Knitting Zeal

Menu planning in September

It's the busiest time of the year for myself and my family.  September means we are back in school, back into fall soccer, back into choir and bells and back into scouts.  This year it also means I'm back to work full time instead of occasionally.  We are busy 3-4 nights a week with activities and volunteer obligations.  It also means I need to get back into formal meal planning.  I'd let it fall to the wayside this past year because I was only working part time and not every day.  I had plenty of time to run to the grocery store and pick up last minute items.  Now, not so much.  After three weeks of school with no real menu plan I found that it's just not working.  By Wednesday at 6:20 when we still weren't home from the day of school and after school activities and the meal I had planned would take at least an hour to prepare we ended up at Corner Bakery for dinner because I just didn't have it in me.  Now I know that on Wednesdays I need to plan a meal that is either in the slow cooker or one that is pre-cooked or eaten cold.  Here are my ideas for next week:

 

Monday: Slow cooker Honey Garlic Chicken over rice.  I'm going to attempt to make this in the instant pot instead of slow cooking it.  Hoping it works!

Tuesday: Chicken fajitas with rice.  I use Penzey's fajita spice seasoning.  It's the best!  It's scouts night so this needs to be a quick meal. 

Wednesday:  Buffalo chicken chili in the slow cooker.  This is a great recipe and I like that I can control the spiciness.  My kid won't eat this though! 

Thursday: No school!  Will make homemade pizza dough for either pizza or Stromboli.  The kiddo likes cheesy bread sticks with this dough too.  This is an easy to make pizza dough that uses yeast and bread flour.  It turns out great every time and I can make 2 huge pizzas with it or 3 medium ones.  Served with salad.

Friday: who knows!!  

Weekend: Depending upon soccer games, volunteering and church activities, meals will be planned on the fly.  I do hope to get some meal prep done as well as some grocery shopping.  I'd like to make these no-bake energy bites to pack in school lunches.  

 

Menu plan Monday, October 12, 2015

Hello!  After a long hiatus I thought I post a menu plan for this week. Life has gotten in the way of blogging, but I'm starting to miss it, so maybe I'll post here and there again.  We'll see!

Fall is apparently here, in Southeastern PA.  We had a GREAT summer that we didn't want to end, so I'm still in a bit of denial that shorts and sandal weather is done for another six months.  Winter is coming!  Ugh.  Since moving closer to the equator isn't about to happen anytime soon, I'll just have to deal with the onslaught of pumpkin spiced everything (blech!) and the inevitable leaves falling.  Which means...it's soup weather!

On my plan for this week is:

Monday: spinach tortellini soup!  I'll alter the posted recipe by eliminating the tomatoes and adding some sliced carrots.  I'll be using fresh spinach too, since we got a ton of it in our CSA share last week.  Served with a salad.  

Tuesday:  A simple and quick meal tonight since we have an evening activity scheduled; pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, some form of potato (tots?) and salad. 

Wednesday: meatballs and spaghetti, salad, green veggies.

Thursday: Slow cooker honey garlic chicken with brown rice and broccoli

Friday: Fish tacos with Asian cole slaw. (If I don't have to work...then it might just be burgers!  I like to buy fish the same day I'm cooking it.)  

Weekend: who knows!

School lunches:

I'm struggling to find acceptable lunch options for my second grader.  Cold lunches haven't been a hit yet, so I thought I'd try some hot lunches in a thermos.  HA!  I'm so funny.  So far the lunch things I've sent in a thermos were so horrible they made him want to vomit (ravioli with butter once, chicken and cheese rolled up in a tortilla once.  The second item actually sent him to the nurse, but thankfully he went back to class just fine! He's not dramatic at all!)  He doesn't like sandwiches, won't eat a cheese stick, thinks sunbutter is terrible, no longer likes pb and j.  Pretty much we are down to nutella on crackers or a roll.  It's ridiculous.  

So, here are some ideas I may have to try:

no-bake energy bites, tortilla chips with shredded cheese (he will eat cheese if it's shredded, but not in any other form unless it's melted on grilled cheese or pizza,) smoothies, mac and cheese (although he is hit or miss with this one,) and bacon.  Yep, he actually asked me to just send him in with bacon.  He insists that kids bring it in regularly.  This kid kills me!   Have a favorite kid lunch idea?  Please share it!!  

