Menu Plan November 9 - 13

It's funny how quickly you become reliant on something like a menu plan. I started last week without one, and I really missed it! I did manage to pull it together, though we had takeout on Friday because I was totally uninspired. We ended up eating:

Buttermilk chicken
Apricot chicken (which I really liked, which surprised me because it's such a weird mix of ingredients!)
Apple glazed pork chops (which were nasty, nasty, nasty and I won't ever make them again!)

This week, I'm back to planning!

Today, we're having cheddar chicken and pasta bake

Tomorrow: bulgogi (recipe from Hungry Monkey)

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: buffalo chicken

Should be a good week!

Menu Plan October 25 - 30

Last week we did a decent job of sticking to the menu. Friday's jambalaya didn't happen, because I forgot I had to work early and didn't get home in time to get it in the crockpot. I think we ended up going out for teriyaki instead. I did finally get that orange chicken made, and hubby HATED it. I'd love to give it one more go (it was too sweet and needed more vinegar), but he said that he'll never eat it again, so I guess that's out. I was really looking forward to having a somewhat healthy alternative to Panda Express, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

We've finally hit the rainy season (I look forward to the return of the rain all summer long), and it's comfort food, comfort food, comfort food for me! So here's the plan this week.

Sunday: I made Swedish meatballs and spaetzle. So good. I think I could eat this every day! I made a double batch, using half ground beef and half ground pork, and it made enough meatballs for three meals for our little family. My 10 month old couldn't stop eating the spaetzle. She loves her carbs!

Monday: Scalloped potatoes and ham. I didn't have the Swiss cheese, so I just doubled the cheddar. And I made it with two cups fat free half and half and one cup of milk, and it was so rich and wonderful!

Tuesday: Beef Stew

Wednesday: Hamburger Casserole

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Stuffed Peppers

Please remember to visit orgjunkie.com for more great menu ideas!

Pad Thai

I made this for dinner tonight. The original recipe came from Hungry Monkey, but I tweaked it a bit so here's my version.

Sauce (makes enough for two batches):

12 T tamarind concentrate (sour soup base)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
6 T fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

If your tamarind concentrate is free of seeds, just mix all the ingredients together, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

If your tamarind still has some seeds (mine did), put it in a wire mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the water through it. Press it through the sieve with the back of a spoon, scraping the underside frequently, until all of the tamarind has been strained and just the seeds remain. Mix in remaining ingredients, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

The remaining sauce can be frozen.

Pad Thai (serves 4)

2 large chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup canola oil
8 ounces pad Thai rice noodles
2 large eggs
1/2 recipe pad Thai sauce
1 T. minced garlic
3 scallions, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts, blanched for 1 minute in boiling water
lime wedges
chopped peanuts

Soak the noodles in hot tap water for 30 minutes, then drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute chicken in 2 T. oil until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside, and add remaining 2T. oil to the pan. Add eggs and scramble. Add noodles, chicken, sauce, garlic, scallions, and bean sprouts and stir well until all the sauce has absorbed.

Serve with lime juice squeezed over and peanuts sprinkled on top.

Menu Plan October 19 - 23

Fall is in full swing and I couldn't be happier about it! Yesterday we cleaned out most of the garden (the pumpkins are still there - does anyone know if pumpkins keep ripening once the vines are dead?) and picked the apples from our tree. Today I'll be trying my hand at crockpot apple butter , and I'll probably try to make some applesauce too. We didn't get a lot of apples, but since they're all 6 - 8 inches in diameter, they go a long way!

Here's the menu for this week:

Monday: Pad Thai (I'll be using a recipe from Hungry Monkey, which is an absolutely fabulous memoir/cookbook!).

Tuesday: Taco salad

Wednesday: Orange Chicken (yes, this has been on the menu for about a month now, and I'm bound and determined to finally make it!).

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: slow-cooker jambalaya

As always, go to orgjunkie.com for more menu possibilities than you ever imagined!

Menu Plan October 12 - 16

Well, last week's menu plan went kaplooey on me. I'm not even sure what we ate - I do know that I picked up Panda Express on Friday because my morning got completely away from me and hubby just wasn't in the mood for chili dogs, my "no time to cook" standby. So, here's hoping this week goes better. It's a busy one, so there's lots of easy stuff on the list!

