Weekly Menu - April 24 through 30

With all the other planning I had to do and the minimal help that PE was I could not find the motivation for making a menu plan for while we are on vacation. I made Wonderballs, Road Trip Snack Mix, and Honey Glazed Snack Mix for us to snack on while traveling and while at the cabin. We have apples, clementines, string cheese, and pretzels as well. We figure if we eat breakfast and lunch out of the car then we can enjoy dinner at the local eateries we encounter. We will have to see what actually happens.

Weekly Menu - April 17 through 23

We won't even discuss how last week went other than to say I am just not in the cooking mood these days.

Here is what we will try to make this week.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Crispy Shrimp Pasta (we made this a couple weeks ago but did not get "crispy" shrimp so we are going to try again)
Bacon & Bleu Burgers (freezer meal from KLB)
Chicken & Broccoli Macaroni (new recipe)
Freezer Meal
Eggs & Toast

Dinner - Side Dish:
Salad
Vegetables

Miscellaneous:
Homemade Maple Syrup (new recipe)
Crunchy Granola
Wonderballs (new recipe)
Road Trip Snack Mix (new recipe)
Honey Glazed Snack Mix (new recipe)

April Freezer Meal
Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken (new recipe)

Weekly Menu - April 10 through 16

I am not feeling the inspiration this week. This is what I have come up with for meals. Hopefully something else comes to me too.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta
Lazy Chiles Rellenos
Freezer Meal
BLTs

Dinner - Side Dish:
Salad
Steamed Vegetables

Cookies for Baking GALS:
Sugar Cookie Bars (new recipe) with Powdered Sugar Glaze
Butterscotch Chip Cookies (new recipe)
Blonde Brookie (new recipe)

Weekly Menu - April 3 through 9

These are the meals we have planned for this week. I am not sure how it will go. The kids are on spring break and I am only working half days all week because I want to do some fun things with them. Also, Jabba and I are working on blankets for our beds and hers is ready to be sewn together so we will be working on that a couple days this week. We will just have to see how it goes. I seem to struggle more with the menus when we aren't on our regular schedule.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Poblano Chicken (new recipe)
Clam Chowder with The Breadsticks of Life (new to blog recipe from Moo)
Freezer Meal
Crispy Shrimp Pasta (new recipe)

Dinner - Side Dish:
Spanish Rice (carried over from last week - from PE's Family Cookbook)
Steamed Asparagus
Salad

Lunch - Main Dish
Grilled Poblano and Mango Quesadillas (new recipe)
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos (new recipe)
Sandwiches (probably more than one time)

Weekly Menu - March 27 through April 2

We did pretty good last week. We didn't make one of the items; the Teriyaki Honey Chicken. Okay, I guess we didn't make two because I had planned the Coconut Rice to to with it so we didn't make that either. This week will make them both.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Tacos
Freezer Meal
Healthy and Hearty Chicken Quinoa Stew (new recipe)
Cheeseburger Macaroni (new recipe)
Teriyaki Honey Chicken (carried over from last week)

Dinner - Side Dishes:
Spanish Rice (new recipe from PE's Family Cookbook)
Salad
Steamed Asparagus
Coconut Rice

Breakfast:
French Breakfast Puffs (new recipe)

Miscellaneous:
Refried Beans
Sweet Potato Crescents

Weekly Menu - March 20 through 26

We did much better last week. We made all but one item (the Chicken Jambalaya).

Dinner - Main Dish:
Sour Cream Noodle Bake (new recipe)
Chicken Jambalaya (from last week)
Teriyaki Honey Chicken (new recipe)
Freezer Meal
Lentil and Wild Rice Soup (new recipe)

Dinner - Side Dish:
Vegetables
Salad
Coconut Rice
Veggies cooked one way or another

Weekly Menu - March 14 through 19

Wowser we really did not do very good with the menu plan this week. As in we made two items off the list.

Moo was gone to Driver's Education class from 5:30 to 9:30 Monday through Thursday and for whatever reason that sort of threw us off. Then on top of that PE was not feeling well one night (tomato soup with grilled cheese), I was gone another night (cheese on tortillas and cereal), then we had dinner at my mom's house with my Auntie C. who was visiting from Virginia yet another night (pulled pork sandwiches, corn pudding, coleslaw, banana pudding--all prepared by Auntie C.).

Needless to say many of the meals are carried over from last week.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Meat Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta
Freezer Meal
Stroganoff Melts
Corned Beef with Cabbage
Chicken Jambalaya (from PE's family cookbook)

Dinner - Side Dish:
Steamed Green Beans
Salad

Dessert
Oreo Cupcakes (new recipe for K1's birthday)

Weekly Menu - March 6 through 13

Starting this week I am going to have at least one recipe for the Weekly Menu come from a cookbook or magazine. I have a decent number of cookbooks and magazines that have been put on the back burner due to my love affair with blogs and the internet in general. It is so incredibly easy to go to one of my favorite sites (Food.com, myrecipes, Allrecipes, or Tasty Kitchen) to search for a recipe that it was actually a little difficult for me to find a recipe in a cookbook today. I like being able to search for recipes by ingredient, cooking time, cooking method, etc. There are not many indexes/indices (either is correct) that give me all those options for finding a recipe. I figure the more I use the cookbooks and magazines the more familiar I will become with what they have to offer and searching for recipes will become easier and easier.

