Sarah's Menu Plan Monday

I have been working to plan out menus for the month using mostly the food items I have in my fridge, freezer and pantry, but it's sometimes difficult. In the end I usually stick to planning out the coming week and throw in a selection here or there later in the month depending on schedule and availability.

This week I have planned:

Monday: FISH - Parmesan Flounder, Rice, Garden Salad
Tuesday: BEEF - Grandma's Goulash
Wednesday: VEGETARIAN - Homemade Mac & Cheese, Green Beans
Thursday: CHICKEN/CROCKPOT - White Chili with Corn bread
Friday: Leftovers or "Breakfast" food

I have some recipes from the other week as well as this week that I plan to post, so check back if you're interested in a particular recipe (I left my menu as a comment on Alison's Menu Plan Monday - Aug 30). Or leave a comment should you like to see a particular recipe.

Alison's Menu Plan Monday

It's Menu Plan Monday time again! We have drained our fridge of meals and it's time for me to grocery shop again. Check out more menus at Orgjunkie.com.

Menu

Many Bean Soup

Egg salad sandwiches and fresh veggies

Oriental Beef and Noodles

Hot Dogs

Breakfast Food

Home made pizza

Pasta Fresca

Vegetarian Taco Salads

I also plan on cooking chicken breast and beans for my freezer stash.

Menu Plan Monday

It's Menu Plan Monday again hosted by Organizing Junkie. Go check out the other menus.

My menu this week is very simple. Life has been hectic lately with out of town company, sickness and going out of town. My only goal was to actually have a menu and get food in the fridge fast so that we wouldn't be forced to eat out.

Pancakes & sausage

Spaghetti & garlic toast

Chop sandwiches

Salads

Nachos

Baked Potatoes

Grilled Sausage, steamed veggies & stuffing

Grilled cheese & soup

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first time linking up to Menu Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie. Be sure to check out their blog for great ideas on menu planning.

I'm not a traditional weekly menu planner. I usually plan a menu of about 8-9 meals that we eat randomly. Since there are just the two of us plus our 15 month old, we find that between leftovers and going out once or twice, this will last us about two weeks.

Not all of these recipies are on the blog yet, but I'll be posting and linking up to them as I get a chance. Please feel free to post or link to your menu.

Salads
Chop Sandwiches
Breakfast Casserole
Baked Potatoes
Steak on the grill and Au Gratin Potatoes
Teriyaki Baked Chicken and Roasted Asparagus*
Crock Pot Tortilla Soup*
Loaded Bean Burritos



*new recipes to me this week



I also purchased 5lbs of hamburger to brown and freeze in 1lb portions for quick meals later since I ran out of prepared hamburger in my freezer this past week.

**TODAY ONLY** FREE Mable's Meals Subscription

Go Here to check it out!

Weekly Menu

I labeled this as a weekly menu, but in reality my menus usually last longer than a week. Our style is to have a list of meals posted and to randomly pick what to eat based on what sounds good or our schedule. What was/is your menu and how do you plan your meals?

Weekly Menu
Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs--for my dad's birthday party
Salads
Savory Beef
Breakfast Food
BLTs & fresh fruit
Chili
Enchiladas
Baked Potatoes
Hamburger Stew**

** Hamburger Stew is one of my husband's all time favorite "man food" meals. It is also a freezer recipe that makes 4-5 future meals. I always dread the work of making a huge batch of any freezer meal, but every time I make this recipe I realize it is actually much easier than I remember.

New Food Finds

Because I had some random frequent flyer miles with Northwest Airlines I decided to cash them in for magazine subscriptions. One magazine I chose was Everyday Food, which is a Martha Stewart magazine.

It comes printed in the size of a Readers Digest every month. The magazine includes easy, healthy recipes and interesting articles. I've tried a few recipes and have been very pleased with how simple they were and how little I had to shop -- there weren't really any exotic food items needed. I hope to try a few that I've found in the October issue and will post them here if I think they're worth sharing.

So... just for your information. :)

Help needed! Birthday menu ideas

OK, so it's DOB's birthday on Sunday, and I'm trying to come up with a birthday menu. He said for me just to come up with a new menu and a new dessert--or at least a new combination.

So I'm looking for something:
1) A little different
2) EASY--the ducklings don't know what a birthday means yet. ;-)
3) Must involve meat. We have gotten in touch with our inner carnivores and decided our metabolisms need meat.
4) Goes well with blueberry muffins, because that's the one thing I've thought of thus far.

Oh, and I have to decide by Wednesday morning, before I go grocery shopping. (Although if an emergency arises, we do live across the street from the grocery store right now.)

Free Cooking Magazine

If anyone is interested, Kraft Foods has a free food magazine, Food & Family, they mail out 5 times a year. (I just got the recent issue in the mail last week, hence this post.) You can sign up online here.

Most of the recipes are along the "quick and easy meals" vein. (i.e. lots of pasta) I wouldn't necessarily put it in the healthy foods category, but most of the meals could be adapted to your eating style. And, the pictures are great for inspiration.....Especially if you are hungry while browsing. (As I was! :-) )

Lunches that Travel

Hey, Marthas, rally 'round. We're planning a weekend trip, mostly because Darren has been traveling a lot lately and, since he can't be at home with us, we'll just join him on the road.

Here's what I need: to cut down on food costs, I want to pack breakfast/snack/lunch stuff to take with us. Lunch especially. Sandwiches are okay, but I'm looking for something a little more filling. And we can't be sure we'll be near a microwave, so I can't necessarily heat anything up. Any suggestions?

Also, I need your suggestions pretty quickly, since due to my usual forethought and planning, I didn't think of this until today. Thanks in advance for any help, and fie on you if there isn't any. That's all.

-- SJ

Nice and Easy

Last night I fixed a tasty little dinner of grilled cheese, soup and freshly sliced strawberries. (I'm proud of myself, can you tell?) At Nathan's request the grilled cheese had a twist to it: thinly sliced apples inside with the cheese. I was skeptical at first, but this variation is actually quite tasty.

Another easy meal I fix often is Pita Pizzas. I use whole wheat pitas for my crusts. Top with sauce, mozzarella and your choice of toppings, then bake at 425 until the cheese is melted and golden. Very quick, healthy meal with a salad and great cold for lunch the next day.

Any other suggestions out there for easy meals? Oh, and cheap ones, too. ;-)

Menu Planning

Tomato soup, grilled cheese, and brownie pudding... I think I've got a dinner all planned out for this week. :)

Do the rest of you all plan menus for the week or month? We did for a couple of months and really liked it, but it was more effort than I usually want to put into meals. I'm just curious as to how y'all handle things. I might get back into meal-planning again, especially as it's more efficient and economical.

-- SJ