Menu Plan Monday

This week I will begin to cook from the pantry/freezer with very little extra purchases. This includes not buying any snacks to pack in my kids' lunches. The oldest is going to complain, complain, complain. But I want to decrease the dependency on crackers and chips and up the intake of fruit and homemade snacks. Like these great granola bars from the Meal Makeover Moms. Several weeks ago I picked up in the bulk section at Whole Foods a little mixture of the sort of dried fruit I think they'd like in a granola bar- pineapple, papaya and unsweetened coconut. I just haven't taken the time to make the bars, but tonight is the time. I also plan to make banana muffins from my friend Allison at Get Natured. They are vegan, but kid-tested and I think mine will like them. (At least I hope they will!) In addition I've got fruit both fresh and canned, yogurt, string cheese and those little Laughing Cow red wheels of cheese. Those things combined with leftovers from dinners should be fine for lunches this week.

Speaking of dinner...

Monday- Easy Slow Cooker Chili. This recipe is different than what I would use for making my usual stove top chili, and working at home makes it easy for me to occasionally make my chili, but Monday will be the sort of day where I don't want to tend to something on the stove. This recipe is really easy and tastes great.

Tuesday- Cashew Chicken, sauteed broccoli and green beans, rice. Awhile ago I bought a various nuts in the bulk section of my supermarket, some for snacking, but some for the purpose of using in cooking Thai and Chinese food, and I keep meaning to make this chicken and putting it off, so this week I'm really going to do it.

Wednesday- I'm leaving it a bit open to improvise. I have leftover cooked capellini pasta (thin like angel hair) and I will either make my favorite Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes or defrost some bolangese sauce from last week. Or make some kind of casserole with them. We'll see...

Thursday- Homemade manicotti. Both homemade pasta for the manicotti and the ricotta filling. SO GOOD! And it's also surprisingly easy.I'll probably fix a salad to use up the lettuce and cucumber I have.

Friday- Sweet & Spicy Salmon, green beans, quinoa with feta cheese

Saturday- Whole Roasted Chicken with roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes. I will probably have to purchase some more veggies, but I have the sweet potatoes already.

Sunday- I'm hoping the weather will be ok for grilling rib eye steaks using a coffee rub we recently purchased at the SF Ferry Building Market. Plus a salad with roasted beets and a steamed artichoke. If I can't grill outdoors, I'll probably just use my cast iron skillet.

I may or may not make lemon bars this week. Or cookies of some sort. Or homemade ice cream. If the mood strikes.