Easter week menu - and IT'S SPRING BREAK!

First, allow me to say how delirious we all are that we've finally arrived at Spring Break.

Whew.

And now, on to the menus.

Sunday~ Happy Easter! Dinner with the fam: lamb, beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, swiss beans, tossed salad, rolls. Plus sour cream pound cake, apple-cherry pie, and various berries tossed with whipped cream, along with homemade sugar cookies for the kiddos.

Monday~ French onion pot roast, salad, green beans

Tuesday~ Lemon Thyme chicken, zucchini ribbons, green beans, (all served with rice for ds#3)

Wednesday~ Meatballs with tomato sauce, and spaghetti for ds#3 and me

Thursday~ Burgers, hotdogs, and sausage on the grill

Friday~ Smoked turkey, collard greens, leftover swiss beans

Saturday~ I'm hosting a Moderation Nation! party. I'm so excited!!!!!

Share your menus or find some inspiration at Menu Plan Monday.

The Week-Before-Spring Break Menu

We thought it would never come.

Well, we knew it would come eventually...but it felt like it would never get here.

SPRING BREAK.

It's almost here and we can hardly stand it.

This week will be very busy so we'll be eating lots of leftovers and very simple meals.

Sunday~ BBQ chicken that did not get eaten last week, with coleslaw from the cabbage in our garden!!

Monday~ One of hubby's last two weeks of grad class. Ds#3 and I will go see the great-grandparents. Dinner will either be with them, or leftovers.

Tuesday~ Ds#3 goes to see Disney On Ice with the great-grands. Dinner will depend on what time he leaves.

Wednesday~ Hubs has requested breakfast for dinner. This will involve eggs, bacon, and probably waffles for ds.

Thursday~ Hubby has a meeting so dinner will be late. Once again, leftovers.

Friday~ GOOD FRIDAY. Lately, Hubs is loving this grilled shrimp & spinach salad from Applebee's, so we will try to recreate it with the spinach from our garden.

Saturday~ We will try our hand at smoking a ham.... let you know how it goes!

Sunday~ EASTER!!! Celebrating with the fam at my parents' house.

April has arrived.... our menus....

Well, I did not get around to posting our menus last week, but here's what we had:

• Chicken and baby bellas with sauteed spinach (from our garden). Made a yummy sauce with Philly's Italian Cheese and Herb Creme. Yummo (and hubs loved it too)!
• Sticky Chicken with collards (from our garden), mac'n'cheese also for ds#3.
• Dinner out (once with grandparents and once for just us)
• Leftovers

and.....

PIZZA!!!!!!!!!

Yes, folks, you read it right...

Hubby reached a milestone in his weight loss, and he decided he wanted to treat himself to pizza for one night. So, we went to a family-owned local pizzeria and had the most SCRUMPTIOUS margherita pizza we've had in a while. Because it's been a while since we've had pizza at all.

So for this week, here's the plan:

• A beautiful organic beef rib roast that I'll slice into steaks and grill, along with zucchini, mushrooms, and some spinach from the garden
• Taco night with all the trimmings
• Leftover sticky chicken with butternut squash and greens
• Leftover rib steaks turned into salads
• New chicken recipe: East West Barbecued Chicken, green beans

Ds#3 has been sick this weekend, so he may be eating bowls of pasta while hubby and I eat what I've planned. Or the whole week could be scratched in favor of whatever he can tolerate. But at least we've got a plan to begin with! :)

Menu Plan... can't believe March is almost over!

Last week, we ate:

Black 'n' Bleu salad (essentially a steak salad with bleu cheese)

Chicken sauteed with peppers

Leftovers

Family cookout (burgers, hotdogs, and sausage on the grill)

This week, hubby will be leaving on Wednesday to go to a conference, so ds#3 and I will have 4 days of whatever kind of eating we want! :) We will probably go out to dinner at least two nights with family. The other nights? Well, here's how the week is shaping up:

Sunday~ Leftover chicken & peppers mixed with the new Philadelphia Cream Cheese Santa Fe Cooking Creme... yummmm! A decadent flavor boost with no work at all. Wrapped in a tortilla for the carbers.

Monday~ Leftovers from the grill - burgers, hotdogs, or sausage. Pick your protein.