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We did so-so with the menu plan from last week. PE and I went out to dinner for our anniversary. . . something I hadn't planned into the menu plan. Oops! I would like to blame it on the fact that we didn't technically have an anniversary this year. . . or the two previous years (we were married on Leap Day) but that is sort of a flimsy excuse. (Dinner was delicious, thank you for asking.) Moo didn't want to make the freezer meal that was defrosted in the refrigerator so the kids ate whatever she made. Then I was with KLB on Thursday so PE made elk steak and broccoli for dinner because I didn't have any of the recipes printed.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Unstuffed Cabbage
Freezer Meal
Freezer Meal
Halibut with Cucumber Sauce (new recipes)
Grilled Chicken Salad

Dinner - Side Dish:
Turnip Slaw (new recipe)
Steamed Green Beans
Salad

Dessert
Lemon Bars (from The New Best Recipe)

Weekly Menu - February 27 through March 5

I almost didn't write a menu this week. But then I thought of a week full of not knowing what to make and I didn't want to go there. We haven't made pizza for awhile and we are all excited for that. Now I just need to decide it we want to go with the Fast and Easy Pizza Dough or if we will try something new. We will just have to see where the week takes us.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Yakisoba Chicken Noodles (new to blog recipe)
Freezer Meal
Freezer Meal
Pizza . . . some kind
Halibut. . . cooked one way or another

Dinner - Side Dish:
Garlicky Couscous
Salad
Some Other Stuff

Weekly Menu - February 20 through 26

We are having several freezer meals this week because I need freezer space since tomorrow Jabba, KLB, and I are making freezer meals. I also made strawberry freezer jam today so that took up some freezer space.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Taco Casserole (new to blog recipe)
Freezer Meal (Chicken Enchiladas)
Freezer Meal (Sweet and Sour Chicken)
Freezer Meal (Manicotti)

Dessert
Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten Cake (new recipe)

Freezer Meals
Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce (Jabba)
Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce (Jabba)
Cheese & Chicken Shells (KLB)
Blue Cheese Burgers (KLB)
Sausage, Broccoli, & Cheese Turnovers (Me)
Corn Chowder (Me)

Weekly Menu - February 13 through 19 (sorry it is late)

So very sorry. I had it typed and forgot to post it. Duh!

Last week was really just one of those weeks. We were not feeling the cooking love so we did a very minimal amount of it. The one home cooked meal we had was prepared and cooked by my sister when she invited herself over for dinner. She took the initiative and I say, "GREAT!" It gave me a good reason to clean off my dining room table that has been filled with crap since the first part of January.

Today I finally made Ketchup and Barbecue Sauce. Of course to be able to make the Ketchup I first had to start by making Simple Syrup to use in place of the corn syrup. (I usually do this when making ketchup or pancake syrup.)

Dinner - Main Dish:
Leftover Mashed Potato Soup (new recipe)
Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta (new recipe)
Chicken and Spinach Tortilla Bake
Meatloaf a la PE
Freezer Meal

Dessert/Treat:
Sugar Cookies with Royal Frosting (new recipes)
Cherry Chocolate Cookies (new to blog recipe)

Weekly Menu - February 6 through 12

I don't really have much of a plan this week. The weekend got away from me what with the Asian food cooking on Saturday and then Super Bowl stuff yesterday. Here is what I have pulled together.

Dinner - Main Course:
Cheddar Cheese Soup with Vegetables (carried over from last week)
Sushi (also carried over)
Leftovers
Freezer Meal(s)
Who Knows. . . .

Weekly Menu - January 30 through February 5

Again, we did pretty good with the menu. I have carried over the Sour Cream Enchiladas from last week due to one evening with a particularly bad headache we had pancakes for dinner. Those are the only thing that sound good when I have that bad of a headache. I think it has to do with low smell and relatively plain flavor. PE once cooked something with garlic when I had a horrendous headache and that did not end well for me--I was then nauseated on top of having a headache. Which turned into being hungry and having a headache. (I am such a pain in the ass sometimes.)

Chinese New Year is February 3 and last year we had a great time making potstickers and other Asian inspired food to "celebrate" so I thought we would do the same thing this year. We will make the food on Saturday. Sushi is not Chinese, I realize this that is why it is Asian inspired food.)

