So I just went to make up my shopping list for the next two weeks and noticed that I only had two days of meals planned because...March is over! Amazingly enough, the end of each month continues to surprise me. You'd think that I would realize that day 28 is rather close to day 30 but somehow my brain breezes over that fact.
Before I could make my grocery list I had to make a month of menus. Kim commented to me that this is a good idea but she doesn't think she can do it. Well, I didn't feel like sitting down and thinking of original things to make so I copied January's list, pasted it under April, took out the meals I didn't want to make and had to think up like only 7 or so different meals for the whole month. I mostly took out oven meals because I don't think we'll be wanting to use our oven very often once the hot weather takes over.
So, Kim, if you want your month of meals planned, just look at the past menus and steal a complete month's worth of menus--no thinking involved! Steal away, steal away.
Here's April for you:
Sundays--Sunday Dinner
6: Breakfast for dinner
13: Egg Salad Sandwiches
20: French Toast
27: Mashed potatoes
Mondays--Mexican Night
7: Burritos
14: Taco Salad
21: Chicken Fajitas
28: Quesadillas
Tuesdays --Make your own/Leftovers
MYOLO
Wednesdays--Rice and other
2: Spanish Rice
9: Sweet & Sour
16: Pork 'n' beans 'n' hot dogs
23: Stroganoff
30: Meatballs
Thursdays--Pasta night
3: Alfredo
10: Pesto
17: Pasta Salad
24: Just noticed I put down pasta salad again so this will be a mystery spaghetti day
Fridays--Pizza night
Pizza
Saturdays--Other
5: Gravy and Fries or Hashbrowns--whatever's in the freezer
12: Pineapple Chili
19: Sub Sandwiches
26: Chili
Showing posts with label menus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menus. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
March Menu Maddness
This year seems to be going by way too fast. I think watching Rachel grow up makes time seem to slip by because she's so different everyday. Anyway, here's what we'll be eating for this month...
1--Out to dinner at an authentic Italian Restaurant. Half homework, half date.
2--Gravy and Fries. We'd go for full-out poutine but cheese curds make me gag.
3--Taco Salad. So yummy.
4--MYLO
5--Scalloped potatoes. We've had potatoes sitting in our fridge since before Rachel was born. Those ones are fine. The ones in our cupboard are simply ready to be planted. Anyone want a bag of half-grown potatoes?
6--Pestoey goodness.
7--Pizza
8--Tomato Soup with goldfish crackers. Or oyster crackers. We have both.
9--Meatloaf. If Andrew feels like making it. I hate making meatloaf. Or meatballs. Or anything that deals with raw, bloody meat. He always wants it on the menu, so it's there, but he's only made it once so far. We didn't end up eating it last month.
10--Chili
11--MYLO
12--BBQ Chicken. We didn't have this last month, either. I forgot to buy chicken. We have chicken now.
13--Pasta Salad
14--Pizza
15--Fake Rice-o-roni stuff
16--Twice baked potatoes
17--Green Eggs and Pancakes. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
18--MYOLO
19--Kosheri
20--Lasagna
21--Pizza
22--Omelettes
23--Easter. We'll probably end up having dinner at one of our parents' houses. If not, we'll eat one of the meals that we'll inevitably skip.
24--Enchiladas
25--MYOLO
26--Stir fry
27--Homemade (Andrew put this on the calendar) Mac'n'[formaddÊ’o]. My husband is a nerdy-nerd. I am a nerd, but he is a nerdy-nerd.
28--Pizza
29--Toast Francois. (Again...courtesy of my nerdy-nerd husband, whom I love dearly).
30--Hamburgers and Hot Dogs :). Okay, so we got in a bit of a skiff about this one. I told Andrew he could choose one or the other because we are only two people and I'm not going to make hamburgers and hot dogs for just two people. He said that his family does it on their BBQ all the time, that it's really easy. I countered that we don't have a BBQ and we can't afford pre-made patties, so it really isn't that easy. He chose just hot dogs. So I wrote hot dogs on the schedule and then the second after I did that he went into the Wiki and changed it back to hamburgers and hot dogs with a big smiley face. Looks like he'll be helping with dinner that night! :)
31--Black bean tortilla casserole
And there you have it. Now that I'm getting pretty good at these menu things, I'm kind of nervous when I contemplate moving back to the Middle East. I don't know if I'll have an oven that works. Or if all my stove burners will work. Or what ingredients we'll be able to afford. Or how big our fridge will be. Or if we'll have more than two cupboards. Hmmm...I'll have to figure out a whole new system.
1--Out to dinner at an authentic Italian Restaurant. Half homework, half date.
2--Gravy and Fries. We'd go for full-out poutine but cheese curds make me gag.
3--Taco Salad. So yummy.
4--MYLO
5--Scalloped potatoes. We've had potatoes sitting in our fridge since before Rachel was born. Those ones are fine. The ones in our cupboard are simply ready to be planted. Anyone want a bag of half-grown potatoes?
6--Pestoey goodness.
7--Pizza
8--Tomato Soup with goldfish crackers. Or oyster crackers. We have both.
9--Meatloaf. If Andrew feels like making it. I hate making meatloaf. Or meatballs. Or anything that deals with raw, bloody meat. He always wants it on the menu, so it's there, but he's only made it once so far. We didn't end up eating it last month.
10--Chili
11--MYLO
12--BBQ Chicken. We didn't have this last month, either. I forgot to buy chicken. We have chicken now.
13--Pasta Salad
14--Pizza
15--Fake Rice-o-roni stuff
16--Twice baked potatoes
17--Green Eggs and Pancakes. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
18--MYOLO
19--Kosheri
20--Lasagna
21--Pizza
22--Omelettes
23--Easter. We'll probably end up having dinner at one of our parents' houses. If not, we'll eat one of the meals that we'll inevitably skip.
24--Enchiladas
25--MYOLO
26--Stir fry
27--Homemade (Andrew put this on the calendar) Mac'n'[formaddÊ’o]. My husband is a nerdy-nerd. I am a nerd, but he is a nerdy-nerd.
28--Pizza
29--Toast Francois. (Again...courtesy of my nerdy-nerd husband, whom I love dearly).
30--Hamburgers and Hot Dogs :). Okay, so we got in a bit of a skiff about this one. I told Andrew he could choose one or the other because we are only two people and I'm not going to make hamburgers and hot dogs for just two people. He said that his family does it on their BBQ all the time, that it's really easy. I countered that we don't have a BBQ and we can't afford pre-made patties, so it really isn't that easy. He chose just hot dogs. So I wrote hot dogs on the schedule and then the second after I did that he went into the Wiki and changed it back to hamburgers and hot dogs with a big smiley face. Looks like he'll be helping with dinner that night! :)
31--Black bean tortilla casserole
And there you have it. Now that I'm getting pretty good at these menu things, I'm kind of nervous when I contemplate moving back to the Middle East. I don't know if I'll have an oven that works. Or if all my stove burners will work. Or what ingredients we'll be able to afford. Or how big our fridge will be. Or if we'll have more than two cupboards. Hmmm...I'll have to figure out a whole new system.
What's for Dinner? I'll tell ya. . .
I'm in the process of revamping our meals. We were doing really good for a few months, and then I had Katryn and it all went down hill. I'm trying to get us back onto a good rotation. I don't like planning the whole month, so I do 2 weeks at a time--payday to payday.
