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Other than today and tomorrow, and tomorrow is only forecast to be 70, our 10-day forecast does not have a temperature in the 70's until a week from Saturday. It's a whole slew of 60's for us. Fall is definitely in the air, and I'm loving it!
I always love this time of year, but I've actually gotten a little tired of not having what I thought was a decent menu plan in place. We had lots of grilling this summer, but at times it got a little old. The flip side was that I seemed to be in a rut and could never come up with something to cook other than grilling. I think I just needed the weather to cool off so I'd feel more motivated to be in the kitchen.
Monday — The last of the hamburgers on the grill. We were given a nice package of prepared patties, so we'll have them tonight.
Tuesday — Chicken Spaghetti. This was Hubby's request for the week.
Wednesday — Leftover chicken spaghetti and some mac and cheese from the blue box for the kids.
Thursday — tbd. I'm trying to find something new to make.
Friday — Roast in the crock pot. We're having company for dinner, and this is a quick and yummy meal.
Saturday — Special Sandwiches if there is enough roast left over. That just means I need to buy two of them big enough. My family might go bird in Ohio though, so this could change a little depending on what time they get home.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
Visit the Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday. I'm going to be looking for something for Thursday!
Monday — Clean out the fridge (leftover buffet), which I know will be much to my children's chagrin. We need a fresh start though.
Tuesday — Baked Potato Bar. Small group at our house is starting back up, and this is always a busy evening before people arrive. We need something quick and easy.
Wednesday — Chicken Spaghetti. I already have some cut up chicken in the freezer.
Thursday — Grill some marinated chicken I have in the freezer from bulk marinating.
Friday — Pizza at a family friend's house and then Hubby and I are going to learn how to play Canasta.
Saturday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad salad.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
Visit The Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.
It's been several weeks since I've done a menu plan post. They seemed to be getting slightly boring since we were doing so much grilling of exactly the same items. We tend to do a lot of bulk grilling when we cook hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, then we're able to eat them for dinner for another day or so. I also marinate a lot of chicken in various marinades at one time (thanks to Life as Mom) and then we pull one of those out. They are especially good cut up and put on a fresh salad.
Monday — Steaks on the grill. Hubby got them at the store the other day when he forgot we were having a Sunday dinner at church after the VBS program.
Tuesday — Special Sandwiches. I don't know how big the steaks are that Hubby got, but sometimes we have a little left over. If we do, we'll have these. If we don't, we'll have to have sub sandwiches.
Wednesday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad. This is one of the quickest and yummiest things we have in our repertoire.
Thursday — Mexican Beef Casserole.
Friday — Leftover buffet/Clean out the fridge and pantry. The girls won't be home so it will just be four of us.
Saturday — Picnic with Mrs. Missionary, the chaperone from Sparky's Togo, West Africa, trip. They have it every year following a fundraiser for the organization. I'll take what has become my new go-to potluck dish, Cheesy Potato Casserole.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
If you haven't had an opportunity to see my new shop, I'm going to be adding a few new items this week, so be sure to check it out!
Thank goodness this week will be less busy than last week. I don't feel like I ever fed my kids, but they didn't go hungry. Still not a good feeling.
Monday — Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We never got to grill out over the weekend since we were at the softball tournament the entire time. Buddy does have a ball game tonight, but Hubby can make them early enough and then we'll still have leftovers for a couple of days.
Oh, and our microwave went out as soon as our baked potatoes were done last week. I think it overheated but it never cooled off and decided to work again. We have to get a new one or we can't eat leftovers (good thing I added 'participate with a friend in a yard sale' to all the other things I was doing last week and have enough to go buy one).
Tuesday — It's my 25th anniversary!
I'm eating leftover hamburgers and hotdogs. Sparky has her double-header for the league her team plays in, so we'll be spending our anniversary watching softball. We spent our anniversary two years ago at a softball tournament.
