Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday)

I didn't post last week.  We basically ate leftovers from the holiday; bbq chicken, corn on the cob with a few other odds and ends thrown in.  Then I traveled out of town with my oldest for a girls' weekend.  We had a lot of fun.  Returning late on Sunday night, I had a list running through my head of what I should make this week.  I've got some changes coming that I have to prepare for and will post more on that later.  So this will be short and sweet for now.

Monday- I grilled shrimp that I seasoned with this delicious Thai coconut rub from Two Spicy Ladies which is local to me.  I found it at my farmer's market.  I also grilled two pieces of Ahi Tuna, which I get frozen at Costco.  It comes in a bag with individually wrapped pieces.  It's pretty good when marinated (I did garlic, tamari and a little teriyaki) but I don't usually sear it to stay rare in the middle like I would with a nice fresh piece, it was cooked all the way through.  I also grilled some asparagus and boiled some edemmame.

Tuesday- Grilled Chicken tacos.  No recipe, I just season the chicken with taco seasoning (I happen to use Pampered Chef Southwestern Seasoning) grill them and then we'll have the usual taco fixings.

Wednesday- Turkey lettuce wraps- Butter lettuce is scheduled for my produce box, so I'm going to stir fry some ground turkey with vegetables and serve it with lettuce leaves and some sweet chili sauce.  Very healthy, very little fat.

Thursday- Grilled Pork Tenderloin, but I'm using method 1 from my Grilled Pork Chops recipes.  Plus some grilled zucchini and I might just actually make a salad.

Friday- Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and Vegetable Stir Fry.

Saturday- I'm going use leftover grilled chicken to eat it with salad.

Sunday- Company coming so I plan to grill steaks along with zucchini, onions and make a caprese salad.

Menu Plan Monday

With the short work week and various end of the school year functions, last week was hectic. Three day weekends are great, except then you have to cram 5 days of work into 4. I had a mental idea of what I would do for dinners and meals, but never wrote it out. And with the arrival of summer break, this is when I think we tend to start to fall off the wagon with being organized. What I mean by that is in our house we tend to plan some, but are more spontaneous with last minute activities like barbecues with friends, heading to a lake or a river, going on an overnight trip, etc. It's what makes summer so great, but yet it sometimes makes it more expensive (eating out) or a little more chaotic when it comes to what goes on in the kitchen. It's hot and I find that after a day outdoors, I come home and the last thing I want to do is be in front of a stove or even the grill. So my goal for this summer is to keep the fun, but be more mindful of our budget and think twice before choosing take out over what's in the fridge or freezer. That may even mean not stocking up as much when I shop so that money is not spent on food that is wasted. It's going to most likely be less expense to run to the store for an ingredient than to eat out, but at least I don't spend on food that goes uncooked AND eat out. Right? I haven't run any numbers on this, but it just seems to make sense to me.

Menu for this week-

Monday- Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry My go-to for our nights we have soccer practice.

Tuesday- Pictured above is grilled pizza from last summer. I plan to do our first grilled pizza of the summer this week. Everyday Dish has a recipe and a video so you can see how to put the dough on the grill. I would like to attempt my own dough, I just don't think I can do it this week. So I'll use some dough I purchase at the store.

Wednesday- Grilled Shrimp Kabobs, rice, salad. I usually just do a basic seasoning of lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper or Old Bay seasoning on the shrimp.

Thursday- Grilled Pork Chops, grilled peaches and veggies. Our produce box will come on Wednesday, but it doesn't look like it will contain any veggies I would grill. Except for the peaches. I will either steam some of the broccoli or maybe stir fry it.

Friday- Grilled Salmon Teriyaki, broccoli, rice- I love this recipe for making my own teriyaki sauce.

Saturday- We're attending a barbecue that's actually going to be a friendly contest, we can either bring something to grill and share or a side dish. I am undecided on what to bring. They said you could bring a side dish because the women said they don't grill. But I do and I'm leaning toward coming up with something to grill. But I've also got a few side dishes I really like and could bring one. Maybe I'll do both!

Sunday- Keeping this open because we have plans to be out part of the day and I'm betting we will have dinner out.

Menu Plan Monday

It's spring and strawberries are plentiful here. I love strawberries, always have. Even fake strawberry flavored candy, drinks or scented anything strawberry.
Many years ago, when I was about 6 or 7, I broke out with hives after eating fresh strawberry shortcake. I was miserable. I had another outbreak eating strawberry ice cream purchased at the store. I spent probably 10 years avoiding strawberries because I was allergic. Then, in high school biology I learned that sometimes the body will build up the immunity to resist the allergens in some foods. So I tried eating strawberries again. And I didn't break out in hives. So I was reunited with my beloved favorite fruit. I'm happy to have several strawberry fields close to home, with stands out front to buy them 6 baskets for $10. And we've been eating them and cooking up a storm with them. This week a little basket of strawberries grown in Oxnard will arrive in my Farm Fresh to You produce box. We'll probably have to make a stop at one of the strawberry stands as well. My girls are eating them all the time and I'm putting them in salads.

This week we have more time for cooking dinner. No projects to work on all night long, no additional sports beyond the usual, no meetings at night. And warm weather, so I hope to clean up the grill or come to terms with how worn out it is and get a new one. We'll see..

Monday- Soccer has us out at dinner, so we try to eat a big snack and then a late dinner. I'm taking the leftover beef roast from a week ago and putting it in the crock pot with barbecue sauce to make sandwiches and prepping a salad.

Tuesday- Coconut Peanut Sauce Beef, broccoli, rice

Wednesday- Produce delivery day so I'll make a stir fry using some of the veggies and some chicken. It's quick and I can make it before going out to soccer practice and then eat it when we get home.