What I'm doing now is picking 50 meals. Mostly meals we eat regularly, about 5 I want to try, and about 5 that are just "something easy". I complied the list, and then I went and compiled all the recipes and printed them all off and I'll put them in a folder in the kitchen. After that, I took slips of paper and wrote the numbers 1-50 on them and put them in a cup. Last night I had Matt draw out 10 slips and those will be our meals for the next 2 weeks (after payday next friday, since we're in between right now). so here we go!!
Sat 1-grilled cheese or quesadillas--matt's working late
Sun 2-Twice baked potatoes
Mon 3-frozen pizza
Tues 4-funeral potatoes
Wed 5-pasta
Thurs 6-frozen pizza
Fri 7-mac and cheese
(you can tell the above week is waiting till pay day comes!)
Sat 8-egg and salsa sandwiches
Sun 9-katryn's blessing--wraps
Mon 10-leftovers
Tues 11-spaghetti
Wed 12-baked rigatoni
Thurs 13-cheesy ziti
Fri 14-boneless buttermilk fried chicken
Sat 15-leftovers
Sun 16-chicken in pan sauce
Mon 17-ravioli bake
Tues 18-stroganoff
Wed 19-something easy
Thurs 20-something easy
Fri 21-leftovers
we're only picking 5 meals a week since there's only 2 of us, we tend to have lots of leftovers. Not that I'm complaining! it makes lunchtime the next day a lot easier for me!
here's a recipe I'm anxious to try:
Ravioli bake:
1 jar tomato pasta sauce
1 package (about 25oz) frozen cheese filled ravioli
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
heat oven to 350deg. spray bottom and sides of 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce in the pan. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over sauce; top with half the remaing pasta sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with parm cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. remove foil and bake uncovered 15-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
I'm anxious to see what else everyone else has! I'm always looking for new recipes!
Happy eating in March!
What I'm doing now is picking 50 meals. Mostly meals we eat regularly, about 5 I want to try, and about 5 that are just "something easy". I complied the list, and then I went and compiled all the recipes and printed them all off and I'll put them in a folder in the kitchen. After that, I took slips of paper and wrote the numbers 1-50 on them and put them in a cup. Last night I had Matt draw out 10 slips and those will be our meals for the next 2 weeks (after payday next friday, since we're in between right now). so here we go!!
Sat 1-grilled cheese or quesadillas--matt's working late
Sun 2-Twice baked potatoes
Mon 3-frozen pizza
Tues 4-funeral potatoes
Wed 5-pasta
Thurs 6-frozen pizza
Fri 7-mac and cheese
(you can tell the above week is waiting till pay day comes!)
Sat 8-egg and salsa sandwiches
Sun 9-katryn's blessing--wraps
Mon 10-leftovers
Tues 11-spaghetti
Wed 12-baked rigatoni
Thurs 13-cheesy ziti
Fri 14-boneless buttermilk fried chicken
Sat 15-leftovers
Sun 16-chicken in pan sauce
Mon 17-ravioli bake
Tues 18-stroganoff
Wed 19-something easy
Thurs 20-something easy
Fri 21-leftovers
we're only picking 5 meals a week since there's only 2 of us, we tend to have lots of leftovers. Not that I'm complaining! it makes lunchtime the next day a lot easier for me!
here's a recipe I'm anxious to try:
Ravioli bake:
1 jar tomato pasta sauce
1 package (about 25oz) frozen cheese filled ravioli
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
heat oven to 350deg. spray bottom and sides of 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce in the pan. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over sauce; top with half the remaing pasta sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with parm cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. remove foil and bake uncovered 15-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
I'm anxious to see what else everyone else has! I'm always looking for new recipes!
Happy eating in March!
Montly Meal Time Again...
March first already (how on Earth did that happen?!?). Here's what the Thornock's are having for dinner this month.
1 - Sauteed Sandwiches
2 - Louisana Red Beans and Rice (never actually manged it last month...)
3 - Chicken Enchiladas
4 - Ginger Beef Stir Fry
5 - Chicken Creole (again, didn't make it... ran out of my ingredients)
6 - Lasagna
7 - Pita Pizzas
8 - Left Overs
9 - Orange Thyme Chicken
10 - Tacos
11 - Pork Chops
12 - Oven BBQ Chicken
13 - Haystacks
14 - Frozen Pizza
15 - Burgers and Fries
16 - Chili
17 - Fajitas
18 - Porcupine Meatballs
19 - Pork & Pineapple Veggies (Brian loves this)
20 - Spaghetti
21 - Papa Murphey's Pizza
22 - Chicken Tortilla Soup
23 - Salsa Chicken
24 - Mormon Mommy Casserole
25 - Chicken Pockets
26 - Parmesan Chicken
27 - Steak
28 - Yummy homemade pizza
29 - Left overs
30 - not quite sure yet...
31 - Nachos
On a side note... Brian and I are in the process of reviewing our monthly budget. We signed up for the MoneyWise Workshop that the Marriot School puts on periodically (for free at that) thats all about managing money in your marriage. We currently save money every month, but we're trying to find ways that we can cut back a little and save a little more. Monday night we'll spend out FHE looking at some charts from our February spending (we use Microsoft Money to track budget and spending). Our goals are two fold: #1 - we're going to Europe this summer and we want to have enough money to spend some time playing in Paris and London (we'll be living in Berlin for 2 months). We've been fortunate enough to save enough for our plane tickets already, so now we're just working on some fun money. #2 - we'd like to be able to save for closing costs on a house and hopefully some for a down payment too. We're hoping to get into a house of our own before 2009 is over. With those being the goals, we're hoping to cut our grocery budget by about $25 each month... any great money saving food ideas? =)
1 - Sauteed Sandwiches
2 - Louisana Red Beans and Rice (never actually manged it last month...)
3 - Chicken Enchiladas
4 - Ginger Beef Stir Fry
5 - Chicken Creole (again, didn't make it... ran out of my ingredients)
6 - Lasagna
7 - Pita Pizzas
8 - Left Overs
9 - Orange Thyme Chicken
10 - Tacos
11 - Pork Chops
12 - Oven BBQ Chicken
13 - Haystacks
14 - Frozen Pizza
15 - Burgers and Fries
16 - Chili
17 - Fajitas
18 - Porcupine Meatballs
19 - Pork & Pineapple Veggies (Brian loves this)
20 - Spaghetti
21 - Papa Murphey's Pizza
22 - Chicken Tortilla Soup
23 - Salsa Chicken
24 - Mormon Mommy Casserole
25 - Chicken Pockets
26 - Parmesan Chicken
27 - Steak
28 - Yummy homemade pizza
29 - Left overs
30 - not quite sure yet...
