Meal Planning Monday

Toward the end of last September, I put together a menu plan for the entire remaining days of the year.  For the most part, we stuck to it.  There were a couple of glitches and a couple of times we went off the rails, but kind of amazingly, we made it through with fairly little effort.  So far this year, I have been out of the menu-planning frame of mind, but now I realize I need to get back into the swing of things.  I am going to start small, with just this week and a theme of comfort food, and then after the big birthday shindig on Sunday, I will have greater mental capacity for planning further out.

Cottage Pie: pic from MarthaStewart.com

Monday:  Cottage Pie

Tuesday:  Pork Carnitas

Wednesday:  Chicken Caesar Salad

Thursday:  Homemade mac & cheese

Friday: Out

Saturday:  Spaghetti

Sunday:  party food

What do you have on the menu this month?

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, I didn't get around to posting my plan for the week even though I had it done at the beginning of the month.  There was a lot of craziness and some unexpected things that came up and threw things out of kilter. More about that later. 

Credits: Jenn Barrette - Kitschy organized template

You can play along too... just head over to

Menu Plan Monday

It has been a crazy week (more about that later).  Because of that, most of the menu plan went out the window, but for the days we had at home, it worked.

This week...

Monday:  Cottage Pie (one of my new faves... the recipe is great, but we use leftover mashed instead of sliced)
Tuesday:  Smothered pork chops
Wednesday:  Steak (not sure which variety we have in the freezer)
Thursday:  Teriyaki chicken
Saturday:  BBQ Ribs
Sunday:  Easter - ham

Menu Plan Monday

I'm posting my menu for the week.  Last week, we had a couple of shifts, but pretty much stayed on track.  We'll see how this week goes.

Credits:  Jenn Barrette - Kitschy Organized

It has been a busy few days, but it seems like nothing has been getting accomplished.  LOL.  We did get a new greenhouse (kit) on Saturday, so that was very exciting.  Now we'll be able to grow a lot of our own veggies.

I also picked up a sandbox for little mister yesterday.  I can't wait to get the sand and let him play.  Hopefully he won't try to eat it.  I remember the sandbox my grandpa built for my brother and I, in his backyard.  It was made of plywood and then he created seats across all of the corners.  In my memory, it was huge.  I wonder how big it really was.  I'm hopeful that little mister will enjoy building sand sculptures for many years to come.  Jessica bought him a water table to leave at our house since he'll be spending most of his sunny summer times at our house (and she still doesn't know when she's moving).

We also, which was out of character for us, watched a couple of movies over the weekend.   We watched Fair Game and Salt, and then this afternoon, since DH was off work on a sick day, watched Red. Ironically, they were all CIA related.  LOL. We also watched a new show on AMC called The Killing which is a take off of a Danish series apparently.  It is set in Seattle, so it caught our interest, and it is pretty decent.  Hmmmm.  Maybe that is why we didn't accomplish much over the weekend.  Too much tv/movie watching.  I guess it was one of those rainy-day weekends that doesn't come along often.

What about you?  Have you seen any movies worth recommending?  What did you do over the weekend? 

Confession Tuesday

Do you have something to confess today?  Something that has been on your mind or keeping you awake at night? 
I haven’t done a Confession Tuesday in awhile, so I thought I’d do one to catch up. 

• Today is one of those days I did not want to get out of bed.  I had a headache, and I have such a cozy cocoon of a bed, sometimes it makes it nearly impossible for me to leave.  Heck, who am I kidding?  I had that same feeling yesterday.  LOL.  In fact, I texted my DD from bed, telling her that my poppy field was keeping hold over me.  We jokingly call my bed the field of poppies as in the Wizard of Oz. 
• I have been in a quiet mood for the past few days because I’m in a little bit of a mourning period.  My DD is going to move out and take Little Mister (of course… but I had to post that because when my grandma heard the news she asked, “… and taking the baby?”  LOL.  I am happy for her though because I know it is hard to live at home when you are an adult.  AND… I will still get little mister 5 or 6 out of 7 days.  So I guess it isn’t all that different.  The main difference will be that I will have several hours of quiet time every morning and won’t be able to blame my horrible procrastination on her.
• I’m drinking water today.  Yes, that is a confession because the bigger confession is that normally I don’t drink water.  Be gentle with me. I know it is terrible.  I just hate it so.  I’m going to start drinking more water each day.  
• I'm participating in a new poetry workshop with three other people, and I think we're starting tomorrow, but I haven't written anything yet.  I need to get on it!
• Since I was in a whiny-feeling-sorry-for-myself mood the past few days, I did not post my menu for the week.  I’m going to do it now so I can hope to get into the habit.  Check out others' Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com 

 

Credits: Jenn Barrette - Kitschy Organized

So do you have any burning confessions you would like to share?  What does the week ahead hold for you?

Menu Plan Monday?

In the past few months, I’ve been trying to plan ahead as far as a menu for the week or maybe a week and a half at a time depending on my level of creativity and/or what we have going on in our calendar.  We don’t have a lot of activities outside of the house, but it seems like there is always room for better organization.  In the past year, I hate to think about how much food went to waste in our house due to lack of planning.  I was ashamed to think about it when there are so many people who go without food on a regular basis.  I decided we desperately needed to improve, and planning ahead seemed like the most logical and easiest step to take.  I think it really has helped as far as creating far less waste, so that makes me feel better.

Then last week, in looking at different blogs (although I’m a loser for not remembering which one), I ran across a link to the Organizing Junkie website and was in awe over how organized this chick is.  I have no hopes of ever being so organized (I sort of prefer a more-organic quasi-chaos), but I figure I can check it out, learn something along the way and play along on a much much lower level.  If nothing else, I hope to get more ideas of what to make for dinner.  Friday is always the “eat out” night.  Since I do 99% of the cooking, dear hubby has now gotten into the routine of giving me the night off.  But for Menu Plan Monday here goes the week ahead…

Credits: Jenn Barrette - Kitschy Kitchen Organized

I sat down and came up with a month of non-repeating menu items and am going to re-create a master dinner ideas list that we used to have, so we can add to it and keep branching out.  Tonight, since little mister is in Oregon with Jessica, it will be a quiet evening around the house, so I plan to sit with my magazine collection (Everyday Food, Cooking Light, Food & Wine and Food Network) and see what I can find to add to our repertoire. 

And for a food-related scrapbook LO... little mister is eating something, making a mess, but enjoying it fiercely...

Credits: Jenn Barrette Scrap-like-me Template & Jenn Barrette/Sahlin Studio - Kitschy Kitchen kit

Do you have a rotating menu?  Do you plan ahead?  If so, how far in advance?  Do you have any great recipes that are a hit with your family?  Where do you come up with new ideas for cooking?  Do you use your camera to document your cooking skills or scrap recipes?