Menu Plan Monday: 20-26 July

20-26 July
M: Pork chops, mashed potatoes, veggies

T: Beef chili with veggies, salads

W: Chicken lo mein with veggies, brown rice, salads

R: Beef fajitas with peppers and onions, yellow rice

F: Chili stuffed double baked potatoes (from leftover chili), salads

S: Survivor Night (find something or starve)

U: Whole garlic chicken, potatoes, salads


Breakfasts (in addition to a 'green smoothie' every morning)
Oatmeal with dried fruit x2
Eggs and fruit
Peanut butter raisin celery
Egg whites and hashbrowns
Cereal with Silk and fruit
Cheese and potato omelets

Lunches
Veggie soup, steamed rice
Pizza quesadillas and cut cucumbers
Hot dogs, side rice, veggies
Vegetable cheese tortilla roll ups
Leftover fajitas
Leftover potatoes, veggies and hummus
Dinner size salads

Snacks (3 a day ... mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and late night)
Trail mix
Yogurt
Fruit and peanut butter
Tortilla chips
Hummus and veggies
Popcorn
No bake cookies
Cut fruit cups
Veggie stix


What's on your menu?


Simply,

Em.

ps, For more menus, please check out the Org. Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: 13-19 July

The garden is in bloom. The sun is shining. It's summer time in MI, and that means perpetual veggie tray time. Do you have one? We use one of those chip/dip containers that are often used for parties ... you know the ones with the outer ring of compartments and the little cup part in the middle? It has snowflakes on it, so it's not the most aesthetic or seasonally appropriate object we own. We fill all the sections with cut veggies, and every night it makes a dinner time appearance. The work is already done, the produce is grab and go, and everyone gets a little extra taste of summer at every meal. When something runs out, I just fill in the spot with something else. It's amazing to me how much more produce gets eaten when we use this method. No one likes to dig in the fridge for tiny containers of a million things, I suppose, and although it takes up a boat load of fridge space, I'm counting it as totally worth it if it means my family gets the veggies they're supposed to. As such, you'll see it appear almost constantly from now until the seasonal goodness runs out (we don't like to buy off season produce because of the impact it has on the environment) as a reminder to me to pull it out of the fridge.

13-19 July 2009

M: Inside Out Shepard's Pie, rolls, salads, veggie tray

T: Chicken stir-fry, salads, veggie tray

W: Beef hot dogs, oven fries, salads, veggie tray

R: Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, salads, veggie tray

F: Personal size pizzas with DIY fancy salad bar

S: Battered fish, yellow rice, veggies

U: Sausage egg sandwiches, fruit salad, veggie tray


Breakfasts
Cereal w/Silk x2
Eggs and toast
PBJs with fruit
Oatmeal with dried fruit x2
Sausage pancake puffs

Lunches
Pasta leftovers
PBJs with hummus and veggies x2
Stir fry leftovers
Hot dog mac
Veggie cheese wraps
Vegetable soup and rice


What's on your menu?

For a million more great ideas, check out the Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 6-12 July

6-12 July 2009

M: Hot dogs (like anyone in the world really needs more of these after last week ...) , fancy mac & cheese, steamed broccoli

T: Oven baked ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, veggies

W: Whole wheat pasta with sausage and kale, garlic bread

R: Light chili, dinner salads, rolls

F: Stir-fry pork and veggies with rice

S: Survivor Night -- find something, or starve

U: Undecided ... depends on how our weekend plans pan out.

I've also planned breakfasts and lunches this week so we have no excuses not to eat them.

Breakfasts
Cereal with Silk x2
Oatmeal with dried apples
PBJs and fruit x2
Eggs with toast
Sausage scrambles


Lunches
Weekend leftovers
Hummus and pita with veggies
Soup and grilled cheese
Pasta leftovers from Wednesday
PBJs with fruit
Chili leftovers from Thursday


Anything rockin' on your menu this week? For more ideas, check out the Org. Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: 29 June to 5 July

Oh, Monday, here you are again. The temps have dropped back down into the 70s, so hopefully we'll eat more than salad this week. Last week's high temperatures were nearly unbearable here for a northern girl who likes a little chill in the air.

