Menu Plan Monday: Two easy meals!

This week I've got to make this quick!

Dinner #1: Egg and sausage casserole ; cut up oranges; applesauce

Dinner #2: Crockpot chili (watch out if you don't like beans)- about the easiest thing ever- 1 can corn, 2 cans chili beans, 2 cans vegetable chili (Aldi), 1 can great northern beans, 1 can chili tomatoes, a few fresh tomatoes, and add a bit of chili powder, cumin, pepper, onion powder, garlic, and maybe some chopped onions
-currently ground beef is kind of weirding me out so I will make it on the side for hubbie to add to his

Dinner #3: out to eat for youth group

Dinner #4: Leftovers!

Back up plan: Baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans

Find more and more varied plans at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday: Fall Break!

I have been doing the end of trimester count down for my students for the past two weeks because the end is near!  They (and I) have a short week this week for fall break and then just a short while and bam we'll be switching classes again.  Crazy how fast it goes!  I have to say that is one of my favorite parts of my job is that there seems to be clear start and end times.  I'm not sure if I could handle a job that didn't have that.  I think I would have to make some self imposed project start and end times.

Anyway, I have been feeling soooo much better lately.  Seriously my first trimester I felt like a warmed over turd (excuse my French).  I just didn't want to move or do anything.  Last week I worked out (lightly) 3 times!  Last fall we purchased a Tivo box and it streams youtube, so I have been loving Colleen Riddle's 2nd Trimester Workout.  She's supposedly some type of pre/post natal specialist, so I like her videos better than my typical workout videos (which I have to modify) or some other prenatal workouts because they can be too easy.

This week will be a bit weird because of fall break, so here is a list of possible dinners.

Dinner #1: Chicken and Black Bean Tacos!  This recipe looks really easy, but delicious!  Aldi is running a special on tomatoes, so I might chop some fresh ones up.



Dinner #2: Easy chicken and vegetable fried rice


Dinner #3: Crockpot BBQ chicken, roasted red potatoes, broccoli

Find more menu ideas at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday: Empty the Pantry/Freezer

This week for my menu I am going to try and use up some items that have been hanging around our freezer and pantry a bit too long.

Monday:  Spaghetti with Spinach/Tomato/Meat sauce(from freezer); broccoli; pineapple
-To make the sauce I pretty much browned about 1 lb of ground beef with chopped onion, then added a jar of Aldi spaghetti sauce, added some extra Italian seasoning/garlic, used my Magic Bullet to chop up some frozen spinach that I had hanging around from my smoothie stage, stirred in the spinach and voila!

Tuesday:  Chicken (crockpot? or Nelson's?); mashed potatoes/gravy; peas; chopped up apples

Wednesday:  Eat out- youth night

Thursday:  Chicken and black bean tacos; if you want to go all fancy try this recipe- otherwise I pretty much just chop up a chicken breast and cook it in a pan on medium high with some Mexicany (I like to make up words) spices- you know the like- cumin, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, chili powder or I get really lazy and use a Mexican spice packet, then I just throw in the black beans and call it done.  I've got some chopped up green pepper in the freezer, so I think I might throw some of those in as well.  As far as sides go, maybe I'll have some more pineapple or chopped up apples and carrots/dip.

Extra option:  If for some reason none of these dinners seem appealing or we don't go out a night next weekend we could have meatballs- I have some homemade frozen ones that I made a while ago, but honestly they might sit in there a while because meatballs have been sounding particularly disgusting lately.  Who knows though, that could change.

Check out more menu plan ideas at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday: VBS week!

Wow! School is over.  I think that is still sinking in, probably because Wednesday was the last teacher day and I woke up Thursday with the absolute worst cold ever.  Rather than listening to my body I tried to push through it and by the time my husband came home I was like a tired grumpy baby.  I ended up taking a two hour nap after dinner, tried to stay awake for a while after that, gave up and went to bed and slept for another 12 hours.  Needless to say, Friday I didn't do much.  Then, this last weekend was graduation and the marathon of graduation parties, so here I am and it is Monday!  The cold is still holding on, but it is not near as bad.

This week is VBS at my parents/inlaws' church.  They actually have speakers for adults as well as children late in the evening (after dinner) so we will be going most nights this week.  That means I want simple dinners that won't make a huge mess to clean up.

