Monday Menu Plan: 10/29/2012

Another week has already come and gone. Is it just me, or does time seem to be speeding up?!?

With all the excitement this week brings for the kids because of HALLOWEEN, this mom just needs to Keep.It.Simple. That's my motto! So, here we go....

Monday 29: Beef Stew, Rolls, and a green salad

Tuesday 30: Waffles and Scrambled Eggs

Wednesday 31: HALLOWEEN dinner! Mummy Dogs, Pumpkin Veggie Tray, and Apple Snickers Salad, and Frankenstein pudding cups!

Thursday 1: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos, and a green salad

Friday 2: Homemade Pizza

Saturday 3: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Sunday 4: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, and a green salad

What are you feeding your family this week?

(I would really LOVE to know!) 

Linked up here. Take a look for other menu planning ideas! 

You can also join me on Pinterest!

Monday Menu Plan: 10/22/2012

Last week I did very well at making meals from our pantry/freezer. We are lucky to have such a good stock pile. I only had to go to the store to buy a few fresh produce items and milk. I planned this next week's menu again from things we already have on hand. We could definitely benefit from having another week of very minimal grocery shopping! And as always, the meals I chose are quick and easy. I am sure I am not the only one out there that does not want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen every night!

Monday 22: Cheesy Chicken Skillet, Brown Rice (make extra for tomorrow nights dinner also), fruit

Tuesday 23: Sesame Chicken (super quick and easy to throw together, and a family favorite!), leftover rice from yesterday, and veggies

Wednesday 24: German pancakes

Thursday 25: Chicken Noodle Soup (in the crock pot), rolls (from the freezer), and a green salad

Friday 26: Homemade pizza, and a green salad

Saturday 27: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Sunday 28: Spaghetti, Breadsticks, and a green salad

Other items to make or bake:

*Either Carrot Cookies, or Carrot Cake

What are you feeding your family this week? 

Linked up here. Take a look for other menu planning ideas! 

You can also join me on Pinterest!

Cheesy Chicken Skillet

We have been pulling out our garden this week, and we picked everything we could. We were able to get several grape tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, onions, green tomatoes, green beans and spinach. I knew just the meal I wanted to make to use up some of the fresh produce from our personal garden. This meal is often requested from my husband, which says a lot about how delicious it is! If you want a quick, easy, and better yet healthy meal to feed your family, give this recipe a try!!

Cheesy Chicken Skillet:

1/2 cup zesty italian dressing (can use reduced fat)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 cups cooked brown rice

1-1/4 cups fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1-1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (our favorite is to use grape tomatoes cut in half)

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sliced green onions (optional. I don't always have these on hand, and is still delicious without them)

Heat the dressing in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for about 2 minutes.   Add peppers and broth. Bring to boil, and cover for 5-6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, and peppers are not too crispy. Add cooked rice, tomatoes, cheese and onions. Stir until blended.

Monday Menu Plan: 10/15/2012

Once again, our menu this week will be everything I love about fall. Comfort foods at their finest. After trying several new recipes the last couple of weeks (with one or more child protesting each time), I decided to take a small break and make foods that I know we all enjoy. This is a very delicious, but family (kid) friendly weekly menu. As always I chose recipes that are also fairly easy and won't require a lot of time. Many of them can be prepared in the morning, which is when I have the most free time. I can then easily put the finishing touches on them in the evening and get them on the table. Happy eating, everyone!

I am currently going to go on a little journey.... a money saving journey. I don't know about you, but money is constantly tight in our home. My husband works hard to provide for our family, giving me the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom and be with the kids (I love him for this). We have chosen to be a one-income family, but with that come some sacrifices. That being said, my husband was also laid off last year. Several months later he became employed once again, but we did take a pay cut with his new job. (Even with that, we feel this job is a great blessing to our family!) We can make it work, however, we have to be extremely careful with our money. Their are times that I get frustrated, because I wish there was more that I could do to make money, while also being a stay-at-home mom. I realized one day, that by watching how much we spend on food (since the cooking/grocery shopping tends to be my responsibility), I can help. I may not be making money, but I can definitely help stretch the money we have to go further, while keeping our bellies full (which tends to keep us happy!). Overall I feel like I do a pretty good job at this. That being said, I want to do even more to save. We have been fortunate to be able to create a good stockpile of food, and have a pretty stocked freezer (meat/cheese, ect.). My goal over the next month is to keep close track of what I spend (while using as much as I can straight from the pantry/freezer), and see how little I spend this month. Would you like to go on this journey with me? Is this something any of you would be interested in? I would love some feedback on this. I will be going on this journey either way, but if it would help someone out, I would gladly post about what I do, and what I learn about saving money on the way. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings (or tips!) with me. 

Monday 15: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Tuesday 16: Italian Soup served in homemade Bread Bowls (going to make these ahead of time)

Wednesday 17: Chili Mac and Cheese, served with Apple Snickers Salad and dinner rolls

Thursday 18: Sloppy Joe Sandwiches, hamburger buns (if time allows), green salad, and sliced apples with caramel for dipping

Friday 19: Pizza Quesadillas

Saturday 20: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Sunday 21: Shake and Bake Chicken drumsticks (never made from last week), green salad/veggies, and cheesy potatoes.