M: Beef & Rice Noodle Veggie Stir Fry (using the leftover crockpot roast, of which there was far too much)

T: Crockpot Chili with Rolls (... because I have to work late)

W: Fried Chicken Taco Salads

R: Pork Chops, Rice, Green Beans, and Green Salads

F: Survivor Night (we're headed to the annual local art fair on Friday, meaning I don't know how hungry we'll be after carnival food lunches, nor what time it will be when we get home)

S: Slow Grilled BBQ Ribs, Cheesy Potatoes, Baked Beans, Grilled Asparagus, Spinach Dip, Veggie Tray, and Fruit Dish (there are people coming over for the 4th, can you tell? hahaha)

U: Leftovers! There must be some from Saturday. I hope?!


For hundreds more menus, please check out the Org. Junkie.


Simply,

Em.

The Everything Post

Where have I been all this time?! My goodness how one day turns into 7 before you even know it. I've had all the things I wanted to post floating around in my head, but it's officially 937 degrees Fahrenheit here (ok, high 80s, probably low 90s today) and when it's that hot I want to do nothing but find a semi-reasonable place to sit (like the basement, in a corner, where it's 'cooler' ... by 2 or 3 degrees) and not move a muscle lest the Niagra Falls of sweat come forth from all parts of me at once. I hate being hot. Hate it. This is why we live in MI and not a warmer state. I would melt. It may happen this week, and I have the mop at the ready in case. Here we go, everything all together now ...

Some Quick Takes
1.
I already told you it's hot, but it begs repeating. I do not like sweat rolling down the sides of my face because I'm standing still washing dishes in less than completely sanitary tepid water because I may just die if it were any warmer. I would really like a breeze, any breeze, even a hot one, to cut the density in the air. We do not have air conditioning, lest you think I'm complaining about hot weather for fun. I know there are many of you that survive much hotter temperatures also without AC, but seriously ... I can't take it. We don't have AC for a number of reasons.

1. It's reaaaaaallllly expensive for my electric bill.
2. It's not so fantastic for the environment with all those AC units pumping out exhaust and such.
3. If we did, I would not be able to control myself and we'd likely have it set at 35 degrees from March until October, bringing us right back to point number 1. When AC is involved, my rational mind desolves to putty and I have no self-control. Total abstinence is out only sound option.

2.
I don't like to cook when it's hot, but this morning I convinced myself to get a roast into the crockpot since I was awake anyway and eventually we'd have to eat. I'm calling it a gold star day just for that. Haha.

3.
I had an unforutnate accident on Sunday that now requires a dentist's appointment and a lot of my conscious attention as to not show anyone the monstrosity when I speak. It doesn't hurt, but come Friday, at the dentist, it likely will. Thank heavens for dental insurance.

4.
The summer semester started yesterday. I promise I was not intentionally skipping class. I really honestly thought it was a T/R class, not a M/W one. Not until the email hit my phone from another girl asking where I had been did I go look at the course schedule. I've been convinced for months that it was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ooooops.

Some Shopping Round-Up
I went to Costco and Meijer on Friday. There weren't any super amazing deals I needed to get in on, we were just out of a couple things that I had been putting off picking up for ... more than a little while. I did manage to get one box of half-price minus $1 coupon Snickers ice cream bars, and a raincheck for 12 more. Now, to find coupons ... Em is hot and needs ice creams!

Some Simple Sunday
What's better on a Sunday, especially Father's Day, and most especially when it falls on the longest day of the year ... than a late evening trip to the lake? It was hot. We were melting. We piled in the car at 9pm and headed to the lake for a quick swim. A little chilly at first, sure, but once initially submerged, swimming was heaven. It was like magic. Not hot. No longer puddling into your shoes. Just cool and marvelous, plus the beginnings of a sunset while we were swimming made for an marvelously simply Sunday.

