Tag Archives: Menu

Menu Plan Monday


How is it possible that tomorrow is the first day of May? This month really flew by. I think I need to start thinking about anniversary gifts. In a month, D & I will celebrate our 11th anniversary! So much has changed with wedding planning since then, hasn’t it? Back then, titanium wedding bands were a new thing, but now I read about them all the time. And let’s not even begin to get into photography and decorations. All you have to do is browse Pinterest. I’m actually glad I’m not planning a wedding now. Thing were much simpler back then!

Speaking of planning, time to plan out this week’s menu!

  • Sunday: Out to dinner
  • Monday: Chicken cordon blue, cous-cous, steamed broccoli
  • Tuesday: Running errands – grab something out
  • Wednesday: Crock Pot BBQ spare ribs, cole slaw, steamed veggies
  • Thursday: Grilled chicken, roasted cauliflower, salad
  • Friday: Burgers (buns optional), sweet potato fries, salad
  • Saturday: Southwestern wonton “cupcakes” (new recipe I’m working on)

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday – spring break!


OK, I’ll be perfectly honest. There’s not a whole lot of meal planning going on this week. I threw down some ideas, but will they stick? I don’t know. The kids are on spring break this week and D. took several days off, so we’re mostly flying by the seat of our pants.

Plus, it’s Easter weekend, so there will be a few family dinners where I am not cooking. (Which reminds me I need to finish gathering stuff for Easter baskets and make a few Easter cards. I can’t forget to sign them – imagine getting contactless cards and having no idea who they’re from!)

BUT since it never hurts to have a plan…

  • Sunday: Chili
  • Monday: Salad or sandwiches because I’m going out with a friend (though I did make a real lunch – Greek chicken with olives and zucchini, with salad on the side)
  • Tuesday: Roast chicken, broccoli, sweet potato spears
  • Wednesday: Burgers, corn on the cob, broccoli, cole slaw
  • Thursday: Thai chicken curry with vegetables, jasmine rice
  • Friday: Dinner with family
  • Saturday: Dinner with family

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday


Last week it was 80, but this week temperatures are more reasonable for this time of year, thankfully! I get nervous when it’s too warm when it should be cold. I mean, my roses should not be budding at the same time as my daffodils – that’s just weird! Anyway… I can make some cozier dinners to use up things in my freezer this week.

The kids have no school on Friday (a “give back” snow day since they only used up one this year), so as a treat, I plan on making these Jell-O pinwheels with them. I also plan to bake some more coconut flour pumpkin muffins. I made these a few weeks ago and they were ridiculously good. This time I’ll write down exactly what I do so that I can share the recipe! I love using coconut flour because it is so dense and filling. One coconut flour muffin goes much farther than one made from AP or even WW flour. (At least I think so.)

But I digress. Here’s my meal plan for the week.

  • Sunday: Stuffed Chicken Parmesan, Cesar salad
  • Monday: Leftovers
  • Tuesday: Crock Pot roast beef with horseradish sauce, zucchini au gratin (based on this recipe, which was delicious, but the mini muffins are way too fussy for me), baby carrots, salad
  • Wednesday: Possibly take-out
  • Thursday: Crock Pot gyros (pitas optional) with romaine, tomato, onion, olive, feta, and tzatziki
  • Friday: Fish tacos, black beans
  • Saturday: Roasted chicken drumsticks, roasted sweet potato spears, creamed spinach*, salad

* Before I go, let’s talk about spinach. Specifically creamed spinach. This is a dish that never, ever, ever appealed to me until very recently. Chalk it up to changing tastes, I don’t know. Last week I grilled steak and thought creamed spinach would be perfect with it. So I cooked down a bag of fresh spinach, gave it a few pulses it in my food processor to break it up, and then added a hunk of butter, a couple spoonfuls of sour cream, a pinch of nutmeg, some parmesan cheese, and a little swiss. I let it all cook down so the flavors could meld together. It’s not rocket science, so I don’t have a specific recipe. Just a little of this, and a little of that.

All three kids loved and I mean loved it. They were dipping steak fries in it, asking for more. It was crazy! So now we’re on this spinach kick. With our CSA starting in a couple months, I’m relieved that this year I won’t have to eat all those greens by myself! I also made this Indian spiced creamed spinach for Drew and myself the other day. It was also really tasty (though I had to seriously cut down on they cayenne — woo, hot!)

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday, feels like spring edition


Well it seems that spring is impatient and is sneaking her way into the northeast early this year! Of course I’m no fool – I doubt we’ll enjoy these warm temperatures for long. There’s bound to be another bout of chilly air, but for now I am so happy to sit on my deck with an iced coffee while watching my daffodils peek up through the ground! Having a meal plan means that I can have a little extra free time to do that because I’m not running around to the stores trying to pick up dinner at the last minute. Here’s my plan for this week.

  • Sunday: Leftovers
  • Monday: Roast chicken, cole slaw, green beans, spaghetti squash gratin
  • Tuesday: Beef curry over jasmine rice, cucumber and onion salad
  • Wednesday: Kielbasa, spinach, and white bean soup; green salad
  • Thursday: Turkey burgers (sans buns), black bean salad, baked sweet potato spears
  • Friday: Fish tacos or grilled cheese (for picky kids)
  • Saturday: Corned beef, cabbage, carrots

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday, 2.20.12


Well, after several days of decadent eating last week on our vacation at Woodloch Pines, we are back to the usual menus here! I admit that I overindulged on breads and desserts. (By most people’s standards I probably didn’t do so bad, but for me it was a lot). Nevertheless, I savored every bite and don’t regret a spoonful :-)

Lent begins this week, and that gives me an incentive to work more fish dishes into our meal plan. We ate quite a bit of fish on vacation, so that was a great way to get inspired! Of course, I only post my dinner plans and I realize there’s not much fish here this week, but I’ll be making it for lunch. I might try stuffing tuna fish into cucumber cups for a quick bite, or a quick marinated shrimp salad.

Here’s what I’m planning for this week:

  • Sunday: chicken fajitas, fruit salad
  • Monday: pesto chicken, riced cauliflower, green salad
  • Tuesday: mushroom-swiss burgers (buns optional), tomato basil soup, green salad
  • Wednesday:  onion soup, hard-boiled eggs, green salad
  • Thursday: cube steaks with mustard gravy, mixed vegetables, green salad
  • Friday: salt & vinegar baked cod, steamed broccoli, cole slaw
  • Saturday: Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts ~ no cooking!

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday, 1.16.12

It’s finally starting to feel like winter around here! And as much as I want to hole up in front of the wood stove, the fact is that I still need to plan and cook dinner for the family. So it’s a good thing I have a plan!

  • Monday: Roast chicken thighs, steamed broccoli, wild rice (leftover) tossed salad with fresh mozzarella and mustard vinaigrette.
  • Tuesday: Broiled steak with gorgonzola butter, sauteed zucchini and onions, salad
  • Wednesday: Veal parmesan meatloaf, salad
  • Thursday: Spiced beef ribs, steamed veggies, cole slaw
  • Friday: Pesto chicken breasts, small side of pasta, salad
  • Saturday: Probably take-out

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday #1

I never got my meal plan up yesterday, but that’s not because I didn’t write it! I actually had it all set, but never wrote up the post. So here you go. A quick & dirty list to start the year, but hey — better than nothing!

  • Monday: Leftovers
  • Tuesday: Slow Cooker BBQ ribs, twice-baked potatoes (from the freezer), roast butternut squash, salad
  • Wednesday: Slow Cooker Chicken tacos (lettuce, cojita cheese, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, corn tortillas if you want one), spicy black bean soup
  • Thursday: Sausage Parmesan, salad
  • Friday: Turkey burgers, salad, zucchini chips
  • Saturday: Pizza night! Cauliflower crust with chicken, broccoli, onions, peppers & black olives or traditional crust with pepperoni. Salad.
  • Sunday: Chicken Parmesan meatloaf, steamed broccoli

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.