Menu plan

Planned out and already shopped for the next week or so of meals.

Starting with tomorrow.
Crockpot pulled porks sandwiches w/ salad and mashed potatoes
Cheeseburger Pasta with veggies
Homemade Pizza (have premade crust, we'll do the rest) pepperoni, mushroom and bacon with salad
Hamburgers (grilled with mushrooms) and sweet potato fries
Beef and Mushroom Dijon
Meatloaf (turkey going to use dried stuffing mix instead of oatmeal or breadcrumbs)

I'll throw in a leftover night and a wildcard to give us some flexibility. So I'm planned through next Saturday. So I have over a week to figure out the following week, gotta get back into planning things out.

Meal Plan Monday

Okay so I spent some time over my winter break and planned out some meals. Trying OVERALL to be healthier most are a bit better for you. But as the man likes his food "fatty" I have a few things thrown in that aren't on the healthy path. But it's all about moderation. :D

Monday - Pizza Casserole NEW
Tuesday - Tilapia sandwiches (gonna pan fry tilapai, with some slaw)
Wednesday - Mississippi Roast NEW
Thursday - Paninis (made with leftover meat from Wed)
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Repurposed beef (not planned yet)
Sunday - ?? (we usually go out for lunch so our appetites vary)

Menu Plans

Here are my basic plans, as I said in my last post we went to a Warehouse store and stocked up on frozen chicken, and other basics. So that helped in my planning. I'm hitting up the grocery store tomorrow after work. Let the games begin.

Week of: Oct 23 – Oct 29

Chicken Parmesan w/ pasta Steak w/ mashed potatoes, green beans Chicken burgers w/ sweet potato fries Chicken meatball kabob's w/ salad Enchiladas – make extras Chicken Marsala - NEW

Week of: Oct 30 – Nov 5

Spaghetti w/ garlic bread Make-ahead burritos - NEW/ making extras Jambalaya Easy Cheese Tortellini Alfredo - make night before Tuna casserole Chicken Cordon Blue - NEW

Week of: Nov 6 – Nov 12

Beer Battered catfish w/ onion rings Chili w/ corn bread Meatloaf Bourbon Chicken w/ noodles Chicken and Dumplings (crockpot)

Some are old favorites, some are new. Some are things I haven't tried in a long time. Lots of chicken obviously, lol. I'm trying to incorporate at least one night a week to "make-ahead" cooking whether that be the crock-pot, or something I make in bulk and freeze some for later, or a casserole that I make the night before to be cooked later. I think there's at least 1 of those a week, so eventually that will lower the amount of cooking. The man offered to make Chicken Cordon Blu so I added that one, and he'll help in the kitchen most nights. Which is awesome. Wish me luck, I only planned 6 a week (will add one to the week of Nov 6) as we all need at least one night for leftovers, going out, etc. I take leftovers for lunch a lot as I work in a school and cafeteria food isn't always awesome. I do buy my lunch sometimes, but it has to be something "good."

Breakfast Rut

I get into a breakfast rut way to often, I get stuck on eating the same thing day after day and eventually get so burnt out I don't want anything to do with it anymore. The one that lasted the longest was 1/4 bear naked granola, 1/2 cup fat free yogurt, and blue berries and or strawberries. I ate that every morning for over a year, sometimes throwing egg whites or something else in the mix. I still don't have an appetite when I try to eat that breakfast anymore. I get stuck with eggs too, egg whites scrambled with some veggies, or over easy egg on a slice of bread with ham, etc. I get stuck.

So I go out searching for alternatives, I found a good list today that has a long list of easy to prepare items. Since the list is long enough it should help me keep some variety, as long as I don't get stuck on one of these items.

Breakfast Ideas:
25 Easy Breakfast Ideas for the Bleary Eyed!