Thursday- Grilled salmon, spring salad with strawberry avocado dressing, grilled asparagus. I'm also going to make this mango strawberry salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips.

Friday- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas, salad

Saturday- Night out!

Sunday- grilled pork chops, steamed artichokes, lemony potato avocado salad

Some breakfast ideas- Late last week I made banana muffins, and we've got a few more to have this week. But I'm also going to make more muffins, but with strawberries. I've also got a nice supply of my favorite yogurt, Brown Cow cream top. SO. GOOD. Another good one- take a whole wheat tortilla, spread some peanut butter, sprinkle with chopped fruit, roll it up and eat.

Have a great week!

Menu Plan Monday

Sometimes when you have a really busy weekend or don't get to sleep in, Monday feels like Sunday. With the exception of having to wake up and take children to school. I have struggled all day to get motivated with my week. Does that even make any sense? I guess what I mean is without downtime on the weekend, a Monday home alone makes it hard to work because I seem to need a lazy Sunday to lay around and watch TV. But duty calls! I have made some edits and additions to the website, I have begun my grocery shopping list for the upcoming new month and that means I have been researching recipes and thinking about my meal plans for the this week and beyond.

Monday- Chicken Tacos, which may also include making a chicken taco salad from the various taco fixings. It's a busy night for us, but I'm making the chicken in advance, so we just have to fix tacos and/or salad to eat when we get home.

Tuesday- Crispy Baked Cod, Smashed Potatoes, Salad with Beets and Yogurt Dressing

Wednesday- Turkey Stir Fry, Rice

Thursday- Skillet Chili Macaroni, I'm making a variation of this using leftover chili I already have. Plus salad.

Friday- I'm not making dinner! I'm out with some friends for book club meeting.

Saturday- Coconut Chicken Tenders, vegetable stir fry

Sunday- Beef roast, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables

Menu Plan Monday

This is a short week for us as we have friends coming to visit for the holiday weekend. So my plans for Thur through Sunday are TBA based on what the group decides to do. I don't even have plans to cook for Easter as we may visit family.
If by chance upcoming house guests are reading this blog, they are welcome to make any requests for meals because I'm more than happy to cook for them.

Monday- I'm going to make what is pictured above; Orange Beef Stir Fry. In our house we don't care for bell peppers, so I just use whatever other vegetables I might have, this week it will be broccoli and asparagus. I love how this stir fry has orange segments in it as well as plenty of fresh squeezed juice in the sauce.

Tuesday- Chicken noodle soup, I've got some vegetables and a chicken carcass to use up. I'd link the recipe I use, but it's in my head and not written out. (yet)

Wednesday- Shredded pork nachos*. I made carnitas for a potluck party and took the leftovers home, we'll have that with guacamole and some beans and rice. This will be a quick and easy meal with few dishes, so I can spend more timing preparing for our house guests.

This weekend, I baked Snickerdoodle Blondies, try them, they rock.


*For the pork- Super easy; cook a pork shoulder or picnic roast in a slow cooker. No water added, but season the pork; salt, pepper, garlic, chunks of onion (if you want), sometimes I use Pampered Chef Southwest seasoning; you could use taco seasoning or mostly I don't measure but just sprinkle all sides of the meat with chili powder, paprika and cumin. Cook it on low for 7 hours or until it falls apart. You can serve it just like that or I get a pan hot with a little oil and fry the meat in batches until it's crispy. I also season it more while frying. Serve it like tacos or add it on nachos. Freeze the leftover meat and serve it again the same way or add bbq sauce for pulled pork or toss it in a chili.

Menu Plan Monday

So this past week went well, I made one change on Sunday due to have a late lunch and a toddler who for some reason took the carton of buttermilk and poured it all over the counter. So I didn't make ricotta cheese for maniccoti.

This week is a bit more hectic and I am trying to focus on cooking with what I have on hand. I generally shop at the start of a month with just a few additional trips for replenishing perishables. However, on Friday I have company and will shop for the ingredients needed for that dinner.

Monday- Hamburger Stroganoff - I cooked this ahead because we'd be out in the evening for sports. I knew it wasn't really the sort of thing that you let sit and then eat, the sauce is best fresh off the pan. But we ate it anyway and it was fine. I just doesn't look as good.

Tuesday- We're going to be incredibly indulgent and have fried chicken, mashed potatoes and collard greens. I saw my husband's eye's light up when I announced this. This meal is for him. I received greens in my CSA box and decided to pick up some more at the store last week so there would be enough to make them Southern bbq style, so I just decided fried chicken and potatoes should go along with them.

Wednesday- To counter-balance Tuesday's heart attack meal, on Wed we're having a very low fat ground turkey stir fry. I'm going to experiment with making one that is not Asian in flavor, but using seasonings and balsamic vinegar.

Thursday- I've had a jar of Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry sauce for about a month and I should really try it. So I'm cooking it with chicken, green beans and some jasmine rice. We have sports and will be home late for dinner, so I'm going to prep this in advance.

Friday- This is when I have company coming. I'm again going to embrace The South and fix shrimp, cheese grits, a salad and caramel cake for dessert. This is thematic for my book club meeting; we just read The Help.

Saturday- We're attending a dinner party that's a sort of cook-off competition. The theme is Mexican. I'm leaning toward crispy pork tacos, however someone might already be bringing tacos so I may make a flan. Pray for me, I think it's been well over 10 years since I made flan.

Sunday- I'm tempted to roast a chicken, but I think by the end of the week I'm going to want to go out for sushi. So we're keeping this day TBA.