The end of July... and the menu

Last week's menu was mostly successful...

I ended up making the Southwestern Layered Salad on Tuesday, buying a rotisserie chicken and serving that on Wednesday with mashed potatoes & gravy (from the fridge), Thursday was leftovers, and hubby & I had a date night on Friday because ds#3 spent the night with a friend.

So, this week, here's the plan:

Sunday~ Family dinner @ Olive Garden to celebrate my grandpa's birthday

Monday~ Taco salads

Tuesday~ Family bowling night. Frozen pizza (we haven't had it yet!!)

Wednesday~ Eggplant Parmigiana (using the ABUNDANCE of eggplant from our garden), french bread

Thursday~ All day shopping trip w/mom & sis. Bone-in chicken breasts cooked in the crock pot with cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, cucumber salad (from our garden), biscuits

Friday~ FINALLY getting to those egg rolls, cashew chicken & rice

Saturday~Leftovers or some other creation I feel like whipping up :)

Share your menu or get some ideas at Laura's Menu Plan Monday!

July Menu #3... and preparing for back to school...

July is such a bittersweet month for me as a teacher. It marks the place in summer where I truly begin to relax and enjoy the lazy days (or at least being able to choose some things about my day!), but it also reminds me that summer is half over for me, and that back-to-school is closer than I think.

Sigh.

Last week's menu worked fairly well, and planning breakfast, lunch, and dinner really was a help to me. This week, I'm in a workshop from 8-5 for most of the week, which will be like practice for returning to work. So, crockpot will return to *very* active duty, and I'll do lots of prepping ahead.

Sunday~ Cookout with friends: burgers & dogs.

Monday~ Spaghetti in the crock pot (sauce, that is. Boil noodles when I come home.)

Tuesday~ Family bowling night. Either frozen pizza or out to eat

Wednesday~ Southwestern Layered salad & quesadillas

Thursday~ Pesto Chicken Pasta (pesto made with fresh basil from our garden - LOVE IT!!), cucumber salad (cukes from our garden), butterhorns

Friday~ Soup & sandwiches

Saturday~ TBA... maybe I'll get around to those egg rolls this week...

Share what's cookin' at Menu Plan Monday!

July Menu... week 2. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

This week, I decided to plan all 3 meals each day, because we're home, eating all 3 meals. So to ensure that I've got enough groceries, and that we don't go out to eat too often, I'm planning. And I love it when a plan comes together.

Sunday~ Grits, Eggs, Bacon, and Watermelon

Roast in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, broccoli, bread

Open-faced roast beef sandwiches (using the roast from lunch)

Monday~ Pancakes w/fruit, bacon
Watermelon Feta Salad
Nachos Supreme (watching the MLB Home Run Derby)

Tuesday~ Breakfast Smoothie

Chef Salad

Hotdogs, baked beans, Cracker Jacks (watching the MLB All-Star Game!)

Wednesday~ Breakfast Skillet, biscuits

Sub sandwiches

Tacos & quesadillas

Thursday~ Cereal with fruit

Pasta with roasted veggies

Smoked chicken & smoked sausage, baked potatoes, sliced tomatoes

(hopefully we'll have some cukes ready from the garden)

Friday~ Breakfast smoothie, pancakes, sausage

Loaded baked potatoes

Homemade egg rolls, Cashew chicken & rice

Saturday~ Eggs, sausage, fruit

Leftovers from the week

Turkey, stuffing, and whatever veggies are ripe from the garden

Share at Laura's, or get some inspiration... at Menu Plan Monday.

Is it truly July?? Menu

Wow - the first month of summer has flown by so quickly...we're into the first week of July already so I guess I better get in gear and post that menu!

Sunday~ HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY,USA!!! Fried fish (cooked by my dad), fried chicken (my first attempt), potato salad, seven layer salad, baked beans, corn on the cob. Yummmmmm!

Monday~ Hubby volunteered to grill steaks (I think he missed grilling on Sunday). So it's steak on the grill, skewered veggies (mushrooms, tomatoes, bell pepper chunks, potatoes), salad and homemade rolls. (I'm also going to have him grill some extra hotdogs for later in the week.)

Tuesday~ BLTs (using some GORGEOUS tomatoes that were given to us... our garden has not really produced any yet), chips

Wednesday~ Aussie chicken, rice, tossed salad.

Thursday~ Hotdogs, baked beans (left over from the 4th), mac'n'cheese

Friday~ Chef's Salads and bread

Saturday~ Pasta of some sort

Share your menu marvels at Laura's!

Back in the Saddle! Menu

We left to go out of town for a bowling tournament for ds#3 so I didn't plan any kind of menu until after we got back. Last week after we got home, we did have Pesto Penne Pasta and french bread (we never got to it the week it was planned), Spaghetti (always a good comfort meal), and Beef tenderloin, stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes & tossed salad. All were delish after eating on-the-road food for six days.

This week, we are settling back down into a normal routine, so here's the plan:

Sunday~ leftover tenderloin & mashed potatoes

Monday~ Sticky chicken, roasted potatoes (from our garden!), salad, cornbread

Tuesday~ BBQ pork (from the freezer) on buns, chips, veggies & dip

Wednesday~ Appetizer night!

Thursday~ Taco salad

Friday~ Frozen pizza

Saturday~ TBA

What's cookin' in your casa?

The We-Have-Survived-the-School-Year-Week-One Menu

Last week went essentially according to plan, except we didn't have Bourbon chicken (we'll have it this week) and we had the same dinner two nights in a row at hubby's request: Citrus Basil chicken, fresh corn on the cob, and new potatoes from our garden. That is a big deal, as he does not ever ask for leftovers!!!

We are going out of town at the end of the week, so I'm only planning through Thursday.

Sunday~ Bourbon chicken & rice

Monday~ Rachael Ray's Texas Chili Cheese Fries (I actually have some leftover taco meat that I will 'doll' up and then add the cheese, but this recipe is the inspiration)

Tuesday~ Club sandwiches, pita chips & hummus (this is the kind my hubby likes, but we're experimenting with several flavors right now)

Wednesday~ Chicken Pesto Pasta (I use milk instead of cream, and make pesto with the abundance of basil in our garden!)

Thursday~ Out to dinner with my dad and my sister to celebrate Father's Day with him

Friday~ traveling...

Saturday~ there...

June is bustin' out all over!!!

Last week, I did not post a thing.

It was the last week with students at school, and even crazier than the week before.

We did eat... steaks on the grill on Monday, Aussie chicken on Tuesday, sandwiches on Wednesday, leftovers on Thursday & Friday, and burgers & hotdogs on the grill for Saturday.

So this week, we have a couple of days of post-school duties, then hubby has a workshop. I'll still have some meetings, but our official school year will be over. It isn't really like work when the kids aren't there, so this will be a very relaxing week.

Sunday~ Leftovers from the grill, baked beans, stuffed mushrooms, and chips. Team party at our local minor league baseball park this evening.

Monday~ FFYS (Fend For YourSelf). Mom has a p.m. meeting with other choral directors.

Tuesday~ Bourbon chicken (which has no bourbon), rice, salad, Parmesan Thyme rolls

Wednesday~ Pork BBQ sandwiches (cook pork in crock pot), pasta salad

Thursday~ Tacos & burritos, refried beans

Friday~ our 16th wedding anniversary. No plans - Hubs is supposed to be in a workshop all week, so we may stay in.

Saturday~ NO PLANS because I don't have to plan... I can wing it if I want because I'm OUT OF SCHOOL!!! :)