Menu Plan Wednesday

I really need to get organized with my menu! To make my life easier, I'm planning for the next week and a half.

• Wednesday - Tilapia piccata + roasted brussels sprouts
• Thursday - Almond chicken pasta (sauce from the freezer)
• Friday - Chicken caesar salad
• Saturday - Stuffed peppers
• Sunday - Homemade pizza
• Monday - Baked chicken and pastina dish
• Tuesday - Leftovers
• Wednesday - Fiesta chicken casserole
• Thursday - Sauteed tilapia with honey scallion dressing
• Friday - Chicken marsala with mushroom casserole
• Saturday - at a party at my parents house. Will be having dinner with them.
• Sunday - Something fast from the freezer, as I'm running a race in Portland and will be getting home late. Possibly leftover chicken marsala casserole.

What's on your menu this week? Any fun new recipes? We tried the chicken marsala casserole last week, and it was both easy and yummy. It's definitely getting on the rotation.

Menu Plan Monday (2/27/12)

Trying to get back into the regular habit of posting my menu plans. On Mondays. ;-) Otherwise, the week turns into a crazy blur. I'm happy to report that I spent most of Saturday in the kitchen, & stocked the freezer fairly well. That makes me feel much more relaxed about my ability to throw dinner together on crazy evenings.

Here's what in the lineup for the week:

• Monday - Leftover Fiesta Chicken Casserole. LOVE this recipe.
• Tuesday - Chicken marsala casserole + roasted brussels sprouts
• Wednesday - Sauteed tilapia with lemon peppercorn sauce, over orzo.
• Thursday - Homemade Bolognese sauce (from the freezer) over pasta
• Friday - Chicken peanut chow mein + wine :-)
• Saturday - One dish chicken and kielbasa dinner
• Sunday - Either chicken souvlaki, or pizza, depending on our plans for the day.

What's on your menu plan for the week?

Menu Plan Tuesday

I'm late getting this posted, as our schedule has been derailed a bit with the kids home. Here's what we're eating this week!

• Tuesday - Leftover Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta. This was amazing, and used up some butternut squash that we've had in the freezer for awhile.
• Wednesday - Caesar salads with barbecued chicken (freezer)
• Thursday - White cheddar chicken pasta (bumped from last week)
• Friday - Mahi Mahi tacos
• Saturday - Date night!!
• Sunday - Skiing. Likely having our traditional apres ski meal of homemade pizza. M & I prefer this Chicken, Red Grape, & Pesto pizza.
• Monday - Garlic chicken with orzo noodles

What's on your menu for the week? Have you tried any great recipes lately?

Menu Plan Monday (1/9/12)

Here are our eats for the week ahead!

• Monday - Leftover Chicken Pastina Casserole
• Tuesday - Penne in Almond Sauce
• Wednesday - Leftovers
• Thursday - M out of town. I'll be eating Ham and Split Pea Soup. This was an extremely easy recipe. I used diced ham, as that's what I had available. Frugal & tasty!
• Friday - We'll be out of town at a water park with my sister & nephews.
• Saturday - M will be out of town. I'll either eat leftovers, or soup.
• Sunday - Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta - using up some butternut squash in the freezer

I also need to make a few things to stock the freezer. Here's what I'm thinking (time permitting):

• Sugar spot banana muffins
• Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos - I make these for quick weekend lunches, or when M's out of town & I just need something small for dinner. He's not a fan, so I enjoy these on my own. :-)

What's on your menu for the week?

Menu Plan - wrapping up December

I need to put plans to "paper" & map out a menu for the next week or so. It helps me avoid the lazy convenience meals. :-) This will be a very simple menu week, as I get back into the groove.

• Saturday (New Year's Eve!) - M's making a semi-elaborate Persian dinner, with beef kebabs, rice with potato "crust", cucumber yogurt dip, etc. I'm planning on making Warm Chocolate Souffle Cakes with Raspberry Sauce.
• Sunday - Tilapia tacos
• Monday - Leftover Persian dinner + barbecued corn
• Tuesday - Spaghetti (from the freezer)
• Wednesday - Leftover casserole from the freezer. . . contents unknown :-)
• Thursday - Beef Tacos & black beans
• Friday - Tortellini with barbecued chicken & goat cheese crostini
• Saturday - Barbecued mahi mahi with mango salsa + barbecued corn
• Sunday - Chicken Caesar salads

Are you back to menu plan? What's on you list for the week?

Menu Plan - rest of December

I'm doing something a bit different with this menu plan, and filling it out for the rest of December. The next few weeks are wild & crazy with trips and events, so I thought it would be easiest to look at the next few weeks when planning out my menu. Hopefully this will mean that I'll be organized with my grocery shopping, and won't have to run to the store four times/week. :-) As you can see, this is definitely a "light cooking" menu, heavy on the freezer foods.

I'll decide on a vegetable for next week based on freshness/availability when we're at the beach. Choices are usually more limited, so we'll go with what's fresh that day.

• Monday (12/12) - Leftover baked shells with pesto & meat sauce + roasted Brussels sprouts.
• Tuesday (12/13) - Asparagus & chicken carbonara
• Wednesday (12/14) - Roasted butternut squash pasta (likely substituting chicken or chicken sausage for the bacon)
• Thursday (12/15) - Leftover carbonara
• Friday (12/16) - Clean out fridge day. Eat whatever is available, freeze any remaining leftovers.
• Saturday (12/17) - Out of town at my nephew's birthday party. I'm in charge of a fruit tray, vegetable tray, & wine. :-)
• Sunday (12/18) - On a mini trip with M! Eating out at fancy restaurants in Las Vegas.
• Monday (12/19) On a mini trip with M! Still eating out. 
• Tuesday (12/20) - Traveling home from our trip, & picking up our kids from my parents, so something easy & from the freezer.
• Wednesday (12/21) - Chicken Caesar salads + whatever vegetable is available.
• Thursday (12/22) - Green chicken enchiladas (from the freezer)
• Friday (12/23) - Chicken taquitos from the freezer, or eating up anything still remaining in the fridge.
• Saturday (12/24) - Christmas Eve with my parents. I'm bringing a sandwich tray + wine.
• Sunday (12/25) - Christmas dinner with family. No clue what I'm bringing for this.
• Monday (12/26) - At our beach house. Barbecued hamburgers & hot dogs + a vegetable.
• Tuesday (12/27) - Barbecued chicken + goat cheese crostini + a vegetable.
• Wednesday (12/28) - Leftover burgers + Trader Joe's mushroom turnovers.
• Thursday (12/29) - Garlic chicken with orzo (using remaining barbecued chicken from Tuesday)
• Friday (12/30) - Barbecued salmon + a vegetable
• Saturday (12/31) - Homemade pizzas + some sort of a fun appetizer to ring in the new year.

What's on your menu for the next few weeks? How do you get through the holidays without eating out a lot? Any tips or tricks?

Weekly Menu Plan

Here's what's on the menu for the upcoming week! I swear that the Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina has been on the menu for a month, but it's our backup freezer meal & I keep thinking we're going to get to it. Maybe this week. :-)

·         Sunday –  Oven Baked Chicken Risotto

·         Monday – Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

·         Tuesday – Leftover baked chicken risotto

·         Wednesday – I'm taking a friend to dinner for her birthday. The boys will fend for themselves.

·         Thursday –  M will be out of town, I'm thinking of having chef salad.

·         Friday – Herbed chicken parmesan

·         Saturday – 12/3 - Tacos

·         Sunday – 12/4 – Chicken, red grape, & pesto pizza + cheese pizza for the kids.

What's on your menu for the week? Are you making creative leftovers from Thanksgiving? We were guests at my aunt's house, so we are turkey-less.

Weekly Menu

I'm working on the menu plan a little early this week, as I need to plan ahead to get everything done. :-) Do you ever have those week?

• Saturday - I'm planning to grab a salad at the gym. I have fewer leftovers in the freezer than I anticipated, and need a guaranteed healthy dinner since I had a quesadilla for lunch. ;-)
• Sunday - trying a new chili recipe, plus biscuits & salad. My oldest child (S), loves chili, so this is his request.
• Monday - Chicken pastina (freezer) - moved from last week & Greek salad.
• Tuesday - Leftover chili, biscuits, & salad.
• Wednesday - Leftover chicken pastina + Greek salad
• Thursday - Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. We're bringing a variation of this salad, but with pears instead of apples. And wine, of course. :-)
• Friday - We'll be at the beach, & since I inventoried our freezer there (yeah me!) I know exactly what we need to use up. We'll be making Sauteed Tilapia with Honey Scallion Dressing.
• Saturday - Baked salmon, rice, and a vegetable of some sort.
• Sunday - Beef manicotti (freezer) + salad.

If we actually make it through the pastina & manicotti, my freezer stash will be greatly depleted, which is part of my plan to work through our stash & move on to new dishes. Here's hoping!

What's on your menu plan for the week? Do you plan to have lots of Thanksgiving leftovers? We usually don't end up with much, since we are at a relative's house, but I plan to enjoy my favorites (green beans - not the casserole!, my dad's famous mushroom stuffing, & mashed potatoes). . . YUM!

Menu Plan For The Week

I struggled a bit with this week's menu plan. Do you ever just have those week's where you're not particularly inspired? :-) That's me, this week. My attempts to clear out my freezer continue!

• Sunday - Likely, out with the family at a Halloween party. If not, frozen pizza.
• Monday - Fiesta Chicken (moved from last week)
• Tuesday - Spaghetti (from the freezer)
• Wednesday - Leftover Fiesta Chicken
• Thursday - Beef manicotti (from the freezer)
• Friday - Cashew crusted chicken with basil pineapple rice
• Saturday - My mom & sister are visiting for my mom's birthday, so we'll be eating out. Girl time!
• Sunday - Cashew crusted mahi mahi + leftover rice

What's on your menu this week? And, Happy Halloween! :-)