Wednesday — We should still have enough for leftovers. If Buddy's team wins Monday night, he'll have a game, but we have church for some of the kids or all of us either way.
Thursday — Dijon marinated chicken on the grill. I already have it frozen and ready to go. I got the recipe along with others here. I've tried it and Asian and they are both great!
Friday — We'll be picking up Chatty and eating dinner at the horse camp. They serve dinner and then have a "shodeo" for all the family.
Saturday — We may finally get to have our anniversary dinner!
Sunday — Normally we would eat out since we ate in all week. I may try to have some chicken already marinated and ready to go on the grill.
We're going to have a lot of salad and fresh fruits and vegetables with everything. It's been warm and I'm trying to cook with the stove as little as possible.
This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday hosted by The Organizing Junkie.
I had blogger issues last Monday and couldn't get my menu plan posted. It's probably just as well. I don't think I would have stuck to it.
We have ball games every single night this week until Sunday, and Hubby is out of town again. Again as in not last week but two weeks ago. This is really the only time of the year it gets like this because baseball and softball are the only sports we do. Planning will take a priority for me though, especially considering we have small group at our house tomorrow night and Sparky has a double header that I have to manage to take her to. Actually getting her back home is going to be the problem, and I'd like her back.
The highlights from last week were two chicken marinades from Life as Mom. I tried the Asian and the Dijon, and they were both huge hits with every person in the family. They were simple to do by the freezer method, and I actually thawed the bag out in a large bowl of cold water an hour or so before I needed them grilled.
Monday — Buddy and I will eat cereal or something lazy for me at home, because the other three are having pizza at church for the final night of a CEF class/party. I'm playing muscial children all night between that and Buddy's ball game.
Tuesday — Calzones. We had these last week and everyone enjoyed them. I made double filling and put the extra in the refrigerator for this week. I'm making this Angelic Fruit Dessert and No-Bake Cookies as a snack for small group.
Wednesday — Baked Potato Bar. I don't want to operate the oven if I don't have to.
Thursday — Spaghetti with fun noodles instead of spaghetti noodles. Last time I used bow-tie pasta.
Friday — TBD, depends on tournament game times.
Saturday — Hubby's home, so I'm going to ask him to grill up a bunch of burgers and hot dogs. He usually makes extra so we have leftovers for a day or so.
Sunday — Father's Day, Hubby's choice where to eat! But somewhere in the middle of all this we have to get Chatty to horse camp about three hours away and Sparky is finishing up her softball tournament, locally at least.
I have my anniversary to look forward to next week!
For more menu plans, visit The Organizing Junkie.
I'm stuck in a rut, but I don't really know how to get out of it right now. Unfortunately I don't have time to go searching recipes, which is really what I need to do to get out of it. I did make Homemade French Toast Sticks last week, although I used all my original recipes to start with, so I don't know if that really counts.
Monday — Leftovers from the grill. Hubby cooked hamburgers and hot dogs yesterday for us (yum!), and we have some left. I had a Special Sandwich with mine.
Tuesday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad. We are having small group at our house, so it needs to be something quick and easy, and not a lot of pans to clean up or something that's going to heat up the house (it actually is warm here!).
Wednesday — Sandwiches. The girls won't be here for dinner, and Buddy has a ball game.
Thursday — Calzones, because I've had them on the plan for I think three weeks and haven't made them yet, plus they should be quick and easy. Sparky has her first softball practice in a long time. She plays for a travel team (which thank goodness stays local because there is plenty available since we live in such a large area) and all the other girls have been playing high school ball. It's time for them to start practicing for their tournaments and weekly play.
Friday — Marinated chicken on the grill.
Saturday — More grilling would be nice (hint, hint). Maybe I'll do the Basil Grilled Chicken.
Sunday — Dinner at church for Memorial Day.
Go check out what are probably some much more interesting menu plans with some much more interesting and brand new recipes at The Organizing Junkie.
Hubby is out of town all week again = easy week.
