Tag: menu planning

Is it Monday again?!?

Wow.

Where did the weekend go?

That was the fastest three-day weekend of all time.

I’m not sure where it went, but I am sure that I need another weekend – and soon!

It was a whirlwind – busy couple of days on Friday and Saturday and then Sunday I was feeling under the weather and so it was kind of a loss.

Oh well.

So, it’s Monday. Which means time for planning my meals for the week.

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I had a little help this weekend with the planning. The girls didn’t know it but they basically built the plan. They were asking for a few specific things here and there and so I just jotted them down on a post-it note and kept it on my desk. Then the week’s menu planning was pretty much done!

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo Green chili chicken enchiladas
Spaghetti Homemade pizzas (with leftover spaghetti sauce)
Chicken Stir Fry
(served with Fried Rice)		 Grilled hamburgers
Fajitas

In other news, I think I’m making progress with the squirrel battle – I got a baffle and moved the feeder to the middle of the flower bed. The squirrels can’t figure out how to climb around the baffle nor how to jump the many feet from the porch railing (or shrubs) to the feeder. They keep sitting on the porch rail and looking in the window at me like, “Now, why’d you go and do that?”

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I love it.

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday, ya’ll.

It’s been a whirlwind weekend.  One that I need a day off to recover from. Unfortunately, that’s not happening, so I’m going to fortify myself with some strong tea and a bite of the coffee cake I baked this weekend.  It’s really, really good. SuperMan says it’s a lot like the cream cheese danish you find at the grocery store, only better.  I have to say, if you combine cream  cheese, sour cream and cake, I don’t think you can go wrong.

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I was sick last week – the girls finally contaminated me with the virus they have been sharing the past few weeks. I ended up on the sofa for two days, pretty much feeling too rotten to do more than sip ginger ale, eat saltines and take Tylenol and cold tablets. I wonder if it was a mild case of the flu – but I never had any serious fever, so I don’t know.  By Saturday, though, I was feeling much better and I’m hoping we’ve seen the last of that bug for a while.  I’ll be dosing everyone with Vitamin C and probiotics this week just to be safe.

It’s cold this morning.  26 outside when I woke up.  We had a beautiful sunrise.  All reds and blues and violets.  I told Little Bit as we admired it on the way to school that it was God just showing off for us this morning and telling us hello.  Which we both needed – neither of us wanted to get up and out of our warm beds today.

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I spent a little while yesterday rummaging through my recipe lists to come up with a few ideas for dinnertime for the next week or two. Rather than doing a weekly menu plan, I thought I’d just list a few things and then I can pick and choose between what sounds good for the day and what I have on hand.

  • Meatball Subs (using up leftover spaghetti sauce)
  • BBQ Chicken Pizzas
  • Red Beans w/ Rice & Polksa
  • Tacos

I also wanted to share this new recipe find with you – Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti.  I made it for dinner on Friday night and we loved it.  DEVOURED it.  As a matter of fact, I ate it again on Saturday for dinner when I was scrapbooking with friends.  And I’ve been thinking about making it again ever since. SO GOOD.  It’s very similar to the Rotel Chicken Pasta dish I make (without the Rotel) and we’ve all agreed it will be going into regular rotation for our family.

And now I’m off to fix another cup of tea and try to get my body going for the day – I’ve been up for three hours but it’s still balking at being awake!

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After the Feast

Well, Happy Monday to you!

I’m still trying to convince myself I’m happy it’s Monday.  I wasn’t too happy at 5AM when the alarm went off, but I’m trying valiantly to embrace the day.  The weekend was so nice and relaxing I hate to get back into the grind of the work week.

We had a really, really nice Thanksgving.  SuperMan was home for four days with us –  no side jobs, no work – and it was heaven. The girls and I really enjoyed having him around.

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Thursday, we enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner. We couldn’t decide between a smoked turkey and a deep-fried turkey, so SuperMan decided to make both.  (Now, I’m overrun with turkey!)  Little Bit enjoyed helping in the kitchen.

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She helped her daddy with the turkeys and helped me on Wednesday with most of the prep work as well.

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Watching the pecan pie bars baking (recipe soon)

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And while I did most of my “work” in the kitchen on Wednesday, SuperMan did his on Thursday… it worked out well. We didn’t step on each other’s toes that way.

Here they are checking out the smoked turkey – is it done yet?

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And frying the other turkey.  This always makes me so nervous, but the turkey tastes so good!

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After what seemed like forever frying, it was done!

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And then it was time to feast!

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Wonderful day.

And, now we’re faced with MONDAY staring us down, daring us to take on the challenges it brings… and all I want to do is crawl back into my warm flannel sheets!

And menu planning? Well, I’m thinking about it. Not absolutely sure yet what I’ll do. Here’s what I’m thinking of:

I do have lots of fun things planned for the blog this week, though – a few recipes for you and hopefully some more scrapbooking as well as a book review (or two?). So, I hope you will stop back by.

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linking up with OrgJunkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Just hangin’ on

Hey, y’all.

First of all, I have to tell you, I haven’t forgotten about you – I’ve just been overwhelmed with life lately.  My big work project is going strong and we’re in the final push to get to the end – which is right around the end of the year. Which means things are not going to slow down at all until January. Sigh.

Adding to that, Big Girl is going to have surgery next week. We’ve finally found out what is going on with her foot.  She’s been suffering with steady pain for over a year and after an MRI a month or so ago we found out she has fused bones in her foot. We’ve already exhausted the conservative treatment options in the last year, so the next step is surgery.

She will be in recovery mode for the next few months – no school, limited mobility and hopefully on the mend to pain-free state.  I’m sharing this with you so that you will know why things might be a little “light” around here for the next few months.  I’ll be focused on her and fitting in blogging may or may not happen.  Don’t worry. I’ll be back. I’m not leaving for good.

As far as my menu plan for the week this week, I’m focused on some family favorites as well as a new recipe or two:

  • Monday: Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli with steamed rice
  • Tuesday: White Bean Chicken Chili (it’s supposed to be rainy – recipe coming later this week)
  • Wednesday: Rotel Chicken Pasta bake
  • Thursday: Baked Potato with salad & rotisserie chicken
  • Friday: Friday Night Mexican

I hope you have a great week – later in the week I’ll be sharing some of my recent crafty projects (they’re what’s keeping me sane right now) and the White Bean Chicken Chili recipe, so come back soon!

Menu Plan Monday

After a fun weekend at Mom’s I’m not really ready to get back into the groove of the work week. I wish I had another day or two off to relax. The past few weeks at work have been really stressful and hectic (hence the blog “light” lately) and I feel like I’m just finally winding down from that and it’s time to wind up again!

We had a really nice weekend, though.  On Saturday, SuperMan and I went for an afternoon excursion downtown in Savannah.  We walked along Broughton Street and acted like tourists (well, not really, but it was fun to wander around downtown).  We reminisced about growing up and spending time downtown and marveled at how much it had changed in the last ten or so years.

We went to The Tea Room and got some yummy teas – I’m drinking “Savannah Breakfast” right  now and it is wonderful.  I also purchased some “Morgan’s Midday Blend”  and “Savannah Grey” which I can’t wait to try.

From there, we wandered down to Savannah Bee and did a honey tasting. Seriously? Tasting HONEY!?!  Yummy.  It was really interesting, though, to taste the different honeys and see the different flavors each had.  I fell in love with the Acacia honey. It was so mild in flavor, almost like a simple syrup, and I thought it would be perfect for sweetening teas.  I also got some of the winter white honey. It was soooo good.  I can’t wait to make some homemade bread and smear it all over the top of a piece of toast.

And we had to stock up on our favorite oatmeal cookies at Byrd Cookie Company.  I had planned to go by their shop on Friday and didn’t make it there but was pleasantly surprised to find that they now have a gift shop open downtown that is open on Saturdays so we picked up a box of our favorites.  I’ve been eating those cookies since I was a girl and I have to say there are no other oatmeal cookies to compare. And, believe it or not, they are better (to me) stale!

It was a very nice afternoon – the weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed just hanging out together with no particular agenda.