Life changes

Been busy, and not focused on blogging, obviously. But menu planning this evening reminded me that I hadn't updated in...forever. So I thought I was due. :-)

Meal plan this week, tentative as other things are going on but the current plan:

Taco Chicken Fiesta lasagna (have leftover chicken and refried beans from fajitas)
Cheese Tortellini Alfredo (make ahead recipe that's awesome and we got a ton of tortelinni at Sam's Club)
Chicken Burgers
Turkey Tacos
Something with ground beef, haven't decided., yet. :-)

This week will be interesting as we are preparing to move, have resided in the same apartment for over 5 years. So packing, and moving are slightly daunting but it's a new adventure with more space and bigger kitchen. :-) Among many other perks.

Baked Ziti, Jambalaya....good food.

Last weeks meals were:

Frozen Skillet (pre packaged meal)
Pan Burrito's
Crock Pot Jambalaya
Leftovers
Baked Ziti
more leftovers, lol

So since this is more reviewing last weeks meals I'll just talk about the one's I made.

Pan Burrito's - I've made a few times before the recipe is on the blog elsewhere, I'm feeling lazy and don't want to find the link. This time I added diced onion and jalapenos while browning the beef, and adding some pepper to give the meat a little flavor. I always use spicy refried beans and this time used medium enchilada sauce.

Crock Pot Jambalaya - this turned out good. I added a little garlic also to the mixture of ingredients. I made some rice and stirred that in for the last 30 minutes or so. I also added a little bit of cornstarch (mixed with water) to help thicken up the liquid which I should have done earlier but I wasn't home. But it turned out really tasty, it was spicy. But we like things spicy.

Baked Ziti - my first attempt at something like this, not that it was complicated but it was different. Mostly using ricotta cheese was new, as the only lasagna I've made is a Mexican variety. It was easy once all the ingredients were prepped and the prep wasn't bad either, boiling noodles, browning meat, etc. Nothing too difficult. It was tasty, but makes a TON, 8 large servings. So either cut the recipe or make it when you have company. :-)

Meal Planning Monday (opps) 02.21.2011

Time got away from me this evening, I intended to write this prior to midnight. Oh well better late than never. This will be short as I need to get to sleep sooner than later.

Highlights of past week:

Easy Cheese Tortellini - was awesome. Super easy to assemble and really tasty, approved by me and my man. Will definitely make again, and maybe vary slightly to increase frequency (meat filled, marinara, etc).

Ribs - awesome as always, made them spicier successfully by adding more hot sauce. Delish.

Pork chops with apple stuffing - this was okay, the meat was good. The stuffing was good just different, not bad, just different. So I might make this again but not for awhile.

The rest of the week was filled with leftovers, going out, birthday parties, etc. Good times.

This week:

• Tuesday: Easy Day (either something frozen, leftover, or going out)
• Wednesday: Favorite Pot Roast (crock pot)
• Thursday: Havarti Ham and Potatoes (make ahead)
• Friday: Leftover Buffet
• Saturday: Grillin' steaks and ?? (veggies or potatoes)
• Sunday: Something Simple, aka wild card
• Monday: Pan Burritos, these are great because it's easy to keep everything on hand or make from the pantry. Being in San Antonio especially, we always have tortilla's and enchilada sauce in the house.

Note: my Crockpot is a few years old but has a built in recipe book, the recipe for the pot roast is slightly different on the programmed option that I'm going to follow. I'm going to try to make a new crock pot recipe a week, or at least make one crock pot a week. For the simple fact that my work schedule, as previously mentioned is later in the evenings and coming home to dinner already made is awesome. Also why I keep making, "make ahead" dishes. I typically make them in the morning and they sit the minimum 8 hours in the fridge. I've enjoyed it so far, it's nice to have a ready made meal in the evening. It's been interesting to make them not all casserole's. As that would just get kinda old, to me and my man.

Meal Plan - 2.15.2011

Okay so my meal planning has gone to the wayside lately. But I have to get back on track as my work hours have changed and I don't get home till 7:30-8pm now. So I needed to rethink this whole dinner making process or end up with drive thru all week...which wouldn't be good for so many reasons. I'm still on a restricted soft diet for another month or so, which basically means I have to be careful not to include rough veggies or salads, things with seeds or that require lots of chewing. I can get away with some things as long as it's tiny bites.