Monday:  Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Sandwiches.  Last week I actually made this and we ate it plain.  Tonight I am shredding the meat and adding some BBQ sauce for sandwiches.  Yum!



Tuesday:  Hamburgers.  I am crossing my fingers on this one.  I have never made what I would call, delicious, hamburgers.  I'm not sure whether it is because we normally use 90/10 meat or because it is normally the 1/2 off meat ;).  I randomly have coconut oil from something else that I made that needed it so I was excited to see that this calls for it.  I think I am going to saute some green pepper and onion with it as well.  Although then I'll have bad breath for VBS, but onions are oh so yummy, so I think my bench neighbors will just have to deal.



Wednesday:  I'm not quite sure what we are going to do this week.  If we go to youth, then Taco Time as usual.  If we decide to take a week off, then Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs.


Thursday:   Grilled Cheese (bread/cheese- not gourmet this week)!  It's simple and easy and I think, scrumptious!


Find more menus at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday: Early Morning Challenge Week #2

Here's the update on my early morning challenge.  I was able to get up early (not even hit snooze once) on Wed/Thurs/Fri.  Woo hoo, go me!


However, I was just not able to do it on Saturday.  I woke up when it went off, groggily got out of bed (I've moved it to the other side of the room), and turned it off and went back to bed.  I actually remembered my challenge, but said screw it, and jumped back into my really amazing bed.  It is seriously, the best bed ever, which doesn't help.

That probably was actually a good thing, because my husband and I ended up going to prom to supervise a bit and ended up staying up way past when we usually do.  It was seriously such a super fun night.  The music was great and it took everything in me not to get up and get my groove on (my students would be just rolling their eyes at me now).  My husband laughed because my body just automatically starts to move to the beat and when they have that much bass playing you can really feel the beat, literally, like I think my rib cage was vibrating.  I was hard to focus on conversations with the other teachers (many who I had when I was a student) with the fun music playing.  Plus, they kept playing songs from when I was in high school and middle school, so I couldn't resist singing along at least a little bit.  Maybe our music was just better and that is why they were playing so much of it.  And yes, I might have gone home and had my own personal dance party afterward to the summer hits of the 90's and 2000's Pandora stations to get out all of my dance fever.

So anyway, this week should have a somewhat better menu than last week's that was almost too embarrassing to post.  I am linking up with Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Dinner #1:  Ground Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas.  You might have noticed a lot of ground beef recipes lately.  That is mainly because we were able to get 90/10 hamburger marked down half off at Aldi, which made it less than $2/lb.  I'm not a huge ground beef fan (I don't mind it, but I'm not like gosh, I just have a hankerin' for ground beef), so I have been trying to find some good recipes.  This one looks like a good one.



Dinner #2:  Hot dogs!  We didn't end up having them last week, and I always feel terrible, but I really do like hot dogs.  Something about a hot dog with relish and ketchup just says bring on the warm weather to me.  Also, we pair them with peas (my hubbie's fav veggie), cut up oranges/pineapple, and salad which I think more than evens out any unhealthiness(apparently that is a word because there's not any red squiggly line).



Dinner #3:  Roasted Chicken Thighs.  I have been trying to get around to making these and we always end up eating leftovers.  This is our back up meal if there's not leftovers, but it seems there always are some to use up before the weekend.



My goal for this week is to get up by 6:15 weekdays and 7:30 Saturday.  I think that is a more reasonable goal and if I've learned anything is that I have to set easy goals.  It wasn't until I set my 10 min weekly exercise goal (no that was not a typo- it was a weekly goal of 10 minutes total for the week), that I finally started exercising regularly.

So far I have noticed that the early wake up is not that bad during the week.  I pretty much feel like crap when I wake up whether it is 5:30 (my old job wake up time) or 6:50 (my oh poop I hit the snooze too many times and today is a work day), so I might as well get up a bit earlier.  My husband says my body's get up function is broken and I would agree, because getting up is just terrible (even if I went to bed early), but somehow I manage to do it each day.  I found this on Pinterest and it pretty much describes me to a T, except that I have been doing a much better job (in general) of going to bed early.


If anyone has some magical cure other than coffee (that requires getting out of the bed which is the hard part), let me know.  Anyway, it does make my day feel a bit more calm and put together in the morning when I am up a bit earlier.  It was really helpful this week especially because there was some stuff that happened at school that slowed down my day to a crawl, so I needed every extra minute.

