Menu - April 27 - May 3, 2008

Last week was crazy busy, and I'm not talking about just all the baking I did. This week I'm not planning any extra baking. Well, I might make some oatmeal cookies. Maybe. But for the most part, I'm giving my hands a much needed rest. (I may get ambitious and try to make hash browns from scratch. Yes, I think I might be a bit insane...)

We picked up the box from Angel Food Ministries Saturday morning and were pleasantly surprised by the quality. My mom was as well, and is considering making a purchase for May. I know I will be, even though there's always something in the box that we normally wouldn't buy from the grocery store. Still, those items will provide us with some fairly quick alternatives to take out or fast food on nights when I'm just too wiped out to cook. (For instance, the frozen lasagna that came in the box we picked up on Saturday will be a nice treat after I spend the day grocery shopping on Wednesday. Grocery days are always hard on me.)

And it's past my bedtime and I need to get to sleep.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: leftover chicken salad in bread bowls for me & A., mini-pizza on leftover flat bread for K.
dinner: leftover fried chicken, broccoli

Monday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, grits (cereal and grits for K.)
lunch: chicken salad tortilla
dinner: fish (salmon for me, parmesan encrusted tilapia for them), mac & cheese, green peas

Tuesday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: cheeseburger pasta, lima beans

Wednesday
breakfast: waffles / pancakes / cereal / sausage biscuits (fend for yourself morning)
lunch: ??? (shopping with mom)
dinner: lasagna (frozen)

Thursday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, grits
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: honey spiced pork chops, rice, broccoli

Friday
breakfast: quick cinnamon rolls
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: foraging / grazing

Saturday
breakfast: waffles (make enough to freeze)
lunch: ???
dinner: meatball stroganoff

Menu - April 20 - 26, 2008

Ok. Finally. A picture of the flat bread melts we made while A. was out of town.

Just the one picture because it's WAY overdue and I've been crazy busy trying to catch up on everything. There are a few others (two more, I think) at the flickr site. (click the picture)

I'm trying a few new recipes this week. It should be fun. Yes, fun. See, when I was a little girl, every adult in my life told me not to play with my food. Now that I'm the adult, I play with my food. A lot. Of course, what I call "playing" is what a lot of other folks call "cooking". Still? Heart-shaped flat breads are a hit with the kid. And fun to make.

And that's about all I have to say tonight because, basically, I need to get into bed so I can get up early tomorrow. I'm more or less caught up with the life crazies so I'm hoping to have the chance to post more this week. And write. Hopefully. With a little luck. And by the grace of God.

So. Menu. As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: foraging (sleeping late)
lunch: baked potatoes stuffed with Boca "meat" and cheese
dinner: flat bread melts, salad

Monday
breakfast: cereal and toast
lunch: tuna sandwich, orange
dinner: pork chops, broccoli, corn on cob, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: black beans, hoe cakes (or rice), salad

Wednesday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits (cereal for K.)
lunch: raviolis
dinner: chicken salad in bread bowls
extra baking: bread bowls, cinnamon rolls

Thursday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: Hamburger Steak with Mushroom Soup, rice, salad
extra baking: doughnuts

Friday
breakfast: doughnuts
lunch: leftovers, fruit
dinner: foraging/grazing

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ???
dinner: ???

Menu - April 13 - 19, 2008

Spring break is over. K. is back in school today. A. is back in town and at work today. And I am... here. Life returns to our kooky little version of "normal".

The flat bread melts last week were INCREDIBLE, despite some minor adjustments needed to the flat bread/pita recipe I used and the filling. Still? AWESOME. So sayeth the 11-year-old girl. The leftovers from the flat bread/pita recipe made great individual pizzas and were great for just general snacking. All in all, and without having ever tried the Lean Cuisine version, I'd say they were a success. Especially since K. has asked for them at least a dozen times in the past three days. I only snapped a few pictures (K.'s was half eaten before I could even get to the camera) and I'll try to get them up before I go to bed tonight.