It's baseball season (Buddy) and we have church commitments (on the same night as ball games) and a couple of other things already on our calendar = no so easy.
For the menu plan, I'm at least going to go as simple as possible. It's my best chance at sticking with it.
Monday — Salad and fresh fruit. I'll add in a baked potato for the bottomless pits in the family.
Tuesday — Sloppy Joes. We're having friends come over to play during the afternoon, so I might try to brown the beef ahead of time just to make it go quicker later in the day.
Wednesday — There are always Sloppy Joes left over because I make lots! Simple!
Thursday — I'm going out with the other Awana T&T ladies for a dinner get-together, so I'll make the kids something simple like their favorite mac & cheese from the blue box.
Friday — Calzones. I didn't get to this a couple of weeks ago and I really want to try it.
Saturday — Our ladies' group is hosting a baby shower in the afternoon, and then Hubby and I are supposed to go to dinner (a group dinner at someone's house) without children. I'll have to have him fix something for the kids like spaghetti or baked potatoes or hamburgers/hotdogs on the grill.
Sunday — Marinated chicken for the grill. I'll have been running around all week so maybe we won't go out to eat.
Check out Menu Plan Monday at The Organizing Junkie.
I forgot last week to share one of the new recipes that we all enjoyed from the week before. It was the Enchilada Casserole. When I was making it, I thought the meat mixture was very skimpy. It wasn't really enough to spread well across each layer. It actually wasn't enough to technically spread, but when we were eating it you didn't really notice that you were missing anything. It's possible when I make it again I'll increase the meat mixture a little just to see what happens, but it's not necessary. It was definitely something I'd make again.
For this week:
Monday — Awana year-end party.
Tuesday — Marinated Chicken on the grill. There are several marinade choices, so I'm not sure which one I'll make and grill for that night and which ones I'll freeze for later. I always trim my chicken like FishMama talks about and cut my larger pieces into smaller ones. It helps stretch the meal and also makes the pieces cook more evenly.
Wednesday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad.
Thursday — Calzones.
Friday — Nachos.
Saturday — Panini Salad. I'm going to cook some Rotini pasta, rinse it in cold water, and then toss it in. I think it might be yummy that way.
Sunday — It's Mother's Day. I get to eat out at my choice!
Check out Menu-Plan Monday for more great recipes and menu ideas!
Don't forget to enter my giveaway before midnight on Wednesday!
We're having company Monday and then Hubby will be gone from Tuesday through Friday. I usually go simple when Hubby is gone.
Monday — Mexican Beef Casserole. I'm going to make a large salad on the side with lots of fresh veggies, homemade salsa and chips, and corn casserole (I'll share the recipe after I've made it tomorrow and can put up some pictures with it).
Tuesday — I may make extra of the Mexican Beef Casserole just to make sure I have enough, so then we'll definitely have enough for leftovers.
Wednesday — Baked Potato Bar. Buddy will have ball practice and we'll have church, so I'll be playing musical children. An easy night will be appreciated, at least by me.
Thursday — Spaghetti. We haven't had this in a while and I'm all about easy meals when Hubby is out of town.
Friday — Little Smokies in Crescent Rolls. Um, same theory as Thursday.
Saturday — Grill something yummy since Hubby is home. He's the master of the grill.
Sunday — Leftovers from grilling or eat out since we ate in all week.
Visit The Organizing Junkie for hundreds of menu plans and recipe ideas.
Hubby's in town for the first time in three weeks! I hope to do a better job of sticking to my menu plan this week than I have the last two weeks.
I guess now might be a good time to confess I didn't even have one last week though.
Monday — Breakfast for dinner, unless I can find something else to make with what I have. I don't have the van today, I haven't shopped for serious groceries in over two weeks, and my refrigerator is very sparse. Top that with Buddy having ball practice at 5:30 and it's pretty much a recipe for disaster. I almost have to plan Monday the week before.
Tuesday — Enchilada Casserole. This is a new recipe for us. I had it on the menu a while back and never got it made, and since I have some hamburger in the freezer already cooked, this would be a good time. I just need to get the other ingredients.
Wednesday — Leftovers or Baked Potato Bar if there aren't any from Tuesday.
Thursday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad.
Friday — Dinner at family friend's house.
Saturday — Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the grill.
Sunday — We should have leftovers from Saturday. Then we'll have Dairy Queen on the way home from church at night after Awana.
For hundreds of menu plans, visit Menu Plan Monday.
Hubby will be gone to sunny California most of the week, so we'll be eating some leftovers from Easter and then having some kid-friendly food through Thursday. Maybe when he comes home we can break out the grill for the first time!
Monday — Leftover ham from Sunday. There is a lot, so I'll probably chop up the rest and freeze it to use later in soups.
Tuesday — Pinto beans and ham in the crock pot. I'll rinse the beans tonight and soak them overnight. Then tomorrow morning I'll put them in the crock pot on low with fresh water just covering them and add some of the leftover ham for flavoring. It thickens as the day goes on. This is great served with Jiffy cornbread as a side (I put some sugar in the mix, and then after I stir it all together I let it sit in the bowl for about five minutes before I put it in the pan or muffin cups).
Wednesday — Mexican Chicken Skillet. This is a new recipe for us to try.
Thursday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad.
Friday — Hubby will be home, but I might not be here for dinner. This one is TBD.
Saturday — Burgers on the grill for the first time this year! Here's the link to the menu plan where I said how Hubby does a juicy burger.
Sunday — Leftover burgers, or eat out since we ate in all week!
Find hundreds of menu plan and recipe links at The Organizing Junkie.
Buddy has his first baseball practice this week. As much as that means that spring is on the way (we're still wearing our winter coats here and have just gotten buds on the trees in the last week and a half), I know it means that we are in for a few months of busy evenings.
Monday — Really Good Chicken and Noodles. I didn't get to this last week.
Tuesday — Chicken Spaghetti. I have some cut up chicken in the freezer I should try and use up.
Wednesday — Leftover Chicken Spaghetti and I'll probably fix some mac and cheese for the boys (blue box special!).
Thursday — Mexican Beef Casserole. I haven't made this in a long time and it's good.
Friday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad.
Saturday — We'll either eat out on this day, or we'll have a big meal ham meal and have leftovers for Sunday. I'm not sure which.
Sunday — Dependent on Saturday. We do have to be at church early for the Sonrise Service (only 8:00 a.m. but still early) and it includes breakfast. If we do our big meal at least we won't be starving when we get home.
Visit The Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.
I have been doing really well the first part of every week, and not so well the end of every week. We aren't eating out, we're just scrounging around last minute. That makes it hard for me, especially since I've been battling a cold for over a week. I'm going to try and do better this week.
Monday — Clean out the fridge and pantry. There is some leftover rotisserie chicken in the refrigerator, a vegetable tray, and I can make some mac and cheese and/or soup from the pantry. I think we also have some cheddar jack cheese cubes.
Tuesday — Roast in the crock pot.
Wednesday — Leftover Roast sliced up for Special Sandwiches. That means we'll be taking deli style hoagie rolls toasted with butter, putting some sliced meat and provolone cheese on them and then broiling them, and then dipping them in the leftover heated juice from cooking the roast. It's yummy.
Thursday — Bacon Frittata.
Friday — Really Good Noodles and Chicken.
Saturday — Chicken Caesar Pitas.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
This week I also plan to make Strawberry Topping (I triple the recipe and keep it in the fridge to use as a topping for vanilla yogurt and ice cream), Homemade Granola (I have a Ball jar I need to return to a friend and I want to include something healthy in it, plus we need some too), and Restaurant Style Salsa (because this stuff is gone as soon as I make it, I always make a double batch).
Hope everyone has a great week! Visit Laura for Menu Plan Monday.
Last week I stuck to my menu plan pretty well. I do have a question though for anyone out there.
