Menu Plans

Well then, I’ve been MIA around here for quite a long time. My last real post was at Thanksgiving and then just the other day I posted a new recipe. Other than that, Oops! At the request of my good friend Ericka, I’m going to start putting my menu plans up here again. I’d love to blame my absence on the pregnancy (because it’s just so easy to do that!) but it’s not true. Actually, for the first trimester I was pretty miserable. Lost about ten pounds due to terrible morning sickness to a degree that I’ve never experienced before and then had to battle anemia for a while because I couldn’t keep enough food in me to hold my iron level where it was supposed to be. Anyhow, things have been great throughout the second trimester and I just didn’t think much about blogging because we were finally enjoying home life again and doing family stuff. So, here is my plan for this week… Wednesday, February 15: Lunch — Jesse and I were shopping at the commissary this morning and went to lunch with my friend Hiedi and her daughter Raquel at Which Wich after. Yum! Dinner —...

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Well, how aggravating… This past week I only made a couple of the items from my menu plan. We ate just fine, I just relied on easy quick meals instead of the yummy things I had wanted to do. This week I went a little easier on myself and picked just a handful of new things and mixed in some old favorites. It always works better when I do it this way. Monday, September 12: Breakfast — cinnamon rolls (yes, the rolls that are supposed to be The Best Ever, we’ll just have to see about that.) Lunch — snacks Dinner — Chicken & Noodles with cheddar biscuits Dessert — Strawberry Shortcake Tuesday, September 13: Lunch — tuna sandwiches Dinner — Cran-Grape Meatballs, mashed potatoes, and sweet corn Wednesday, September 14: Lunch — hunt for leftovers Dinner — Thai Chicken and white rice Thursday, September 15: Lunch — Deep Dish Pizza Dinner — a nice big chef salad (and maybe some breadsticks with any leftover pizza dough) Friday, September 16: Lunch — Beef & Noodles with carrots Dinner — Summer Pasta Saturday, September 17: Lunch — chicken fried rice Dinner — One-Pot Pasta Sunday, September 18: Breakfast — Oatmeal...

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The boys and I had a really great weekend with Jason. He came home from Pensacola where he’d been for a week at school. We missed him! Nothing huge happened, we just spent the weekend puttering around the new house getting some things done like spending some money at Lowes for move-in type stuff, finishing the kitchen baby-proofing, watching movies as a family, and stuff like that. Oh, and lots of swimming. I missed Menu Plan Monday, but I hardly ever remember to link-up anyway. So, you get my simple menu on a Tuesday. I’m taking it really easy on myself this week. I only got barely two hours of sleep in the wee hours of this morning and I’m running on fumes already at 9 am. Monday, August 1: Lunch — Chicken Fried Rice Dinner — PB&J sandwiches with potato chips (I let Jeremy choose our dinner since I didn’t feel like cooking). Tuesday, August 2: Lunch — Hot dogs and apple slices Dinner — Fend for Yourself! The boys and I will be babysitting/playing with our good friend Michaela for a little while this afternoon and will stop by somewhere on the way home to get dinner....

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We’ve had a busy couple of weeks and I don’t see that ending any time soon. Since mid-July we’ve been preparing to move, packing, moving, unpacking, cleaning, and all the while continuing with daily life and our normal activities. Luckily, Jason took a week off of work to make the moving process a little easier, but we’re still pooped out. Then, last night he left for Pensacola to spend a few weeks at the Navy base learning composite work. Luckily, Pensacola is less than 2 hours from Mobile so while it’s too far to do a daily commute, he’ll be able to come home for weekends and we’ll go visit him for a weekend as well. I’ve got errands and plans taking me out of the house every day this week, so our meals will be super simple. Tuesday, July 26: Playgroup at our house! We had a fun pool party and quality time with many of our friends in our brand new play room. I really love having the space to have company over. Lunch — Peanut butter and Ritz cracker sandwiches, apple slices. Dinner — Spaghetti Wednesday, July 27: Swim lessons from 9:45-10:30 then taking the boys...

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I’ve decided to start showing a bit more of my menu planning process… my “Food Chores”. A few days ago my friend Kristen asked for some menu planning tips. My response was: “The number one thing that helps me is regularly bookmarking favorite recipes that I find online or keeping a list of recipes from cook books that I can reference easily without flipping through hundreds of pages. Also, planning my menu with my family’s calendar nearby so I can know whether to plan quick meals for a busy day or if I’ll have more time for a complex meal. I also write in “food chores” on my menu plan. I look at the upcoming days and figure out if I’ll need to do some food prep ahead of time, then I write that food chore on the previous day’s spot to remind me. A while ago I realized that the main reason that I ever skipped a planned meal and went with a frozen or take-out option was because I didn’t have enough time to make the planned meal. The food chores on the previous day have helped tremendously. Even if it’s only getting veggies chopped the day...