Some Menu Plan Monday
M: Sausages on the Grill, Chips

T: Crockpot Beef Roast, Potatoes, Greens & Spinach Salad

W: Hamburger Helper (which I don't like, fyi), Greens & Spinach Salad

R: Fried Chicken Salads, Cut Veggies

F: Survivor Night ... eat what you can find, or starve. I will likely be having milkshakes ... and pudding ... and other things that don't hurt one's already hurting post-dentist teeth.

S: Pork Chops, Noodle Side, Steamed Veggies, Green Salads

U: Zuppa Toscana

Some Gratituesday
For more Gratituesday, check out The Heavenly Homemakers.
Today, I'm grateful for ...

... warm weather that helps my garden grow, even if it makes me terribly uncomfortable.
... cool swims at dusk.
... ice cream.
... self-employment.
... the appreciation of the women I work with.
... crunching on ice cubes, even if it's horrible for my teeth.
... dental insurance.
... Be, who although I currently look funny, still loves me.
... the tiniest hints of a breeze.
... getting up early of my own volition.
... schedule switching.
... the AC in my car being functional.
... a cool basement to retreat to.
... the library, full of great books, for free!
... money in the bank, bills paid.
... a clean house, easier on the hot weather sanity than a dirty one.
... grace.
... every day, hot or not, that I get to live in this perfect world.


Wasn't that wacky? So long as I don't melt, regular posting will resume. If, instead, I turn into a giant puddle of crazy, I can make no guarantees.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 15 to 21 June

For hundreds more menu plans, please check out the Org. Junkie.

M: Leftovers (chicken stir-fry or pizza)

T: Freezer Soup in the Crockpot with Bacon Grilled Cheeses (we didn't get to this last week)

W: Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Green Veggie

R: Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas

F: Homemade Pizzas, Green Salads

S: Survivor Night ... if you can find it, you can eat it.

U: Grilled Ham Steaks, Garlic Grill Potatoes, Green Veggies


What's on your menu this week?

Menu Plan Monday: 8 June to 14 June

Note: Blogger and I had a bit of a disagreement about the scheduling of these posts, apparently, so they didn't go up when they were supposed to. For that, I apologize.




M: Baked Spaghetti Marinara, garlic bread

T: Firehouse Tortilla Pizza

W: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese

R: Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine

F: Survivor Night (leftovers! yay!)

S: Chicken Stirfry with Herb Rice

U: Pork Chops, Au Gratins, Steamed Asparagus, Buttered Biscuits

That leaves ...

Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2
Pasta with Meatballs
Fancy Mac & Cheese x2
Chicken Stir Fry
Ham and Cheesy Potatoes
Pork Chops x3
Corn Tacos x2
Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)
Crockpot Whole Chicken
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
Tip Steaks and Potatoes
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
Pizza x2
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
Oven Beef Loin Roast
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
Leftover x2 (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

What's on your menu? Need inspiration? Check out the Org. Junkie for ideas!

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 1-7 June

Welcome back, Menu Plan Monday. We had a menu last week, but I never got around to posting it. This week, I'm back at it and so are a bajillion others, which you can check out by visiting the Org. Junkie.

M: Dinner out for my brother's girlfriend's birthday

T: Grilled pork chops, sweet potato fries (hopefully with a tutorial later this week), and steamed carrots

W: Grill Night - hot dogs, garlic grilled potatoes, green salads

R: Breakfast for dinner - pancakes, eggs, and sausage patties

F: Crockpot whole garlic chicken,

S: Leftovers, "Survivor" Night (ie, find something on your own or starve)

U: Crockpot beef loin roast, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, buttered biscuits

That leaves ...

Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2
Pasta with Meatballs
Fancy Mac & Cheese x2
Chicken Stir Fry
Ham and Cheesy Potatoes
Pork Chops x3 (this is the most popular meal we have, and the one of which the most still remains in the freezer)
Corn Tacos x2
Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)
Crockpot Whole Chicken
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
Tip Steaks and Potatoes
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
Pizza x2
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
Oven Beef Loin Roast
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
Leftover x2 (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

What are you eating this week?

Menu Plan Monday: A New Month!