Dinner - Main Dish:
Thick Oven-Baked Chili (new recipe)
Copycat Rumbi's Bahama Mama Tortilla Soup (new recipe)
Sour Cream Enchiladas (carried over from last week)
Orange or Lemon Chicken (new recipe)
Quesadillas or Tacos
Cheddar Cheese Soup with Vegetables (new to blog recipe)
Freezer Meal

Dinner - Side Dish:
Pork Dumplings/Potstickers (new recipe)
Sushi (new recipe)
Salad
Steamed Asparagus
Broccoli & Cauliflower (cooked some way)

Weekly Menu - January 23 through 29

I am quite proud. . .I had most of these planned before Thursday.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Quiche Lorraine (new recipe from Moo's French class)
Bacon Green Onion Frittata with Smoked Gouda (new recipe)
Peppery Lemon Brown Sugar Salmon (new recipe)
Sour Cream Enchiladas (new recipe)
Slow Cooker Chicken
Freezer Meal

Dinner - Side Dish:
Green Leaf and Salad Savoy Salad
Steamed Asparagus
Steamed Broccoli
(I know. . . sort of boring with the steaming of the vegetables but we all enjoy them that way and it is the easiest method for us. If I hadn't already had most of the main dishes planned I could have gone for a broccoli soup or something but this way was easier.)

Dessert:
Lemon Bars

Weekly Menu - January 16 through 22

We did pretty good with making most of the meals I planned. We have one dinner to catch up on but that just means there were fewer to plan this week.

The new to the blog recipes are recipes I have made before but have not posted. While it will not always be the case, the two this week are recipes I haven't made since I started the blog which seems a little crazy because the two below are a some of our favorites. I plan on having more of this type of recipe. Additionally I will be posting more recipes from books than from blogs. . . at least that is my hope. I have some great recipe books and magazines that I really need to spend some more time with.

The "Food" folder in my Reader was getting out of control and I found those were starting to be the last ones I looked at. I went through and unsubscribed from a lot of my subscriptions last week. My Bookmarked recipes was cut down significantly this week too. Not by my choice. I am actually a little upset about the whole thing. I went to bookmark a recipe in the Main Dishes - Beef folder last week and that folder (along with many others) was gone. GONE! After a little Swagbucks searching I found that Firefox Sync had some glitch in the last update and that is what happened to quite a few people. So, I have now gone back to Xmarks which I would have never quit using in the first place if there had not been notice that they were closing down at the beginning of the year due to lack of funding. Then they were acquired after I had deleted my account. While I can't pick up where I left off I can at least return to a more reliable bookmark syncing source than Firefox Sync.

Sorry about the tangent. I can get lost on those all too easily. . . it is all part of the crazy.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Chicken Curry (new to blog recipe)
Spinach Pie (new recipe)
Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (new recipe)
Pepsi Pot Roast (new to blog recipe)
Lazy Chiles Rellenos (new recipe)

Dinner - Side Dish:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans (new recipe)
Baked Brown Spanish Rice (new recipe)
Steamed Asparagus
Salad
Mashed Potatoes

Breakfast
Glazed Peanut Butter, Banana, and Blackberry Muffins (new recipe)

Miscellaneous:
Ketchup (didn't get them made last week)
Barbecue Sauce II (didn't get them made last week)

Weekly Menu - January 9 through 15

Okay. . . I am going to try this as a feature. Each Sunday I will post what we will (most likely) be eating for the week. This will hopefully motivate me a bit more to post new recipes I try and will help previously posted recipes receive the spotlight once again.

We will see how well I can stick to this. Some weeks are better than others. Some parts of the year are better than others. I do find it extremely nice to know my options for dinner before I arrive home at the end of the day. I know it is PE's dreaded conversation in the car on the drive home. I don't really enjoy it much either. While PE is more often than not happy to split dinner preparation, I know we are both happier when there is somewhat of a plan. I also find when I plan our meals we make better use of the fruits and vegetables from the co-op and we get more variety in our meals. One side note: While we enjoy knowing what we are making, we don't enjoy having it tied to a particular day.

I am feeling like a bit of an overachiever this week, so I have lunches for those days I plan to be home and desserts.

Dinner - Main Dish:
Homemade Panera Potato Soup (new recipe) with Bloomin' Herb Bread (new recipe)
Spinach Enchiladas (new recipe)
Freezer Meal (not sure which one)
Dinner Out
Poor Man's Lobster (new recipe)
Lazy Chicken (new recipe)

Dinner - Side Dish:
Salad
Sauted Yellow Squash
Brussels Sprouts
Baby Bam Rice or Coconut Rice (depends which meal it will accompany)

Lunch - Main Dish:
Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Burritos

Lunch - Side Dish:
Sliced Apples
Broccoli with Ranch Dressing

Desserts:
Vanilla Cupcakes with Sticky Chocolate Icing (new recipes) AND/OR
Yellow Butter Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream (new recipes)

Miscellaneous:
Yogurt
Granola
Ketchup
Barbecue Sauce II
Hard-boiled Eggs

So there you have it. What I plan to make this week.