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Tag: planning

  • Pasta anyone? {Menu Plan}

    Pasta anyone? {Menu Plan}

    I’m trying to minimize our meat intake, and up our veggies and fruit. After I planned our menu this week, I looked it over and realized I added a lot of pasta’s in exchange for meat dishes. I would love for some meatless inspiration to hit that doesn’t involve pasta!

    Monday – Ham and Tater Corn Chowder
    Tuesday – Leftover Spaghetti Bake
    Wednesday – Chicken Fajita Taquito Rolls
     

    Thursday – Pork Tenderloin with grapes and Herb Sauce
    Friday – Pasta of the Sea
    Saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – Lasagna

    A little late, we got Christmas presents from my brothers family over the weekend. They sent the Prnicesses the Pinkalicious books. In one they make and eat Pink Cupcakes.  I love bringing books to life for my kids, so we’ll be making our own Pink Cupcakes this week.  Princess C has also requested we make a banana yogurt trifle.

    I’m linking up here –
      MPM-Winter

  • Menu Planning with Kids

    Yesterday I cooked up some Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. Sunday is always my favorite night to cook, since I have the time, and Mark home to help with the kids.
    Normally I will let the girls help me cook, unless I’m handling raw meat and sharp knifes.  That was the case last night.  Princess C really wanted to help though. Since I hadn’t made our menu plan for the week yet, I told her she could help by picking a dinner. I handed her a couple of my Taste of Home magazines, and stopped cooking to look at her selections.  Princess V later joined us as well.
    I really enjoy having my kids in the kitchen with me, and I think they enjoy it too.

    Monday – chicken curry
    Tuesday – three cheese ravioli
    Wednesday – chicken and egg hash
    Thursday – crockpot beef tacos
    Friday – gumbo in bread bowls
    Saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – roast and potatoes


  • Menu Plan Monday 12/10

    Menu Plan Monday 12/10

    Well, we still don’t have a set date for moving yet. It’s making me a little crazy, especially with the holidays approaching. We haven’t put up our tree yet, because we’d like to move before Christmas, but we may not.
    I decided to go ahead and start packing, in hopes it would make our loan get approved faster, and therefore mean we moved faster. Basically trying to keep the optimism going around. 
    The waiting however, has also put a damper on what I cook. I don’t want to go fill our fridge and pantry with food, just to move it a few days later. So this week, I’m trying to use up what we have on hand. Then I’ll do one huge grocery shopping trip after the move. 

    Monday – Chicken Nuggets
    Tuesday – Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
    Wednesday – Eat Out (sometime between dance dress rehearsal and Band concert)
    Thursday – Macaroni and Cheese
    Friday – Chili
    Saturday – Spaghetti and Meatballs
    Sunday – Steak and potatoes

    Breakfasts – Steak and eggs, Corn Muffins, Eggs and Bacon, Pancakes

  • Finding Inspiration {Menu Plan}

    Finding Inspiration {Menu Plan}

    It was a long weekend! Saturday afternoon my little Princess R got a little sick. To be on the safe side, I canceled our plans for the evening. We were going to attend the Army Band Concert with some of Mark’s students.  Instead Mark took the older Princesses to the concert, and I stayed home with the sick girl and baby prince. It turned out to be a pretty nice evening at home.

    Sunday rolled around, and Princess R seemed to be feeling much better. She had no fever, and ate a bowl of Fruit Loops for Breakfast.  I only allow sugar cereals on Sunday, so it’s like a treat. They kids look forward to Sunday all week long, so I let her have some.  We went to church, came home and started making lunch, when it happened. Princess R was definitely suffering some kind of tummy bug. Thankfully we had bought some pedialyte on Saturday. I spent the majority of my afternoon and well into the evening taking care of the sick girl, and the Prince – who was starting to act a bit sick himself.