I really liked having a month's worth of choices each week, so we're going to try a second run at a the Month of Menus. Planning for the entire month also helped us use up quite a bit of our freezer stash so there was plenty of room for me to refill it with great deals this past week.

Month of Menus Rnd 2 ...
Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2
Pasta with Meatballs
Fancy Mac & Cheese x2
Chicken Stir Fry
Ham and Cheesy Potatoes
Pork Chops x3 (this is the most popular meal we have, and the one of which the most still remains in the freezer)
Corn Tacos x2
Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)
Crockpot Whole Chicken
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
Tip Steaks and Potatoes
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
Pizza x2
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
Oven Beef Loin Roast
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
Leftover x2 (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

That means this week's menu includes ...

M: Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine

T: Cheesy Ham & Potatoes

W: Fancy Mac & Cheese

R: Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes

F: Tip Steaks and Potatoes

S: Corn Tacos

U: Leftovers

What are you eating this week? this month? For more menus, check out Org. Junkie.


Simply,

Em.

WFMW: Freezer Shopping

I really like a good excuse for take out.

I may menu plan and rant up and down about how we need to stay on budget, but really ... I am easily persuaded away from the menu (I'm working on it, I swear!) by the slightest inconveniences sometimes. The primary of these is the "6pm Dinner Despair" moment when I realize everything I'm supposed to have cooking is still frozen. Grr. This used to mean dinner was pushed aside in favor of sandwiches or food from a can (eeewww!) or in worst case scenarios: take out.

So often we get hung up on the same missteps over and over again. When this happens here, I like to walk backward mentally through the situation in an attempt to find the source of the problem. Then, rather than saying, "I really need to remember to defrost things in the morning" or "I wish we could get this dinner thing figured out", I can find the real whatever that needs adjusting. In this case, the problem was not taking things out of the freezer. Remembering to do this every morning, especially when my chest freezer lives in the basement of our detached garage because our ancient house's electrical cannot handle it and the washing machine, was nary impossible. Worse, in the winter. Who really wants to trek through 4 feet of snow every morning to find that night's dinner parts? Ugh, no, apparently not me.

The solution?

Freezer Shopping!

Every Sunday afternoon, after I write the menu out, I make note of what I need from the outside freezer on a sticky note, grab a grocery tote and the pair of knit kids' gloves I keep stashed in a cubby on my desk (because I always finish the menu at my desk ... logical next step location for them ... and no one else makes off with them that way), and head out to pull out the items I need. I grab everything we will need for the week, and bring it into the house. Meats go in the drawers in my fridge to defrost as the week progresses. Veggies go in the regular inside freezer because they get weird if they defrost for too long before cooking. As the week progresses, everything is at least basically defrosted enough to use when it comes time for dinner prep. I'm loving it, honestly.

Now, I will need a new excuse for take out. Any ideas ...?


Simply,

Em.

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out We are THAT Family.

Menu Monday: 5/11-17

Ah, menu. Last week's menu went remarkably well. Only 2 changes mid-stride, one of which being a substitution of pork chops instead of pork roast because I may have thought we had a roast in the bottom of the freezer when in fact it was a giant stack of chops instead. Er ... oops?

This week's menu is as follows ...

M: Spaghetti w/meat sauce, garlic breadsticks

T: Grilled Italisoy marinaded chicken (with a recipe coming Tuesday), sweet potato fries, broccoli with carrots

W: Glazed ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, veggies, biscuits

R: Fried chicken salads

F: Homemade pizza, green salads

S: Popcorn chicken & fries

U: Grilled fish, rice de Provence, mixed veggies

The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
auce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

... and that means we used them all up perfectly! Hooray!

It took us an extra week to make it through 30 meals because of the few course changes along the way, and because I didn't calculate planned leftover meals in the mix. My family is hit and miss as far as leftovers go sometimes. One meal when I think there will be plenty left for another go, they will eat every bite. Other nights, there are tons of leftovers when I didn't plan for anything. I cannot seem to nail them down, and in the next month of menus I will try to better accomodate the leftover conundrum. Overall, I liked having the month-long list to plan from. It limited down my choices so I didn't stare blankly at the menu with an entire world of possibilities, and it helped us use up a bunch of the freezer stash so there will be room for the summer and fall harvests. All around, it worked marvelously.