Good luck with your menus and your goals for the week!

Menu Plan Monday: Bike to Work Edition

I did it! I biked to work this morning. It helped that we had a fog delay. I have to admit though that when I was getting ready to leave our subdivision I almost turned around. I felt a bit silly in my work clothes on my white/purple bike, yet I pressed on and after I rode a bit the weirdness of the situation slowly wore off.



Some of the best things about it was that my ride has what I would call four parts which makes it interesting. On one part I am on a very busy road and so that is my sprint.  I go as fast as I can (remember I'm on a kid's cruiser, so even at my fastest I'm not going super fast) so that I can get to a side road.  Another part takes me beside a local lake (very pretty!).  The third part takes me through town which is pretty much flat and somewhat interesting.  The last part that is closest to the school has a hill with a really really steep incline.  I have seven speeds and I move it down to 1 and I am pumping it.  It is just the perfect length hill because I feel it in my legs, but I can do it.  Also, I know that at the top of the hill is my school, so I don't have far to go.

I liked how the ride got my blood pumping a bit and kind of woke me up.  On the way home it was a nice way to stretch out my legs after just shuffling around my classroom all day.  I'm not sure how often I will bike to work- I'm no Mr. Money Mustache, but it was fun enough that I will do it again on fair weather days.

Funny update on last week's menu plan.  Last week I listed that I would make Cajun Chicken Pasta.  Well, my husband got home before I did, so I called and asked him to pull out a bag of chicken to defrost.  When I got home I looked at the thawed out bag and laughed.  The meat had a large bone in it.  It was a very very old bag of pork chops that was from before I learned the importance of labeling and dating your meat.

Rather than waiting for the bag of chicken to thaw I just used the pork chops and it wasn't too bad considering it was meant for chicken and the pork was old.  Here's a pic (warning- I'm a terrible food photographer because I just feel weird when I'm doing it- should I tell it to say cheese- oh wait it is cheese:)).

Here's my plan for this week (I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie):

Dinner #1:  Easy Beef Stroganoff (made this yesterday and ate the leftovers tonight with cottage cheese on top- yum!)- modified by using tomato sauce instead of paste and cream of mushroom instead of fresh mushrooms- had noodles cook in the sauce

Dinner #2:  Use up your leftovers Italian Bake:  I have a significant amount of leftover meaty tomato sauce that we froze the last few weeks.  I'm going to thaw that out, halfway cook up some rotini noodles that I have, add some cottage cheese, a tiny bit of water (to finish cooking the noodles),top with a bit of mozzarella and bake it.  If I really go crazy I'll saute up some green peppers (I chopped and froze them and they're not bad sauteed).  Salad.

Dinner #3:  Chicken Thighs (Salt/Pepper) roasted in the oven, mashed potatoes/gravy, peas

Menu Plan Monday:

I think this is going to be the week.  Today (Sunday) I tried biking to work on a test run and I did it(!) and it wasn't that bad.  This might be the week that I actually bike to work on a work day.  We'll see though.  I kind of want to chicken out because where I live only the drunks who don't have driver's licenses ride their bikes to work, but I think this could be good.

Anyway, back to the point of this post, this week I am again linking up with Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Dinner #1: Cajun Chicken Pasta (I braved Walmart and finally bought some Cajun seasoning, because I'm not always up for making my own mix); Salad; Cut up oranges


Dinner #2: Mini Meat Loaves, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Peas


Dinner #3: Hot ham and cheese sandwiches, Steamed Broccoli, cut up fruit

Happy Menu Planning!

Menu Plan Monday: New Bike Edition!

I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday today, but first I have to tell you about what I bought this weekend.  Ok, you guessed it (it's in the title) a new bike!  I've been thinking about this for a while now because our new house is super close to town compared to the place we used to rent.  Where we used to live I would have had to risk my life around some very sharp curves to get to town and would have hoped and prayed that the drivers would see me.  Now, the only "dangerous" part of my trip to town would be 0.1 mile strip on a busy road that has ample shoulders.  The rest of it allows me to take some beautiful side streets.  Needless to say, I am really excited about this summer.

Here is a picture online I found of my beauty.  It is kind of a long story how I ended up with this specific bike, but I am super happy with it.