Monday: Bulgogi with sesame rice and fried cabbage (I just use the bulgogi part of the linked recipe, though the rest sounds good too!

Tuesday: chili (picked up some buffalo meat today just for this. Should be good.)

Wednesday: slow cooker chicken soft tacos

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: spaghetti with meat sauce

You know the drill. Go to orgjunkie.com for tons of fabulous menu ideas!

Menu Plan October 4 - 9

All day long I've been trying to plan my menu, and now that I'm sitting here at the computer, my mind has gone totally blank...

What I really need to do is get out my cookbooks and reenergize myself. I look up recipes online all the time, but there's something about dragging out the cookbooks (I have about 200) and having a good read that makes me all warm and fuzzy and ready to be inventive in the kitchen again.

Oh, and I am totally celebrating the return of casserole season. I love casseroles. Hate putting them together, they usually seem so time consuming, what with all the boiling of noodles/potatoes/rice/whatever, and chopping of the onions and other vegetables and such, but I love, love, love eating them!

So here's what I think this week will look like:

Sunday: taco salad
Monday: Swedish meatballs and spaetzle (I think the little one's going to love spaetzle. She's a carb girl, just like her mommy, and is way into eating noodles and such these days).
Tuesday: slow cooker orange chicken
Wednesday: tuna casserole
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: possibly more leftovers, based on the menu, though if there aren't enough, I'll make chili.

As always, visit orgjunkie.com for more fabulous menus!

Last week's menu

Once again, I missed the menu planning boat, but we had some good meals so I'm going to record them anyway! Now, I just have to remember...

Monday: I was home, and we had errands to run, so we ended up eating out.
Tuesday: Turkey Tetrazzini (using this recipe, but with turkey instead of chicken)
Wednesday: beef stew and corn muffins
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Ham and Potato casserole

Good stuff! Now, to plan this week's menu!

Menu plan September 20 - 25

Well, the weather here is a little mixed up this week. One day it's fall, the next we're back to summer again. So it's a little hard to know what to fix, but I think my kitchen is heading into fall regardless. I like cooking fall food so much more than summer food!

Sunday: Sweet & sour pork
Monday: creamed tuna on biscuits
Tuesday: stuffed peppers (the filling is in the freezer from the last time we made it)
Wednesday: chicken cacciatore (the sauce for this is also in the freezer from last time - love the whole "cook it once/eat it twice thing!)
Thursday: Slow cooker chicken soft tacos
Friday: thinking about chicken paprikash, but we'll see!

Always remember to head to orgjunkie.com for more great menu ideas!

Last week's menu

I didn't get my menu posted ahead of time last week, but let's see if I can remember what all we ate (this is important because I find myself looking back at these posts more and more when I'm trying to figure out what to make!).

Monday: BBQ pork sandwiches (didn't get them made the week before)
Tuesday: potstickers (I really need to make some potstickers and put them in the freezer. The frozen ones at the store are SO expensive and my recipe is really good!).
Wednesday: Chicken and noodles (I used this recipe, except I added onions, garlic, and celery to the cooking water, and stirred in sauteed mushrooms at the end).
Thursday: leftover chicken and noodles
Friday: tacos

Menu Plan September 7 - 11

Wow, I guess it's been a long time since I've posted a menu! Truth be told, I haven't been planning menus. I've missed them. But, for some reason, for the last few weeks I just haven't been able to wrap my head around a plan. I've decided I hate hot weather cooking - it's so much easier to think about casseroles and crockpots when you're cooking ahead, and they definitely don't lend themselves to hot weather!

Fall is in the air, and we're having a very busy week this week, so it's a simple, easing back to comfort food menu for me.

Tonight: grilled steak, baked potatoes, corn
Tomorrow: corned beef hash
Wednesday: chili dogs
Thursday: creamed tuna on biscuits
Friday: barbecue pork sandwiches (the meat for this is already cooked and in my freezer, and if I remember at some point what recipe I used (I made it a couple of months ago), I'll post it or post a link (if it was online) because it was REALLY good!).

Have a great week, everyone!