Is your menu planned? Do you use a month-long, a 2 week plan, or a week at a time? Whatever it is, if you're in need of inspiration, head on over to The Organizing Junkie for about a million ideas.


Simply,

Em.

Menu Monday: May 4th to 10th

We are almost done with the Month of Menus, and although I'll reserve my final judgment for the end, I have to say I'm diggin' it so far. I like having to choose from a list of options rather than staring blankly at my menu because the 1876987 things I could possibly make are giving me brain freeze. Somehow, we have 8 meals after this week ... and 3 days until the "month" is over. Uh, oops.

(Yes, that's really my menu board. I love that darn thing. It hangs out in my pantry normally, rather than making its home on what looks to be a messy kitchen counter. Do not be alarmed, the messy part is an illusion ...)

M: Beef Tacos w/Spanish Rice and Toppings (It's not Cinco de Mayo yet, but its the only night this week when we're all home. Tacos are a family affair around here.)

T: Chicken Noodle Soup with Grilled Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches (from the leftover chicken on Sunday)

W: Ham and Potato Casserole, Veggies

R: Meatballs and Potatoes, Veggies (You pick the sauce night ... yay!)

F: Homemade Pizzas with Green Salads

S: Crockpot Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions

U: Mother's Day Feast of Sausage and Spinach Lasagne, Garlic Bread, Salads, Veggies, and Dessert! (Now, to decide which dessert ... hmmm ... )

______________________
The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
auce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads


For approximately 1 million more menus, check out the Org. Junkie.


Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 1/2 Way There!

For 200+ more menus, check out the Org. Junkie.

We did alright with last week's menu. There was a little switching around, and I never actually took the chicken out of the freezer, but we still managed to eat out of the pantry most of the week ... success!!

M: Beef and Pepper Fajitas (because stir-fry, the original plan, got outvoted)
T: Spaghetti with Meatballs, green salads, garlic bread
W: French toast, eggs, sausage patties (we have a plethora of bread this week, so french toast is more practical than pancakes in order to use it up)
R: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Grilled Bacon and Cheese Sandwiches
F: Corn Tacos
S: Whole Crockpot Garlic Chicken (ooooh, I could take it out of the freezer today and maybe it will thaw in time.)
U: Chicken Pot Pie Biscuit Bake


The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

What in the world are you eating this week?



Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday and a Winner!

One would think that the point of menu plans would be to know what's for dinner any given day in a week. Apparently this week at my house, the menu was for knowing what absolutely wasn't for dinner instead. We had frozen pizza on Monday, as planned (and by planned I mean it had already happened when I posted Monday night) and then not another day of the week did we stick to the menu. The good news, though, is by some fluke we still managed to eat only from the pantries and freezers. Hooray for that! I didn't even have a Super Saving Saturday to post about because I avoided the grocery deals entirely this week. I would be lying if I said I didn't cringe a little about missing out on freebies at Walgreens, but alas, I seemed to made it through ok.

As for the menu, this week we'll be having ...

M: Frozen pizza
(Am I beginning to see a trend? Someone seems to keep having papers ... well, finals this time ... that need writing on Mondays. Good thing we have that stash of nearly free to us frozen french breads!)
T: Em Hash
W: Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks with au gratins, green beans, and rolls
R: Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken, mashed potatoes, green salads, roasted carrots
F: Mongo Night
S: Out with friends for Irish food, beer, and the.best.band.ever.
U: Chicken Pot Pie (from leftover crockpot chicken) with biscuits

The Updated Month of Menus is as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2 (One of these went to stir fry on Sunday, and the other will go to stir fry this week.)
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... er ... well, general concept forthcoming) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

Oh! I nearly forgot.