31 - Nachos
On a side note... Brian and I are in the process of reviewing our monthly budget. We signed up for the MoneyWise Workshop that the Marriot School puts on periodically (for free at that) thats all about managing money in your marriage. We currently save money every month, but we're trying to find ways that we can cut back a little and save a little more. Monday night we'll spend out FHE looking at some charts from our February spending (we use Microsoft Money to track budget and spending). Our goals are two fold: #1 - we're going to Europe this summer and we want to have enough money to spend some time playing in Paris and London (we'll be living in Berlin for 2 months). We've been fortunate enough to save enough for our plane tickets already, so now we're just working on some fun money. #2 - we'd like to be able to save for closing costs on a house and hopefully some for a down payment too. We're hoping to get into a house of our own before 2009 is over. With those being the goals, we're hoping to cut our grocery budget by about $25 each month... any great money saving food ideas? =)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
What the Buchanan's are Eating this month
It took me awhile to figure out what to plan for meals this month. I sat in front of my food shelves in the garage and tried to come up with meals that I already had things for so I could stick to my food budget better. Here is our menu for the month
Sundays
3 - Superbowl Party at friends house
10 - Sweet & Sour Crockpot Chicken with Rice
17 - Swiss Steak
24 - Chicken a la Orange with Rice
Mondays
4 - Steak & Onions
11 - Leftovers
18 - Potato Casserole
25 - Leftovers
Tuesdays
5 - Spaghetti
12 - Manicotti
19 - Fetticini
26 - Spaghetti again
Wednesdays
6 - Enchiladas
13 - Leftovers
20 - Quesadillas
27 - Tacos
Thursdays
7 - Eggs & Hashbrowns
14 - French Toast
21 - Pancakes
28 - Make-up Day
Fridays
8 - Subs
15 - Sloppy Joes
22 - Chef Salad
29 - Subs
Saturdays
2 - Used a Christmas Gift and got take out from Applebee's
9 - Celebrating Valentine's Day early and eating at the Melting Pot
16 - Pizza
23 - Pizza
I hope this menu works and if all goes well I really won't have to buy a whole lot of groceries because I pretty much have everything already.
Some of you have wrote about making your meat stretch buy having vegetarian meals. I have such a hard time with doing that because I don't like most of vegetables, so most of our meals have meat in them. Since I have a huge deep freezer in my garage I have the space to stock up on meats and I try to do that when a store is having a good deal on chicken or beef.
I like reading everyone suggestions on keeping to food budget. Thanks to all gave ideas!!!!
Sundays
3 - Superbowl Party at friends house
10 - Sweet & Sour Crockpot Chicken with Rice
17 - Swiss Steak
24 - Chicken a la Orange with Rice
Mondays
4 - Steak & Onions
11 - Leftovers
18 - Potato Casserole
25 - Leftovers
Tuesdays
5 - Spaghetti
12 - Manicotti
19 - Fetticini
26 - Spaghetti again
Wednesdays
6 - Enchiladas
13 - Leftovers
20 - Quesadillas
27 - Tacos
Thursdays
7 - Eggs & Hashbrowns
14 - French Toast
21 - Pancakes
28 - Make-up Day
Fridays
8 - Subs
15 - Sloppy Joes
22 - Chef Salad
29 - Subs
Saturdays
2 - Used a Christmas Gift and got take out from Applebee's
9 - Celebrating Valentine's Day early and eating at the Melting Pot
16 - Pizza
23 - Pizza
I hope this menu works and if all goes well I really won't have to buy a whole lot of groceries because I pretty much have everything already.
Some of you have wrote about making your meat stretch buy having vegetarian meals. I have such a hard time with doing that because I don't like most of vegetables, so most of our meals have meat in them. Since I have a huge deep freezer in my garage I have the space to stock up on meats and I try to do that when a store is having a good deal on chicken or beef.
I like reading everyone suggestions on keeping to food budget. Thanks to all gave ideas!!!!
An Introduction and Dinner with the Thornock's
Hi all! I'm Rosie... Bonnie and I know each other (she served in my home ward!). I love reading the posts here, so Nancy added me as a contributor. I love reading here, and I'm excited to contribute.
Anyway, reading here I "stole" the idea of monthly meal plans... before trying it I'd seriously gotten out of the habit of making dinner and into the habit of eating out. Not so good the the budget! Anyway, we tried it last month and it worked well, so here's what the Thornock's will be eating during the month of February.
1 - Leftovers
2 - Ginger Beef Stir Fry
3 - BBQ Pork Ribs (my friend April's recipe!)
4 - Mormon Mommy Casserole
5 - Wontons
6 - Haystacks
7 - Oven BBQ Chicken
8 - Pizza
9 - Taco Bean Soup & Quesodillas
10 - Chili
11 - Enchiladas
12 - Pork & Pineapple Veggies
13 - Parmesan Chicken
14 - Fondue (Valentines Fun!)
15 - Pizza
16 - Honey Lime Chicken Sandwiches
17 - Crock Pot Roast
18 - Tacos
19 - Chicken & Rice
20 - Lasagne
21 - Chicken Pockets
22 - Pizza
23 - Purgers and Fries
24 - Beef Stew
25 - Burritos
26 - Chicken Creole (my grandma's recipe)
27 - Eat out
28 - Lousiana Red Beans and Rice (Brian's choice)
29 - Pizza
Hopefully this month we'll be able to stick to both our eating out budget AND our grocery budget! =)
Anyway, reading here I "stole" the idea of monthly meal plans... before trying it I'd seriously gotten out of the habit of making dinner and into the habit of eating out. Not so good the the budget! Anyway, we tried it last month and it worked well, so here's what the Thornock's will be eating during the month of February.
1 - Leftovers
2 - Ginger Beef Stir Fry
3 - BBQ Pork Ribs (my friend April's recipe!)
4 - Mormon Mommy Casserole
5 - Wontons
6 - Haystacks
7 - Oven BBQ Chicken
8 - Pizza
9 - Taco Bean Soup & Quesodillas
10 - Chili
11 - Enchiladas
12 - Pork & Pineapple Veggies
13 - Parmesan Chicken
14 - Fondue (Valentines Fun!)
15 - Pizza
16 - Honey Lime Chicken Sandwiches
17 - Crock Pot Roast
18 - Tacos
19 - Chicken & Rice
20 - Lasagne
21 - Chicken Pockets
22 - Pizza
23 - Purgers and Fries
24 - Beef Stew
25 - Burritos
26 - Chicken Creole (my grandma's recipe)
27 - Eat out
28 - Lousiana Red Beans and Rice (Brian's choice)
29 - Pizza
Hopefully this month we'll be able to stick to both our eating out budget AND our grocery budget! =)
Friday, February 1, 2008
February Food
Bonnie's so on top of things! Here I was thinking I was all cool for having finished our menu. I think I need to start incorporating some new ideas. I'm recycling way too much from our previous menus!
1- Pizza
2- "Groundhogs" in a blanket
3- Fast Sunday. We're banking on having dinner at one of our parents' houses
4- Enchiladas
5- MYOLO
6- Stroganoff on rice
7- Lasagna
8- Pizza
9- Meatloaf
10- Pancakes or Waffles
11- Taco Soup (from the freezer)
12- MYOLO
13- Rice and meatballs
14- Heart shaped pizza
15- Pizza (two nights in a row, I know. We love pizza)
16- Sub sandwiches
17- Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns
18- Fajitas
19- MYOLO
20- Sweet and Sour on rice
21- Fettuccine Alfredo
22- Pizza (Kelli's wedding so we might just want to eat and run...Little Ceasars?)
23- French Toast
24- Meat Loaf
25- Burritos
26- MYOLO
27- BBQ Chicken
28- Spaghetti
29- Pizza--perhaps in the shape of a frog to celebrate the leap year?
Happy Leap Year, by the way.
