Menu Plan Monday - 3/2/09

N's out on a ski trip this week, so I'm attempting to make some items that will make two meals so I can freeze some of the extra portions. This really helps on the dash-in-dine lunches that we inevitably spend money on during the week. Plus, with him gone, I'll actually have the time in the evening to spend time cooking sans guilt. The house should be pretty spic-n-span too!

Amazing how much I get done when he's not here. Am I the only Mom/Wife like this???

MONDAY: Leftover chicken and potatoes
TUESDAY: Mexican Polenta Bake
WEDNESDAY: Gluten-free/Dairy-free Lasagne
THURSDAY: Breakfast (Eggs, bacon, applesauce)
FRIDAY: Egg Salad Sandwiches

WEEKEND: We'll see. With N gone, things will be either uber-easy or we'll be treating ourselves to eating out a bit. :-)

To meet more Menu Planners and get some dinner ideas, visit Laura over at OrgJunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - 2/23/09

This week’s menu is a little aggressive. So we’ll see how it goes. But we made an emergency trip to the store for a few things that cut into this week’s budget, so I’m trying to keep things REALLY inexpensive this week. A bit of a challenge as it’s also N’s birthday week and I wanted to make him something special. But he requested Mexican and one of his favorite Mexican dishes is nachos. Such an easy-peasy hubby! Also, he’s not much of a cake guy, but his favorite dish is cherry pie or cherry crisp. So that’s his birthday dessert.

And I’m not too worried about losing the element of surprise. I don’t think he reads the posts here unless it’s got a Monkey picture attached. Ha!

Monday – Sausage Omelets
Tuesday – Meatless Tacos
Wednesday – Crockpot chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean/artichoke casserole
Thursday – Polenta w/Puttanesca
Friday – Mexican Nachos and Cherry Crisp
Saturday – Chicken and Green Chile Stew
Sunday – Super Easy Leftover Buffet

Oh...and we FINALLY made the spicy shrimp and creamy polenta that's been on our menu for the last FOUR weeks. Two words: Yum-O! I'll be sharing this SUPER easy recipe later this week.

To see more easy Menu Plans, visit Laura over at Orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - 2/16/09

This week's menu:

Monday: Brisket tacos, chips, salsa
Tuesday: Lasagna (no, it's not because I didn't make it last week. We're doing an encore!
Wednesday: Pizza Braided Bread
Thursday: Spicy Shrimp and Polenta (ok, this is because I haven't made it yet. Yep, week 4. Should I even bother?)
Friday: Tuna Casserole (ditto)

Dessert for every night: Chocolate covered raisins

For more creative and economical menu plans, visit Laura over at Orgjunkie.com!

Menu Plan Monday - 2/9/09

Wow. Last week was a total bust. I won't really go into details, to save y'all the pain, but two words: stomach flu. I was hit Tuesday night and never really recovered until early weekend. N and Monkey are fine (as of the writing of this post) and we're crossing fingers that it stays that way. I'm choosing to say I had stomach flu because I'm really not sure if it was that, food poisoning or reaction to being contaminated by a food allergen. The symptoms are always the same for me - use your imagination. But on Friday when my OB said that over 50% of her patients have struggled with the same symptoms this past month from stomach flu, I'm labeling it as such.

So, to make a long story longer, I didn't cook much this past week in spite of having the ingredients.

But I must share this one very important thing...

Can I tell you how incredibly grateful I am for a husband that is laid-back and easy-going when it comes to his appetite?

Popcorn for dinner?
Sure.

Ramen noodles?
Let me cook it honey, you rest.

Deli meat, crackers, and cheese plate?
Can I get you a glass of water while I put it together?

I've since quit asking myself what I've done to deserve such a life partner, because the answer is simple: NOTHING! Either way, God has graced me and I try not to take it for granted. Seriously, I have the BEST husband ever!

So, apologies up front for some repeated items (again!!!) on this week's menu.

Monday: Tuna Casserole
Tuesday: Brisket, green beans,
Wednesday: Ramen noodle/Popcorn night
Thursday: Baked Potato Soup
Friday: Lasagne, salad (YES - I FOUND Gluten-Free lasagne noodles!!!)

Since it seems that every week I'm not cooking at least two meals, I'm not even scheduling anything for the weekends. We'll see how it goes this week. To meet more Menu Planning Momma's visit here.

Menu Plan Monday - 2/2/09

I'm excited about finding some "lost items" in my pantry and freezer this week, so I'm hoping it contributes to another successful week at the Grocery Store! But my menu plan this week is pretty aggressive and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stick with it. We'll see...