Have a great week!

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Menu Plan Monday

It's been a long while since I typed up a menu plan.  I still plan, but it's not usually written out.  I have been sick with tonsillitis and stuck inside this weekend, so I have some time to type this up without too much distraction! (Enter the child who needs something....)

Monday: Spaghetti squash lasagna

Tuesday: Old Fashioned Chicken noodle soup

Wednesday: Slow cooker balsamic chicken with brown rice

Thursday: Fish tacos with cabbage slaw and yellow rice

Friday: Turkey sliders with salads and sweet potato puffs

Weekend: TBD

 

Having tonsillitis meant that I was drinking lots of hot tea and only eating soup and yogurt for a few days.  I ended up going to Urgent Care on Saturday because I could no longer swallow anything.  It's not reassuring when the doctor looks in your throat with her little flashlight and says something like "Oh my god that's bad!"  Needless to say I'm on an antibiotic now and after only three doses the pain is almost all gone.  My tonsils were huge!  So gross.  For dinner on Sunday I made potato soup with fresh potatoes from our CSA.  It turned out really good and was easy to eat!  This week I'm going to try to make an authentic Jewish penicillin recipe for chicken soup.  I think I'll freeze some of it for the future too.  When I was first feeling bad I couldn't find any soup in the house, since I stopped eating canned soup a few years ago.  I ended up buying a can of chicken with stars soup, a childhood favorite, when I was picking up my prescription from the drug store.  

Last week it snowed and was icy a lot!  My son had two school days with delayed starts due to icy roads and two snow days.  We are looking forward to a week of more mild weather and a full week of school!

Happy Monday!

 

Looking for more menu plan ideas?  Check out Organizing Junkie! 

Happy Thanksgiving...my menu plan

It's the night before Thanksgiving and I decided to take ten minutes to sit down and rest!  I've been cooking and cleaning all day in prep for dinner tomorrow.  We are having a small dinner party filled with lots of veggies from our CSA!  I'm cooking some of the usual items, such as my husband's favorite green bean casserole and my harvest stuffing, but this year I also decided to change up a few things.  I made carmelized roasted butternut squash today so that I can just reheat it tomorrow.  I also switched my traditional caramel apple pie and made a cranberry apple pie at the boys request.  I also tried out a new pumpkin pie recipe, including a new crust too!

I made several of the side dishes and the desserts today, as we will be participating in our YMCA's Gobble Wobble walk tomorrow morning, so I didn't want to feel panicked with time limits.  Tomorrow I'll cook the bird and then while it sits I'll cook the green beans and stuffing and reheat the other dishes.  I'm going to attempt homemade gravy too and really like the instructions I found online.  Hopefully it will turn out tasty!

Here is a list of links to what I'm serving for Thanksgiving 2014:

Green tossed salad (the kiddo asked if he could make this!)

Roasted Turkey

Harvest Stuffing my own recipe

Maple Orange Glazed Carrots from Simply Recipes (an awesome recipe blog!)

Caramelized Butternut Squash by Ina Garten

Traditional Green Bean Casserole 

Creamy Mashed Potatoes by Pioneer Woman

Homemade Gravy

Cranberry Sauce (canned for the people who prefer that, homemade for me!)

For dessert:

Pumpkin pie with no-fail sour cream homemade crust

Cranberry Apple Pie with a lattice crust

homemade vanilla whipped cream

 

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?  Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

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Menu plan Monday, November 17, 2014

It's soup weather!  The older I get the more I hate the cold weather, but I do love soup, so at least that is something to enjoy.  It actually snowed here last week and today it is cold and rainy.  

Last night I made a Buffalo Chicken Chili.  It came out more like a thick soup than a chili, and it was really good.  I made up the recipe after reading lots of different ones and not being able to find the first recipe I had wanted to use.  

I like to pair a simple green salad when serving soup, and sometimes a crusty baguette.  It really depends on the type of soup. I've pinned a bunch of soup recipes on Pinterest, so check out my board for more soup inspiration. 

 

 

 

Weekly meal plan for dinners this week:

Monday: turkey burgers, homemade sweet potato fries, green salads (and a homemade pumpkin pie for the little pumpkin who keeps complaining that he hasn't had pumpkin pie in a looooong time.)