Other items to make or bake:

*Healthy Breakfast Muffins: will probably double this recipe and freeze for quick breakfasts and snacks

*I still have a lot of zucchini I am trying to use up from our garden, and I had some very ripe bananas in the freezer, so I decided to whip up a couple loaves of banana zucchini bread last night. Delicious!! The only thing I will change next time is to add a little extra cinnamon. I like my cinnamon! :)

*Strawberry Milk

What are you feeding your family this week? 

Linked up here. Take a look for other menu planning ideas! 

You can also join me on Pinterest!

Italian Soup

This is a hearty and healthy soup recipe. And best of all... it is SO simple!! We don't have a lot of recipes that everyone in our house happily eats, but this is one of them. The kids will even ask for seconds. Really, in our home, that doesn't happen very often! (unless its dessert, but that's a whole different thing, right?) So if you need something quick to put together for dinner that is also sure to please, give this delicious soup a try!

Italian Soup:

1 lb. cooked beef

1 c. diced onion

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. sliced carrots

1 can red kidney beans

1 can tomato sauce

5 bullion cubes

2 t. minced garlic

1 T. parsley flakes

1 can tomatoes

2 c. water

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. oregano

1 t. salt

1/2 t. basil

1 can green beans

1/2 c. elbow macaroni

Add all ingredients except green beans and macaroni. Bring to boil. Lower heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add beans and macaroni, bring to boil and simmer until veggies are tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

OR

Put all ingredients in crock pot except macaroni and green beans. Cook until veggies are tender, about 4-6 hours. Cook macaroni following package directions. Add green beans to warm, and add macaroni just before serving. 

Apple Snickers Salad

I was asked to bring a salad to an upcoming family get together. The first thing that came to my mind is something I  have been recently craving, and screams fall to me. Apples are a great price right now, and you can score some good prices on candy as well with Halloween coming up. (I am also looking forward to the after Halloween candy sales where I can stock up on Snicker bars to make again later and with hardly any cost).

Apple Snickers Salad:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 small tubs Cool Whip

4 large apples diced

Chopped up Snickers candy (you won't need a lot. a little will go a long way!)

Whip together the cream cheese and the Cool Whip (use less or more Cool Whip according to your taste and/or size of crowd). Soak your diced apples in a little bit of lemon juice (keeps them from browning). You can keep the peel on the apple, it adds nice color to the salad. I like using two red and two green variety of apples, but use whatever you have on hand. Mix the apples and Snickers into the cream cheese mixture, and you are done!

I love this recipe because it is quick to throw together, and it can easily feed a large crowd.

Your guests will love it!

Enjoy!!

Monday Menu Plan: 10/8/2012

I am excited for this week's menu! We are trying out some more new recipes, but they all are quick and easy to throw together. I love feeding my family home cooked meals, but I don't always like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I would rather spend my time enjoying my family!

So, here's what we will be eating...

Monday 8: White Chicken Chili and dinner rolls

Tuesday 9: Lasagna (didn't get used last week), breadsticks, and green salad

Wednesday 10: Shake and Bake Chicken Drumsticks, with baked asparagus and canned peaches on the side

Thursday 11: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Friday 12: Homemade pizza

Saturday 13: Grilled Bean and Cheese Burritos, with carrot sticks

Sunday 14: Baked Chicken Fajitas, with rice

Other items to make or bake:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups

Breakfast Cookies I love making a big batch of these and keeping them in the freezer. They are great for a quick on the go breakfast, to throw into a school lunch for the kids, or a healthy snack.

What are you feeding your family this week? 

Linked up here. Take a look for other menu planning ideas! 

You can also join me on Pinterest!

Peach Crisp

This dessert is so easy to make, and you can substitute the peaches with peeled sliced apples for a delicious apple crisp. This is a family favorite, and perfect for fall!

Peach Crisp:

4 peaches (or apples) pealed and sliced, or (one 29 oz can of peaches, drained

2/3 to 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cups oats (I always add a little extra)

1/3 cup butter or margarine

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

Grease a 9x9 pan, and arrange fruit in the bottom. Mix the remaining ingredients together. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the fruit. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Serve warm. Extra delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a healthy scoop of whipped cream. 

Monday Menu Plan: 10/1/2012

Happy October Everyone! For some reason it doesn't officially feel like fall until October. It's here! I put up our fall decorations over the weekend, and we enjoyed some time outside visiting a local farm with the kids. The weather is PERFECT right now. If only it would last! I am craving all things fall: anything apple or pumpkin, soups and hot chocolate. This is by far my most favorite time of the year!

This week my goal was to not have to go grocery shopping (other than a few fresh produce items), and to use up some food I have stored in the freezer. My reasons for doing this are simple. I have food in the freezer that needs to be used up (so they don't go to waste), and to stretch our grocery dollars for the month. The less I have to spend this month, the better. I still have enough food to do this again for another week or two. Here's to another week of easy but delicious homemade meals. 

Take time to sit down with your family and enjoy your meals together!

Monday 1: Roast, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot, green salad, and rolls 

Tuesday 2: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Wednesday 3: Fluffy pancakes, breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and orange juice (we love having breakfast for dinner!)

Thursday 4:  Crock pot Chicken and Dumplings 

Friday 5: Homemade Pizza, served with a green salad

Saturday 6: LEFTOVERS (Don't waste that food!)

Sunday 7: Lasagna (from the freezer), garlic bread, and a green salad

Other items to make or bake: 

Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Oatmeal

applesauce
Instant Amish Bread

Strawberry Milk

What are you feeding your family this week? 

Linked up here. Take a look for other menu planning ideas! 

You can also join me on Pinterest!