Now, the fun part ... the winner of the giveaway. The random number generator tells me that the winner of the Practical Cubed Cookbook Set is ... (drumroll, anyone?)

heavenleigh6751

Congrats to her and thanks to everyone that participated! She has 48 hours from now (so, 11pm on Wednesday, April 22nd) to email me at jesuisem (at) gmail (dot) com or I'll have to randomly generate another winner.


Simply,

Em.

ps, for a ton more menus, by people who seem much more skilled than I in keeping to them, check out Menu Plan Monday at the Org. Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday: Can She Make It A Month? Edition

Have you checked out the menu list at Org. Junkie yet? You should. It rocks!

As promised, I'm back with the menu. I was stuck in "Em Finally Does Her Self-Employment Taxes" world most of the afternoon, and I'm riding the elated high of not owing my first born (yet to be conceived first born, mind you) to the tax machine for the first time in years instead of going to bed like a sane person would. I'm even getting money back this year ... like more than $8 (a 2 year state refund favorite in my early college days). Hooray for extra cash and double hooray for finally getting "Menu Monday" posted before Tuesday!

Now, as my fellow couponer/stockpiler friends will attest, when you get things for free or nearly so on a regular basis, sometimes your pantry (and closets, and garage, and basement, and under your bed, and hidden in your kids' toy chest, and the crawl space, and on ...and on ...) starts to accumulate random stuff. It starts with that one freebie candy bar tucked into the back of a pantry shelf and before you know it you have a years' worth of grocery bits and pieces. This weekend I (finally) got irritated enough with the dismal arrangement that had befallen both the upper and lower pantries (yea ... we have two ... we eat a lot of free food here ...), and got to work putting them back in order. I love to score great deals. I also love the security that comes along with having a grocery stockpile. If we were absolutely destitute tomorrow, at least we'd be able to eat for awhile. Every now and then, though, I get this sticky inkling that we need to downsize a little and use up what we have (and of course make room for MORE great deals ... muahaha!).

I've been tossing around the idea of a month-long menu for awhile now, mostly inspired by the Happy Housewife's free form 30 Days of Meals. The scheduler in me wants to wait until the beginning of a month so everything fits in nice and proper. The perfectionist in me couldn't get in gear in time to re-organize the pantries for an April 1st launch. The impulsive me just wants to do. it. right. now. I just keep thinking ... it's almost spring time ... that's fresh produce season ... I will need so much more room for putting up veggies and fruit this year ... and then its butcher time in the fall ... and the freezer is almost full ... you can't put a whole pig and half a cow in a full freezer ... not without a mess. Yes, there really are that many elipses inside my head. And so, since I finally got the pantries closer to orderly, I'm caving on schedule perfection, indulging my frugal tree-hugging maniac ramblings and starting in nearly the middle of the month. Eh well, 30 days are 30 days, right? They don't have to all fit on one calendar.

So, without further ado, our 30 Days of Meals based on what we have on hand. I will still be shopping as the deals allow, and we'll need butter (um, now, actually), milk, eggs, and likely lettuce at some point. We're also out of bread, but I have myself convinced that not going to the grocery means I'll be motivated to make some. It might happen. Maybe.

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2 (I just bought these last night ... they're $2/lb at Meijer this week ... go get some!)
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... er ... well, general concept forthcoming) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

Sides and accompianments may get a little wacky as I try to use up the pre-made boxed stuff we have accumulated. We aren't buying anymore once we get through what we have, but I refuse to let freebie food go to waste. Each meal also includes at least one cooked and one raw veggie, but we'll play that by ear week by week based on what's on sale, what everyone feels like, and what we have left in the freezer (ps, Green Giant Steamers are in the 10/10 11th free this week at Meijer ... nearly free if you have doubles and still cheap if you don't).

This week ...

M: Frozen pizza ... which is not on the list, so I guess that must mean the list starts tomorrow.
T: Seared Beef Roast, cubed potatoes, cooked carrots, green salads, biscuits
W: Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks, boxed au gratins, frozen green veggie, raw carrots
R: Tacos (!!) and Spanish rice
F: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches (guess I'm going to need bread after all ...), salads
S: Homemade pizzas and dinner salads
U: Sausage and spinach lasagne, garlic breadsticks, salad

There you have it! I'm giving this Month of Meals thing a go, and hopefully by the middle of May we'll have freed up some wiggle room for the bounty of summer and early fall bacon. Who doesn't loooooove bacon?!