The menu for this week is a bit.. stale. Another week when I fell back on some simple stand-bys due to lack of time and frustration over grocery prices. Lunches for me will be leftovers and whatever fruit (canned or fresh) that I happen to find. There may be some sandwiches thrown in, depending on whether or not I have bread in the apartment. (K. keeps wanting me to stop buying bread and just make some whenever we want bread.) It's also that time of year when I try to clean out the "pantry" (my "pantry" is what should be the linen closet in the hall) and freezer by cooking what's in them. It won't be too much longer before we either (1) move or (2) start stocking up for hurricane season. And it's just good sense to clean out the pantry on a regular basis so that's influencing menu choices, too.

Speaking of grocery prices (ugh), K. and I took a little trip over towards the dog track last week to order and pay for April's Angel Food Ministries box. It's not the best area of town, but the people we spoke with were nice, even friendly, and we made it out of that part of town without incident. We go back on the 26th to pick up the food. What we'll be picking up is the "basic box" listed here. We opted not to get any of the "specials" boxes this month.

And... I think that's it for now. I've got some bill/general paperwork filing I really need to catch up on so that I can spend a few hours later today playing with my Webkinz puppy, Mr. Puggles, and maybe work on some jewelry.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: foraging
dinner: Cracker Barrel (A.'s treat)

Monday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: pasta, salad

Tuesday (PAY DAY)
breakfast: cinnamon rolls / oatmeal
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches garlic boca patty, small baked potato, leftover veggies
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ?? (grocery shopping with Mom)
dinner: egg noodles and meatballs, salad

Thursday
breakfast: cereal and toast
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: fish, mac & cheese, peas, salad

Friday
breakfast: waffles
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: individual pizzas (on pita recipe from last week; still trying to work kinks out of recipe)

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ??? flat bread melts
dinner: pot roast, baked potatoes, lima beans

Menu - week of April 6 - 12, 2008

Wow, what a crazy week. And this week should be even crazier with K. out on Spring Break and A. in California.

With A. gone, I'm getting up "on time"... between 5 and 6am most mornings. I did sleep in a bit over the weekend, but I was still out of bed before noon. As a result, a lot has been done. There's still quite a bit to do, but life is a never-ending series of chores with some fun stuff in between. Or maybe that's a never-ending series of fun stuff littered with chores. Either way...

K. and I don't really have any plans scheduled for this week while she's out of school. Today (Monday) she's "grounded". Not... really, but sort of. Months ago she and I made a deal that her room was to be CLEAN by the time I went to bed this past Friday or she was to spend as much of her vacation week as it took her in her room cleaning. With things getting a little crazy when A. went out of town and other factors, I extended that to Sunday night (last night). Well, her room is GREATLY improved, but not as it should be. So, she's "grounded". She's in her room cleaning even now.

This week's menu was done a few days ago, but, um, yeah. Been a bit busy with A. out of town and K. and I on our own so there hasn't been much blogging time (hoping to change that starting this week) and when I have had blogging time these past few days, we've been having enough thunder and lightning that I decided being on the computer was not a good idea. So, here it is. Finally. K. helped me with it and what's listed for breakfast may change if I feel like tackling some of the recipes she wants me to make. Things like Quick Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Icing, Coffeecake Muffins, Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and Buttermilk Doughnuts. While it's good to see her wanting breakfast, I'm not sure I have the energy to cook for her like she wants. And I'm not entirely sure that I should, at least, not every day.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: oops. nothing. slept in.
lunch: Subway for me, McDonald's for K. (my mom's treat)
dinner: foraging on leftovers

Monday
breakfast: toast and OJ (with cereal for me)
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT)
dinner: ground beef and rice mixed into a sort of casserole and topped with cheese, lima beans, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: waffles and bacon
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: omelets and bacon

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT), salad, fruit
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli

Thursday
breakfast: toast and OJ (plus cereal for me)
lunch: sandwiches (pb&j or turkey or BLT), salad, fruit
dinner: flatbread melts (trying to copycat Lean Cuisine's new line; details later)

Friday
breakfast: omelets and bacon
lunch: flatbread pizzas
dinner: foraging and grazing

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: foraging
dinner: pot roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli