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Monday Meal Plan May 26th- Memorial Day edition

memorial day patriotic fruit tray

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend with family and friends to celebrate those who have served our country. On this leisurely Monday morning, I’m crafting a new meal plan of dinners for the week ahead. The Cobb salad we made last week was a huge hit and I’m trying out another fun, colorful salad this week.

Thai Chicken Salad

On the menu…

Memorial Day~ BBQ dinner with friends. I’m making Radish Salad with Orange Vinaigrette. I couldn’t resist them at the farmers market, along with some locally grown butter lettuce.

Tuesday~ Rainbow Thai Chicken Salad. It’s just so pretty with all the colors. I’m just going to swap out the green cabbage for romaine. The recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven, a blog with awesome recipes and great photography.

Wednesday~ Meatballs in slow cooker, linguine and green beans.

Thursday~ Steak Frites. (sweet potato fries) and Asparagus risotto

Friday~ Pizza Night. Pear, Bacon and Blue cheese pizza…yum!

 

Cobb Salad

Last week’s Cobb salad was a huge hit with everyone.

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan March 17: Saint Patrick’s Day Menu

Hello March…won’t you let winter go already? Who’s ready for some spring weather and grilling on the menu? Me, me, me! But it looks like we will be waiting it out for another week so there’s some cozy crock pot dinners and of course, the traditional Saint Patrick’s Day menu planned for this week.

Meal plan monday March 17th

Sunday: Corned Beef and Cabbage with Carrots, Potatoes and Irish Soda Bread.

Monday: Saint Patrick’s Day leftovers!

Tuesday: Swordfish piccata, rice and roasted asparagus

Wednesday: Meatloaf, butternut squash and egg noodles

Thursday: Ham and cheese quiche with spinach

Friday: Pizza night with homemade dough! No pepperoni during Lent so we are doing lots of veggie pizzas with red peppers, broccoli, and mushrooms. Maybe a zucchini and feta one this week too.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Have a happy Saint Patrick’s Day! If you are looking for some recipes or craft ideas to celebrate the day, head over to my Pinterest page for more idea..

 

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan March 3rd

Welcome back to the meal plan. After not writing one last week I’m back and happy to have the week of dinners figured out. Even though it wasn’t written down and we didn’t go hungry as we are still working through our 1/4 of a cow. I did realize that I still appreciate having the dinners planned out in advance, and the time it takes on Sunday is totally worth it.

I have two new meal planning resources to share with you today as well. The first is an article in Boston Globe magazine written by fellow Boston blogger Christine Koh, also the author of one of my latest reads, Minimalist Parenting. The article shares 4 great sites to check out for more dinner ideas. I would agree with #4–my Pinterest boards is one of my first stops as I plan the menu for the week ahead.

Second tip is from The Kitchen Hour podcast hosted by Megan Francis of the blog, The Happiest Home. I love listening to podcasts while I’m doing dishes at night or folding a load of laundry. It can be a great way to learn something new, or just get a good laugh. In the most recent podcast, Megan interviewed Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner, A Love Story. Jenny’s blog and book of the same name shares her love for the family dinner, and appreciates the challenges of getting it all done. I love her easy recipes that don’t take a ton of effort, but instead leave more time for relaxing at the dinner table.

On the menu this week…

Meal plan March week 1

Got a favorite podcast? Leave a note in the comment section.

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan February 17th

I recently heard someone talk about menu planning as the place where “Creativity meets practicality.”  This sentiment certainly rings true in my kitchen.  Menu planning helps us create healthy meals, but not spend wasted time in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do.

This week I’m reading In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed  and the chapter about food is eye opening. I know we are a little different taking the time to make home cooked meals each night, but I can’t help but hope more families will go back to spending more time in the kitchen. Hopefully you can get some quick dinner ideas for your family to make your menu plan come together a little faster.

On the menu this week…

Meal plan February 17th

Sunday~ Chicken piccata, orzo and salad

Monday~ Meatloaf, baked potatoes and peas

Tuesday~ Minestrone soup and garlic bread

Wednesday~ Chicken nuggets, corn and Annie’s mac and cheese

Thursday~ Clean Out Refrigerator Night

Friday~ Pizza night

Saturday~ Date night with friends

What are some of your favorite meals to make in your family? 

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan Jan 6th

Welcome to the first meal plan of 2014! Are you trying to get more organized this year and make meal planning a part of your routine? Each week I share our plans for family friendly, healthy recipes for dinner my hope it that it inspires some easy dinners for your family.

As we start the month of January, we have been trying to declutter everywhere. Including the kitchen and pantry. After the busyness of the holidays, it’s time to take stock of what we have to use up, and make room to refresh our real foods pantry. The deep freezer is also helping us save money this month as we use up some of our summer stash of tomato sauce , squash and our 1/4 of a cow.

Meal plan jan 6~ celebrate the new year and start meal planning

This week’s menu…

Sunday~ Soy ginger scallops, steamed green beans and jasmine rice. {Madison got more scallops than anyone as she kept poaching them off of her parents plate.}

Monday~ Chickpea Stew with Apricots. Awesome slow-cooker dinner for Meatless Monday. I swap out the turnip for carrots which I usually have on hand.  Serve over israeli couscous. I’ll also get to use up some of our tomato sauce for this recipe.