I still have my old mountain bike from middle school, so when I get a chance I hope to list it on Craigslist to recoup a bit of my new bike cost.  I just hate the idea of it lying around unused, but honestly I never liked mountain bikes.  I hate leaning so far over.  I'm always sure that I am going to fly over the handlebars because I am super clumsy like that.  Furthermore, I have no need for the "mountain bike" features as I never take it off road and it is pretty flat around here for the most part.

My new bike is a cruiser style and I love it.  I looks a bit more girly than I would prefer, but after a strange series of events I was able to get it brand new for $150, so I couldn't say no!  I was planning on getting it used for that price (new 24" 7 speed cruisers go for over $200 around here and are impossible to find).  I'm looking into eventually getting some fenders so I don't get a skunk stripe and maybe baskets for the back for library trips (my husband said the front would look even more ridiculous).  I am toying with the idea of riding it to work.  The only problem is that there isn't a bike rack and I don't really trust locking it to a tree at a high school all day.

Here's my plan for the week:

Monday: Leftovers from the weekend

Tuesday: Black Bean Quesadillas from The Curvy Carrot with fresh tomatoes, chips and salsa


Wednesday: Taco Time!

Thursday: Spaghetti, Salad, Roasted Asparagus

Friday- Sunday: Dinners with family and friends!

Menu Plan Monday: Back to Reality

If you might have noticed last week was a bit spotty.  That is because I was out of the country enjoying some time with my in-laws and some sunshine!  I'm sorry for the lack of posts, but I was trying to be completely "present" with all of them and not in my own little blog world.

Last week they had us stay at the most beautiful all-inclusive resort.  I was able to try so many different foods, which was really fun, because normally I just play it safe and just order something that I know that I will like.  Despite this I will be glad to have "normal" food again this week and some healthier options than what I was eating all last week.  Honestly I feel like I should do one of those smoothie cleanse weeks this week because I ate so much food last week.  It was delicious though!

Here is my plan for this week (most nights we have cut up fruit each night as well):

Dinner #1:  Easy Chicken Fried Rice with Veggies


Dinner #2:  Hamburgers, Baked Fries, Veggies


I had to include this picture that I found as well because it was so funny!


Other random thought- when looking for hamburger recipes I found tons of hamburger looking cupcakes.  I'm sorry, but I think that is just a bit strange, but hey I guess having something sweet look like something salty might do it for some people;).

Dinner #3:  Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs, Sauteed Green Beans


Find more amazing menus at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday: Spring Break Tropics Edition

This week I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday to give you a glimpse at our menu for this week.  It's spring break and many people are in the tropics, so this week I thought I would put up some dinners that they might be having.  Enjoy!

Sunday: Salmon Filets

Source: rachaelraymag.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Monday: Shrimp Puttanesca

Source: tastefoodblog.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Tuesday: Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

Source: cookscountry.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Wednesday: Ratatouille

Source: bbcgoodfood.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Thursday: Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas

Source: bbcgoodfood.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Friday: Mango Shrimp Tostadas

Source: peanutbutterandpeppers.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

For most of you Hoosier, enjoy your week of Spring Break!

Menu Plan Monday: Farewell March!

I'm back because it is Menu Plan Monday.  I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie again this week.

Before I share my plan for the week I wanted to share something.  I remember when I first got married I barely knew how to cook anything.  I had helped my mom cook some when I was little, but pretty much from middle school on up I was so busy with school and other things that I really didn't help cook.  When I was in college I ate all kinds of random things, which earned me the nick name "garbage disposal."

Yet, I was able to learn how to cook some basic healthy easy meals because of the love and nonjudgement of my easy online cooks, so I just wanted to thank you all.  If you are like how I was I want to tell you that you can do it and not everyone has to be a master chef.  If you are a newbie like I was, whatever you do, do not go to the crazy gourmet food recipe blogs.  They will ruin you and make you feel your food is so tacky.  Honestly it was just this year (yes four years later) that I actually started to enjoy cooking.  What had been holding me back was inner judgement that what I was making wasn't that impressive.  Somehow this year I just realized, who cares what these "perfect chefs" think!  They aren't eating dinner with me, so who cares.  Now I post my three dinner menu plan with pride.  It works for us and that is what matters.  There's only two of us, so there's normally 3 homemade dinner nights, one leftover night, and three eat out nights with people we love(sometimes it is home cooked food with family, sometimes we eat out with them).

