Monday Motivation (Breakfast Mealplan)

  Breakfast is my motivation again this week.

Monday: We had donuts.  Not homemade. The store bought kind.  Of course there were no complaints only fights over how many each of them could eat.

Tuesday: Oatmeal
https://www.marthastewart.com/315903/strawberry-oatmeal-breakfast

Wednesday: Muffins
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6865/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/

Thursday: Crepes
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16383/basic-crepes/

Friday:  Fruit Smoothie and breakfast cookie
https://www.shelikesfood.com/healthy-baked-oatmeal-breakfast-cups-6-ways

  There we have it breakfast is the most important meal of the day!   I will have some happy people this week!

  Have a great week and don't forget to eat your breakfast!  What's your favorite breakfast?

Weekly Meal 9/11-9/15

  Taking it easy this week.  Minimal recipes to share with you and actually only one is new to me.  Cheating with some meatballs that I received as a gift but, that's OK too.

Monday:
Crock pot
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/2011/08/slow-cooker-bajio-chicken/

Tuesday:
Meatless
http://pinchofyum.com/garlic-butter-shrimp-quinoa

Wednesday:
Hotdogs, potato salad and baked beans

Thursday:
Spaghetti and meatballs (frozen from Omahasteaks.)

Friday:
Leftovers or everyone fend for themselves!

  Happy eating everyone.  As always feel free to share your favorite dish or what your eating this week!

Weekly menu 9/4-9/8

  As I made my menu this week I thought to myself what's my favorite food.  Can I eat that all week?  I mean beyond pizza.  Can I eat chicken everyday for a week even if I change the dish?  Meatless meal everyday?  No even with a different vegetable and starch, mushroom instead of pepperoni and meatless spaghetti and meatless chili I still like to taste something different the next day.

Monday
Chicken
http://chefsavvy.com/one-pan-italian-chicken-skillet/

Tuesday
Crockpot
https://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/crock-pot-cheeseburger-soup/

Wednesday
Vegetarian
https://yupitsvegan.com/one-pot-tandoori-quinoa/
(Diy Garam Masala spice)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/allrecipes.com/recipe/142967/easy-garam-masala/amp/

Thursday
Meatless
https://www.google.com/amp/s/allrecipes.com/recipe/82817/balsamic-glazed-salmon-fillets/amp/

Friday
Leftovers

  Two meatless, one crockpot with soup for a busy day and a carry over from last week.  I think I have made the soup recipe before but I don't know which recipe I used this recipe may or may not be new.  Otherwise all the other recipes are new for me! Is anyone eating out? What's your favorite meal?  Could you eat the same meal everyday?

Weekly menu 8/29-9/1

  This was last week's Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta meal.  It is well liked in my house but this time I changed a few things and it wasn't as appreciated.

  This week I'm so excited for my meals not because they are all new and offer a variety of different flavors but because I get Monday off and dinner out!

  I did receive some vegetable special pasta that I will be incorporating into my meals if not this week next week for sure! We shall see how the family reacts to that!

Tuesday
Meatless
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/creamy-caprese-quinoa-bake/

Wednesday
Sausage
https://www.macheesmo.com/easy-pesto-pasta-with-sausage/

Thursday
Chicken
http://chefsavvy.com/one-pan-italian-chicken-skillet/

Friday
Sloppy Joes
http://homecookingmemories.com/meatless-sloppy-joes/


  Well there you go! That's what's on my plate this week! Look forward to hearing what's being served in your home. Have a great week but don't go hungry!

Weekly Menu 8/21-8/24

  This shrimp plate was from a couple a weeks ago but, I may have to put it on the menu again soon.  Everyone liked it.

  This week I guess pasta is the word of the week.  Although one day I'm going to try to make the Zucchini pasta!  I did a run through of my pantry items think I have my ingredients organized for this week and next but, for some reason I'm second guessing myself so we shall see.  I'm not sure I'm feeling the days I have specified but that's ok. The menu is planned and I can switch the days around because the hard part is over.

