Menu Plan Monday - A Snowy Week Ahead

For those who don't know, I live in Northern Virginia. Just "outside the beltway", yet right in the middle of "we-have-no-earthly-idea-what-to-do-when-it-snows" land. Remember how last year President Obama made news by mocking the fact that there were a couple of inches of snow on the ground and his girls got a snow day? That's where I live. Thankfully, even though I love the snow, we don't get a lot of it. Except for this year. We got another 8 inches of snow over the weekend (made completely worse by the fact that they were only predicting 1-2), and it is supposed to snow Tuesday night and over the weekend. The bread-milk-toilet paper people are out in full force (in addition to freaking out when it snows, people panic when snow is in the forecast, and stock up on bread, milk, and toilet paper...really). So I'm planning easy meals this week that will also be nice and warm on the cold snowy days. :)

Our menu plan for the week...
Monday: chicken enchiladas (these are from Let's Dish, but if you're going to make your own, we really like this recipe from Rachael Ray)
Tuesday: spaghetti, rolls, salad
Wednesday: taco salad (a healthier way to eat tacos...I put a handful of tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, put a scoop of meat on top, a sprinkle of cheese, and then handfuls of tomatoes & lettuce and some black olives)
Thursday: Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches (Let's Dish), oven fries, salad
Friday: out for dinner...if it doesn't snow!
Saturday: Chicken picatta (I use the recipe from the Dinner Doctor cookbook)
Sunday: Super Bowl Sunday...we'll probably hang out with friends and order pizza

Menu Planning Monday

You know how some people live places where the weather follows a predictable pattern? I am not one of those people. It was cold and rainy yesterday (it hovered around 45 all day), and we woke up to rain today. Except that it was 60 out. Now it's 62 and sunny. And it's supposed to snow on Friday. Welcome to Virginia - if you don't like the weather, wait a few hours. I pay attention to the weather when I plan my menus for the week. In the summer we like to grill, and when it's super cold out I like comfort foods. And there's nothing better on a cold snowy day then making a pot of soup. So what to do in weeks like this? Make everything from the freezer that we planned on making but never did the past few weeks. :)

My menu for this week:
Monday: shrimp crepes (Let's Dish), green vegetables
Tuesday: prosciutto wrapped chicken, egg noodles, green beans
Wednesday: turkey noodle casserole (this is so delicious - it's the best version of turkey noodle casserole I have found, and is not just yummy, it's really quick and easy to make!), salad
Thursday: chicken minestrone ragu (Let's Dish), rolls, salad
Friday: out for dinner :)
Saturday: not sure what we will be doing Saturday...having dinner with the in-laws or out with friends...either way, we won't be home!
Sunday: chicken cordon bleu, wild rice, green vegetables

Menu Planning Monday

It's that time of the week again to plan meals. I don't know why, but I feel like this is one of the hardest things to do every week. It's like I sit down to plan out what to make for the week and the part of my brain that decides what we're going to eat shuts down. Sigh...if anyone has any tips for making this less difficult, I would love to hear them! Anyways, we'll be home for dinners most nights this week, though the weekend is up in the air. My in-laws will be in town, so chances are good that we'll have dinner with them at least once or twice (especially over the weekend). But I don't know. I've planned dinners for the weekend that stay frozen until I cook them so that if we're home I have something to make, but it won't matter if we leave them in the freezer another week.

This week's menu, in conjunction with Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com...
Monday: lasgana (I use the recipe on the back of the Barilla no-cook noodles box and it's always a huge hit!), French bread, salad
Tuesday: Greek turkey burgers, (the recipe calls for ground chicken or lamb, but I use ground turkey breast to make it a little healthier. I also make them much smaller...I use 1 lb of ground turkey breast for 4 burgers) Greek salad, potato wedges
Wednesday: Chicken Mug Pie
Thursday: Chicken Cordon Bleu (we never made this last week), wild rice, green veggies
Friday: Prosciutto-wrapped chicken (Let's Dish), egg noodles, green veggies
Saturday: Shrimp crepes (Let's Dish), salad
Sunday: Chicken Minestrone Ragu

Warm Meals for a Cold Week Ahead

I don't know what it's been like where you live, but here in Northern Virginia it's been freezing. Literally. We're used to the occasional day where it drops below freezing, but not like this. It's been frigid for weeks now, and, in spite of my best efforts to eat healthily, all we really want to eat are comfort foods. The good news? Broth based soups are actually quite healthy. And when you load them with vegetables and pair it with a loaf of crusty bread...well...it's perfect for a cold night. So we're going to have a few nights of soup this week (and, lots of soup for lunch...I actually love canned soup, and am a huge fan of the Progresso Light soups!). So, in conjunction with Meal Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com, our meal plan for the week is...

Monday: chicken minestrone ragu (Let's Dish...yes, we're eating this again this week - I made 4 servings of it last month!), rolls, salad
Tuesday: mushroom & barley soup (a new recipe for us, but it looks SO yummy!!), rolls, salad
Wednesday: chicken cordon bleu (we love this version - it's quite delicious, and quite healthy!), wild rice, green veggie
Thursday: shrimp scampi with linguine (Let's Dish), salad
Friday: beef roulade (Let's Dish), baked potatoes, green veggie
Saturday: pasta with prosciutto & peas (a Rachael Ray favorite), salad
Sunday: going out - we're seeing Eddie from Ohio with friends and will be eating there!