What are you eating this week?


Simply,

Em.

Menu ... Tuesday? Again?!

Menu Tuesday does not have the ring Menu Monday does. We are still working with my father's restrictive menu options, so although we for sure have a menu, I can't seem to get the darn thing online in time (also, ps, it's the week before finals ... ugh). Off the top of my head, I remember this much ...

M: Chicken Stir Fry
T: Hamburger Stew
W: Pork Chops and Potatoes
R: Chicken Something
F: Fish and Baked Fries
S: Leftovers?
Su: Open ... because I don't know what our holiday plans are just yet.

There's a much more detailed version sitting on my counter ... in the kitchen ... across the house from where my office is ... and darn it if I'm not just far too lazy to go get it tonight (did I mention the finals ...? grrr). I hope you have your menus planned, loves. They're lifesavers for sure. Tonight, when I needed to spend the afternoon/evening working on my 20 page paper for Thursday after a morning/afternoon of 'daddy duty' all I had to do is point Be in the direction of the menu and leave him to it. We didn't starve. I didn't have to run around like a mad woman. Everyone wins.

To see more menus ... real ones ... with more details than my sketchy memory can give you tonight ... check out Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan ... Tuesday?

For more menus ... tons of them, in fact, check out Org. Junkie.

Monday?

Errr, oops. I swear there was menu planning on Monday (scout's honor). I was elbow deep in trying to figure out the mechanics of the calorie, salt, and fat limited diabetic exchange diet my dad will be coming home to (hopefully tomorrow). He's coming to stay with us while he recuperates so that his wife (my stepmom) can keep working. He can't be left alone for awhile, and since it would seem you can never find a minute alone in this house of mine, it's the perfect spot. With his recovery comes a very specific, very detailed menu requirement, and I swear I spent the better part of the evening trying to figure it out. My word! With all the counting and making sure to include so many breads or veggies or fruits (!! at every meal ...?! what is this, Florida?), I plum forgot about posting about it. Without further ado, the menu as it stands for now ... I'm still working out the kinks of making sure he gets the right foods without winding up with a mutiny from the rest of the family ... le sigh.

MONDAY
Ground turkey, garlic rice, and spinach ... something we've taken to calling Dirty Rice Florentine .. how fancy.

TUESDAY
B: Peanut butter toast, milk, and bananas
L: Tuna fish sandwich, carrots, salad, and fruit salad
D: Pork chops, baked potato, biscuit, green veggie, salad

WEDNESDAY
B: Cereal, egg on toast, apple, and 1/2 banana
L: Turkey cheese paninis, veggie soup, carrots, and grapes
D: Beef goulash with tomatoes and mushrooms, green salad

THURSDAY
B: Cherry oatmeal and peanut butter toast
L: Chicken loaded baked potato, broccoli and mushrooms, salad, fruited jello
D: Grilled marinaded fish, herbed rice, biscuit, green veggie, cucumbers

FRIDAY
B: Toasted egg sandwich, grapes and melon chunks
L: Firehouse pizza, salad, whole fruit
D: Chicken veggie saute, mashed potatoes, green salad

SATURDAY
B: Pancakes with homemade sugar free cherry syrup, sausage patties, banana
L: PBJs, carrots with hummus
D: TBA (my stepmom likes to cook, and wants to cook for us while she's here so I'm leaving the weekend when she doesn't have to work open for her to choose)

SUNDAY
B: Egg white breakfast burritos with cheese, cherries from freezer
L: Dinner leftovers, green salad with carrots, fruited jello
D: TBA (same as Saturday)

Whew!

We are not breakfast and lunch planners here. I'm lucky if I get a dinner menu finished, making this a pretty big change for us. The way I see it, any one of three things could happen. We could all be inspired to more active meal planning through this journey. We may all lose 20 pounds, or my family will mutiny and order pizza while I'm not looking.

