Menu Plan ~ March 14 thru March 20

This week I'm planning my menu around the fact that I have some potatoes in the pantry that need to be used up and a ten pound bag of carrots in the fridge that we just got from Costco.

Sunday
toast & jelly or cereal
bagels & cream cheese, apples
baked macaroni, homemade bread, leftover veggies

Monday
toast & jelly
snacky (crackers, cheese and fruit plate)
Cheesy Beef and Rice, raw carrots & dip

Tuesday
Baked Oatmeal
dining out, celebrating dd6's recent bday
Three Cheese Pasta, mixed veggies

Wednesday
chocolate chip pancakes
pb&j sandwiches (dd3 has sunflower seed butter 'cause he's allergic to pb), apples & oranges
hot chicken sandwiches, raw carrots & dip

Thursday
cereal & yogurt
cheese quesadillas, apples & oranges
potato soup, homemade bread, homemade applesauce or mini apple pies

Friday
chocolate chip pancakes
grilled cheese sandwiches, apples & oranges
homemade pizza, carrots & dip

Saturday
bread machine cinnamon rolls
hosting a little girls' luncheon for dd's 6th bday
ground beef something, mixed veggies


Head over to Organizing Junkie to check out more menu plans.

Menu Plan ~ April 26 thru May 2

With the weather we had last week, I'm not sure whether to plan for winter comfort foods or switch over to cool summer dishes: we started the week with chilly rain, followed by a couple days of beautiful springtime weather and then the weekend brought scorching summer temps!

So this week, we're just sticking with meals that we enjoy eating...and here's the plan:

Breakfasts

• toast & jelly
• Whole Wheat, Choco Chip pancakes
• breakfast cookies
• cereal & yogurt
• baked oatmeal

Lunches

• tortilla pizzas, apple slices
• pb&j sandwiches, oranges
• snacky lunch (pretzels, cheese slices, fruit)
• quesadillas, oranges

Dinners

• Broccoli Cheese Soup, homemade bread
• Baked Mac & Cheese, green beans
• Soft Tacos, corn
• Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches, leftover baked beans, carrots & dip
• Cheesy Brown Rice, mixed vegies
• Homemade Pizza, carrots & dip
• Crockpot Italian Chicken, homemade bread, mixed vegies

For lots more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie.

Menu Plan ~ April 13-19

My menu plan post for this week is a bit late. It's actually been written on my calendar since last Friday, but I'm just now getting the post done. Oh well, better late than never, right? :)

There's lots of ham dishes in the plan this week - I don't want any of our delicious leftover ham from Easter dinner to go to waste (and if I don't plan to use it - that's exactly what would happen! :))

Breakfasts ~ toasted english muffins & jelly (buy 1 get 2 free sale!), baked oatmeal, breakfast cookies, whole wheat & choco chip pancakes

Lunches ~ Broccoli Cheese Soup (leftovers), ham sandwiches, crackers & cream cheese, pb&j sandwiches, pizza quesadillas, egg salad

Dinners ~ Egg Casserole (with ham), Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches, Black Bean & Ham Soup, homemade pizza, Chicken Paprikash, Baked Ziti

By the way, if you are looking for a really good broccoli cheese soup recipe - the one that I linked to on this page is AWESOME! It really is! I've made it 3 times in the past month. My husband loves it, and my 7-year old (who gags when eating veggies) actually told his little sister that it was good - and then immediately caught himself and said "I mean, it's okay" :)

There's lots more menu plans over at OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan ~ Apr 5 - 11

Ah, we had a wonderful taste of spring today ~ but alas, I was checking out the weather forecast and they're calling for rain, rain, and more rain - and cooler temperatures.

This transition to spring is always a bit tricky for me - the kids' closets are loaded with both cool weather and warm weather clothes, and I guess my meals plans need to be flexible too :).

Not that you can't eat chili in the summer (I love it anytime of the year), but it does make a cool, rainy day much cozier.

I have also added some special things this week's meal plan, as we are preparing to celebrate Easter. My husband is planning our first ever Passover Seder meal ~ to be eaten on Thursday night. And I am hoping to begin a new tradition of making hot cross buns for breakfast on Good Friday - I've never made these before, hopefully the recipe that I chose is a good one :)


Breakfasts ~ toast & jelly, baked oatmeal, french toast, breakfast cookies, hot cross buns, cinnamon rolls

Lunches ~ cheese quesadillas, pb&j sandwiches, cream cheese on crackers, egg salad, pizza bread

Dinners ~ baked ziti (from the freezer), beefy enchiladas, spinach rice casserole, Passover Seder meal, homemade pizza, chili

Snacks ~ banana bread, breakfast cookies

For lots more menu plans, head on over to OrgJunkie!

MenuPlan ~ March 29 thru April 4

Wow! I can't believe that the month of March ends this week! I guess I'd better get moving on preparing a plan for April's meals.

I've found that planning for a month of meals makes my weekly meal planning go so much more smoothly. For my monthly meal plan, I usually choose about 25-28 meals that I plan to make that month (some meals I prepare more than once, like homemade pizza). Then each week (usually Saturday) I do a weekly meal plan for the following week. Since I've already made a monthly meal plan, this usually takes less than 15 minutes.

Now on to the weekly plan ~ I really need to get to the grocery store to stock up on some fresh fruits & veggies, and some dairy products; otherwise we're still eating from our stash of meat in the freezer and making use of what's already in the pantry.