So last night I planned, I just didn't post. I went grocery shopping today, so I'm ready. :-)

Meals in no particular order:

• Grilled Steaks w/ sweet potatoes
• Pork ribs (crock pot) w/ steamed veggies instead of beans
• Easy Cheese Tortellini Alfredo (make ahead recipe) 
• Pork Chops with Apple stuffing (make ahead recipe)
• Easy Night (frozen skillet meal most likely)
• Leftovers

I try not to plan for every night as something always comes up once a week where we end up out, or at someone else's house. So my plan is to make dinner in the mornings so it can sit for 8 hours as most of the recipes call for, I know I'll be too tired in the evenings. I don't go to work till the afternoon, so it will work with my schedule.

Meal Planning 01.17.2011

Happy belated new year!!! Hope everyone is off to a fine start this year. :-) I've been slacking in some departments but am getting back on track, slowly.

We have a new pet now, a bearded dragon he's been an interesting addition and I must admit I never thought I'd find a reptile cute. His diet involved some veggies and squash which is encouraging me to use more in our meals as well. :-)

Here's the meal plan for this week:

Monday - Tilapia (steamed for me, fried for him) with zucchini and yellow squash

Tuesday - Pulled pork sandwiches (cooked in the crockpot), w/ salad

Wednesday - simple something

Thursday - Taco fiesta Chicken lasagna

Friday - Goulash (casserole got the recipe from my mom, will post later)

Saturday - Turkey w/ "lizard" greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens) sauteed with garlic

Sunday - Leftovers

Breakfasts:
Eggs (omelet, sandwich, hardboiled)
Turkey bacon
Oatmeal
Cereal
Yogurt

Lunches:
Tuna salad
Egg salad
Sandwiches
Pizza bagels
Salad

Snacks:
Veggies
Cottage cheese
Hummus w/ wheat thins (or veggies)
Nuts

Meal planning 11.01.2010

So this was the plan, then I realized I'd planned nothing for Monday, so I switched Wednesday and Monday. :-)

Monday: Hamburgers (with lean beef), and sweet potato fries

Tuesday: Crock Pot - Garlic, Garlic, Garlic Chicken (this is cooking right now and smells AMAZING)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Garlic Chicken Pizza (recipe I'm using as a base) w/ salad

Friday: Pan Burrito with shredded lettuce 

Saturday: Steamed tilapia, steamed veggies and rice (I throw everything in the rice cooker so it's easy)

Sunday: Bourbon Chicken w/ stir fry veggies over rice/noodles (decide that night)

---

Burgers from last night turned out good, the fries were tasty with a little spice involved so they were a hit. We just need to figure out a complimentary dipping sauce for them. ^.^

We just used some lean beef, added a little Lawry's, pepper blend and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, grilled up on the foreman grill. For more detailed pictures of the fries being made check out my picasa album. 

When menu planning doesn't happen...

Okay so I slacked this week, last week we never made the meatloaf or tilapia (if you haven't figure it out the fish is frozen). I mentioned on Monday I could make the meatloaf, but I was easily swayed into venturing out. So we went out on Monday, Tuesday I went impulse grocery shopping with my mom. She needed a few things so I went with her, as we'd been out shopping most of the day. In the end I picked up a few things I knew we needed and a few things we did not. Impulse shopping is too easy sometimes. So Tuesday night's dinner was a store made quiche which are really tasty and something I have not attempted to make myself, yet. Tonight was hamburger helper, because it was easy and here.