No matter what though, I believe menu planning is one of the best habits that newlyweds can start.  It takes so much stress out when you have a plan, even if that plan isn't gourmet.  At the beginning I did not always plan and when I didn't we just ended up arguing over the most stupid stuff.  Menu planning is great for your marriage, and it helps you keep your budget in check.  Organizing Junkie is great because there are so many people that link up that you can find people with your level of cooking skills and your tastes and get inspired. There are lots of "normal" cooks out there and they have some great recipes.

My plan for this week:

Dinner #1: Veggie, Sausage, Rice Casserole 
This is a staple and maybe this week I will post a pic and the recipe.  It is super easy and you can change it up to your tastes.  It also makes some really nice leftovers.

Dinner #2: Spaghetti
It is supposed to be really cold again this week, so I'm going to use up some of the extra sauce I made a few weeks back and froze.  Here is the link (click the photo) from What's Cookin America.

Source: whatscookingamerica.net via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Dinner #3:  Cajun Tilapia

This was the only one that I could find that didn't say "Cajun seasoning."  I don't have Cajun seasoning, so it was nice that this recipe had you make your own.  Hopefully it is tasty!  The last tilapia that I made was alright, but Tilapia just doesn't really do it for me, which is probably why I never buy it.  It is just a bit too bland.  I still have 2 or 3 fillets left so this will be the perfect way to use them up, and maybe it will even be a winner of a recipe!

Source: jennsfoodjourney.blogspot.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Don't forget to always search for coupons before going grocery shopping at coupons.com!

Menu Plan Monday: Eat from the freezer

I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.  This week I am focusing on clearing some stuff out of our freezer.  Here's the list of meals for the week.

Monday:  Ham and Broccoli Casserole from Recipe.com

This will use up the ancient ham leftovers in my freezer and some broccoli that I bought last week.

Source: recipe.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Tuesday: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Legs Recipe from Food and Thrift Finds.  This will use up some chicken that I had frozen a while back.

Source: foodandthriftfinds.blogspot.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Thursday:  Egg Casserole 

I'm planning on cutting the recipe in half and then trying to bake it in a muffin tin.  I have a half pound of ground sausage that I browned and then froze that I will use.  We'll see how it goes!

Source: frugalnewlyweds.blogspot.com via Laura @ Frugal Newlyweds on Pinterest

Good luck on your menu planning adventures!

Menu Plan Monday: Feeling Fishy!

I'm feeling adventurous this week.  We don't have fish, ever.  I'm pretty sure that I have only made it once or twice before because it stinks up the house so much.  However, I have been craving it lately.  It must be all of those ridiculous "Fishy, fishy" commercials for McD's that I hear on the radio all the time.  Here's my plan for the week.

Monday: Grilled Talapia and Mango Salsa by Pleasant and Plump

Source: pleasantandplump.blogspot.com via Math on Pinterest

Tuesday: Skinny Spaghetti by What's Cookin' America

Source: whatscookingamerica.net via Math on Pinterest

Wednesday:  Eat out (before youth- it is tradition!)

Thursday: Mexican Sausage Rice by Willow Bird Baking

Source: willowbirdbaking.com via Math on Pinterest

Possible Dessert (splurge!): Mint oreos in honor of St. Patty's Day (and they were on sale at Aldi)!  There are so many ideas for things to do with them!
Here's one idea:
Mint Oreo Brownies by Love Veggies and Yoga!  Yummy!

Source: loveveggiesandyoga.com via Math on Pinterest

For more Menu Plan ideas go to Orgjunkie!
This is also a part of Stone Gable Blog's On the Menu Monday!

Menu Plan Monday- Sandwich Week

This week I'm linking up again with Menu Plan Monday.  This week is all about deals.  My husband and I mainly shop at Aldi.  We find that its limited choices of brands really speeds up our trip which helps us spend less.  This week Aldi had the best deal ever on hamburger.  They had marked down packages ($2 off) of fresh hamburger patties.  This made them only $1.95/lb for 80/20 hamburger!  Woo hoo!  We bought them out.

Here's the plan for the week:
Sides:
We're normally pretty plain when it comes to sides.  I like whole fruits and vegetables and don't do much to them.  Maybe a bit of olive oil and garlic, but other wise they are pure foods:).

Source: allrecipes.com via Math on Pinterest

Easy and Delicious Oven Roasted Asparagus- it was on sale this week!