Breakfasts ~ Whole Wheat Breakfast Cake, baked oatmeal, french toast (from the freezer), pancakes (from the freezer), breakfast cookies, cereal

Lunches ~ cheese quesadillas, pb&j sandwiches, snacky lunch, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheesy brown rice, pizza bread

Dinners ~ Spaghetti Pie or Lasagna, Sloppy Joes, black beans w/ brown rice & cheese, Cheddar Broccoli Soup & homemade bread, homemade pizza, Beefy Enchiladas

Now, I must add a disclaimer. I almost never follow my menu plans exactly. There are many times when I have written the same meal for many weeks in a row - because I never got around to making it. I like having a plan, and I usually cook many items from the plan, but sometimes I like to change it up in the middle of the week :)

For more menu plans, head over to OrgJunkie

Menu Plan ~ March 22-28

This week I'm planning meals that make use of what I have on hand already. I plan to head out to the grocery store to stock up on fresh fruit and a few basics, but that's about it.

Last week, the kids and I headed to a local farm and stocked up on beef, so we do have a bit more beef in the menu this week - it does feel good to have a full freezer again.

Breakfasts ~ french toast, overnight whole wheat breakfast cake*, pancakes, amish baked oatmeal*, cinnamon rolls, cereal & yogurt
*Both the baked oatmeal, and ww breakfast cake are prepared the night before & kept in the fridge. I love that all I do in the morning is preheat the oven and then add the prepared pans - and they are both so YUMMY!

Lunches ~ tortilla pizzas, grilled cheese, pb&j sandwiches, snacky lunch (pretzels, cheese, fruit), tuna fish sandwiches, cheese 'n chips (basically tortilla chips topped with melted cheddar cheese)

Dinners ~ Cracker Casserole (named by my kids:) ), Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Chili (leftover from weekend), Beefy Enchiladas, Pizza Bread, Baked Ziti, Sloppy Joes

For more menu plans, check out OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan ~ March 15-21

I was very pleased with how last week's menu plan worked out. I was not sure that I would be able to pull off having dinner prepared before leaving for swim lessons, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Hopefully, I can make it work again this week - it was SO NICE to walk in the door at 6:30pm and sit down to a homecooked family dinner 10 minutes later (instead of picking up drive-thru food on the way home).


So here's the plan:

Breakfasts ~ french toast, breakfast cookies, toast, amish baked oatmeal, cereal & yogurt, pancakes (from the freezer)

Lunches ~ grilled cheese, pb& j sandwiches, snacky lunch, Cheesy Brown Rice, tortilla pizzas

Dinners ~ Three Cheese Pasta Casserole, Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches, Cheesy Brown Rice & vegies, Chili, Pizza Bread, Cracker Casserole

For more menu plans, head over to $5 Dinners!

Menu Plan ~ March 8-14

We're gearing up for a busy week around here. My daughter will be celebrating her 5th birthday on Tuesday, so she got to choose her favorite dinner.

In addition, the two older kids are beginning swimming lessons on Tuesday evening (indoor pool, of course!). We have to be at the pool by 5:30pm on Tuesday & Thursday evenings, which means we need to leave home by 5:00pm at the latest! I would love to have dinner prepared so that all I have to do is re-heat in the oven for about 10 minutes when we get home - we'll see how it goes.

Breakfasts ~ Overnight Whole Wheat Breakfast Cake, french toast, pancakes, Amish Baked Oatmeal, cereal & yogurt, toast

Lunches ~ doctored spaghetti noodles, leftover homemade pizza, quesadillas, pb&j sandwiches, grilled cheese, snacky lunch (crackers, cheese, fruit)

Dinners ~ homemade pizza, egg casserole & fruit salad, Tortilla chips w/ taco meat & cheese (dd's choice), Chicken and Gravy over noodles, Broccoli Cheddar Soup & homemade bread, Pizza Bread & carrot sticks, Baked Ziti

For lots more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan ~ Week of 3/1

I just picked up some BOGO bread (whole wheat pototo bread) at the grocery store - we've recently rediscovered how easy it is to whip up some french toast (and all three kiddos love it) - I can't wait to make a double batch this week so we can put some in the freezer.

I also stocked up on some BOGO cheese - they'll definitely come in handy this week.

Here's the plan:

Sunday
Breakfast ~ Amish Baked Oatmeal (Yummy! - thanks for linking to this recipe Amy!)
Lunch ~ Leftovers
Dinner ~ Chili, cornbread

Weekdays
Breakfasts ~ French Toast, Breakfast Cookies (in the freezer), pancakes, whole wheat breakfast cake, cereal & yogurt, toast
Lunches ~ grilled cheese, tortilla pizzas, pb&j sandwiches, spaghetti noodles w/parm cheese, snacky lunch (crackers, cheese, fruit), cheese n chips

Dinners
Monday ~ Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli
Tuesday ~ Mexican Black Bean Rice Bowls
Wednesday ~ Sloppy Joes
Thursday ~ Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Friday ~ Pizza Bread
Saturday ~ Chicken Pot Pie
Sunday ~ Chicken and Gravy

For lots more menu plans - head over to OrgJunkie!

March Meals

Here is the list of meals that I plan to serve at some point this month.

Breakfasts

Whole Wheat Breakfast Cake
Cinnamon Rolls
Babka
Amish Baked Oatmeal
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Morning Muffins
Breakfast Cookies
French Toast

Dinners

Bacon , Egg and Cheese Biscuits
Chicken Paprikash
BBQ Beef & Bean Cornbread Casserole
Pizza Bread
Mexican Black Bean Rice Bowls
Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches
Mexican Chicken Skillet
Meatloaf Cups
Cracker Casserole
Hamburgers
Homemade Pizza x2
Sloppy Joes
Three Cheese Pasta
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli
Creamy Corn Chowder
Chili
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Spinach Brown Rice & Cheese Casserole
Spaghetti Pie
Tacos
Cheesy Beef and Rice
Beefy Enchiladas
Chicken and Gravy

Lots of these recipes come from my new favorite recipe blog - Cooking During Stolen Moments. I can't wait to try these new recipes out on my family.