Tuesday~ Whatever hubby requests on his last night at home for this week.

Wednesday~ Out to dinner with Mimi (my mom - who is now home from the hospital and doing VERY well!!)

Thursday~ Something from the house... some kind of carb-lovers meal, probably :)

Friday~ Out with the grandparents - they are living in an extended-stay while their house is being gutted and rebuilt after the fire

Saturday~ Get ready for Dad's return - probably frozen pizza

Share your menus or get some inspiration at Menu Plan Monday!

March Menu #3

Sigh.

What a month we've had so far!

My grandparents' home caught on fire.

My mother went into ICU.

My Marine son came home.

My mother moved out of ICU into a regular room.

My grandparents are beginning the process of sorting through their belongings and deciding what to keep, what to toss.

All these things can wear a girl out!

But the fam's gotta eat.

So here we go:

Sunday~ Taco salad (did not get to it last week. Hubs loved it - good change of pace for him.)

Monday~ Leftover hotdogs from the grill with sauerkraut for hubby, leftover pizza for ds#3. I'll be at the hospital with Mom.

Tuesday~ Low-carb Texas chili, macaroni for ds#3, cheese crisps.

Wednesday~ Roast in the crockpot with pearl onions, mushrooms, and potatoes (hubby can skip those).

Thursday~ Stuffed peppers and spaghetti.

Friday~ Who knows by then...

Saturday~ OPENING DAY for baseball. Baseball junk food.

Share your menus at Menu Plan Monday!

And here comes March... another menu!

Well, we *did* eat last week; I just didn't get around to posting it.

This protein-heavy diet is working well for my husbands weight loss, but it is tough to plan family-friendly menus around it. We are all eating a little less, which is not a bad thing, but my whole method of menu planning has had to change.

Traditionally, I plan a protein, a starch, and at least one non-starchy veggie.

But now... the starches have pretty much disappeared. At least for now.

They may reappear.

About 100 pounds into our future (however long that takes).

So for now, ds#3 and I are enjoying our starches when Dad is not around, so we don't tempt him.

The plan for this week:

Sunday~ Marinated chicken breasts stuffed with spinach, parmesan and feta, served with green beans w/almonds and rice for ds#3

Monday~ Hubby has class. Leftover burgers & dogs from the grill.

Tuesday~ Taco salad (seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream)

Wednesday~ Alice Springs chicken (I'll make mine in the crockpot, and serve with rice for ds#3)

Thursday~ Fend For Yourself night

Friday~ out to eat with Marine Son

Saturday~ French onion soup and roast

So... if anyone out there has great success or ideas for continuing on this eating plan, I'd love to hear from you! Fat intake is also monitored, so it's not quite an Atkins plan, but I can usually adjust those recipes.

Share at Menu Plan Monday!

February menu: week 4... week 3 of the diet!

We hardly followed last week's plan at all.

It's an adjustment for all of us as hubby learns a new way of eating, and it's a bit of a challenge for me. I'm a carb-lover, and he's a protein-lover, by nature. This new lifestyle requires him to eat lots of protein, and I don't want to tempt him with the carbs, so I'm moderating what I eat as well.

And let me tell ya, it's not easy!

So I had him make a list of foods he wanted this week in an effort to plan FAMILY meals, and not just "make-sure-that-everyone-is-fed" meals.

Sunday~ GRILL!!! We grilled steaks, sausage, and hamburgers, and ate steaks for dinner.

Monday~ Hubs has class. But he *will* be hungry when he comes home, so I will be ready with meatballs for him. Ds#3 has baseball practice, so when we get home, it'll be pasta or chicken nuggets from the freezer.

Tuesday~ Meatza for hubby (like pizza but with meat as the 'crust'), meat sauce with mushrooms and spaghetti squash for me, and genuine pasta for ds :)

Wednesday~ Stir fry veggies with chicken. Add rice for ds.

Thursday~ Hamburgers from the grill, reheated in the oven, topped with cheese. No bun for hubs. Veggies on the side for me.

Friday~ Sausage with peppers for hubby, and I'm not sure what for ds#3 and me. (I'd entertain any ideas you may have...)

Saturday~ TBA, based on this week's doctor visit!

Get some inspiration at Menu Plan Monday!