Menu Plan

Trying to get back to posting this, as it really does help me stay on track. Here are my plans for this week.

Tuesday
B - Kashi
L - Black Bean Burritos from freezer with tomatoes
S - carrot sticks and cheese
D - grilled eggplant/feta stacks with green salad and olives

Wednesday
B- egg muffin
L- leftovers from Tuesday dinner
S - cheese sticks, ww crackers
D - crustless veggie quiche with salad

Thursday
B- oatmeal or egg muffin
L- taco salad w/ homemade tortilla strips
S- carrot sticks and cheese
D- leftover quiche, salad

Friday
B- cereal or oatmeal
L- grilled tilapia and chicken breast with grilled veggies (grilled brussels sprouts?)
S- nuts and carrot sticks
D- BOOK GROUP

Saturday (make a big batch of marinara and a crock pot of taco meat)
B- out or egg muffin
L- leftovers from Fri lunch
S- nuts and carrots and cheese
D- baked spaghetti squash with meatballs and red sauce

Week Two Wrap Up

Spending for week two $5.65! We bought quite a few freebie groceries, but only had to pay for half and half and soyoy bars. So we're now $25.16 under budget for the challenge. On to week three.

Another Pantry Meal Plan

So, we have a lot of leftovers and we'll be eating a lot of those for lunches. Also getting a bunch of delicious Greek yogurt free after coupons, so we'll be eating that for breakfasts. I LOVE Greek yogurt. And I made homemade granola yesterday to top it with. YUM!

Breakfasts: fruit, greek yogurt, homemade granola, waffles

Lunches: leftovers, tuna, PB&J, out on Wed

Dinners
Sunday: "Leftover Buffet"
Monday: Shrimp Pasta (ended up getting a free pizza instead)
Tuesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, Collard Greens, Homemade Pear Sauce
Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner
Thursday: Asian Pork Tenderloin, Steamed Veggies, Rice
Friday: Fried Rice
Saturday: Leftovers or Baked Potato Soup

Indian-Spiced Turkey Burgers

Those of you who know me know, that while I love to cook, I don't buy cook books. Most recipes I can find online for free. But a while back, I did purchase a copy of Anjum Anand's "Indian Food Made Easy" because I really wanted to learn to cook the Indian food that we enjoy so much when we go out to eat. Everything I've made from the book has been delicious and enjoyed by all of us (as long as I make milder versions of the spicy dishes for Autumn).

I adapted her Chicken Burger recipe from the book to make turkey burgers for lunch today and they turned out soooooo yummy. I'd love to try the original recipe as it's written in the book, but adapted it to use what I had on hand in the house. Here's my version from today (oh, and this made about 13 burgers, 10 of which I'm sticking in the freezer for quick lunches):

2 lbs ground turkey
1 1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 small onion minced
2-3 large garlic cloves minced
handful of fresh parsley leaves and stalks finely chopped
2 heaping teaspoons salt
1 1/2 t garam masala (common Indian spice combination - you can find this one in the grocery store)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 t ground cumin
2 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 - 1 t ground red pepper
2 T EVOO, plus extra for oiling pan

Pre-heat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients together with your hands until well-combined. Shape into patties and place on an oiled pan. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve on toasted buns with tomato, lettuce, onion and (herbed) mayo.

Meal Planning

Last week's menu plan got all messed up. Hopefully this week will go more smoothly. It's going to be a crazy busy week though. 4th of July stuff, plumbing stuff, roofing repairs, etc.

Monday (clean house, clean out fridge, make croutons)

Lunch - peanut butter crackers, cantaloupe (leftovers)

Dinner - Baked Potatoes & veggies

Tuesday (bake bread)

Lunch - garden salad with homemade croutons, strawberries (leftovers)

Dinner - pasta with veggies

Wednesday (craziness)

Lunch - Grilled cheese, mangoes/cantaloupe

Dinner - Italian pasta salad with tons of fresh veggies (leftovers)

Thursday

Lunch - leftover pasta salad

Dinner - quiche, salad

Friday

Lunch - leftover quiche

Dinner - pepperoni pizza, salad

Saturday

burgers, hot dogs, salad, fresh fruit, dessert

Groceries:

-eggs

-parmesan

-pepperoni

-broccoli

-hot dog and hamburger buns

Oven-Fried Chili Chicken Recipe

Here's a link to the recipe for dinner tonight: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/ovenfriedchillichick_86437.shtml

We also had Basmati rice, spinach, and fresh cherries-YUM.

Menu Planning

Things are so busy around here, we're going super simple this week. Breakfasts will be cereal, oatmeal, and/or waffles from the freezer.

Monday-(bake bread)
Lunch: PB&J, veggies
Dinner: brocolli beef meal from the freezer

Tuesday-(shopping day)
Lunch: penne with olive oil and veggies
Dinner: oven-fried chili chicken and salad

Wednesday-
Lunch: BLTs and fresh fruit
Dinner: baked potatoes with toppings

Thursday-
Lunch: potato and egg skillet with toast
Dinner: leftover pasta from tuesday

Friday-
Lunch: lemon pepper fish and roasted veggies
Dinner: hummus, pita, and veggies

Saturday-(paint office!)
Lunch: pasta with sauce from the freezer
Dinner: lentil soup with ham bone (lots of extra for freezer)

Sunday-
Lunch: lentil soup leftovers
Dinner: tacos with fresh salsa

Groceries Needed (we're running really low on fresh produce, so we'll have to buy a bunch)
-fresh ginger
-fresh green chilies
-lemons
-apples
-carrots
-cherries
-potatoes
-limes
-fresh cilantro (not getting enough from the garden)
-parmesan cheese
-tahini
-half and half
-milk

Meal Plans for the Week

I'm behind this week after being sick for the last several days. Trying to get a meal plan together though, because it really does make the week a lot easier.

We really stocked up on yogurt over the last couple weeks, so it looks like that will be making up a lot of our breakfasts. :-)

I'm trying to play with a new recipe at least once a week.

Tuesday
Breakfast - yogurt and granola
Lunch - PB&J on homemade bread (Matt gets pasta and meatballs)
Dinner - vegetable red curry with Jasmine rice

Wednesday
Breakfast - yogurt and homemade toast
Lunch - leftover curry
Dinner - garden salad and garlic cheese toast

Thursday
Breakfast - cereal or oatmeal
Lunch -BLTs on homemade bread (matt will get steamed fish and rice)
Dinner - homemade hawiian pizza with salad

Friday
Breakfast - yogurt and granola
Lunch -whole-wheat pasta salad with lots of fresh veggies
Dinner - chicken quesadillas with fresh salsa

Saturday
Breakfast - cereal or soyjoy bars
Lunch -leftovers
Dinner - Chilean chicken and brown rice

Sunday
Breakfast - soyjoy bars
Lunch - out or sandwiches
Dinner - leftovers