As for budgeting, Bonnie....I just have to say this because it was kind of thrilling. When we went up to pay for our groceries last month, it was $18 for the first two weeks in January. I was like "Boo-ya!" And we ate well, too!
We buy a LOT of storage when it is on sale. So like, if refried beans are on sale, we'll buy a whole case. We eat beans a lot. Now we have two cases under our bed and just shop from there.
When I was "nesting" I went on a food storage binge. We have a lot of it and we just keep using it up so all we ever buy now is like milk and veggies and a few other essentials, and other things as we run out.
I guess I should mention that the next two week period we spent almost $100 but we had a few pairs of shorts (for Andrew--the boy lives in shorts) and some flash drives, so really I guess only about $50 was spent on food.
I suppose it also helps that we're welcome to shop in my mom's food storage. :)
Now I'm just rambling, but I also wanted to mention that I hear you about wasting food! We're trying to work on this, too. I usually eat leftovers for lunch, but sometimes Andrew specifically asks me to save him something...and then he'll forget and won't eat it. It drives me crazy. Then I'll forget to eat things if they aren't in plain sight (curse those fridge drawers). So I really need to leave fruit on my counter, I guess. Anyway, let me know if you figure that out! :) It's a challenge!
1- Pizza
2- "Groundhogs" in a blanket
3- Fast Sunday. We're banking on having dinner at one of our parents' houses
4- Enchiladas
5- MYOLO
6- Stroganoff on rice
7- Lasagna
8- Pizza
9- Meatloaf
10- Pancakes or Waffles
11- Taco Soup (from the freezer)
12- MYOLO
13- Rice and meatballs
14- Heart shaped pizza
15- Pizza (two nights in a row, I know. We love pizza)
16- Sub sandwiches
17- Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns
18- Fajitas
19- MYOLO
20- Sweet and Sour on rice
21- Fettuccine Alfredo
22- Pizza (Kelli's wedding so we might just want to eat and run...Little Ceasars?)
23- French Toast
24- Meat Loaf
25- Burritos
26- MYOLO
27- BBQ Chicken
28- Spaghetti
29- Pizza--perhaps in the shape of a frog to celebrate the leap year?
Happy Leap Year, by the way.
As for budgeting, Bonnie....I just have to say this because it was kind of thrilling. When we went up to pay for our groceries last month, it was $18 for the first two weeks in January. I was like "Boo-ya!" And we ate well, too!
We buy a LOT of storage when it is on sale. So like, if refried beans are on sale, we'll buy a whole case. We eat beans a lot. Now we have two cases under our bed and just shop from there.
When I was "nesting" I went on a food storage binge. We have a lot of it and we just keep using it up so all we ever buy now is like milk and veggies and a few other essentials, and other things as we run out.
I guess I should mention that the next two week period we spent almost $100 but we had a few pairs of shorts (for Andrew--the boy lives in shorts) and some flash drives, so really I guess only about $50 was spent on food.
I suppose it also helps that we're welcome to shop in my mom's food storage. :)
Now I'm just rambling, but I also wanted to mention that I hear you about wasting food! We're trying to work on this, too. I usually eat leftovers for lunch, but sometimes Andrew specifically asks me to save him something...and then he'll forget and won't eat it. It drives me crazy. Then I'll forget to eat things if they aren't in plain sight (curse those fridge drawers). So I really need to leave fruit on my counter, I guess. Anyway, let me know if you figure that out! :) It's a challenge!
February Menu
We're doing pizza night Monday night and leftovers still on Sunday this month. Saturday turned out to be biscuit night just because I kept finding so many biscuit recipes that looked good. The rest is pretty random. I tried to group things this month by what would go bad. I want the dinners with lettuce close together and the dinners with carrots and celery close together so that I don't end up cutting too much and wasting or anything like that. Plus I made a note of dairy products that will be used so that I can buy them later in the month if necessary so they won't go bad. It seems like this dinner planning is an ever-evolving process where I am constantly fighting the budget and wasting food. I am always trying to get better in these areas, and I think I have a long way to go. To give Matt incentive this month to try to help with staying in the food budget, I promised that I would make desserts that looked really good to him during the last week of the month if we could still afford the ingredients by then with what was left of our budget. We'll see how we do. So here's the lowdown:
Fridays:
1 - skillet lo mein - I did this last month and bought a bag of frozen lo mein stuff to put in the recipe. It turned out to have everything we needed in the bag. So this is a quick, easy fix and yummy. I'm not doing the whole big shopping trip until tomorrow so we needed something simple.
8 - Chicken Fajitas w/ Guacamole
15 - Chicken Taco Fettucine
22 - Corn Tortilla Lasagna
29 - Whatever I haven't made yet from the month calendar (There are always a few that I don't get to. Plus we are lucky enough this month to get a few dinners from my niece as partial payment for me watching her baby a couple days a week. Yippee! So there will be dinners that I don't end up doing because of those freebies.)
Saturdays
2 - Hoagie Sandwiches
9 - Matt wants Pigs in a Blanket for lunch, Mini Shepherd's Pies for dinner
16 - Sesame Hot Dogs
23 - Best Chicken 'n' Biscuits
Sundays
3 - Mexican Beef and Bean Casserole - We can't have leftovers on Fast Sunday.
10 - Leftovers
17 - Leftovers
24 - Leftovers
Mondays
4 - Party Pizzas
11 - Papa John's Pizza
18 - Boboli Pizza
25 - Little Ceasar's Pizza
Tuesdays
5 - Beef Enchiladas
12 - Hash Brown Sausage Bake
19 - Chicken a la King
26 - Whatever we haven't had yet
Wednesdays
6 - Super Duper Nacho Night (Thanks, Matt for a great idea)
13 - Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
20 - Potato-Bean Soup
27 - Southwestern Bean Soup
Thursdays
7 - Pesto Chicken Manicotti
14 - Mystery Valentine's Day Date :)
21 - Hearty Chicken and Noodles
28 - Topsy-Turvy Beef Pie
Last month we started evaluating dinners after eating them. If it gets a score of 7 or higher from both of us, we'll add it to the list of our dinners we like. If it gets 6 from one of us, we can do it again, but only occasionally. I hope this helps me build a repertoire. I have made lots of things we have liked since we got married, but I forget what and where they are. So I don't make them again. I dream of a day where it is easier to plan cooking dinner when I know of lots of things to make. I know it will happen some day. If any of you want any recipes, I'd be happy to give them. Let me know.
Fridays:
1 - skillet lo mein - I did this last month and bought a bag of frozen lo mein stuff to put in the recipe. It turned out to have everything we needed in the bag. So this is a quick, easy fix and yummy. I'm not doing the whole big shopping trip until tomorrow so we needed something simple.
8 - Chicken Fajitas w/ Guacamole
15 - Chicken Taco Fettucine
22 - Corn Tortilla Lasagna
29 - Whatever I haven't made yet from the month calendar (There are always a few that I don't get to. Plus we are lucky enough this month to get a few dinners from my niece as partial payment for me watching her baby a couple days a week. Yippee! So there will be dinners that I don't end up doing because of those freebies.)
Saturdays
2 - Hoagie Sandwiches
9 - Matt wants Pigs in a Blanket for lunch, Mini Shepherd's Pies for dinner
16 - Sesame Hot Dogs
23 - Best Chicken 'n' Biscuits
Sundays
3 - Mexican Beef and Bean Casserole - We can't have leftovers on Fast Sunday.
