Menu Plan Monday - March 1 edition

I did manage to write up a meal plan for this week, but I didn't get it done today. Had to get it done today, because I had to make my grocery list and go shopping, because there was very little left in the house! We've had a bit of the respiratory bug that's been going around and there's been little cooking happening here lately, but now that everyone's feeling more like eating regular meals, a restock of the pantry and fridge were crucial!

I decided to ask everyone what their favorite meals were and what they wanted me to cook this week and actually got some responses, which was shocking! So there's some new recipes on the list for this week.

So here's the plan:

Monday: enchiladas (done and they were yummy. This will also be lunches for G for the next couple of days)

Tuesday: Oven-fried Chicken (E's request) with mashed potatoes (according to G, the red ones taste the best mashed)

Wednesday: Beans and Rice (I have some Northern beans cooked and frozen from my last big batch I can throw some ham in)

Thursday: Chicken Fried Steak (I think I've seen a recipe for this on Southern Plate but I have to find it)

Friday: Pizza (I might even try to make my own crust)

Saturday: Open

Sunday: Leftovers or veggie soup

For breakfasts, I'm going to try to either make oatmeal for the troops or cook some sausage and biscuits tomorrow night to heat up for on the road meals.

Lunches will either be leftovers or sandwiches.

Sunday:

Menu Plan Monday - 2/8

Time for another menu plan - totally forgot to post last week's plan, and ended the week with a lot of leftovers to plow through. *sigh* I'm pretty much the only one who'll eat leftovers in my house, so I've got some lunches saved up. I need to figure out how to cook smaller. Or clean out my freezer so I can start freezing half of what I cook immediately for a later date.

Anyway, my plan for this week includes:

Monday: Salmon with veggies & rice

Tuesday: Leftover Pasta w/meat sauce

Wednesday: Tamales

Thursday: Scrambled eggs or frittata

Friday: Open - might go out for an early Valentine's Dinner

Saturday: Soup

I got some meaty soup bones from a grass-fed beef vender at the local farmer's market this weekend, so I'm going to put those into the crockpot on Saturday (or Friday night) to make a nice, meaty beef broth and then add veggies for a tasty soup.

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas on Menu Plan Monday.

Recipe - Turkey Skillet Pasta

Two posts in two days! That might be a record. I wanted to post my recipe for Turkey Skillet Pasta -- although that's a pretty bland name for a recipe, this is a great one! It's my go-to quick dinner on busy nights.

Here's the ingredients - Seasoning, Parmesan Cheese, Pasta, Ground Turkey, Beef Broth, Diced Tomatoes, Zucchini.
Wait! Where are my zucchini?

There they are... whew!

I usually brown a bunch of ground turkey at once and freeze it in 1 lb. packages, but if you don't, go ahead and brown the turkey, drain, and set aside. Or feel free to use ground beef if you'd rather.


Into the pan goes the beef broth...


and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil.


Then you can throw in the pasta, and lower heat to a simmer. Cover.


Go ahead and throw a seasoning blend in there. I like my Italian blend, but this recipe is pretty forgiving if you want to mix it up a little. Let that simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is almost done.


While that's cooking, we can give the zucchini a chop.


After the pasta has simmered for 15 minutes, the ground turkey gets returned to the pan...


and the zucchini gets added. Let the mixture simmer an additional 5 minutes.


A bit of Parmesan cheese sprinkled in while the last bit of moisture is absorbed by the pasta, and the dish is complete! YUM!

I've tried this recipe with a variety of pasta shapes and sizes, as well as subbing in different veggies for the zucchini.

Hope you enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - 1/25

One of my goals is to participate more regularly in Menu Plan Monday. Of course, this means I'll have to start posting to the blog at least once a week, but we'll see how that goes... lol.

Anyway, this week seems to be a little heavy on the Mexican items, but my hubby loves my enchiladas and the salsa chili recipe is a new one -- I hope we like it!

Here's my plan for the week:

Monday - Enchiladas

Tuesday - Salsa Chili (found this on a healthy eating calendar - might post on this later)
Wednesday - Turkey Skillet Pasta (This is my go-to meal for busy nights)

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Soup

Saturday - Bean Burritos

Hopefully I can stick to this meal plan, because that'll help me with my WeightWatchers goals. Breakfasts will be either oatmeal with blueberries or a scrambled egg on an english muffin and lunches will be leftovers. I made a batch of super-easy meatballs the other night and neither G nor E really liked them, so I foresee lots of meatball lunches this week.

Check out Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie for more meal plan ideas!

Menu Plan Monday - 11/23

Last week's plan went a little awry due to some stomach distress in the troops. The pancakes and French Toast went over well, but the enchiladas were postponed til later in the week. Luckily, everyone seems to be better this week. Miss Em is out at the grandparents this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm just cooking for the two of us.

Monday - Parmesan and Beef Pasta - I usually make this recipe with turkey and zucchini, but I've also subbed green beans and other veggies depending on what's in the fridge.

Tuesday - Green Salad with Chicken Fajita strips - I think it's a good idea to eat light this week before the big Thanksgiving feast.

Wednesday - Tilapia fillets and steamed veggies - I found these great frozen tilapia fillets breaded with a parmesan coating.

Thursday - TURKEY!!

Friday - I'm going to the after Thanksgiving sales so meals will probably be catch as catch can but I might throw some veggie soup in the crockpot.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is great! Have fun with your families or whomever you choose to celebrate with. Be sure to check out more menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Clutter Be Gone!

Photo by kevindooley

With the holidays looming on the horizon, I'm starting to feel like my house is drab and dirty. Not so much that it is dirty (it has it's moments) but the clutter is driving me nuts.

It's time to start weeding out the junk and getting rid of it. We've toyed with the idea of having a garage sale but getting it all sorted and tagged, then spending the day hauling it out to the driveway doesn't appeal to us. Better to sort through it in our spare time and either try to sell it online or simply donate it.

Once we've cleared out some of the clutter, it will be easier to start decorating for the holidays. I'd like to get the decorations out a bit at a time so it's not such a big project.

This year I'm going to get an artificial tree. We prefer real, but usually don't get to the tree farm until right before Christmas. I don't really feel the Christmas spirit without the tree so waiting makes my holiday season feel very short. I'm rushed at the last minute to get it all together.

I'd like to have my tree up in the dining room early and we can put the real tree up in the living room later.

Menu Plan Monday: 11/16

I really did not feel like cooking this weekend, so we coped with some frozen dinners and tuna sandwiches. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things this week because I don't think I can pull that one off again without the troops complaining.

Tomorrow I'll head to the store for milk and some produce, but other than that I'm really going to try to eat from the freezer. I'll try to mix freezer things in with some of the guys' favorite meals. They really love breakfast for dinner!

Monday: Pancakes

Tuesday: Enchiladas w/ salad

Wednesday: Chicken breasts w/ veggies and rice

Thursday: Eggs & French Toast

Friday: Chicken pot pie

Saturday: Sandwiches & Soup

Check out OrgJunkie for more menu ideas.