!

Christmas was delightful!

So much fun with my boys and my family... food, presents, laughter... it really was wonderful.

Now this week while we're enjoying the last bit of vacation, it'll be organizational time for me. I will go through our files and get our paperwork in order to do taxes, as well as plan out a menu for the whole month. After all the presents we've bought in January, and college tuition due for hubby's graduate class, we'll need to count our pennies a little more carefully. ;)

This week:

(my brother & his girls are due in sometime this week, so one evening may be scrapped to have dinner with them.)

Sunday~ lunch at my parents' house - yummy leftovers from Christmas Day's dinner!

Monday~ Jambalaya (using ham from our Christmas dinner)

Tuesday~ Black & bleu salad (using flank steak leftover from last week)

Wednesday~ Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes, field peas

Thursday~ Ham & cheese in puff pastry, green salad

Friday~ New Year's Eve... menu TBA

Saturday~ Happy New Year!!! Probably Mexican (tacos, nachos, cheesy dipping things!)

January's menu looks like this:

2~ Rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes, salad

3~ Red beans & rice

4~ Pasta with mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and feta cheese

5~ Pasta fagioli, garlic bread

6~ Cashew chicken, rice, broccoli, mandarin oranges

7~ Eggs, grits, bacon, biscuits

8~ Loaded baked potatoes

9~ Turkey (bought at Publix when they were .59/lb - didn't have turkey for Christmas, so we'll be okay with this meal!), stuffing, Swiss beans or peas

10~ Turkey sandwiches

11~ Spaghetti and stuffed peppers (this has been on the menu several times, but we've yet to get to it)

12~ Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

13-15~ Mom's at a conference out of town, so the guys will fend for themselves!

16~ Ham & beans, cornbread, green salad

17~ MLK Holiday... possibly something on the grill

18~ Cole's Ravioli dinner (only cost me $3!!!)

19~ Chicken noodle soup & bacon sandwiches (a slightly healthier version...)

20~ Stuffed eggplant with tomato sauce (frozen this summer when we had eggplant coming out our ears!), spaghetti noodles

21~ Waffles, sausage, fruit

22~ Sticky chicken, baked potatoes, peas

23~ Roast in the crockpot, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, salad, rolls

24~ Open faced roast beef sandwiches

25~ Leftovers

26~ Chili mac

27~ Ham slices (wrapped and frozen from Christmas dinner), mac 'n' cheese, biscuits, peas

28~ OUT! :)

29~ Lasagna, tossed salad, garlic bread

The rest of the month will be planned at that time. :)

Share your menu or get some inspiration for your kitchen at Menu Plan Monday!

Christmas is coming; the goose is getting fat! Menu

I can't believe that Christmas will be here this week.

It seems like I've just blinked my eyes, and now it's here.

So what are we eating this week?

Here's our plan:

Sunday~ roast & gravy in the crockpot, served over mashed potatoes

Monday~ Rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes, with spinach

Tuesday~ Marine Son comes home. His request: marinated flank steak (from "Once A Month Cooking"), mashed potatoes, Swiss beans, and our 'Happy Birthday Jesus' cake which is traditionally chocolate!

Wednesday~ Tacos & burritos

Thursday~ our traditional celebration with my grandparents. We'll go out to eat and then back to their house for presents and dessert.

Friday~ a quiet Christmas Eve at home - pizza or lasagna

Saturday~ CHRISTMAS!!!! Honeybaked Ham, roasted potatoes, more Swiss beans (because son #1 loves them), possibly mac 'n' cheese, rolls, and desserts.

Sunday~ Christmas at my parents' house... menu to be determined!

December! Menu Monday

We did a pretty good job of following the menu last week. On Saturday, hubby & I decided to go to a Christmas party for work, so ds#3 spent the night with the grandparents, and I did not have to cook. That menu will roll over to this weekend.

The plan:

Sunday~ Beef tips & gravy, sauteed mushrooms, egg noodles, swiss beans, rolls

Monday~ I will be setting up for a concert. Dh & ds#3 will go shopping, so it's every man for himself.

Tuesday~ Concert night for me, and baseball for ds#3. Another FFYS.

Wednesday~ Chili mac at hubby's request.

Thursday~ Roast with gravy and mashed potatoes.

Friday~ Stuffed peppers (from this summer - I harvested, assembled, and froze when the peppers were ripe off the plant) and spaghetti

Saturday~ the turkey dinner that did not happen last week!

What's cookin' at your house? Share at Menu Plan Monday!

Happy Week-After-Thanksgiving menu... and here comes December

Last week's menu worked pretty well -

Friday was amended slightly (we had Pasta Fagioli soup in the crock) and Saturday was a family seafood fest...but other than that, it went according to plan.