Tuesday: Chicken orzo soup, based on this recipe; green salad.

Wednesday: dinner date with my kiddo, his choice.

Thursday: Orange chicken, based on this recipe, and this recipe!  With brown rice and broccoli.

Friday: leftovers or pizza.  depends on the mood of the day!

For the weekend:  We have a busy weekend planned.  I am hoping to have time to try to make this roasted delicata squash and pomegranate salad.

I have an abundance of squash and am still trying to figure out what to do with them.  The spaghetti squash lasangne was a hit, so I might make that again next week.  

What's on your dinner plan for the week?  Check out Organizing Junkie for more inspiration!  

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Menu plan Monday, October 20, 2014

After school snacking: Muddy Buddies

Greens, Beans & Sausage: an easy, healthy dinner

In our CSA share almost weekly I bring home Swiss Chard.  I never really ate it much in the past, but it is such a pretty vegetable that I intended to figure out a way to incorporate it into recipes.  Over the summer while visiting my friend at the beach she whipped up a super easy and healthy meal using swiss chard and kielbasa sausage with white beans.  Served over cous cous with a bit of hot sauce, it was a great meal.  She inspired me to look at greens in a different way.  As a result of her inspiration, I've been making my own version of the dish ever since.

I end up using whatever fresh veggies I have on hand.  On the night I took the following photos I used swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, scallions and some pesto. I also use a variety of sausages, but was excited to find organic kielbasa at Whole Foods.  I served the veggies and sausage over Harvest Grains blend from Trager Joe's, a mix of Israeli cous cous, lentils, orzo and quinoa. 

Ingredients:

• one bunch of swiss chard, chopped and washed
• 2-3 medium carrots diced
• one bunch broccoli, florrets chopped
• 2-3 scallions chopped
• one smoked kielbasa, sliced into coins
• one tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pesto 
• Can of white beans, rinsed
• 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water
• Harvest Grains, 1/2 bag made according to instructions on package
• Sriracha sauce (optional)   
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the Harvest Grains as directed on the package to they will cook while preparing the main portion of the dish. 

Heat oil in large saute pan.  Add carrots and cook for a few minutes before adding the sausage.  Brown sausage lightly on each side, stirring often.  Add pesto, tomato paste and water, stirring gently.  Add beans and broccoli, cook for five minutes, then add the scallions, stirring the contents of the pan.  Add more water if needed to make a light sauce.  Add the chopped chard to the pan and cover for a few minutes to wilt the greens.  Then stir the chard into the other veggies.  Sever over the Harvest Grains.  Add Sriracha sauce or hot sauce to taste. Sometimes I add grated parmesan cheese too.   (I do not use salt and pepper in this dish, but it can be added to taste at the end.)

After school snacking: Muddy Buddies

Generally we stick with healthy snacks after school, but ocassionally a treat is called for instead.  My son has been enjoying making his own trail mix as a snack, picking from peanuts, nut blends, craisins, raisins, sunflower seeds and pretzels, with some bits of chocolate too.  Today I decided a treat could be made, as he has been bugging me to buy him the pre-made Chex Muddy Buddies.  Instead I bought the ingredients and we made them as an after school snack.  

What are muddy buddies?  Some people call it puppy chow, but I think cereal crack is more appropriate. I kept seeing pins on Pinterest for variations on the recipe, so I just had to give it a try. It is a combination of melted chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar poured over Chex rice cereal.  How could it be bad?  Making it was easy enough for my 7 year old to make with minimal help.  

I found close to a hundred different recipes on Pinterest for variations on this recipe.  I even found the original recipe on the box of Chex cereal.  It took under 15 minutes to make, including the little chef helping! 

The hardest part of this recipe?  Waiting for the cereal and chocoltate combo to set up after mixing it together.  The kiddo enjoyed licking the spoon while waiting.  This stuff is addictive!

Menu plan Monday, October 20, 2014

Fall has been really busy, so busy I haven't had the chance to write.  I've been menu planning anyway, which is essential!  Our schedule is still busy full of soccer games, after school science class and the CSA pick up, not to mention homework!!  So, it's Wednesday, but here is my late plan for this week's meals.