10 - Leftovers
17 - Leftovers
24 - Leftovers
Mondays
4 - Party Pizzas
11 - Papa John's Pizza
18 - Boboli Pizza
25 - Little Ceasar's Pizza
Tuesdays
5 - Beef Enchiladas
12 - Hash Brown Sausage Bake
19 - Chicken a la King
26 - Whatever we haven't had yet
Wednesdays
6 - Super Duper Nacho Night (Thanks, Matt for a great idea)
13 - Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
20 - Potato-Bean Soup
27 - Southwestern Bean Soup
Thursdays
7 - Pesto Chicken Manicotti
14 - Mystery Valentine's Day Date :)
21 - Hearty Chicken and Noodles
28 - Topsy-Turvy Beef Pie
Last month we started evaluating dinners after eating them. If it gets a score of 7 or higher from both of us, we'll add it to the list of our dinners we like. If it gets 6 from one of us, we can do it again, but only occasionally. I hope this helps me build a repertoire. I have made lots of things we have liked since we got married, but I forget what and where they are. So I don't make them again. I dream of a day where it is easier to plan cooking dinner when I know of lots of things to make. I know it will happen some day. If any of you want any recipes, I'd be happy to give them. Let me know.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
homemade baby food
now that our little girl is here, instead of reading about pregnancy, I'm reading all about babies and looking for tips for a lot of the situations that can arise/are already arising. Mostly just filling my head with random bits of information since Katryn is only 11 days old.
as a gift, my mother gave me one of these:
I'm very excited to start using it in a few months. it just reminds me of growing up, when we'd grind up dinner for my little sister, it was just so cool to see the food get all mashed up! I'm a cheap person, and baby food is just so expensive! so I plan on making my own with my grinder. Then I can freeze it in an ice cube tray for when she's teething to help soothe her and put it in one of these:
Which I only discovered because of Nancy, but am excited to try it out as well.
But while I've been searching around online, I found this webpage which has all these recipes for baby food and making baby and toddler friendly meals! maybe this can help someone out right now, I'll be sure to give it a try in a few months.
as a gift, my mother gave me one of these:
I'm very excited to start using it in a few months. it just reminds me of growing up, when we'd grind up dinner for my little sister, it was just so cool to see the food get all mashed up! I'm a cheap person, and baby food is just so expensive! so I plan on making my own with my grinder. Then I can freeze it in an ice cube tray for when she's teething to help soothe her and put it in one of these:
Which I only discovered because of Nancy, but am excited to try it out as well.But while I've been searching around online, I found this webpage which has all these recipes for baby food and making baby and toddler friendly meals! maybe this can help someone out right now, I'll be sure to give it a try in a few months.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Dinner This Week
These were some of my favorite meals this week.
I love pesto! You can make it yourself but a quick helpful hint, buy it in a jar pre-made and you can use it to spice up sandwiches like we did here or toss it with pasta! YUM!
Who doesn't love lasagna? We had spaghetti earlier in the week and I used the leftover sauce to make this lasagna. Have to love the multi-cooking. As for the French green beans...well I never used to be a fan but they are perfect for little tiny hands to shove in little baby mouthes and they taste the same so why not?
Jason is such a beaner! He loves black beans. I used to buy them in the can but they are so much cheaper in the bag, so these ones I cooked myself. I did a quick soak with some water, the rinsed off beans, so baking soda, and salt. I brought the beans to a boil and then put the lid on the pan and let them sit for an hour. Then I dumped the water, added new water, prejared garlic (it saves me having to cut it up and it just sits in the fridge until I need it), sliced onions, and lots, and lots of salt. I let them boil on the stove for an hour and presto Jason is happy. For fun I threw some leftover Spanish rice on top. I also made some corn quesadilla with the Fresco cheese. Fresco cheese is salty and crumbly sort of like the cheese we used to get in Jordan. Corn tortillas are fun to use every once in awhile. They give the dinner a rougher more authentic feel.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Bockholt meals, and what's for dinner tonight
I'm jumping on this wagon, but I only do a 2 week meal plan, and do my grocery shopping after every payday (which is every two weeks, makes my life easier):
my two weeks go from Dec 29-Jan 11, then Jan 12-Jan 25:
Wed 2nd: Chicken rolls (or cheese chowder)
Thurs 3rd: Noodles Florentine
Friday 4th: Tacos
Saturday 5th: Pasta night/leftovers
Sunday 6th: Chicken alfredo/pesto lasagna
Monday 7th: leftovers/unknown
Tuesday 8th: Empananadas (and I'll bake bread that day too)
Wed 9th: Chicken w/ pasta and pesto
Thurs 10th:Mac and cheese
Friday 11th: tortellini kabobs w/ pesto ranch dip
Saturday 12th: Pasta night/leftovers
Sunday 13th: Twice baked potatoes
Mon 14th: Chicken and Rice
Tues 15th: Artichoke stroganoff
Wed 16th: Spaghetti
Thurs 17th:Funeral potatoes
Friday 18th: pizza/eat out/leftovers
Saturday 19th: pasta night/leftovers
sunday 2oth:
monday 21st:
tues 22nd:
Wed 23rd:
Thurs 24th:
Friday 25th:
That's as far as I've gotten. . .I'm open to suggestions though! I'm going to post tonight's recipe as well, in case anyone wants it. And I hope those of you who have your plans post your recipes as well, then we can all benefit from some variety! that's my problem. Well, one of them.
What's for dinner tonight
Chicken rolls:
(I kinda make this one up. . .)
-1 chicken breast, cooked and cut up small(really small, or torn)
-1 8oz pkg of cream cheese softened, so it mixes easy
-1 pkg of cresent rolls (sometimes you need another 1/2 package)
-pile of cheddar cheese (this is according to your cheesy desire. I love lots of cheese because it melts up so nicely!
-about 2 tbsp melted butter
-bread crumbs (I use italian seasoned, but if you have plain, it doesn't matter, you could throw some italian seasoning in if you want)
-italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 350deg. Open your package of rolls and lay on a plate, so they get a little soft. Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar, and chicken, and add the italian seasoning until you like the taste (a few dashes works well) I also like to add dried chives. Take a roll and kind of flatten it, squish it out to make it bigger, but be careful not to tear it. Put a spoonfull or so inside and then seal it up good. you don't want them leaking all over the pan, (but they might leak anyway, I always have at least 3 that leak). Then roll in butter then bread crumbs and place on pan. Continue until your out of rolls or mixture, whichever comes first. If you have leftover mixture, it makes a good quesadilla, or eaten as is with chips.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until they're browned. Serves about 3-4 people--2-3 rolls a person
CHEESE CHOWDER
(serves 4-6)
-2 cups boiling water
-2 cups diced potatoes
-1/2 cup diced carrots
-1/2 cup diced celery
-1 tsp onion salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/4 cup melted butter
-1/4 cup flour
-2 cups milk
-2 cups grated cheese (I put 3 cups in, because I'm a cheese junkie)
-1/2 cup cubed ham (and I leave this out, because we don't ever have any)
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes the water, potatoes, carrots, celery and seasonings. Don't drain! Whiles simmering veggies, makes a white sauce of melted butter, flour and milk. Do this is the microwave, it's easier! Combine and microwave for 90 seconds, stir and repeat 2-3 times until the sauce is thick--add cheese to sauce and let melt (I think I microwave again, just to make sure the cheese melts). Add the ham, the stir into the pot of veggies on the stove. Heat it all together, but don't boil!