Source: northerngardening.com via Lauri on Pinterest

Steamed Peas (don't these look pretty)

Source: righteousbacon.com via Brenda on Pinterest

Cutie Clementines- Delicious, healthy, and sweet!

Dinners:  They are all sandwiches this week because I've got a bunch of buns to eat through.

Source: eatingwell.com via Fight Museum Las Vegas on Pinterest

Hamburgers- using our super sweet deal meat!

Source: momstestkitchen.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Pulled Pork Sandwiches- It was given to us this weekend, but this recipe looks good!

Source: cindyeckhart.com via Denise on Pinterest

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches- We were given ham slices this weekend and hot ham and cheese sandwiches are an easy way to use it. I have to admit that sometimes I get lazy and I just put the ham and cheese on one side of the bun, slather a bit of mayo on the other side of the bun and then sprinkle the mayo with onion powder and poppyseeds, put it all together, let it bake and call it done!  Luckily my husband isn't too picky!

Happy cooking this week!

Menu Plan Monday: Reality 2.0 Edition

I'm linking up with Menu Plan Monday today.  Here is a peek at my guilty non-cooking week last week with reality and an option for reality 2.0 (new and improved edition).

Monday:

Reality: Sausage Alfredo
1/2 lb ground sausage, sauteed with dried onion since I didn't have any real onion, drained
1 jar Aldi brand Alfredo Sauce
Dashes of Italian spices thrown in
Simmer
Boil vegetable fettucine noodles.
Served with salad and cut up oranges

Reality 2.0 edition: Canjun Shrimp Alfredo

Source: littleleopardbook.com via Little Leopard Book on Pinterest

Tuesday

Reality: Subway Sub (school activity night)

Reality 2.0 edition: On the Go Egg and Bacon Sandwich

Source: foodiecrush.com via Hanska on Pinterest

Wednesday

Reality: Taco Time $0.59 Tacos (next church before youth group)

Reality 2.0 edition: Freezer Chicken, Rice, Bean Burritos

Source: thesweetslife.com via Shellon on Pinterest

Thursday

Reality: Maple Leaf Farms Chicken Cordon Bleu's (we get free through family connections), served with steamed broccoli, salad, and cut up oranges

Reality 2.0 edition: Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Source: chef-in-training.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Good luck cooking this week!  May your reality be the new and improved edition!

Menu Plan Monday: 6/21-6/27

It is the official beginning of summer!  It has definitely arrived where I live.  We have been enjoying the warm weather on the lake.  I have been settling in to the new summer routine (vs. hectic schoolyear) and have learned that even though I now have a lot of time to cook, I dread it.  I am definitely not a 1950's housewife. 

Being a problem solver, I figured I needed to solve this problem of the "angst" that I felt every night when I had worked hard all day and still had dinner hanging over my head at night.  Turning on the stove seems like the most awful thing to do when the house is heating up from the summer sun.  I have found three possible solutions:
1. Cold meals- not easy to find suitable with a meat/potatoes husband
2. Crockpot/Homemade microwaveable dinner: lots of possibilities
3. Freezer meals- my personal favorite:)

This week I am back to freezer cooking.  I am really looking forward to being able to just thaw something out and put it in the oven/microwave/crockpot/stove on any weeknight where I don't want to be "chained" to the kitchen.  I really like being free to help my husband in the evening, so easy "heat and eat meals" are perfect for me.  Here's my menu for the week:

Monday: Chicken, green pepper, mushroom BBQ kabobs (just brush BBQ sauce on the kabobs and grill until they are done)

Tuesday: Parmesan, Chicken, and Broccoli Noodles

Wednesday: Ground beef tacos

Thursday: Burgers on the grill

Friday: Chicken & Wild Rice Crockpot Casserole

Bonus Meals: Egg salad sandwiches/ cold meat sandwiches

**Freezer Meals**
Sausage Hash
Garlic Ranch Chicken
Pizza Calzones
Breaded Smothered Chicken

**Bible Study Snacks/Desserts**
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Fudgy Oreo Icecream Dessert - use homemade hot fudge recipe

For more menu ideas visit Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: 6/14-6/20

This week is VBS at my parents' church.  They have programs for adults and children in the evening, so we will be busy most nights, which means quick meals!  Also, things are heating up here, so most of the choices for the week shouldn't heat up my kitchen too much.