Monday: Baked potato and salad bar
Tuesday: Ramen Noodle Night (God bless my husband for agreeing to this!)
Wednesday: Tuna Casserole (Can you believe I've never made this before?)
Thursday: Red Beans and Rice w/Cornbread
Friday: Blackened Shrimp and Creamy Polenta (The third week for me to put this on the menu plan. I just keep not cooking it for some reason.)
Saturday: Lasagne (Again, on the menu again, because I didn't cook it last week.)
Sunday: Brisket, green beans, corn

My gut feeling is this is slightly too ambitious, but if so, I know we'll just have more meals to put on next week's menu. LOL! Either way, I've been sticking to my weekly budget and that's really what my priority is.

For more creative and economical menu plans, visit Laura over at Orgjunkie.com!

Menu Plan Monday - 1/26/09

I think last week I said that Menu Plan Monday was a Grocery Cart Challenge thing. It's not. It's actually an OrgJunkie thing. I didn't know. Oops. Visit here to visit the original place. AND they're having an exciting give-away too!

Here's what the W household has planned for dinner this week:

Monday: Linguini with White Clam Sauce
Tuesday: Lunchmeat Sandwiches
Wednesday: Oven-Fried Chicken, GF/DF Green Bean Casserole
Thursday: Popcorn
Friday: Polenta Lasagne
Saturday: Baked Potatoes w/Chili
Sunday: Peach French Toast Bake (breakfast at church), Probably out somewhere

Couple things:

I am not listing most of the breakfasts, as it's mostly get what you can get as you're running out the door. (And it's all typical stuff: Pop-Tarts, eggs in a tortilla wrap, frozen waffles, fresh fruit, etc.)

Two of my meals last week didn't actually get made because two other meals were SO BIG, that leftovers lasted longer than anticipated. So you'll be seeing those pop up again in the next week or so.

I plan on sharing the recipe for tonight's dinner (linguine with white clam sauce) later this week, which turned out, in one word: YUM-O!

Menu Plan Monday - 1/19/09

I found a blog about a year ago, called The Grocery Cart Challenge. You might have noticed on my sidebar. Although I've been a regularly inspired reader, rarely have I put her posts and money saving methods into practice.

For any of you that really know me, I'm a total sucker for a good bargain. I LOVE saving money! I have no shame in that the majority of my clothes are from TJMaxx, Marshalls, or even second hand stores. A pair of my favorite Gap stretch chinos I bought at a resale shop for $1.00.

But one area of my life that I really have absolutely NO discipline with is our grocery budget. Perhaps because I grew up in a pretty poor family, barely surviving with the help of WIC. I remember many times, our milk was powdered or our cheese came in huge 5 lb blocks. Perhaps it was because when I finally got out of my parents's home, I paid the rent by working in the food service industry. I worked at several places where I acquired a fussy palate for good food and wine. Either way, I love my food and if I want it, I get it. The unfortunate thing is that N is the same way. We love cooking and trying new things! But rarely do we budget what we're cooking or what we desire. It's one of the bad things about being in a double-income home: we have the income to do whatever we want when it comes to food.

The more I read Gayle's Grocery Cart Challenge, the more I'm convicted that I need to start applying some of her methods to our household. So yesterday I decided that this was the week to start, at least attempting, to create a weekly menu plan. This is huge for me! Usually dinner consists of take-out, ordering in, fixing something I have no ingredients for, thus an extra trip to the grocery store to get needed ingredients, along with a bunch of impulse buys.

So I took an inventory of what we already had in the cupboards, fridge, and freezer and tried to create a menu plan based on what I found in there. This is what I've come up with for this week's menu:

Breakfast
Gluten-free oatmeal with stewed cranberries and apples
Cold cereal and fresh fruit
Banana bread
Frozen waffles with stewed cranberries and apples
Eggs & Bacon
Peach French Toast Bake

Lunch
Leftovers from the previous night, along with fresh fruit and lunch meat for my snacks. (I need to eat every two hours or I get nauseaus.)

Dinner
Hot wings, celery, carrots
Italian Sausage and Bean Soup, cornbread
Mexican Chicken Skillet, corn tortilla chips
Popcorn (Thursday is our non-dinner night)
Blackened Shrimp over Creamy Polenta
Linguini with Clam Sauce

Based on this menu plan, much of what I needed I have in stock, so it's just a matter of purchasing the lacking menu ingredients. Tune in tomorrow, where I share my grocery list. Not that it's that terribly exciting, but if I put it out there for all of you to see, it's making me accountable. And when it comes to this area of our finances, I really need some accountability.

I guess what I'm kind of hoping for is for some of you girl friends to do this along with me and we can come up with ideas and be a sounding board for some experienced advice. If any of you are interested in trying this along with me, let me know. And just to ease the pressure...I'm just sticking my toe in the water. I can't guarantee I'm going to stick with this, but I'm just feeling convicted to at least try. :-)