Menu Plan Monday - New Year, New Menu

It's hard to believe that it's 2010 - 2009 really flew right by! And, like everyone else it seems, I am back on the diet and exercise bandwagon. I try to watch my calories (rather than follow a specific plan), and combined with the attempt to exercise 5-6 times a week, it seems to work for me. All of our dinners this week are on the healthy side for that reason. I also find that I am far more successful when I eat smaller portions of foods I like rather than try to make "diet" dinners or substitute with diet foods (and my husband boycotts all "fake" foods...I would be more annoyed if he weren't so darn skinny, so maybe he's on to something). We also try to not eat out too often - aside from the health reasons, it's just a lot cheaper to eat at home. Of course, now that I've said that, you'll notice that we're going out for dinner twice this week. But it's because a good friend of ours will be in town, and since she is now living in another country, we will be taking every opportunity we can to see her (and take her out to all of her favorite restaurants!).


Oh yes, a report from last week. We did not like the potato casserole we made. My husband ate about three mouthfuls; I was less picky about it, but I won't be making it again. And because Friday night's dinner made more chicken that we thought, we ate it again for dinner Saturday night, so that's why you see a repeat from last week in this week's menu - we never ate it! :)

This Week's Menu Plan, in conjunction with Menu Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com...
Monday - prosciutto wrapped chicken (from Let's Dish), egg noodles, green veggie
Tuesday - minestrone ragu (Let's Dish), french rolls, salad
Wednesday - shrimp crepes (Let's Dish), salad
Thursday - Not-Sagna Pasta Toss, salad (this Rachael Ray recipes is one of our all time favorites...it makes a LOT of pasta and is very filling. We make a half recipe for the two of us and find that at least one of us gets leftovers for lunch - usually both of us!)
Friday & Saturday - out with friends
Sunday - mushroom strudel (Let's Dish), green veggies

Yes, lots of dinners this week from Let's Dish. (and, as always, if you are interested in giving Let's Dish a try, drop me a line and I'll send you a referral email with a coupon code!) I wish they were paying me for the publicity, but they're not at all. I just really love them. :) We have a busy week ahead, which is why I love having a freezer full of dinners ready to go!

Menu Planning - A Weekly Organization Mission

Growing up, my parents would go to the grocery store nearly every day. They would do a big shopping trip once a week or so for all the basics and the things that were on sale, but the day to day stuff would be picked up on the way home before my mom made dinner. My mom sort of planned out what we would be eating for the week, but not really. Most of it was done on the fly, which is even more impressive when you consider that she had two very picky eaters and that she did all of the cooking. My mom is also a good cook - she knows how to look in the refrigerator and throw things together to make a quick and healthy dinner. In fact, one of our favorite dinners growing up was called "Hope For The Best Minestrone" - vegetable soup that really just consisted of whatever vegetables were in the house. As Rachael Ray would say, YUM-O.

I, however, am not that talented. I can't cook without a recipe, and even with a recipe it's hard for me to know if I will like a dish or not. My husband does a lot of the cooking too - he is an amazing chef, and back when I was working full-time, he did all of the cooking. So, I am a planner. It's easier to know in advance what we'll be having for dinners, and it makes grocery shopping easier as well. Not only do I save money (because I just buy what I need for the week), we tend to not overbuy - no one likes having to throw out food because you just didn't get to it. I also find menu planning really difficult. I like to look around online for ideas, and I love Menu Planning Monday (sponsored by orgjunkie.com) because it gives me some ideas (and lets me know that I'm not alone in trying to organize this one tiny area of my life!)

So, here is my first attempt at Menu Planning Monday. This week's meals are a little different, in that we are going out for New Year's Eve (yay!), my husband will be home for 4 days for the holidays, and I am very limited in what I can cook because I injured my finger last week. Oh yeah - we have about 5 pounds of leftover shredded potatoes in our refrigerator as well...we made potato latkes with our friends last night to celebrate a belated Chanukah, and we shredded up a few too many. :) With that, my menu plan for the week...

Monday: leftover lasagna (I make the best lasagna ever...don't tell anyone, but my secret recipe for lasagna is on the back of the box of Barilla no-cook noodles...it's amazing!)
Tuesday: meatloaf muffins (I leave out the peppers and onions), Au Gratin potato casserole (a new recipe for us...trying to use up the potatoes!), green beans
Wednesday: beef roulade (this is one of my dinners from Let's Dish...you can read more about Let's Dish in this post), leftover potato casserole, some sort of green vegetable (because my mom taught me that you always need to have a green vegetable at every meal!!)
Thursday: out for New Year's Eve!
Friday: Peruvian Roast Chicken, oven fries, salad
Saturday: prosciutto-wrapped chicken (from Let's Dish), egg noodles, green veggie
Sunday: raviolis. salad, french bread