Tuesday~ Spaghetti and meat sauce. Peas on the side…the kids LOVE them frozen, but will not eat them cooked. Anyone else’s kids do this?

Wednesday~ Whole chicken in the slow cooker with carrots and potatoes. I love this meal as I get great stock out of making the dinner, then I save the carcass and make another batch of chicken broth overnight in the crock pot.

Wednesday Lunch we are making Pizza quesadillas from the Weelicious Lunch cookbook. It’s the one day we are all home for lunch so I’m trying to plan ahead a hot lunch.

Thursday~ Clean Out Refrigerator Night. Maybe use the chicken leftovers for chicken quesadillas.

Friday~ Family pizza night! Still enjoying our homemade pizza dough in the bread machine.

Lovely meatless meal in the slow cooker: Chickpea Apricot Stew from SimpleBites.net

Lovely meatless meal in the slow cooker: Chickpea Apricot Stew from SimpleBites.net

 

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans. Weelicious is an affiliate link on amazon, if you buy it through my link, thanks!

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Monday Meal Plan December 30th

As the pace of the month calms after the holidays, let this be a time to regroup and get organized in the New Year. Meal planning can be easy step towards a more organized week for many families. We had a lovely Christmas holiday and now enjoying some quality family time at home this week. The kids are playing with toys, Daddy is enjoying vacation time and I’m reading lots of the articles I find on Pinterest, instead of just pinning them! I love that so many planners are now available with meal planning space and I may be tweaking how I plan my weekly meals.

Without further ado, here is our last meal plan of 2013. Enjoy!

Meal Plan December

Sunday~ Chicken Tortilla Soup

Monday~ Meatballs and Spaghetti (Madison’s choice) and sautéed green beans with grape seed oil.

Tuesday~ Beef Tenderloin for New Year’s Eve with a red wine marinade. Roasted carrots and potatoes on the side.

Wednesday~ Basque Fish Soup for New Year’s Day and Popovers

Thursday~ Clean Out Refrigerator Night

Friday~ Pizza night with our bread maker pizza dough.

Do you make a meal plan each week? What tips would you share with people just starting out?

 chicken tortilla soup

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans. 

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Monday Meal Plan Dec 2

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Here is what’s on the menu this week.

Meal Plan Dec2

Sunday~ Turkey Soup, Popovers and Apple Pie

Monday~ Chicken Parmesan (slow cooker) and Green Beans

Tuesday~ Turkey Soup

Wednesday~ C.O.R.N.

Thursday~ Steak, Corn, Polenta

Friday~ Pizza night

Saturday~ Christmas Party with Dad. Bringing dip, veggies, cheese and crackers.

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan Nov 4th

A slightly delayed menu for the week as I spent a weekend away and needed last night for lots of snuggle time with the kids. Here is this week’s menu plan.

Meal Plan Nov 4th

 

M~ Whole Chicken in the pressure cooker with carrots and egg noodles

T~ Italian Pesto Pasta with leftover chicken

W~ Meatballs in slow cooker, spaghetti and green beans.

T~ Clean Out Refrigerator Night

F~ Pizza Night with red peppers and mushrooms

S~ Steak Fajitas, rice and salad

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.<

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Monday Meal Plan Oct 28th

It’s October and I feel like I’ve written every meal plan this month watching a baseball game. Guess it’s a good thing the Sox are holding on till the end. In addition to baseball, we are excited for Halloween this week and plan to host our neighborhood gathering of princesses, pirates, ghosts and more. We will be serving hot apple cider (possibly wrapped in the WonderBag to keep it warm) and some delicious pumpkin treat. (Did you catch my post on how to make your own pumpkin puree?)

Meal plan Oct 28 with autumn salads, freezer meals and halloween!

Here is what is on the menu this week…

Sunday~ Absolutely Onion Pot Roast (Wildtree freezer meal), egg noodles and roasted red potatoes.

Monday~ Hot Dogs (yes, we eat hot dogs, preferably those from Applegate.) Plus leftovers from Sunday dinner.

Tuesday~ Ribs in the crock pot, corn and maybe some cornbread

Wednesday~ Chicken and Artichokes (Wildtree freezer meal for slow cooker) rice and snow

Thursday~ Autumn chopped salad and grilled cheese. (Easy make ahead meal for Halloween night!)

Friday~ Pizza night with homemade pizza dough in the bread machine

Saturday~ Mom’s night away so there are homemade chicken nuggets frozen and ready to go, plus some chopped raw veggies with dip.

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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Monday Meal Plan October 21st

Awesome weekend with friends…volunteering at the Parent Talk Sale and then a pumpkin carving party. Totally wiped on Sunday so we had a low key day cleaning out the raised beds, making tomato sauce and visiting the second to last farmers market. Now we are ready for the week ahead and the WORLD SERIES! Go Boston!!

Monday Meal Plan Oct

 S~ Roasted Plum Tomato Sauce with browned beef, linguine and steamed broccoli.

M~ Grilled Coho Salmon, baked sweet potatoes and salad.

T~ Omelets and toast

W~ Southwestern Flair Burritos (freezer meal for slow cooker), rice and salad

T~ Chicken Nuggets (already made and frozen…testing it out to see if we like them as much!), peas and leftover rice.

F~ Pizza with homemade dough

S~ Hamburgers on the grill while it’s still nice out!

For more inspiration, see my past menus here, or the Pinterest board here, or OrgJunkie for a link-up of meal plans.

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