I went shopping for the Wild Rice Salad I was going to make. It's been on my menu for two weeks, and I would have made it last week, but I can't figure out exactly what kind of rice to buy. The recipe calls for wild rice, but the boxes I saw are fairly small and it seems like I'd have to buy so much it would not be economical. Am I missing something? The recipe does not call for brown rice or long grain and wild rice. Any tips would be appreciated.
Hubby is out of town most of the week, so we'll be going kid-friendly and simple.
Monday — Sloppy Joes. Yes, again. They were a hit last Monday for small group! We love this recipe, and we didn't have enough for leftovers. We're having company for dinner, so we're having them again.
Tuesday — Since our company is only two people, we will probably have leftovers this time.
Wednesday — Spaghetti.
Thursday — Breakfast for dinner. Buttermilk biscuits, bacon, and smoothies.
Friday — Roast.
Saturday — Leftover buffet and/or clean out the fridge and pantry.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week. I have a few kiddos craving Chipotle's.
Visit The Organizing Junkie for hundreds of menu plans!
I thought I did pretty well with last week's menu, until I went back and reviewed it prior to doing this week's menu.
I did somewhere between so-so and stunk.
This is going to be a busy week, so I really, really need to stick with the plan. Really.
Monday — Fettucine Alfredo. This is one of Sparky's favorite foods, as well as mine, and she asked for it now that she's back home. I should have time to go to the store when Hubby gets home from work and get the groceries I need for the week, including for this, and still have time to make a fairly timely dinner.
Tuesday — Sloppy Joes for Small Group. That includes 12 people other than my 6. One is allergic to tomato products and will eat pb&j, so it's only 17, like that counts, but the good news is that other people are bringing salad, chips, and dessert.
Wednesday — If I'm lucky, I'll have Sloppy Joes left over.
Thursday — Italian Baked Chicken Breasts and Butternut Soup. I had these planned last week and didn't get to them.
Friday — Nachos. Also didn't have these last week and still have the taco meat in the freezer.
Saturday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
Sunday — Wild Rice Salad. The other thing I planned last week that I didn't make. Since this is something that is to be eaten chilled, I'll make it on Saturday and then we'll eat it when we get home from church.
For hundreds of menu plan ideas, visit Laura, The Organizing Junkie!
Sparky's coming home today, Sparky's coming home today (sung to the little playground ditty).
Although I still haven't heard from her as of Sunday night. Her flight from Ghana took off late (they drive from Togo into Ghana and fly for 12 hours), so they only arrived in New York two hours ago. I think they are still making their declarations and clearing customs. They are staying in New York overnight.
Monday — Taco Bell, because Sparky thinks it's the best place in the world.
Tuesday — Chicken Spaghetti.
Wednesday — Italian Baked Chicken Breasts and Butternut Soup (both from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)
Thursday — Taco Salad (I froze the leftover taco meat last week)
Friday — Nachos (with the other half of the taco meat)
Saturday — Eat out since we ate in all week, and I'm not counting Monday since it was special.
Sunday — Wild Rice Salad (another Taste of Home recipe that I can't link to since it's in my magazine and the web page is subscriber only). I'm going to make it on Saturday and then we can eat it chilled on Sunday. I plan to have some macaroni and cheese in the trusty blue box handy for a couple of my kiddos since this is a new recipe. It's a little bit of a risky one for me.
While I was typing this I got a text from Sparky that she is in New York. I'm waiting for her to get to the hotel so she can call me. Woo hoo!
Visit The Organizing Junkie for hundreds of recipe and menu-planning ideas.
Better late than never, right?
Last week didn't go quite according to the plan. So much so that it's not even worth talking about. But the Hawaiian Chicken Breasts...they were good.
This week, not only is Sparky in Africa, Hubby is in Texas, and Caboose is having "the worst week of my life."
Monday — Beef Little Smokies wrapped in Crescent Rolls.