    I normally plan our weeks Menu on Sunday, but I didn’t get the chance this weekend. I almost decided to just forego it, and wing dinners all week. That however, has never worked out well for my sanity. So this morning, I went looking for inspiration at of course my Foodie Friday party!  There are so many good recipes linked up over there.

    Dinner Menu Plan

    Monday – BBQ Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake (leftovers…this is OH so good!)
    Tuesday – Chili
    Wednesday – Macaroni and Cheese
    Thursday – Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
    Friday – Salmon and Pasta with Lemon Dill Sauce
    Saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – Smokey Beans and Rice

  • Cupcakes and Sisters {Menu Plan}

    Wednesday night, my sister and I took a trip to the store for some last minute Thanksgiving items. It was nice to spend some time with just her, so we decided to make the trip extra special, and went to a little Cupcake Bakery.  It was one of the cutest little places I’ve been to in a long time.

    My sister knows me uber well, and knew that I love cupcakes. I’m not a big television watcher, but one show I make sure to record each week is Cupcake Wars. It just so happens that the bakery we went to, had been on Cupcake Wars earlier this year, and I remembered them!  Cravings – Alisha’s Cupcakes, was in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle episode, where they had to turn pizza into cupcakes.

    No I didn’t try a pizza cupcake.  I enjoyed a Salted Caramel Cupcake, and my sister tried her Snickerdoodle Cupcake. They were both very yummy!  She had also made some fudge and was offering it as a free sample.  Along with the yummy cupcakes, Alisha has created a fun atmostphere for eating them. She has couches, and tables and chairs, even a little corner for kids. None of the furniture matched, but it all gave off the same feel, fun. Just perfect for enjoying a girls night with my sister.

    I had hoped to take my Princesses back before we left town, but it just didn’t fit into our schedule. So over Christmas vacation, we’ll definitely be visiting Alisha again.  She actually just opened her store front a few weeks ago. So if you live in the Utah County Area, you should go visit her on Main Street in Pleasant Grove.

    Did I mention, I got to meet Alisha too? Yep she was the only one there baking and serving cupcakes when my sister and I stopped by.  She is a lot of fun, and extremely friendly. I kind of felt like I was meeting a rock star.  I’ll definitely be tuning in when she makes her 2nd appearance (voted a fan favorite!) on Cupcake Wars.  This was my first trip to a Cupcake Bakery, but it won’t be my last.

    Have you been to a Cupcake Bakery? 
     
    Now, what to eat this week? We left all the leftovers at my parents, so no more Thanksgiving food for us.
     
    Monday – Bean and Cheese Taquitos
    Tuesday – Macaroni and Cheese
    Wednesday – Chili
    Thursday – Caprese Chicken
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Lasagna
  • Thanksgiving Traditions {Menu Plan}

    Thanksgiving Traditions {Menu Plan}

    Growing up, Thanksgiving was a feast! Both of food and people. Many of our family friends had no family nearby, so we had them over to our house for Thanksgiving. I remember filling our Great Room with 3-4 long folding tables, plus one smaller table for the kids. You could hardly walk around there were so many of us gathered.

    While we would wait for the main meal to be served, we always had a fun little contest.  H’or Doeves!  Everyone was allowed to bring 1 h’or doeve to enter the contest. Categories were set up by age group.  It was always so much fun. I remember one year I used my Roald Dahl cookbook, and made a hoagie sandwich look like a crocodile.

    The past couple years we have really tempered it down, keeping it just to family.  As a part of that the h’or doeve contest got cut. However, this year, my sister is bringing it back!  I was just told this weekend though, so now I have got to pull something together fast. I’m feeling stuck….pinterest and foodie friday have given me way too many options.