I think the chowder can freeze pretty good. I'll find out today, because I'm trying to stock up on freeze meals for when the baby comes, as well as meals Matt can just take to work with him.
That's what the Bockholts are eating! What are the rest of you eating? I want those recipes! :)
my two weeks go from Dec 29-Jan 11, then Jan 12-Jan 25:
Wed 2nd: Chicken rolls (or cheese chowder)
Thurs 3rd: Noodles Florentine
Friday 4th: Tacos
Saturday 5th: Pasta night/leftovers
Sunday 6th: Chicken alfredo/pesto lasagna
Monday 7th: leftovers/unknown
Tuesday 8th: Empananadas (and I'll bake bread that day too)
Wed 9th: Chicken w/ pasta and pesto
Thurs 10th:Mac and cheese
Friday 11th: tortellini kabobs w/ pesto ranch dip
Saturday 12th: Pasta night/leftovers
Sunday 13th: Twice baked potatoes
Mon 14th: Chicken and Rice
Tues 15th: Artichoke stroganoff
Wed 16th: Spaghetti
Thurs 17th:Funeral potatoes
Friday 18th: pizza/eat out/leftovers
Saturday 19th: pasta night/leftovers
sunday 2oth:
monday 21st:
tues 22nd:
Wed 23rd:
Thurs 24th:
Friday 25th:
That's as far as I've gotten. . .I'm open to suggestions though! I'm going to post tonight's recipe as well, in case anyone wants it. And I hope those of you who have your plans post your recipes as well, then we can all benefit from some variety! that's my problem. Well, one of them.
What's for dinner tonight
Chicken rolls:
(I kinda make this one up. . .)
-1 chicken breast, cooked and cut up small(really small, or torn)
-1 8oz pkg of cream cheese softened, so it mixes easy
-1 pkg of cresent rolls (sometimes you need another 1/2 package)
-pile of cheddar cheese (this is according to your cheesy desire. I love lots of cheese because it melts up so nicely!
-about 2 tbsp melted butter
-bread crumbs (I use italian seasoned, but if you have plain, it doesn't matter, you could throw some italian seasoning in if you want)
-italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 350deg. Open your package of rolls and lay on a plate, so they get a little soft. Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar, and chicken, and add the italian seasoning until you like the taste (a few dashes works well) I also like to add dried chives. Take a roll and kind of flatten it, squish it out to make it bigger, but be careful not to tear it. Put a spoonfull or so inside and then seal it up good. you don't want them leaking all over the pan, (but they might leak anyway, I always have at least 3 that leak). Then roll in butter then bread crumbs and place on pan. Continue until your out of rolls or mixture, whichever comes first. If you have leftover mixture, it makes a good quesadilla, or eaten as is with chips.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until they're browned. Serves about 3-4 people--2-3 rolls a person
CHEESE CHOWDER
(serves 4-6)
-2 cups boiling water
-2 cups diced potatoes
-1/2 cup diced carrots
-1/2 cup diced celery
-1 tsp onion salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/4 cup melted butter
-1/4 cup flour
-2 cups milk
-2 cups grated cheese (I put 3 cups in, because I'm a cheese junkie)
-1/2 cup cubed ham (and I leave this out, because we don't ever have any)
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes the water, potatoes, carrots, celery and seasonings. Don't drain! Whiles simmering veggies, makes a white sauce of melted butter, flour and milk. Do this is the microwave, it's easier! Combine and microwave for 90 seconds, stir and repeat 2-3 times until the sauce is thick--add cheese to sauce and let melt (I think I microwave again, just to make sure the cheese melts). Add the ham, the stir into the pot of veggies on the stove. Heat it all together, but don't boil!
I think the chowder can freeze pretty good. I'll find out today, because I'm trying to stock up on freeze meals for when the baby comes, as well as meals Matt can just take to work with him.
That's what the Bockholts are eating! What are the rest of you eating? I want those recipes! :)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Dinner with the Buchanan's
I love Nancy's way of doing a meal chart for the whole month. Here is what the Buchanan's will be eating for the month of January:
Sundays: 6 - Thanksgiving Turkey (we still one that Jared got from work)
13 - Cesear Chicken & Rice Pilaf
20 - Pot Roast
27 - Chicken Cordon Bleu
Mondays: 7 - Turkey Leftovers
14 - Ham & Potato Casserole
21 - Root Beer Chicken over Rice
28 - Chicken Cordon Blue Leftovers
Tuesdays: 1 - I had Mc Donalds
8 - Chicken Enchiladas
15 - Chili & Corn Bread
22 - Tacos
29 - Sloppy Joes
Wednesdays: 2 - Chicken Tortilla Soup
9 - Spaghetti Pie
16 - Chicken Fettuccine
23 - Spaghetti
30 - My Mom's Angel Hair Pasta-Roni Recipe
Thursdays: 3 - Baked Potatoes
10 - Turkey Noodle Soup
17 - Potato Soup
24 - Oriental Flank Steak
31 - Teriyaki Chicken
Fridays: 4 - Beef Roll Ups
11 - Pizza
18 - Pizza
25 - Pizza
Saturdays: I don't cook so we eat whatever is easy!!!!
Sundays: 6 - Thanksgiving Turkey (we still one that Jared got from work)
13 - Cesear Chicken & Rice Pilaf
20 - Pot Roast
27 - Chicken Cordon Bleu
Mondays: 7 - Turkey Leftovers
14 - Ham & Potato Casserole
21 - Root Beer Chicken over Rice
28 - Chicken Cordon Blue Leftovers
Tuesdays: 1 - I had Mc Donalds
8 - Chicken Enchiladas
15 - Chili & Corn Bread
22 - Tacos
29 - Sloppy Joes
Wednesdays: 2 - Chicken Tortilla Soup
9 - Spaghetti Pie
16 - Chicken Fettuccine
23 - Spaghetti
30 - My Mom's Angel Hair Pasta-Roni Recipe
Thursdays: 3 - Baked Potatoes
10 - Turkey Noodle Soup
17 - Potato Soup
24 - Oriental Flank Steak
31 - Teriyaki Chicken
Fridays: 4 - Beef Roll Ups
11 - Pizza
18 - Pizza
25 - Pizza
Saturdays: I don't cook so we eat whatever is easy!!!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
January's menu
Here's what the Heisses are having for the month of January
*Costomatos are what Andrew's family calls "quesadillas." It's a word that Sarah always mis-said as a child and it kinda stuck.
| 1 Cook pizza for the Heisses | 2 Spanish Rice | 3 Dinner at Heisses | 4 Pizza | 5 Scalloped potatoes | ||
| 6 Breakfast for dinner | 7 Burritos | 8 MYOLO | 9 Sweet & sour | 10 Pasta with pesto | 11 Pizza | 12 |
| 13 Egg salad sandwiches | 14 Taco salad | 15 MYOLO | 16 Western Family box of rice | 17 Pasta salad | 18 Pizza | 19 Sub sandwiches |
| 20 Soup/stew | 21 Enchiladas | 22 MYOLO | 23 Stroganoff | 24 Lasagna | 25 Pizza | 26 Hot dogs |
| 27 Meatloaf, potatoes | 28 Costamatos* | 29 MYOLO | 30 Meatballs | 31 Pasta of sorts |
*Costomatos are what Andrew's family calls "quesadillas." It's a word that Sarah always mis-said as a child and it kinda stuck.