Monday:  Lunch: Out to lunch with family
     Dinner: Grilled Cheese, Chips, Dill Pickles
Tuesday: Lunch: Leftovers from last week
      Dinner: BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken Breast (just throw he chicken into a crock pot and pour on some BBQ sauce and put it on low for a while), Broccoli, Cut up Apples
Wednesday: Lunch: 
     Dinner: Leftover Chicken Quesdillas, Strawberry Smoothies
Thursday: Lunch: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas
     Dinner: Grilled Moza-Chicken Sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggies
Bonus Meals: Homemade Pizza, Grilled Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

For more menu plan ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Delayed- Menu Plan Monday: 6/7-6-12

Well, Blogger has been down for most of today, so here is my "better late than never:)" menu plan.  During the summer I plan on testing out on a small scale some meatless meals for my lunch.  My hope is that I will be able to find at least a handful of recipes that my husband might not notice are meatless.  I am not a vegetarian, but I think that just cutting out one dinner with meat would cut down on our grocery bill, and if done right, be very good for our hearts! 

I also did not include sides this week.  We were given a lot of leftover fruits and vegetables from my brother's graduation party, so we will mainly be eating those up before they go bad.

Monday:
    Lunch:  Salad topped with grilled chicken and cherry tomatoes (see picture above:) )
    Dinner:  Leftover pulled pork sandwiches from my brother's graduation

Tuesday:
    Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwiches
    Dinner:  Pizzeria Chicken Packets - from Pat & Betty's No-Fuss Cooking

Wednesday:
    Lunch:  Spaghetti with Maranara
    Dinner:  Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas - from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Thursday:
    Lunch:  Leftovers
    Dinner:  BLT's

Bonus Meals (to be made sometime over the weekend):  Broccoli, Rice, and Chicken Bake; Breakfast for dinner

For more menu planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: 5/23-5/29

Today we went to CVS (made $$ off of the Gillette Body Washes) and Aldi's.  It was definitely my lucky day.  They had marked down ($2 off) each package of boneless skinless chicken breasts.  My husband laughed as I whipped out my cell phone to do the math to determine the price per pound.  That's what you get when you are married to a math teacher/frugalista.  We ended up buying nine packages (close to 18 lbs)of chicken because the price averaged out to be about $1.38/lb (the packages that weighed less cost slightly less per pound and the package that were heavier cost slightly more per pound- hence the average). 

There was a time when I would have only bought a few packages because I would not have wanted to spend so much on one trip.  However, I now completely abide by the stockpiling principle.  If something is on a great sale that I use a lot (chicken, hamburger, peas, etc.) I will buy a ridiculous amount.  It might be "expensive" that one week, but the price overall is great.  My first experience with this was finding 93/7 hamburger marked down to only $2 package.  I bought ten packages, which I thought was a lot then.  However, now I would have bought out that section because after I used that I up I had to buy much more expensive hamburger.  I have never seen that high percentage meat on sale for much lower than $3.

Moral of the Story:  Strike while the iron is hot (as my mother would say).  In other words, take full advantage of great deals (while of course keeping an eye on the budget).

The menu this week was pretty much designed by my husband (as was last week's which I didn't get around to posting).  This is the end of the year and I have been pretty much living at the school.  My husband has been taking care of much of the cooking (and I do the clean up:)  ).  Here's what he chose for the week:

Monday:  Hamburgers on the grill, tater tots, carrots and dip

Tuesday: Chicken fajitas, strawberry smoothies

Wednesday: Spaghetti, salad, bread

Thursday:  Grilled cheese, clementines, apples with peanut butter

For more menu plan ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: 4/25-4/30

Babies, babies, and more babies!  It's official that there is only one more to go!  We will be traveling a lot, plus there are birthdays and anniversaries, which means very little cooking for me.  I have no idea how much I'll be blogging between now and the end of school (5.5 weeks and counting!).  Here is the plan for the week:
Monday:
Spaghetti (with cottage cheese and meat sauce), salad, strawberry shakes (my husband makes amazing ones)

Tuesday:
Armsteak with carrots/onions (we are actually going to finally make that hunk of meat that has been in our freezer for months), potatoes

Wednesday:
Leftovers

Thursday:
Awards banquet (no cooking!)

Weekend:
Grilled steaks (given to us by family, thanks!), steamed broccoli with garlic, pineapple

For more ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.