Monday
Sausage and pasta
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cheesy-sausage-and-penne-casserole/cd8bd617-a2e6-489b-8794-b4a10292e8cc

Tuesday
Meatless
Zucchini pasta
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/29992/garlic-zucchini-pasta-recipe/

Wednesday
Chicken and pasta
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2014/04/fiesta-ranch-chicken-pasta-bake.html?m=1

Thursday
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a53698/shrimp-fried-rice-recipe/

  Happy eating everyone! My dinners are planned now off to plan something else!

  If you could have your favorite meal tonight what would it be? Or where would it be?

Weekly Menu 8/14-8/18

  Last week I made all my planned meals except for the vegetarian chili on Thursday.  I would normally carry over the meal into the next week but I'm missing a few important ingredients too so I'll put that back into the pile.

  This week I'm only making 3 meals because there are enough leftovers in the house to feed us for a couple days.

Monday 8/14
1 pot chili mac
http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/15/one-pot-chili-mac-cheese/

Tuesday 8/15
Meatless
http://www.marthastewart.com/313967/shrimp-with-couscous

Wednesday 8/16
Meatless
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9401/salmon-patties-i/

Thursday 8/17
Leftovers

Friday 8/18
Leftovers

  I'm looking forward to my short week.  Plus as long as we eat up the leftovers the weekly plan was a success.  If meals get thrown away because it's old or under appreciated it's definitely a sad waste.

  Any meal plans this week for you?  Any dinner out plans?

Meal plan 8/7-8/11

  It's that time again to organize what's for dinner!  I don't create recipes for me it's just easier to research recipes and raid the pantry.  Each week I try to make a meatless meal sometimes it turns into 2 days and that just a coincidence.  I might not even he 100% of the ingredients but I make the meal anyways.  A crockpot meal once a week is a nice break and of course so are leftovers!   Sliding in a new recipe is always fun to spice up the palette too!

8/7 Soup and leftover salad:
chicken-and-rice-soup.

8/8 Pasta:
tortellini-and-kielbasa.

8/9 Chicken:
Baked chicken with brown-sugar-barbecue-sauce.

8/10 Crockpot:
vegetarian-chili-with-sweet-potatoes.

8/11 Leftovers

There it is everyone! 2 days this week with chicken, 1 meatless and all new recipes! The slow cooker thrown in for convenience and soup also for an easy night! Happy eating! What's your dinner plans?

Meal plans 4/17-4/20

  This is a short week with a holiday being today.  I have tried to make my meals easy and less stressful.

  It so much easier to have a plan in place even if I don't label the days.  So this week my four meals will be randomly selected for the rest of the week.  Although it may only be 3 days as we still have leftovers from the weekend.

Chili this week will be my meatless meal:
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/10/chili-cornbread-skillet/

My chicken meal:
http://www.whatscookingintheburbs.com/2013/05/chicken-enchilada-skillet.html?m=1

Cheddar Bratwurst with homemade fries and veggies

Another meatless meal:
http://damndelicious.net/2016/05/23/garlic-butter-salmon-foil/

Happy eating everyone! What are you planning on eating this week?

Meal plan 11/21-11/24

  Thanksgiving is almost here.  All I have to do is just get to that day.  Then I am home free with leftovers for a few days; well depending on how much I make.  When you have a large family sometimes leftovers are hard to come by.

11/21 Breakfast in bed (mommas got a migraine)
Eggs and toast

11/22 chili and cornbread

Chili:http://wholesomemommy.com/meal-solution-6-chili-night/

Cornbread: http://wholesomemommy.com/beyond-beans-cornbread/

11/23 Chicken
https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/easy-chicken-and-pasta/

11/24 Thanksgiving Feast
Turkey dinner with all the fixings!

11/25 leftovers

#nablopomo

Weekly Menu 11/14-11/18

  A new week and some new recipes before we get creative with our Thanksgiving leftovers!