    This Bread Dough Cornucopia from the Jazzy Gourmet Cooking Studio would look amazing on anyy Thanksgiving table

     
    I know my sister has a soft spot for Biscotti sinve she traveled to Europe. So I might try this Orange Anise Biscotti I found on pinterest

     While I personally love bruschetta inspired h’or doeves, like this Artichoke Bruschetta
     

    In the meantime, I should probably figure out dinner for the rest of the week

    Monday – Bsicuits and Gravy
    Tuesday – Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
    Wednesday – Chili
    Thursday – Thanksgiving! My mom is doing the dinner. I’m making apple pie and these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls from Will Cook for Smiles

    Friday – Dad’s birthday. Leftover Thanksgiving and hopefully some cherry Cheesecake
    Saturday – Dinner at my parents
    Sunday – Dinner at my parents (I love vacation!)

  • Back on Chocolate! and a Menu Plan

    Do you recall me saying I was going to skip chocolate for the month of October? I give up. I’m taking back my chocolate, and completely enjoying it!  Here’s what I learned in my attempt to go without chocolate –

    – I don’t eat a lot of it on a daily basis. But when you take away my small doses, like a few chips in a cookie, thten later I binge on a nice big dense chocolate energy bar (Space Food Stick). They taste like Resen’s, so of course, I couldn’t stop at just trying one. Nope I had to go back and have another. I told you, binge!

     
    – Chocolate actually does help keep me sane. I had a couple bad mommy days, where I just couldn’t handle things. I let my emotions rule. Afterwards, I ate a small piece of chocolate, and the smooth creamy goodness, brought me back. So when I got whacked pretty good in the eye with a Minnie Mouse doll, I was able to keep my cool.
     
    – Finally put it all together, and I learned that like most things, chocolate in moderation is good for you. I don’t have a chocolate addiction. I just enjoy chocolate, and will continue to enjoy it, in moderated amounts.
     
    Fyi, you can win some Space Food Sticks of your very own! Just come join the MomPact Twitter Party this Thursday October 26th at 6pm Pacific/9pm ET. Use the hashtag #mompactLNO
    Plus there will be lots of other prizes as well. RSVP HERE
     
    So on to this week’s menu
    Monday – Pasta
    Tuesday – Breaded Parmesan Chicken
    Wednesday – Cowboy Chili
    Thursday – Hamburgers
    Friday – Enchiladas
    Saturday – Leftovers
    
  • Menu Plan 10/1 and Coupons

    Menu Plan 10/1 and Coupons

    Monday – Spaghetti (home made sauce with Wildtree seasoning)
    Tuesday – Zuchinni, tomato, and chickpea Stew
    Wednesday – Lasagna casserole
    Thursday – Fried Rice
    Friday – Leftovers
    Saturday – Girls (and kids) night at my moms!
    Sunday -Dinner with my parents

    To help you out shopping this week, here are some coupons you can print
     
    
     
     
     
    (read my review of these sauces HERE)
     
     
     
     
     
  • Menu Plan Monday

    Menu Plan Monday

     
    Monday – Rice with steamed zucchini and squash
    Tuesday – Chili in bread bowls
    Wednesday – Twice Baked Potatoes
    Thursday – Chicken Parmesan
    Friday – chicken fajitas
    saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
    
  • Menu Plan 9/17 and Peach Honey

    Menu Plan 9/17 and Peach Honey

    I was sitting here looking at the week, and realized I don’t have to cook much! I’m pretty excited to have a slow week of cooking.

    Monday – Work social. We’re bringing Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
    Tuesday – Lentil Soup
    Wednesday – Breakfast for Dinner. Eggs, Hashbrowns, Pancakes
    Thursday – Bacon Stuffed Squash
    Friday – Dinner at my parents
    Saturday – Princess V’s birthday dinner at Applebee’s

    A sister from my church stopped by yesterday with a car full of tomatoes and some yellow squash.  I am really excited to try out Diane’s Bacon Stuffed Squash, and can some tomatoes.  We’re going to attempt some spaghetti sauce and salsa! 
    I’ve really gotten into canning this last year, if you haven’t noticed yet.  Having fresh produce al year long is always so nice!  A couple weeks ago I put up some peaches, while learning how to do that I found a recipe to make peach honey from the peels, so I did it!  It is absolutely wonderful, and pretty too.