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Monthly Menu Bandwaggon
I really liked the idea of the monthly menu too so I have been working on mine since like 11:30 this morning. It takes me a long time because I always look through cookbooks as I don't have a ready repertoire of recipes in my head. And I always forget to write down the ones that I make that we end up liking. So I am often starting from scratch to decide what to make. Plus I made the grocery list as I found recipes to go on the menu. So here's my list (in case anyone wants to steal from it.) I can give recipes too. I asked Matt what he wanted for Christmas dinner, so that one was all him. I've never made Christmas dinner before, and this is our first Christmas to have at our own house with no extra family around.
Mondays:
3 Tuscn chicken and white beans
10 enichilada casserole
17 ladle-it-on lasagne
24 oven fried chicken
31 Italian tomato-herb chicken
Tuesdays:
4 tortilla pizzas
11 new mexican meatless chili
18 pizza beanburgers
25 mashed potatoes w/ velveeta, broccoli, parmesan chicken and angel hair pasta, alfredo sauce, fruit smoothies, asphalt pie
Wednesdays:
5 Bonnie: Enrichment, Matt: We'll figure something out.
12 funeral potatoes and maybe spaghetti
19 heartwarming chili
26 topsy-turvy beef pie
Thursdays (love the idea of a pizza night):
6 BLT pizza
13 taco pizza
20 regular (cheese) pizza
27 little ceasar's pizza
Fridays (Since I'm off the hook for cooking 3 of the 4 Fridays I decided to make it all simple.):
7 Work Party/ Ashby's Party
14 Ward Party
21 Pasta Roni/ Mac & Cheese
28 Armstrong Family Christmas
Saturdays:
1 oven-baked french toast
8 Cheesy Vegetable Strata
15 Santa Fe Brunch bake
22 breakfast burritos
29 waffles
Sundays (I know Sunday is usually a day of nice meals, but I believe in keeping the workload simple on Sundays so that I don't have to spend my whole evening working on dinner and can rest. Besides that, during December, I'll probably need to bring Matt dinners at the church sometimes, and there are two weeks where I will be somewhere else in other wards.):
2 tortilla soup/ herb-cheese bread
9 leftovers/ eat at Matt's parents'
16 leftovers/ maybe eat at Robin's
23 leftovers
30 leftovers
It's nice to have that done.
Mondays:
3 Tuscn chicken and white beans
10 enichilada casserole
17 ladle-it-on lasagne
24 oven fried chicken
31 Italian tomato-herb chicken
Tuesdays:
4 tortilla pizzas
11 new mexican meatless chili
18 pizza beanburgers
25 mashed potatoes w/ velveeta, broccoli, parmesan chicken and angel hair pasta, alfredo sauce, fruit smoothies, asphalt pie
Wednesdays:
5 Bonnie: Enrichment, Matt: We'll figure something out.
12 funeral potatoes and maybe spaghetti
19 heartwarming chili
26 topsy-turvy beef pie
Thursdays (love the idea of a pizza night):
6 BLT pizza
13 taco pizza
20 regular (cheese) pizza
27 little ceasar's pizza
Fridays (Since I'm off the hook for cooking 3 of the 4 Fridays I decided to make it all simple.):
7 Work Party/ Ashby's Party
14 Ward Party
21 Pasta Roni/ Mac & Cheese
28 Armstrong Family Christmas
Saturdays:
1 oven-baked french toast
8 Cheesy Vegetable Strata
15 Santa Fe Brunch bake
22 breakfast burritos
29 waffles
Sundays (I know Sunday is usually a day of nice meals, but I believe in keeping the workload simple on Sundays so that I don't have to spend my whole evening working on dinner and can rest. Besides that, during December, I'll probably need to bring Matt dinners at the church sometimes, and there are two weeks where I will be somewhere else in other wards.):
2 tortilla soup/ herb-cheese bread
9 leftovers/ eat at Matt's parents'
16 leftovers/ maybe eat at Robin's
23 leftovers
30 leftovers
It's nice to have that done.
December, as promised
Alright, here's our semi-plan for December's meals.
Sunday
2: Omlettes
9: Fast Sunday! Meatloaf
16: Waffles
23: Ham
30: Scalloped potatoes
Monday
3: Burritos
10: Enchiladas
17: Quesadillas
24: Homemade Spaghetti (our Christmas tradition)
31: Perogies (our New Year's tradition)
Tuesday
MYOLO! Done and done! Except for the 25th. That's Christmas and we're hoping to be invited to one of our parents' houses...otherwise we probably will just have left overs or sandwiches or something. Who knows? There's still time.
Wednesday
5: Chicken a la King (last time I made this, it ended up more like Sweet and Sour...don't ask me how. I don't know)
12: BBQ Chicken
19: A pot pie of sorts
26: Stirfry
Thursday
6: Pasta al forno
13: Lasagne
20: Pasta con pesto?
27: Southwestern Casserole
Friday
It's pizza night in Heissatopia!
Saturday
1: Hot dogs with pork n' beans
8: Vegetable soup
15: Pineapple chili
22: Regular chili
29: Pita and falafel balls (hmmm...maybe we'll have that on Christmas...that sounds fun)
I'm also looking for a nice wassail recipe. Does anyone have a tried, tested, and true recipe they'd like to share? We want to make some for our Christmas Eve festivities.
Sunday
2: Omlettes
9: Fast Sunday! Meatloaf
16: Waffles
23: Ham
30: Scalloped potatoes
Monday
3: Burritos
10: Enchiladas
17: Quesadillas
24: Homemade Spaghetti (our Christmas tradition)
31: Perogies (our New Year's tradition)
Tuesday
MYOLO! Done and done! Except for the 25th. That's Christmas and we're hoping to be invited to one of our parents' houses...otherwise we probably will just have left overs or sandwiches or something. Who knows? There's still time.
Wednesday
5: Chicken a la King (last time I made this, it ended up more like Sweet and Sour...don't ask me how. I don't know)
12: BBQ Chicken
19: A pot pie of sorts
26: Stirfry
Thursday
6: Pasta al forno
13: Lasagne
20: Pasta con pesto?
27: Southwestern Casserole
Friday
It's pizza night in Heissatopia!
Saturday
1: Hot dogs with pork n' beans
8: Vegetable soup
15: Pineapple chili
22: Regular chili
29: Pita and falafel balls (hmmm...maybe we'll have that on Christmas...that sounds fun)
I'm also looking for a nice wassail recipe. Does anyone have a tried, tested, and true recipe they'd like to share? We want to make some for our Christmas Eve festivities.
Monthly Menus
My friend Crystal recently bemoaned on her blog that, although she enjoys cooking, she can never think of what to make for dinner.
I have a double whammy. I don't enjoy cooking all that much and I never know what to make for dinner. Yikes!
I enjoy baking, for the most part, although I get sick of that pretty quick, too...and I do like to cook some things some of the time. Mostly though I like to eat things that other people make.