  This week I'm using the slow cooker, having fish one night and even sneaking in a breakfast for dinner.

11/14
Dinner out!

11/15
Meatless
http://damndelicious.net/2016/05/23/garlic-butter-salmon-foil/

11/16
Breakfast

11/17
Pork and Crockpot
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/crock-pot-pulled-pork-tacos-51262190


  That's what we are having for our dinners over here.  What's for dinner at your house?  Are you trying any new recipes?  Pulling out the slow cooker or skipping meat for a day?

#NaBloPoMo

5 Tips of how to meal plan

1.  Make a plan of how many meals you want to make.  I organize all my dinners.  Lunches are usually the same routine of sandwiches.  Breakfast varies from cereal, oatmeal to hot meals.  For dinner will there be the same weekly theme.

Monday: meatless
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: spaghetti
Thursday: breakfast
Friday: Take out, pizza or leftovers
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Sunday Dinner

Skip even labeling the days if that's too stressful and just organize 5 days of meals.

  2.  Stick with what you know.  You don't need to look up recipes.  Make hotdogs and a couple sides, pancakes or soup and sandwiches.

3.  Before you go shopping look in your fridge and pantry.  You don't need to clean it out but utilize what's in there.  How long has that can of ______ been in there?  Confession:  I have some old Hamburger Helpers in mine.

4. Grocery shop with a dollar limit.  Set the limit to $xxx for the month.  This amount is strictly for food only, not pet products or household.

5.  Don't wait for the day before the week begins.  You feel stressed out.  Whenever an idea pops into your head write it down for the following week.  1 day down and keep building on it.

  I find it easy to build around the main item.  I will say chicken is once a week, meatless once a week, salmon one day and soup.  I might not even assign a specific day for the meals.  With this concept then you can focus on a recipe or meal around the chicken.  For example bbq chicken or baked chicken. Soup would be cheeseburger or potato.

  I hope some of these tips alleviate some of the presumed stress when it comes to meal planning.

  I skipped this week but I'm not stressing as we will be ok and once and awhile it's nice to take a break.

#nablopomo

Weekly recap

The week started out with eagerness and excitement as it was Halloween.  On my hands I had a ninja and Moana (the Hawaiian Princess).  Guess you know movie we will be seeing at the end of the month.

  We visited a few trunk or treats.

 Then a fall festival.

I like attending the fall festivals.  The kids have so much fun with the games and bounce houses.  This one even had  petting farm and pony rides!

Enter my first trip to the corn maze.  Wow, how have I missed out on this?  I believe running atleast 2 miles chasing kids was the best cardio ever!

Little man worked on letter G throughout the week.

 He learned it was for garage and golf 


We took advantage of kids eat free on Halloween for dinner and our dinner winner of the week was breakfast for dinner.

        Corn Beef Hash Huevos Rancheros

  Made a blanket for children in hospice with the mops group I'm in.  Now is the time to help out where you can. It's not always about financial donations. Think of what else you can do?

My book club met at a cute tea shop to go over last month's book.  I think this was my second favorite of the week.

My kids on the other hand despite of the candy may think that catching a movie was the best!

   I don't anticipate the upcoming week to be as busy and that is ok by me.  Sometimes it's nice to stay home and put your feet up.

How was your week?  Did you get out to catch a movie? Or dinner out?  Do you still have candy?  We do because I hide it and eventually the inquiry for candy stops coming.

#NaBloPoMo

Mealplan 10/31-11/3

It's a new week and time to eat!  Last week our favorite meal was

 Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta.

I have two days this week that I would like to specifically plan around.  Halloween I want something quick and easy to get our dinner done so we can get out and about and Wednesday as well.

I did miss last week's Thursday meal as Chinese take out replaced that meal so that will be carried over as well. 