And now we’re back to the crazy at home …

So, this week’s cooking is going to be comfort food and easy recipes – crock pot stuff in particular.

What’s on your menu for the week?

Monday Musings & Menu Plans

Happy Monday, everyone!img_1211

The weather is feeling rather fall-ish around here. It’s a gloomy day today, but the temperatures are really nice. I’ve pulled out my trusty fleece vests, happy to snuggle up in them again for a few months.

And that means hearty soups and stews for dinners – comfort food at it’s best. I am so happy.  Love cooking that stuff – love eating it even more!

Last week, the girls’ virus derailed my dinner plans for a few days. Pretty much all they wanted to eat those few days were bagels and ginger ale.  So, I have a few things that I’m carrying over from last week to this week.

I think I may have the virus myself, so haven’t really been feeling up to cooking much – so I’ll be focusing on simple things (read crock pot friendly) and comfort food favorites.

Dinners

Lunches
Monday Shredded Beef Burritos Leftover Baked ravioli from last week (recipe coming soon)
Tuesday Cheesy Chicken Pasta (requested by kids)
Wednesday Chicken Fried Rice (carried over from last week) leftover chicken pasta
Thursday Cheesy breadsticks w/ marinara sauce sub sandwiches
Friday Dinner out – Friday night Mexican cheesy breadsticks with a salad

I’m also craving some chicken tortilla soup but won’t be making that until my tummy feels a little better. Right now, the only thing that tastes good to me are saltine crackers and ginger ale. Ugh.

Hope you all have a great week!!

Monday Musings & Menu Plans

 

Oh, my, it’s Monday again.

How did this happen?

Over and over and over again – Monday just keeps sneaking up on us.

Someone really should do something about that.

I’m sitting in my office on this gloomy, rainy Monday morning with my Jabba-the-hut kitty cat sitting in my lap (my legs will be numb soon) and I’m contemplating the week’s activities and menu planning.

It is supposed to rain all day and into tomorrow – which means, to me, it’s a day for soup!  I’m trying out a white bean chicken chili. If it turns out well, I’ll share the recipe with you later in the week. I’ve just concocted something based on reading several recipes online and taking a little from this one and a little from that. We’ll see how it turns out.

As for the rest of the week, here’s what I’ve got planned.

Dinners Lunches
Monday White Bean Chicken Chili leftover chili mac
Tuesday leftover fajitas white bean chicken chili
Wednesday Chicken Fried Rice Salads
Thursday Cheesy breadsticks w/ marinara sauce TBD
Friday dinner out cheesy breadsticks with a salad
Saturday Atlanta Greek Festival (?) sandwiches

I’ve also got to make some sweets for the girls’ lunches. I’m thinking of trying the Pioneer Woman’s granola bars. I’m hoping they turn out better than the last type I made – those fell apart. They were tasty, but they didn’t hold up very well. More crumbly than bar-y.

I’ll probably also make a cake – I made an apple cake on Saturday but it disappeared last night at our gathering with our friends from church.  I love that – when people devour something I cook. Makes my heart happy.

So, that’s my week in the kitchen. If I come up with anything good, I’ll be sure to share with you here on the blog.

What’s cookin’ in your kitchen this weekend?

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Friday Adventures & Menu Plan Monday ~ 27 Aug

 

Last Friday, SuperMan and I had a big adventure. It started out as a trip to the store where I buy my wheat berries & sucanat for baking. I mentioned I needed to stop by the grocery store and he suggested going to the international market. I was game, but then we realized that it was over an hour away from where we were and we decided that was just too far to go and try to make it back for carpool.

So, SuperMan said, “Leave it to me. I know where I’m going to take you.”

I sat back and enjoyed the ride…

and we ended up at a SuperH Mart. Have you ever been to one of these? It’s a Korean market and they had the coolest things. SuperMan was laughing at me as I snapped picture after picture with my phone.  He said, “You’re not going to buy anything, just take pictures of it?” IMG_1967[1]

I decided that pictures were safer than purchases – IMG_1968[1]

This picture is titled “Things I’ll never eat”

But it was so much fun. (well, except for the overwhelming fish smell. me no likey raw fish smell)

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And then we went to lunch at a Cuban restaurant. (grin)

A great time together – almost like a “date” although we were being productive at the same time.

