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!

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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!

It's April!

March flew by, and it's already April.
Last week, there was not much of a plan, as my guys were out of town, and I was home alone, so not much cooking was required.

This week, we're back at school, and back to the routine, so I better get with it!

Sunday~ Happy Easter! We celebrated with my family. My parents have been renting a beach house, experimenting with semi-retired life. We gathered out there, and had a fish fry ("That's what Jesus ate" according to my dad!) accompanied by cheese grits, baked beans, seven-layer salad, deviled eggs, assorted cookies, and a cake. YUM!

Monday~ I've got a beef tenderloin that I must cook.  Salad with lettuce from the garden and twice-baked potatoes.

Tuesday~ Scouts night. Leftovers from this weekend: organic ham, swiss beans, scalloped potatoes for a fast dinner.

Wednesday~ Breakfast for dinner. Eggs, leftover ham, toast, grapefruit (yes, we still have plenty on our tree!), and maybe grits

Thursday~ haircut right after school, and hubs has class. Ds & I will do some kind of leftovers when we get home.

Friday~ Pioneer Woman's chili (in the freezer). A family fave.

Saturday~ Leftover tenderloin, perhaps in sandwiches or on a salad - we have a TON of lettuce in the garden!

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

Home Alone Menu

This week, my guys are in Washington DC.  They will return on Thursday, and you know I'll have a yummy dinner waiting for them.
But until then, it's just me and the dog, so the menus will most likely be a little on the dull side.

To make up for that, I'm doing some freezer cooking!
Chicken Cacciatore
Pioneer Woman's Chili
Tomato Balsamic Pot Roast (slow cooker) - this sounds perfect with mashed potatoes!

And prepping our Easter menu:
Ham, sweet potato casserole with pecan topping, swiss beans, and some kind of dessert that has yet to be decided

I'm also getting my hair cut (FUN!), and going to the doctor (not so fun...) 

So there's the plan for this week... it's nice to have some down-time after the craziness for the past three weeks.  Stay tuned... next week, we're sure to return to some interesting tales...

Check out Menu Plan Monday for Menu inspiration!

The week before Spring Break menu

I do not think we could be any busier this week.

Lemon Blossoms...can't wait for these beauties!

Our garden is in full swing with TONS of greens, so I'm trying to incorporate those wherever I can.
Next week, hubs & ds#3 will be in Washington DC, so life around here will be extremely quiet.
We are more than making up for that this week:
Monday: meeting for State History Fair
Tuesday: Scouts
Wednesday: breathe
Thursday: final DC meeting
Friday: pack for DC
Saturday: leave for DC

Yep.  That's our week.  With a couple of concerts thrown in for good measure.
Here's what we're eating:

Sunday~ Burgers on the grill, homemade mac'n'cheese, kale chips made with swiss chard because that's what we have in the garden
Monday~ Grilled chicken, 5 minute potato gratins, sauteed swiss chard or tossed salad
Tuesday~ Sandwiches or leftovers before Scouts
Wednesday~ Roast in the crockpot with onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, tossed salad
Thursday~ probably dinner out, because hubs has a meeting and I do too
Friday~ Ds has requested steak and mashed potatoes before he leaves for restaurant food for 5 days
Saturday~ Whatever the boys request :)

Then it's SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!! A week of rest. Yessssssssss.
Share your Menu Madness at Menu Plan Monday!

March Menu Madness

Last week was so ridiculous that I did not even bother to post a menu.  Naturally we ate... and we went out more than once... but our schedule was so hectic that it really was futile to try to plan anything.  Here are a couple of pics, just to prove we survived :)

Homemade mac'n'cheese... this was dinner on Friday night.

Lettuce leaves waiting to be dressed for a salad... yummy and good for us!

So that brings us to this week.
This week will be busy, but we will be home at mealtime so that will make life just a tad simpler!
The plan:
Sunday~ spaghetti, tossed salad (lettuce from our garden), and cheesy bread for lunch; bbq chicken, Swiss chard (garden), and roasted butternut squash (from the garden via the freezer!) for dinner. YUM!

Monday~ Melissa d'Arabian's Potato Torte (a fave around here, and great way to use less meat), big green salad from the garden.  I'm finding that including a salad with our lettuce is keeping dinnertime portions in check for my guys.  Yes!
Tuesday~ Pasta toss with tomatoes, mushrooms, arugula (garden), olives and feta cheese, with cheesy bread (to encourage ds, who is not a huge veggie fan!)
Wednesday~ Taco Night!  It's been a while - got some leftover Mexican Rice, homemade refried beans, and all the taco fixins.  Delish!
Thursday~ hubs has class, so we'll have leftovers - there should be plenty!
Friday & Saturday~ ds will be on a Boy Scout campout, so hubby and I will take the opportunity for some date time. My parents are also renting a beach house and have invited us to visit, so we may also enjoy some beach time!

Share your Menu Madness at Menu Plan Monday!