In order to make my life a little less hectic, I've tried to eliminate my "there's only 10 minutes before Andrew gets home" routine. That used to involve scurrying around the kitchen, opening the fridge, freezer, and every single cupboard, trying to figure out what to make for dinner.
And then there were the shopping trips. Disaster! "Ummm...I think we might eat this in the next two weeks...maybe."
Well, now I make monthly calendars of what we're planning for dinner. It's partially an effort to make sure that I eat lots but mostly it's just to eliminate the stress of not knowing what to make.
Planning a whole month may sound daunting, but I have a method.
First, I plan the meals going down instead of across. This is a tip I got from one of my friend's moms. I tend to think in categories, so if I write down "tacos" I'll probably write down "enchiladas" and then I'll probably write down "fajitas" and then I'll write down something else within that same genre of food. If I were writing down these ideas in a MTWThF fasion, my family would be pretty sick of Mexican food by the end of the week. Instead, I chose a day of the week and wrote down all the Mexican dishes that I knew how to make. So, Monday is our Mexican day.
A few more things you need to know before I show you November and December's menus:
MYOLO--this is one of our family's words. One day we will have to write our own dictionary because we make up words all the time. This particular word is an acronym for Make Your Own/Left Overs. It's the night that I'm not making dinner for anyone, so fend for yourself. The microwave is above the oven.
Friday is pizza night. End of story. That might sound boring, but there are so many varieties of pizza that your options are limitless. Individual, stuffed crust, potato...just go to Italy. You will see that, at least if you travel with my husband, you can eat pizza for every meal.
That takes of two days of every week. Now we only have to plan 5 days per week.
Anyway, here's what we ate (for the most part) in November:
Sundays (Sunday Dinner Day, obviously)
4: Breakfast for dinner
11: Mashed potatoes with gravy
18: Scalloped potatoes
25: Meatloaf, potatoes
Mondays (Mexican night)
5: Fajitas
12: Enchiladas
19: Taco soup
26: Spanish Rice
Tuesdays (MYOLO)
Done and done.
Wednesdays (Rice stuff)
7: Sweet and sour
14: Teriyaki
21: Hawaiian haystacks
28: Kosheri
Thursday (Pasta night)
Andrew gets home early this day and all he knows how to make is pasta...and pizza...so that's why today is pasta day. Because he is home to make it. He's home in time to help on Fridays, too...explaining why that is pizza day.
1: Stroganaff
8: Soup (which isn't really a pasta...but oh, well. We wanted soup)
15: Pasta salad
22: Thanksgiving
28: Sloppy Joes
Friday (Pizza night)
Done and done
Saturday (Experimental/Lazy)
3: Twice baked potatoes
10: Mac 'n' cheese
17: Sub sandwiches
24: Pineapple chili
Okay, so I said that I'd give you December's calendar as well, but I'm tired so I'm going to bed after telling you a little more about my method.
We shop for two week's worth of food. I look at the calendar and jot down what I need to make the meals. Then I know that I have all the ingredients for everything I want to (read: have to) make for the next two weeks.
My calendar isn't set in stone, either. If our parents invite us over for dinner, I will gladly postpone making a meal. And if I really don't feel like making something, I won't. For example, yesterday I didn't feel like making kosheri because that takes quite a bit of work. I made sloppy joes instead and planned to make kosheri today. I still didn't want to make kosheri today until Andrew reminded me that I had frozen pre-cooked lentils in the freezer...then kosheri looked like a lot less work, so I made it. Otherwise we would have had soup-from-a-can or something equally difficult to make.
I have a double whammy. I don't enjoy cooking all that much and I never know what to make for dinner. Yikes!
I enjoy baking, for the most part, although I get sick of that pretty quick, too...and I do like to cook some things some of the time. Mostly though I like to eat things that other people make.
In order to make my life a little less hectic, I've tried to eliminate my "there's only 10 minutes before Andrew gets home" routine. That used to involve scurrying around the kitchen, opening the fridge, freezer, and every single cupboard, trying to figure out what to make for dinner.
And then there were the shopping trips. Disaster! "Ummm...I think we might eat this in the next two weeks...maybe."
Well, now I make monthly calendars of what we're planning for dinner. It's partially an effort to make sure that I eat lots but mostly it's just to eliminate the stress of not knowing what to make.
Planning a whole month may sound daunting, but I have a method.
First, I plan the meals going down instead of across. This is a tip I got from one of my friend's moms. I tend to think in categories, so if I write down "tacos" I'll probably write down "enchiladas" and then I'll probably write down "fajitas" and then I'll write down something else within that same genre of food. If I were writing down these ideas in a MTWThF fasion, my family would be pretty sick of Mexican food by the end of the week. Instead, I chose a day of the week and wrote down all the Mexican dishes that I knew how to make. So, Monday is our Mexican day.
A few more things you need to know before I show you November and December's menus:
MYOLO--this is one of our family's words. One day we will have to write our own dictionary because we make up words all the time. This particular word is an acronym for Make Your Own/Left Overs. It's the night that I'm not making dinner for anyone, so fend for yourself. The microwave is above the oven.
Friday is pizza night. End of story. That might sound boring, but there are so many varieties of pizza that your options are limitless. Individual, stuffed crust, potato...just go to Italy. You will see that, at least if you travel with my husband, you can eat pizza for every meal.
That takes of two days of every week. Now we only have to plan 5 days per week.
Anyway, here's what we ate (for the most part) in November:
Sundays (Sunday Dinner Day, obviously)
4: Breakfast for dinner
11: Mashed potatoes with gravy
18: Scalloped potatoes
25: Meatloaf, potatoes
Mondays (Mexican night)
5: Fajitas
12: Enchiladas
19: Taco soup
26: Spanish Rice
Tuesdays (MYOLO)
Done and done.
Wednesdays (Rice stuff)
7: Sweet and sour
14: Teriyaki
21: Hawaiian haystacks
28: Kosheri
Thursday (Pasta night)
Andrew gets home early this day and all he knows how to make is pasta...and pizza...so that's why today is pasta day. Because he is home to make it. He's home in time to help on Fridays, too...explaining why that is pizza day.
1: Stroganaff
8: Soup (which isn't really a pasta...but oh, well. We wanted soup)
15: Pasta salad
22: Thanksgiving
28: Sloppy Joes
Friday (Pizza night)
Done and done
Saturday (Experimental/Lazy)
3: Twice baked potatoes
10: Mac 'n' cheese
17: Sub sandwiches
24: Pineapple chili
Okay, so I said that I'd give you December's calendar as well, but I'm tired so I'm going to bed after telling you a little more about my method.
We shop for two week's worth of food. I look at the calendar and jot down what I need to make the meals. Then I know that I have all the ingredients for everything I want to (read: have to) make for the next two weeks.
My calendar isn't set in stone, either. If our parents invite us over for dinner, I will gladly postpone making a meal. And if I really don't feel like making something, I won't. For example, yesterday I didn't feel like making kosheri because that takes quite a bit of work. I made sloppy joes instead and planned to make kosheri today. I still didn't want to make kosheri today until Andrew reminded me that I had frozen pre-cooked lentils in the freezer...then kosheri looked like a lot less work, so I made it. Otherwise we would have had soup-from-a-can or something equally difficult to make.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)