This week, we’re looking forward to an early release day at school and the long holiday weekend.  Seriously, we can’t wait.  SO ready for a little fun with the family.  It’s going to be busy, busy before we get to that holiday weekend. We have meetings and classes almost every night.  That long weekend will be well-earned, for sure.

In preparation for the week, here’s what I have planned on the menu:

  • Monday: Cuban Pork, black beans & rice
  • Tuesday: Taco salads
  • Wednesday: Pesto chicken with pasta & parmesan
  • Thursday: leftovers

So, what’s on your menu plan for the weekend?

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Menu Plan Monday ~ 20 August 12

 

Hello, and Happy Monday to you all!

It was another busy weekend at our house, filled with Saturday baths for the puppies, car washes and grass cutting.  And some great times with great friends on Saturday night.  The weekend was capped off by the very best part – Picking up Big Girl on Sunday from her Boot Camp weekend.  It’s a weekend retreat the church does just for sixth graders – to focus on them for one whole weekend as they transition to middle school.

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Little Bit has been sick with a cold.  And has tried to share it with us big people. I have been running a low fever today so I think she may have been somewhat successful. Big Girl sent me a text at 1AM on Sunday telling me she was all stuffy and had a sore throat. I guess she got infected before she left us on Friday. Sad smile

Regardless, it was a good weekend.  And I think she had a good time as well at her retreat.  Sunday was the best day of the two – of course – because Big Girl came home.  I couldn’t wait to see her!

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She was exhausted (of course) and ready for a hot shower and some peace and quiet.  We were all in bed by 7 last night! The power went out because of storms so we just all decided to turn in early.  I think we all needed the rest.

This week, I’ve got some comfort food planned for the first part of the week – at least until we kick this virus to the curb.

Here’s what’s on my menu plan this week:

I’m also making some homemade bread – trying this new recipe out.  Big Girl is making some brownies for lunch snacks and I’ll probably make some other lunch snack/sweet later in the week.

What’s on your menu this week?

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Bourbon Street Chicken

 

With the new schedule for the girls’ schools and after-school activities, I’m on the hunt for some new, easy recipes to cook. The after-school schedule is different enough that I’m having to get creative with some dinner routines. I’m shooting for 6:00 for suppertime, but that doesn’t work on the nights that Big Girl has dance classes because they are later in the evening. I think she and Super Man will be eating late dinners together those nights and Little Bit and I will eat together earlier. It’s a juggling act and we’re just going with the flow for right now.

Last night, we tried something relatively new for dinner.  I’ve made it once before, but no one seems to remember eating it and I can’t remember if everyone liked it or not!  As I cooked, I was wondering if I was making something I was just going to throw in the garbage because of this, but it turned out to be a success and everyone loved it.

This will definitely go into my list of regularly-cooked menu items, I think.  It’s a sweet and tangy glazed chicken dish – reminiscent of some of the chicken dishes I remember having at the quick-cook Asian restaurants when I worked downtown.  It’s not technically Asian in origin and I think the original recipe hails from Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Regardless, it is really good and worth a try!

(sorry for the grainy cell phone picture – I forgot to take a “real” one before we ate!)

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Bourbon Street Chicken

4-6 servings

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 Tbs olive oil
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1/4 c apple juice (I just used an apple/grape juice box I had in the fridge for kids’ lunches)
1/3 c brown sugar (or 1/4 c Splenda brown sugar blend)
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 c water
1 Tbs corn starch (to thicken sauce)

  1. In a large skillet, sauté the chicken pieces in the olive oil.
    (I seasoned mine lightly with Houston House Seasoning)
  2. While chicken is cooking, whisk remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Once chicken is browned, pour in the sauce. Stir to coat chicken and bring to a rolling boil.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer on low, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes. (Until sauce thickens)
  5. Serve over rice.

I also served mine with some steamed veggies.  It was a huge hit – Big Girl even ate two helpings!

I think next time I might even toss some sesame seeds on the chicken right before serving.