10/31  Sausage 

Spaghetti 

11/1 Chicken

http://bowl-me-over.com/chicken-fried-rice/

11/2 Breakfast

http://goldilockskitchen.com/2016/08/corned-beef-hash-huevos-rancheros.html?pp=0

11/3  Crockpot 

http://eatathomecooks.com/2012/03/slow-cooked-brown-sugar-chicken-and-sweet-potatoes-4-ingredients/?m

Two new recipes, and 1 crockpot meal.  You can never go wrong with a crockpot meal!  What at your dinner plans for the week?

5 Reasons to Meal Plan

  There are multiple reasons to meal plan.  It does require some organization but your in charge of that.  Whether you want to have a specific theme every Tuesday (Taco Tuesday) or every week you will have a meatless meal.

  Your plan is catered to your needs.  First look at the week ahead.  Do you have any late appointments and if so planning for something quick those nights will help. Frozen pizza or breakfast for dinner work just fine.

1.  It will save you money.  If you have that willpower to drive past that fast food restaurant at 530.

2.  It's healthier for you.   I can agree with this partially because it depends on what you make.  To me a Chipotle salad rates pretty high in the healthy department. Brown Sugar Pork Chops not so much.

3.  You have time.  It doesn't take hours if you don't want it too.  You can cook what you know and what you always do.  I like to torture myself with new recipes.

4.  You feel lifted as the stress of "What's for dinner?", is taken care of. When you get up to start your day you already have a plan for dinner time in the evening.  All day you can relax because you already know what dinner is going to be.  You have the food organized, defrosting or cooking in the crockpot.  You are as good as done with dinner.

5.  Learning is fun!  The more cooking you do; the more home cooking you do you learn different recipes, styles and techniques.  I have learned new chopping features on my food processor.  Tried Gnocchi (and love it)!  I have even almost perfected my roux skills!

  These are only a few reasons.  I am sure there are more reasons of why to meal plan but let's stick with the basics.  What intimidates you about meal plans?

Meal plan 10/24-10/28

  As I go into another week I can't help but be excited as to all the food that I have cooked at home, the successful new recipes, and that my month is almost over and it's time to go shopping!

  Last week we did eat out for dinner so I picked which meal I was keeping and moved one meal to this week.  It works out as I had two pasta nights and that move made one pasta night for each week.

10/24 chicken
 http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2014/04/fiesta-ranch-chicken-pasta-bake.html?m=1

10/25 meatless
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/vegetables/black-bean-chipotle-burgerx/

10/26 Breakfast
http://damndelicious.net/2013/06/12/breakfast

10/27
http://goldilockskitchen.com/2016/08/corned-beef-hash-huevos-rancheros.html?pp=0

10/29 Leftovers

There you have it! Atleast 2 of these meals are new to us so we shall see how that goes too!  That's what we are eating in my house; what's for dinner in yours?

Meal Plan 10/17-10/21

  Even if you are not following my weekly meal plans do you have your own plan?  How do you decide?  I know some people have a specific day they have a certain meal (taco Tuesday)  Some people plan their meals based on the sales circulars.  Do you continue to make the same meals?  How often do you challenge yourself to a new recipe?

  I look on the Internet for most of my meals.  Sometimes I go to a specialty page and scan for a recipe other times I just make a generic search for porkchops recipes.  I do however shop before I pick my menu.

  My small list of regular necessities are dairy items, cereal, fruit, meat/fish, pasta, beans and veggies.  After that I let loose in the store and grab whatever to create.  I usually shop for the month.

10/17 pasta
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/52130/cheesy-pasta-alfredo-with-salmon/

Sauce
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/214183/quick-alfredo-sauce/

10/18 Meatless
http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/zucchini-burgers/

10/19  Chicken
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2014/04/fiesta-ranch-chicken-pasta-bake.html?m=1

10/20 Ground meat (this for me is usually turkey)
http://www.food.com/recipe/yes-virginia-there-is-a-great-meatloaf-54257?nl

10/21 Leftovers

  What are your plans for the week?  I'm hungry just thinking about it.