Recap:

• Monday - Fast Food
• Tuesday - HEB Jalapeno and Cheese quiche
• Wednesday - Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper

The plan for the rest of the week:

• Thursday - Chili - probably in the crockpot, haven't decided
• Friday - Dinner with my Mom
• Saturday - we'll have company, so it's kinda up in the air, possible going out might make something. Going to leave it up in the air
• Sunday - leftovers or something simple

Meal planning 10.11.2010

I'm feel adventurous this week, as I'm trying something new almost every night. Now these are not necessarily tough recipes or things that seems more labor intense. I just tried to shop the sales a little more, and get a good variation. Now some night were probably going out to dinner with my Mom, but not sure which night so I planned something for every night, and might move the crock pot meal or the make the night before lasagna accordingly.

Mon: Bourbon chicken with noodles OR rice (probably will throw in some stir fry veggies too)

Tue: Beef Flank Steak pinwheel filled with spinach, bacon and Parmesan cheese spread (HEB store bought) and salad

Wed: Taco Fiesta Chicken lasagna (I know I'm going to omit the cilantro, because we don't care for it)

Thurs: Sweet Spicy ribs and beans (crock pot) with rice

Fri: Garlic Chicken pizza (no tomatoes will be on mine)

Sat: Meatloaf (ground turkey/beef combo) with twice baked potatoes

Sun: Asian grilled tilapia with salad, maybe some rice or Asian noodles

I'll try to take pictures and post reviews of the recipes that I try this week, the meatloaf will by my own recipe I just make it without much thought at this point. So I'll try and pay attention and write things down, I alter it in minor ways each time too.

This post is linked to: http://orgjunkie.com/2010/10/menu-plan-monday-oct-11th.html

Meal planning

Due to an impromptu camping trip last week a few things were moved again. I think I realized why I got frustrated with menu planning previously. Anyways, I also thought is share my version of a menu I keep in my kitchen.

I originally saw something similar online somewhere using a picture frame. This is just a page protector that's smooth. :) I changed the menu a bit after I took this picture. But I keep this posted on the fridge to remind me of my plan and to let my Man know what the plan is, sometimes things might change around still but I'm working on trying to maintain the schedule.

I must say that the crock pot pork currently cooking smells AMAZING, it's been in there a few hours now but the aroma is intoxicating. ^.^

So this week:

Mon: Jambalaya (Zatarain's mix, with ground chicken and beef/ cheddar sausage)

Tue: Crock Pot pork (sauce I put in with pork; I used 1/2 c. crushed pineapple, and added a dash of Worcestershire sauce and dash of teriyaki to the mix) sandwiches

Wed: Shepard's Pie (I will make this, this week)

Thurs: Grilled Tilapia

Fri: Simple something

Sat: out, maybe?

Sun: Leftovers

Meal Planning Monday

So last week we didn't get to everything I had planned, which is good and bad I guess. We had company and people arrive that I hadn't prepared for so it was easier to go out one night. Another night I ended up making some hamburger helper as it was easier, etc. So here are the carry overs with a few new things thrown in, as it requires less prep on my part for things already in the house. (~.^)

So again in no specific order:

Grilled Steak w/ mashed potatoes and salad

Pan Burritos w/ rice and salad

Shepard's Pie (have the extra potatoes now)

Leftovers

Simple Something (aka probably going out)

Pulled Pork sandwiches (crock pot) w/ salad

Tilapia with rice and steamed veggies

Linked to: Meal Planning Monday @ OrgJunkie

Meal Planning Monday

Trying to stick to menu planning, but even if I don't stick with it exactly someone else might enjoy some of the ideas. ^.^ I'm trying to incorporate some new recipes into our lives, so this is also to help with that. Ideally there will be one new recipe a week, maybe two. Just depends on what's going on in our lives. I'm lucky right now to have some extra time to experiment in the kitchen and an understanding not too picky eating boyfriend.

I have 6 days planned, I have most of these things on hand already just need to get a few small things to complete one or two recipes.

In no particular order:

Stuffed Tilapia w/ crab stuffed mushrooms

Grilled Steak w/ mashed potatoes and salad

Pan Burritos w/ rice and salad

Chicken Parmesan w/ pasta and spaghetti squash

Shepard's Pie (plan on making extra mashed potatoes for this when I make the steaks)

Leftovers