What's on your menu this week?


Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: Use it Up Edition

For a million more menus, check out Org. Junkie.

This week we are on a mission to use up the bits of this and that which are cluttering up the fridge. I want to cook/eat everything in there, clean the whole thing top to bottom, and start over with stuff from the freezer. I couldn't even get a frozen pizza into my outside freezer right now, it's so crammed full of awesome deals. Maybe it's the coming spring weather or the fact that I can walk outside without freezing immediately to the core, but I'm getting those 'Clean Everything!', 'Start Anew!' feelings. Now, to be practical about it instead of cleaning like a crazy until 4am only to collapse, exhausted, with more of a mess than I started with ...

MONDAY
Crockpot Beef Roast, Carrots, Onions, Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

That's it. Haha. The only day I know for sure, simply because it's already been cooking for 5 hours. The rest of the week will be an amalgamation of things from the fridge. What? I have no idea. There's some leftover fajitas in there, some ground beef, cheese, celery and carrots, some onion and bell pepper, a head of broccoli. Hmmmm. I should put some solid time in taking stock of what pieces can go together. Yea, maybe I'll go do it right now ...


Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: Mutiny Edition

For more menu ideas, check out Org. Junkie.

My family is trying to mutiny against the menu plan this week. As a compromise, we're making a list of meals, and not assigning days to them. I think this would be easier if they were all 2s and not 20s.

Cheesy Broccoli Alfredo
Ham Steaks, stuffing, green veggie
Mongo Night (stir fry to order a la the restaurant Mongolian BBQ), rice or tortillas
Whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and green veggie
Chicken Pot Pies (w/leftover roasted chicken)
Everything but the Kitchen Sink Dinner Nachos
Leftovers, probably.


I'm hoping they don't actually start protesting out front. I wish you better luck keeping your families on menus than I seem to have.


Simply,

Em.

Difficulties Indeed.

I'm back!

What was supposedly a broken monitor or graphics card turned into a burned out power supply and a totally trashed motherboard. Of course, it took Be a couple days to figure this out, and then took me another couple days to decide what I was going to do about it. I mean, what's a frugal (read: mostly broke) girl to do? My options included buying a new motherboard and power supply (and graphics card ... because the motherboard killed the original one) or to buy a whole new CPU. I spent a lot of time weighing the options, looking at the long term impacts of each, checking out features, and complaining a LOT about not having my PC to work with. I not only blog from it, but also run another home business, teach high school kids, and go to school (still ...). All of those things require personal computing capabilities, and while I concur with those frugal headshakers out there that I could survive without my own operational computer by hitting up the school library or a public one, I knew that I at least had files I needed to retrieve from my (hopefully) OK hard drive.

So I thought.

And I thought some more.

(I need a lot of time to make decisions about spending money ... you should see me grocery shop ... takes for-ev-er)

And then all my thinking was for naught when Be walked in the house with a new CPU, gifted to us by a lovely someone whom I already adored. A huge huge huge huge thank you to them!

So, I'm back. I'm blogging with Vista now ... which isn't as weird as I thought it would be (the Vista, not the blogging). Just in time for me to get back, however, is an upcoming holiday from feeling bad for not posting (read: vacay-ish). I will be leaving Wednesday afternoon (-ish) for a state finals tournament with the kids I teach/coach that goes until late Saturday (hopefully, late means we did well). I will endeavor to blog, but more likely will be busy preparing my kids between rounds and the like. Know that I'm thinking of you, and of a ton of things I want to write about (including shoppping last weekend .... Me: 1, Walgreens, 0!) for you.

I will return ... I promise. As for Menu Monday, we have a menu but it's unlikely that anyone in this house will follow it while I'm gone. Pizza Rolls and freezer food for them, I guess.


Simply,

Em.


PS, while I'm gone head over to The Grocery Cart Challenge and check out the Keurig giveaway. I've used those machines before and they are rockin' cool. Now, to figure out how to fill your own pod thing and escape having to buy expensive refills ....