Tuesday — Breakfast for Dinner...homemade buttermilk biscuits and smoothies (vanilla yogurt with frozen strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and fresh bananas).
Wednesday — Baked Potatoes.
Thursday — Tacos, with homemade taco seasoning.
Friday — Taco Salad, with leftover taco meat.
Saturday — We're going to a friend's house for dinner.
Sunday — Nachos, with even more leftover taco meat and homemade salsa.
Visit Laura for Menu Plan Monday!
It's going to be a bit of an unusual week for menu planning. Hubby's off on Monday for the holiday, and Sparky leaves on Saturday for Africa. We've also decided that maybe we should make our 'eating out' day Saturday instead of Sunday following church. It seems like we just get home in the afternoon and it's time to leave again, so we're thinking a change might be in order.
Oh, I finally got the Cookie Monster posted. I forgot until I was making it earlier that I was going to tell you all about it. The pictures are from one the girls and I had when the boys and Hubby had a boys' night about a week ago.
Monday — Country-Style Pork Loin.
Tuesday — Leftover buffet. We also have small group at our house because it got canceled due to snow last week.
Wednesday — Baked Spaghetti. I've had this on the menu the last two weeks and I'm determined to get it made this week.
Thursday — Shortcut Chicken Cordon Bleu. The recipe I have calls for 1/4 cup water or dry white wine instead of the 2 T water and 2 T wine the recipe link calls for, but it's the same amount of liquid. This is a new recipe for us.
Friday — Hawaiian Chicken Breasts, another new recipe. I'll share it later in the week with pictures if it's any good.
Saturday — Eat out since we ate in all week (a new day)!
Sunday — Nachos, or Bacon Frittata, or something simple. I have yet to figure this out. Maybe we'll have breakfast for lunch on Sundays!
Visit The Organizing Junkie for hundreds of other menu plans!
It's a busy week at our house! And of course I chose tonight to get rid of our first builder beige. Exciting!
Monday — French Toast using my homemade sourdough bread. I started starter to see if it would work. I made bread from it. It tasted almost identical to what I already have. When I say almost, I was really trying to find something different.
Tuesday — Roast in the crock pot. We have small group at our house and are having one of the couples over for dinner beforehand. Then I need to have some snacks for afterwards. I need to work on the snacks.
Wednesday — Leftover buffet or cleanout the fridge and pantry.
Thursday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad, because I have the ingredients and I didn't make it last week. Well, I don't have the homemade salsa anymore, because we ate all of it. Shucks, I'll have to make more...
Friday — Baked Spaghetti, because I also never got to it last week. I was bad. We just cleaned out our fridge instead.
Saturday — I don't know yet, maybe something special for an early Valentine's Day.
Sunday — Completely dependent on Saturday, because if we eat out on Saturday, we won't eat out on Sunday.
My kids love Velveeta cheese dip and little smokies wrapped in bacon and baked with brown sugar. Since we were at church and didn't do anything for the Super Bowl, I'll probably do that one of those two days for Valentine's Day for them. We don't eat junky like that except for special occasions.
I also promised them a Cookie Monster. Recipe to come later this week. You will not want to miss it!
This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday hosted by The Organizing Junkie.
Hubby will be in town during the week for the first time in two weeks. That means we might try a couple of new recipes!
Monday — French Toast, using my homemade sourdough bread. I gave a girl at church some starter a month ago, and she said she used some of her bread for french toast and it was yummy. I think from talking to her this is the recipe she used. I might leave out the nutmeg.
Tuesday — Impossibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie.
Wednesday — Leftovers.
Thursday — 5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad. I'll be using this most delicious Homemade Salsa instead of store bought. I will probably not ever buy salsa in the store again.
Friday — Soup, Salad, and Baked Potato Bar. Then maybe some popcorn and a movie.
Saturday — Baked Spaghetti.
Sunday — Eat out since we ate in all week!
Check out the hundreds of menu plans at Organizing Junkie!
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