Category: MENU PLANS

Menu Plan Monday

Weekday breakfasts are always either toast or cereal so I don’t post those. Working from home, lunch is “whatever” so it isn’t definitive either, but weekends are usually a brunch and I will start posting those along with the dinners.

9/29 MONDAY ~ Chicken Chili
9/30 TUESDAY ~ Chicken Fried Chicken with Peppered Gravy
10/1 WEDNESDAY ~ Chicken Cordon Blue

SO
I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

final blog signature. ♥

Menu Plan Monday

Weekday breakfasts are always either toast or cereal so I don’t post those. Working from home, lunch is “whatever” so it isn’t definitive either, but weekends are usually a brunch and I will start posting those along with the dinners.

9/22 MONDAY ~ Taco Ring Salad
9/23 TUESDAY ~ Chicken Cordon Bleu & Applesauce
9/24 WEDNESDAY ~ Orange Honey Chicken & Fried Rice

9/25 THURSDAY ~ Great Grandma’s Chicken & Noodles – I’m working on a written recipe for this – I’ve made it from scratch for so long without a recipe – so it’s hard to write it down – LOL
9/26 FRIDAY ~ Chili and Beer Bread
9/27 SATURDAY ~ Heavenly Ham Hash / Chicken Enchiladas & Refried Beans
9/28 SUNDAY ~ Quiche Lorraine / Stuffed Pork Chops & Salad
SO
I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

final blog signature. ♥

Menu Plan Monday

9/15 MONDAY ~ Out for my birthday dinner
9/16 TUESDAY ~ Mexican Baja Casserole
9/17 WEDNESDAY ~ Spaghetti Bolegnese & Salad
9/18 THURSDAY ~ Sauteed Garlic Shrimp & Salad
9/19 FRIDAY ~ Meatloaf Muffins & Garlic Smashers
9/20 SATURDAY ~ Chicken and Onions in White Cream Sauce
9/21 SUNDAY ~ Beef Stew & Cheddar rolls

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

final blog signature. ♥

Homemaking September Shape Up ~ Family Dinners & Holidays, Organizing for a crowd

Barbara over at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers is hosting the Homemaking September Shape-up. It’s an all around comprehensive house to home style of posts to help us get our homes and lives whipped into shape.

She asked me to write some guest posts for the kitchen section and I’m so excited to help her kick off this whole idea.

FAMILY DINNERS & HOLIDAYS, ORGANIZING FOR A CROWD

I’m going to have a houseful for the Christmas holidays so I will use that as my example.

Besides menu planning and doing everything you can to organize, my best advice is to use cutting boards to aid in stacking items in the refrigerator and use cookie sheets as lids in the oven so you can stack multiple dishes on each shelf and have room for the Turkey or Ham and all your side dishes so they’ll all be ready at the same time.

For a crowd that will be around for an extended amount of time, I also try to prepare dishes in advance and freeze them when possible so that I don’t spend all my ‘visiting time’ in the kitchen. I may have spent the better part of a day cooking now, but it was well worthwhile as it will save me tons of time while my company is here.

So to recap:
1) Menu Plan
2) Organize
3) Pre-make as much as possible
4) Stay organized or at least reorganize as necessary

for example:
12/17 ~ Spaghetti Bolegnese & Garlic Bread (sauce was made today and frozen)*
12/18 ~ Winter Soup & Beer Bread (soup was made today and frozen)
12/19 ~ Crock Pot Lasagne & Garlic Bread (sauce was made today and frozen)*
12/20 ~ Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup & Buttermilk Biscuits & honey (soup made today and frozen)
12/21 ~ Garlic Shrimp Pasta
12/22 ~ Chicken Cacciatore (sauce made today and frozen)*
12/23 ~ Meatloaf Muffins & Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
12/24 ~ Pot Roast & Veggies & Mashed Potatoes & Corn Flake Wreaths & Peanut Butter Bourbon Balls
12/25 ~ Rum Raisin Glazed Ham, Holiday Carrot Casserole, Garlic Smashers, Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie
12/26 ~ Chicken Enchiladas and Chile Cornbread (enchiladas made today and frozen)
12/27 ~ CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)
12/28 ~ Lemon Lime Pepper Chicken & Cranberry Rice Pilaf (Rice made today and frozen)
12/29 ~ Taco Ring Salad
12/30 ~ Out for mom’s 69th birthday
12/31 ~ Chicken Fried Chicken with Peppered Gravy & Mashed Potatoes
1/1 ~ Creamy Tomato Soup & Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
1/2 ~ Stuffed Shells & Garlic Bread (Shells made today and frozen)
1/3 ~ CORN
1/4 ~ Meatloaf with a kick & Maple glazed carrots
1/5 ~ out on the way to the airport

All the meals that aren’t already prepared have been proportioned out and seasoned before freezing so they’re immediately ready after thawing.