Weekly Recap 10/9

  Well I'm grateful the week ended better then it began.  A week ago hurricane Matthew was head up the coast, and then he wasn't.  We received a ton of rain and lost power.  Thankfully we had a birthday to celebrate which gave us more of an excuse to use candles.

  I was able to finish one book, complete my new book club book and start on a new one!

   

The weekly menu was a success with 1 new recipe.

Spinach Ricotta Rotolo

School for little man was hit and miss this week due to errands and appointments on multiple days.  So I will pick that back up next week.

2 crafts in one week compliments of the Dollar Store.

Completed the week with a movie!

I am grateful for having found time for myself as well as trying new things.  I look forward to what is in store for me next week because you know even when you plan, something unexpected always happens.

Meal Plan 10/10-10/14

             (Last weeks porkchops dinner)

  Last week went well!  A couple days had meals skipped by various people in my house so leftovers went further then just Friday!   This week just like any other week I try to challenge myself with new recipes or a new meal.  New meal being I have made this meal before but not this way.  You can make spaghetti a variety of ways and it's still spaghetti!

  I started this week off with a meal I love.  I don't know if it's all the sugar and soda combination and the ease of a crock pot meal but, I really like this meal! This is definitely saved as well as a few more recipes by them!


10/10 Crockpot with Chicken
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/08/slow-cooker-bajio-chicken.html

10/11 Soup (meatless)
http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/cheddar-potato-soup/

10/12 Pasta (meatless)
http://www.recipetineats.com/baked-spinach-ricotta-rotolo/

10/13 Vegetarian Meal
 http://www.marthastewart.com/900261/quick-veggie-fajitas

10/14 Leftovers


That's my plan for the week!  Do you think anyone will notice I have managed to skip meat most of the week?

Happy Eating!!

Meal Plan 10/3-10/7

  Another week means another plan.  Last week went really well with an exception that I had leftovers for two days versus one.  So on Thursday and Friday we had leftovers.  Nothing wrong with that.  Tonight we used the chicken that I had pulled out for the Chicken Lazone meal on Friday to cook that meal.

  It was good nonetheless and because I didn't have to think about what to make or thaw the meat out the dinner was easy to pull together in less then an hour and everyone was satisfied with the meal.

  I did manage to pick up groceries last week to the tune of just under $200 and will make the rest of the meals for the month of October.  We will need to go back to the store for milk as I don't have room to keep gallons of it in my fridge for weeks at a time.  Other than that though we will survive and I will use up all the produce I bought instead of throw it away due to letting it get rotten. (that's more for of a goal for me)

10/3 Kielbasa
http://damndelicious.net/2014/07/12/parmesan-zucchini-corn/

10/4 BBQ Porkchops in the crockpot w/ mac & cheese
http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/brown-sugar-barbecue-sauce/

10/5  Breakfast for dinner!

10/6 Chicken
http://chelseadamon.com/easy-delicious-weeknight-baked-chicken-dinner/

10/7 Leftovers


  Wish me luck.  Using up some fresh zucchini this week, making my own bbq sauce for the porkchops and will make something special for that breakfast for dinner.  Monday and Thursday recipes are new to me so we will see how they taste!

Weekly Menu

  So last week was all over the place.  We ate at home we ate out, I might have even missed a meal.  Throw in a day of leftovers and that pretty much took care of my week.  So let's try again.

This week we are going meatless with an exception of salmon tonight!  Couple meals are from allrecipes.  I love that site but I do try and surf the net for different recipes.

Tonight's meal was salmon patties with and side of spinach.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/81506/yummy-lemon-salmon-burgers/

Pasta:
http://wholesomemommy.com/category/wholesome-recipes/main-dishes/meatless-main-dishes/

Soup:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2015/09/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup.html

Meatless:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13941/zucchini-patties/

Meatless:
http://www.health.com/health/m/recipe/0,,10000001173704,00.html