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I’ve been having a good time in my kitchen lately trying out and perfecting new recipes as well as enjoying some side dishes that I’d forgotten about. I love spending time preparing good meals for my family. I hardly ever get out of my kitchen, but that’s okay with me!   Monday, June 27: Lunch — Chili-Lime Skillet Chicken (yum! I’ll get that recipe up first thing tomorrow), lemon parmesan pasta, and carrots. Dinner — Tacos, rice, and warm apples.   Tuesday, June 28: Happy 2-year anniversary honey! Lunch — Tuna sandwiches, carrot sticks & ranch dip Dinner — Instead of going on a date, we’ll be celebrating at home this time with the rest of the family. Working together, we’ll make a meal that we would have purchased at a restaurant. Grilled steak, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, butterflake dinner rolls, and chocolate cherry cobbler.   Wednesday, June 29: Lunch — Chicken Pot Pie Soup Dinner — Penne with red sauce   Thursday, June 30: Lunch — Grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices Dinner — Orange chicken and fried rice   Friday, July 1: Lunch — Loaded Baked Potato Soup Dinner — Mongolian Beef (look for this...

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The weather is HOT HOT HOT here in southern Alabama (and pretty much everywhere else). As much as Mama would love a loaded chef’s salad every day til winter, we play hard in the heat and like to have a warm hearty meal on the table at least once a day. Heating up the oven sounds like an awful idea, so I’m going to cook smart by utilizing my crock pots as much as possible and try to make some dishes the evening before so I can heat them up in my big toaster oven later on. Monday, June 20: Lunch — Leftover Pizza Skins (yum!) Dinner — Smoked sausage & fried potatoes with fresh pineapple Tuesday, June 21: Lunch — Tuna salad sandwiches with carrot sticks and ranch dip Dinner — Chili Lime Chicken (testing out a new recipe before I post it here), rice, corn, and lemon bars Wednesday, June 22: Lunch — Hamburger steak, cheesy potato casserole, and carrots Dinner — Chicken noodle soup and corn muffins Thursday, June 23: Lunch — sack lunches at the splash pad Dinner — Spaghetti with meatless red sauce Friday, June 24: Lunch — Macaroni & cheese, ants on a...

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I’ve been having a hard time planning our menus lately. The summer heat has been killing our appetites and my previous menus have been getting only half eaten. So I’ve been planning ahead just 2-3 days and haven’t posted about it. It’s been working just fine, but with our schedules about to pick up soon I decided to go ahead and plan out the rest of the week with some tasty meals. Wednesday, June 15: Lunch — Simple quesadillas. I need to make some homemade cream of chicken soup this afternoon to use in two different recipes that I have planned for later in the week. I’ve been wanting to try this homemade version, hoping it will be just as good so I won’t have to buy the pricey little cans anymore! Dinner — Jeremy’s favorite: Hot dogs on the grill, ranch potatoes, and corn on the cob. Afterward Jeremy’s going to help me make strawberry shortcake for dessert! Thursday, June 16: Lunch — Pizza Skins. I’ve been wanting for a while to recreate my favorite appetizer/meal from Uno’s Pizzeria. I’m looking forward to it! Look for the recipe later this week. Dinner — BBQ at my friend Karen’s...

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Last night Jesse and I got home from visiting Jeremy in California. All I can say right now is that I am SO glad to be home. I missed everything from my little big family to my own bed and especially my kitchen. Now after a good night’s sleep and a calm morning I’m back to menu planning and spending half my days in the kitchen. Wednesday, May 18: Lunch — Loaded nachos (tortilla chips, shredded cheese, prepared taco meat, chopped onion, salsa, and sour cream). Dinner — One of Jason’s favorite simple meals: Lemon Pepper Chicken, baked potatoes, carrots, and cinnamon apples. Thursday, May 19: Lunch — Tuna salad sandwiches with chips and ranch dip. Dinner — Broccoli Beef Stir Fry with white rice and sauteed julienne carrots. Friday, May 20: Lunch — Macaroni & cheese with hot dogs. Dinner — Chicken Francese with Bacon (no capers), lemon infused potatoes, and peas. Saturday, May 21: Day 1 of my motorcycle rider’s safety course. I passed the DMV written test so I have my license and Jason taught me the basics, but I’ll be taking the course before I allow myself out on the road. Lunch — Whatever the...

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