Last week I made this awesome recipe, Crock pot BBQ Apple Pork Loin.  What a simple and tasty recipe!  I had purchased a twin pack of pork loins at Costco the other week and didn't realize that each pack had two pork loins in it, so I ended up making a lot of pulled pork from this one recipe.  I used my homemade cinnamon applesauce and a chipolte bbq sauce, along with half a chopped onion.  I had plenty of sauce for all of the pulled pork and was able to get two and a half family meals out of it!  I first served it over shredded napa cabbage and butter lettuce for me and in tortillas for my husband.  Then on Friday night before my son's evening soccer game, I served pulled pork sandwiches using whole wheat brioche buns I bought at Whole Foods.  I still have a small portion left that could make another sandwich or two for lunches.  This was a great recipe!

With the pulled pork, I made homemade sweet potato fries, at my son's request.  Our CSA just started offering sweet potatoes in our pick up and I had a small amount to use up.  In the past I did not have good luck with making fries, ending up with either over cooked (burned) fries or mushy ones.  I finally found some tips to make them turn out crisp but not burnt!  A cold water bath and some corn starch did the trick.  Read about how to make your own crispy sweet potato fries!

This week will be another hectic week. We have a school event from 5-7 on Monday night, which means dinner will be late.  We are considering a quick meal at one of the two new local restaurants that opened this past week.  We have two more weeks of evening soccer practice too.

Monday: probably out!

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday with salads

Wednesday: Soup night!  Easy chicken noodle soup using rotisserie chicken and a tortilla chicken soup with some added heat and veggies for the adults.

Thursday: stir fry chicken and rice

Friday: Homemade pizza and salads

Weekend: TBD

 

What's on your meal plan this week?  Check out Organizing Junkie for more inspiration!

 

Menu plan Monday, September 22, 2014

Hello Fall!

I haven't had a chance to write up my menu plans here, but I have a master menu calendar for the month that I've been using and it's helped!  Between changes in schedules and soccer practice, having this plan makes dinner prep much easier.

For this week, here is what I have in mind:

Sunday: Ginger Beef, Mushrooms and Kale stir fry with brown rice (This recipe was really good.  I hate kale, but could stomach it for this stir fry.  I would make it again!)

Monday: Roasted Tomato Soup with cheese quesadillas, Slow cooker baked apples

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday with homemade pico!

Wednesday: Baked Salmon, Thai crunch salad (Nappa cabbage is in the CSA pickup this week...this recipe sounds amazing!)

Thursday: travel day

Friday: Creamy Tomato Tortellini and sausage with salad

Weekend: Birthday celebrations for the kiddo!  #7!!

 

What's cooking in your house this week? Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

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My oven/range is about 12 years old.  For the past year or so the oven would randomly not ignite.  It wouldn't work for a day and then work the next day and continue to work for months.  It worked fine all summer, although I didn't use it too much.  Then one day at the end of August I decided to use up all the lovely CSA peaches I had and bake a pie at my son's request.  I assembled the entire pie and popped it in the fridge to chill before baking.  When I went to preheat the oven, it wouldn't turn on!  It wouldn't work for a week.  The burners on the stove top worked fine.  I ended up baking that pie in my toaster oven that happened to also have a convection feature.  It surprised me by baking beautifully!  Another week went by with no oven issue, then it started acting up again.  Considering it's age, we decided it wasn't worth paying for a repairman to come out and last Friday I purchased a new one!  It arrives today!  I can't wait to try it out.  I have bake sales and a birthday cake to bake this month, not to mention a ton of CSA tomatoes to roast for sauce.  

This week my menu is based on soccer schedules and CSA produce.  For the first time ever I have some leeks to contend with....ha!  I first had leeks in a convent in France ten years ago.  I suppose they were wonderful, but braised leeks were a big turn off to me.  I've had the instant potato and leek soup when I worked in an office as a quick lunch, and liked it.  So, with the potatoes I picked up in my share, I'll be trying out making potato and leek soup.  I'm using a low fat recipe to keep it healthier.  

Monday:  out with kiddo!

Tuesday: Quesadillas with chicken and cheese. Fresh made pico, and salads.

Wednesday: Meatloaf muffins, broccoli, homeade applesauce, couscous.

Thursday: Potato Leek Soup, salad.

Friday: Taco night!  

Weekend: TBD

What's on your menu this week?  Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plan ideas!

 

 

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