February!!! A new menu

Today is the last day of January, and my sister's birthday.

I'm so thankful for her - she is not just my sister; she is my friend!

My hubby is beginning a physician's weight loss program this week, so I'm not completely sure what we'll be looking at as far as food goes, but we'll give it a try!

Our menu for this week looks like this:

Sunday~ out to eat in honor of my sis's b-day!

Monday~ hubby has class; must-goes for ds#3 and me

Tuesday~ Feta-stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon (from this recipe, adapted and inspired by my sis), rice, green beans with almonds, tiropeta (which has been in the freezer from our local Greek Festival)

Wednesday~ Eggplant lasagna (from the freezer), Caesar salad, garlic bread

Thursday~ Hubby's diet starts today, and all I know is that he'll be eating lots of protein. So I'm making a roast in the crockpot, and ds#3 & I will add some veggies.

Friday & Saturday ~ Again, depends on what the doc says on Thursday.

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!

We're almost there... the end of January... menu week 4

As seems to be the case lately, I'm using the items on my menu, just switching the order around. Hubby wanted to go out to dinner on Saturday night, and Friday night he chaperoned at a school dance so ds#3 & I fended for ourselves.

On to this week:

Sunday~ the Cole's Ravioli Dinner that we did not have last week. I made a Caesar dressing to go with a salad. YUM!

Monday~ Sticky chicken, mac'n'cheese, crescent rolls and salad

Tuesday~ reheat leftovers from Monday

Wednesday~ Turkey, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob

Thursday~ Stouffer's Lasagna, Caesar salad

Friday~ Waffles, bacon, grapefruit (from our tree)

Saturday~ TBD :)

Still trying to minimize trips to the grocery store as part of the Pantry Challenge - I know I'll have to go get some bread for hubby's lunches and possibly some cheese. Overall, we've done pretty well this month and come a long way in cleaning out the freezer!

Share your menu at Menu Plan Monday!

Find out what the Pantry Challenge is all about!

January menu - week three...

I've just returned from being out of town, to discover that my boys did, indeed, go out to eat for almost every meal while I was gone. :)

They were glad to have home cooked meals again, though, as was I. I made french toast with blueberries, eggs, and bacon for breakfast and the guys were delighted.

So for this week, we've switched a few things around from the monthly menu, but still using the things I've planned (just on different days). I'm participating in a Pantry Challenge from Life As Mom, so I'm trying to use up what we've got and go to the store as LITTLE as possible. Here we go:

Sunday~ Chili mac

Monday~ Roast beef (the very last of it), rice and gravy, Caesar salad and homemade bread

Tuesday~Turkey, homemade gravy, stuffing, broccoli, cranberries (I bought several small turkeys when Publix had them on sale for .59/lb so we'll be enjoying one of those!)

Wednesday~ Open-faced turkey sandwiches on homemade bread

Thursday~ Stuffed eggplant with spaghetti sauce, noodles (I froze the eggplant from our abundant produce this summer)

Friday~ Chicken noodle soup, bacon sandwiches (inspired by this recipe, but slightly 'healthified')

Saturday~ Cole's Ravioli Dinner (scored for $3)

I started to make a trip to the store today just to pick up odds and ends, but decided that I really could make do with what we have. We've got plenty in the freezer, and although I may have to get creative, I really don't want to spend the extra money. So far, so good!

Share your menu at Organized Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Read more about the Pantry Challenge at Life As Mom.

January menu - week two!

Well, our plan got mixed around a little bit last week, but for the most part, I cooked what I had planned (just not on the day I planned it - LOL)!!

Sunday, my parents came over, so I switched to a big pot of Pasta Fagioli and moved the Rosemary Chicken to Thursday. On Wednesday, hubby decided we should go out to eat at a favorite local Mexican restaurant, so we did. We did not have Cashew Chicken at all, so that's moving to this week.

And on to this week's plan:

Sunday~ Roast in the crockpot, mashed potatoes & gravy, field peas (from our garden in the spring), homemade bread (I had planned to cook a small turkey this weekend, but forgot to thaw it, so I moved up the roast from the end of the month. Hubby & son will have leftovers when I am out of town later this week.)

Monday~ Hubby's first night of class. Son & I will have leftovers.

Tuesday~ Cashew chicken & rice, broccoli, mandarin oranges (already cooked for fast reheating, as ds has ball practice and hubby has a meeting.)

Wednesday~ out to dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate a former student's birthday.

Thursday - Saturday~ I will be out of town at a conference. The boys will probably eat at home on Thursday; Marine son comes home this weekend so they will probably go out to eat the other nights!

You can view my plan for the month here.

Share your menu inspirations at Menu Plan Monday!

2011... January's first Menu Plan

Well, it was a good plan.

Last week, I mapped it out.

And then we did not follow it at all.

On Sunday, we went over to my parents' house for dinner. Monday, we ate leftovers at home. Tuesday, we had dinner again at my parents' house, because my brother and nieces came in from out of town. Wednesday, we had lunch at a fabulous local seafood restaurant, and then did not feel like eating dinner. Thursday, hubby went to a hockey game, and I went out to dinner with my brother and sister. Friday, we FINALLY ate something on the menu plan: Ham & Cheese in Puff Pastry - and it was YUMMMY. On New Years Day, we were invited to a friend's house so we ate there.

Here's the plan for this week. We'll see if we have more success. However, I reserve the right to sub in any meal that was scheduled for last week! ;)

2~ Rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes, salad (well, this was the plan. It got scrapped because my parents came over and we had the Pasta Fagioli that was planned for Wednesday.)

3~ Red beans & rice

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

5~ Pasta fagioli, garlic bread (we had this on Sunday, so we'll swap a day)

6~ Cashew chicken, rice, broccoli, mandarin oranges

7~ Eggs, grits, bacon, biscuits

8~ Loaded baked potatoes

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!