Now I’ve given you a rather large example, so think how easy it will be to do just a Sunday family dinner after church? All the same principles apply just in a smaller proportion.

*I’m using the same sauce on all of these so I made a HUGE batch which will save me soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much time!!

final blog signature. ♥

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Grilled Spare Ribs & Salad
TUESDAY ~ Fried Egg Sandwiches & Cucumber Salad
WEDNESDAY ~ CORN (clean out refrigerator night)
THURSDAY ~ Lasagne & Salad
FRIDAY ~ 12 Hour Salad
SATURDAY ~ Something grilled to get the last days of summer in
SUNDAY ~ Something else grilled!

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ CORN (CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT)
TUESDAY ~ Seafood Salad and Parmesan Rolls
WEDNESDAY ~ Chicken Cacciatore & Salad
THURSDAY ~ Meatloaf Muffins & Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
FRIDAY ~ Tuna Melts & Watermelon
SATURDAY ~ Something Grilled with Salad
SUNDAY ~ Something else grilled with Salad

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Hubby & I are going to be out playing for the day (flea markets and antique stores) for our Anniversary – dinner at the Golden Pines
TUESDAY ~ Taco Ring Salad always a HUGE hit around here
WEDNESDAY ~ Stuffed Shells & Salad
THURSDAY ~ Mexican Baja Casserole
FRIDAY ~ Carnitas & Salad
SATURDAY ~ Chicken Cacciatore & Noodles
SUNDAY ~ Chicken Carbonara & Salad

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Jambalaya & Salad
TUESDAY ~ Crispy Cheesy Chicken Nuggets & Salad
WEDNESDAY ~ Chicken Pie
THURSDAY ~ Meatloaf Muffins & Salad
FRIDAY ~ Pork Chops & Home Made Apple sauce
SATURDAY ~ Seafood Salad & Parmesan rolls
SUNDAY ~ Lemon Lime Pepper Chicken & Salad

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat Wednesday hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Linguini & Clams
TUESDAY ~ C.O.R.N.*
WEDNESDAY ~ Roasted Red Pepper Krab Salad
THURSDAY ~ Chicken Enchiladas & Refried Beans
FRIDAY ~ Pork Chops & Stuffing
SATURDAY ~ Seafood Salad & Parmesan Rolls
SUNDAY ~ Chicken Cacciatore & Salad

*C.O.R.N. ~ clean out refrigerator night

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Chinese Chicken Salad
TUESDAY ~ Chicken Carbonara
WEDNESDAY ~ Meatloaf Muffins
THURSDAY ~ Stuffed Shells
FRIDAY ~ Grilled Brats & Baked Beans
SATURDAY ~ Roasted Red Pepper Krab Salad over Tomatoes
SUNDAY ~ Fried Chicken

Roasted Red pepper Krab Salad 1/2 pound Krab, minced
1 large bunch green onions, minced
1 package Schwann’s Roasted Red Pepper Queso, thawed
2 Large tomatoes
4 teaspoons lemon juice

  • Combine krab, green onions and queso packet contents.
  • Toss Well.
  • Slice tomato and divide amongst 4 plates.
  • Salt & Pepper each tomato slice.
  • Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice per portion over the tomato slices.
  • Top with a large scoop of salad.
  • Enjoy.

3 weight watcher’s points

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY ~ Stuffed Shells and Salad
TUESDAY ~ Chinese Chicken Salad
WEDNESDAY ~ Pork Chops and Stuffing (hubby’s request)
THURSDAY ~ Chicken Tacos
FRIDAY ~ BLT’s and Macaroni Salad
SATURDAY ~ 12 Hour Salad (1/2 recipe)
SUNDAY ~ Grilled Hamburger steaks and baked potatoes

12 HOUR SALAD
1 cup slivered carrots
1 tomato chopped
4 cups torn salad greens
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 bunches green onions, sliced
1 can LeSeur peas, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 pound bacon, cooked & crumbled

  • Put tomatoes on the bottom.
  • Layer carrots, salad greens, chopped celery, sliced green onions, and LeSeur peas in a salad bowl on top of tomatoes.*
  • Whip together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar and spread over vegetable ayer.
  • Sprinkle cheese and bacon over the mayonnaise layer.
  • Cover and refrigerate over night.
  • Toss just before serving.

*Add whatever vegtatbles you like, radishes, green peppers, etc…
NOTE: When adding cucumber or tomato be sure to place UNDER the lettuce!

I do the memes: Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie, Favorite Ingredient Friday hosted by Kathryn at Overwhelmed with Joy, Freezer Food Friday hosted by MJ at mjpuzzlemom, Scrumptious Sunday hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks, Tasty Thursday hosted by Pumpkin Patch, Watchin’ What We Eat hosted by Lorie at Honey I Shrank Myself and Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Doing them all make great additions to help keeping me on track and finding so new recipes!