This week, as usual, we'll be busy, and it'll be cold, so here's a hearty menu to go with the weather.

Sunday~ beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, gravy with mushrooms, swiss beans

Monday~ I had planned ravioli, but it's supposed to rain. We'll have leftover Pasta Fagioli instead.

Tuesday~ ds#3 begins a new baseball clinic every Tuesday evening. We'll make it quick with Cole's Ravioli Dinner, which I scored for a whopping $3.99.

Wednesday~ BBQ chicken in the crock pot (only with bone-in chicken breasts), mac'n'cheese, baked beans in the mini-crock, and cornbread

Thursday~ Breakfast for Dinner: Waffles (using up some leftover sweet potatoes), eggs, bacon

Friday~ Red Beans & Rice with sausage

Saturday~ we didn't have enough leftover turkey for sandwiches, so hubby is requesting a turkey! It'll be roast turkey with stuffing & gravy, and hopefully a salad from the lettuce growing in our raised beds!

What are you cooking? Share at Menu Plan Monday!

Thanksgiving Week Menu

I have so many emotions running through me ...

• This weekend marked the one-year anniversary of my grandfather's passing. There are some days when the grief still overwhelms me, but I am thankful that he is no longer shackled by a weak and sickened body; his soul is now free.
• My second son is across the ocean in a foreign country. Last Thanksgiving, it was son #1, the Marine. Will I ever get used to being a military mom?

Sigh.

My Marine will, however, be home this year. And my (not-so-) baby boy is still here... he's only 10 - we've got a few more years with him. And my man... my husband... he is such a constant: faithful, steadfast, strong for me. For these things, I am extremely thankful.

On to the menu.

Last week, we failed miserably. But I did have a plan, as I will this week. We'll see how it goes. :)

Sunday~ Loaded baked potatoes, soup

Monday~ Tacos & burritos (ds#3's request)

Tuesday~ Pizza (from the freezer - also ds#3's request)

Wednesday~ LEFTOVERS... gotta clean out and make room for the Thanksgiving goodies!

Thursday~ Happy Thanksgiving! So much food it makes my stomach hurt just to think of it: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rice & gravy, sweet potato casserole (a lot like this), swiss beans, ambrosia, my Grandfather's cucumber salad (similar to this one). For dessert: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple cherry pie. Maybe some brownies for the kiddos. Whew.

Friday~ Mom, sis & I have a Black Friday shopping tradition. My dad is making us Hot Browns after the shop.

Saturday~ Who knows.... some remake of leftovers or maybe just turkey sandwiches. :)

November Menu #3

We have a plan so that there's something in place...

so that we aren't subject to the whims of the day...

so that we don't break the bank going out to eat.

That said, we did not do such a terrific job of FOLLOWING the plan last week!

Wednesday, we ended up with leftovers (which was fine, because there were plenty); Thursday, hubby & I went out because ds#3 was at a local airshow with my dad & brother; Friday, we had spaghetti, and Saturday was out to dinner for my brother-in-law's birthday.

So here's to a new week, and a new plan.

Sunday~ Turkey (Publix has them on sale for .59/lb, which is the cheapest I've seen in a while), stuffing, homemade gravy, butternut squash gratin

Monday~ Open-faced turkey sandwiches (use leftover turkey & gravy), chips

Tuesday~ French onion soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

Wednesday~ Red beans & rice (that we didn't eat last week)

Thursday~ Dear Son has a musical at school - we'll go out to eat afterward

Friday~ Pizza from the freezer

Saturday~ TBA... probably leftovers or something simple to clean out the fridge in preparation for next week!

What's cookin' in your casa?

Share at Menu Plan Monday!

November Menu #2

Time is marching on. What a busy week last week... this week will be no different. I'll have late rehearsals and a district-wide performance, while hubby prepares for a workday with his History Club this weekend. I want to do something special for Veterans Day on Thursday, but haven't decided quite what.

Here's what's cookin'... or at least the PLAN for what we'll cook!

Sunday~ Tacos

Monday~ Chili in the crockpot (using leftover taco meat), with macaroni, homemade rolls

Tuesday~ Fend For Yourself. Ds#3 has to bowl, and I've got a concert.

Wednesday~ Breakfast for dinner. Grits, sausage, eggs. Yum.

Thursday~ HOLIDAY - Thank a Vet!!! Perhaps a cookout with the fam.

Friday~ Red beans & rice with sausage.

Saturday~ Eggplant parmesan. Froze the breaded eggplant when our garden was in full swing. Now to make good use of it!

We all participated in our first 5K this weekend, and I'm very proud of us! We hope to make this a more frequent event. :)

Have a wonderful week -

and share your menu inspirations at Menu Plan Monday!!!