Menu Plan Monday - May 18

We didn't eat many of our planned meals last week, but we did eat every day! Most of the deviation came from our house being on the market and late afternoon showings. That's okay with me since it led to an offer! Hooray - under contract in 2 weeks. God is so good!!!! We also found a house that we love and the sellers accepted our bid. It's going to be a wild month here with inspections, packing, closing, and then moving. I am still planning to post a monthly menu plan for June, although it will be packed with easy meals and some tips for cook once, eat twice meals. Look for it later this week.

I'm going to be pretty un-inspiring over the next few week - head over to OrgJunkie.com for more ideas!

Weeknight Dinners:

• Buttermilk Pecan Chicken, baked sweet potatoes, green beans
• BLT sandwiches, cucumber salad, and fries
• Pizza casserole and salad
• Spaghetti, garlic breadsticks, and salad
  
• Burgers on the grill, baked beans, and fries

Baking and Snacks:

• Banana muffins
• Almost Nutri-grain bars
  

Menu Plan Monday - May 11

I realized that I skipped last week. I didn't really mean to, but Monday got away from me and then it seemed silly to post on Tuesday. So - back to the routine this week! I am making a concerted effort this week to avoid the grocery store. I have more than enough food here, I just need to be creative in using it up.

Weeknight Dinners:

• Buttermilk Pecan Chicken, baked sweet potatoes, green beans
• Chicken gravy over saffron rice, broccoli carrot cauliflower mix
• Sausage Smothered White Beans with cornbread
• Chicken Cacciatore over spaghetti with green salad
• Pizza

Baking, Freezer Cooking, Breakfasts:

• English muffin bread
• Chewy granola bars
• Chocolate graham crackers

I'll also be making 2 big batches of brownies for the youth chicken BBQ at our church. It will be a fun week at our house - little man starts karate lessons Monday and we'll be celebrating Daddy's birthday on Thursday.

For hundreds more menu plans, visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

To Bake or Buy?

I enjoy baking for my family. It's therapeutic and helps me to feel like I am fulfilling the role God designed for me as a wife and mother. However, the analytical side of me has wondered if some things are cheaper to buy (especially with grocers tripling coupon values). I saw this article on MSN yesterday and am thrilled that someone has done some of the work for me. I will wonder no more!

Creative Ideas for Summer Fun

Summer is almost upon us and if you are anything like me, you are looking for fun, creative, and inexpensive things to do with your children. I am no expert, but here are a few ideas for enjoying the warm days ahead.

• Check out your local Parks & Rec Department for free or nearly free programs for your children. Our town offers Open Art and Open Gym once per week at $1.00 per session, Picnic with Professionals once per week at a local park for free (police officers, fire fighters, SPCA reps), all sorts of sports programs for an average cost of $3.00 per week, art programs, nature programs, preschool cooking, gymnastics, and so much more!
• If you have museums nearby, visit their websites to learn about children's programs over the summer. We have 5 different museums in town here and each one is offering some type of summer fun day for preschoolers. Most are free!
• One of my favorites is visiting a farmer's market - the sites, smells, and tastes are always a hit with little ones. This season is wonderful for picking your own fresh fruit. We have strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry fields nearby and will be visiting them all soon.
• Spend some time on Google looking for a mom's bulletin board in your local area. This one for Raleigh was started last year and is a great resource.
• Libraries!!! Oh my goodness - did you know that libraries have so much more than books now?

One thing I am going to be working on this summer is taking a step back from what I think should get done every day. I could very easily spend most days puttering around the house, cleaning, organizing, and cooking. Well ... that's not possible with an active almost 4 year old at home all summer. I am going to constantly remind myself that meals must be easy, baking will be kept to a minimum, and that the house cleaning can wait. After all - if we're out and about every day, the house shouldn't get dirty anyway!

Most of all - ENJOY your time with your children this summer!

May Menu Plan

We did it - dove head first into this crazy real estate market! We know that God is in control of this situation. He has already provided abundantly for us as we have made this decision - a wonderful Realtor and the time and energy to get some of the work done that was required. Lots and lots of painting has occurred in the past 2 weeks.

As I was contemplating the menu for May, I realized that things will have to be even more simple: easy to prep and clean up, nothing too smelly, and most likely not crock pot recipes. Hmmm ... that last one threw me for a loop. Easy to prep, clean up, and good smelling are standard ... but no crock pot? Yikes!!! I'm going to try some new recipes, pull out some old favorites, and rely on casseroles and the grill. we also have several nights away from home planned - Bunko night for me and my mom, a BBQ chicken dinner at church, a cookout with friends, DH's birthday is this month, and I'm sure we'll be at mom and dad's nearly every day after they "open" their pool.

Dinners:

• Homemade pizza (4 times)
• Burgers on the grill (2 times)
• Pork chops on the grill (2 times)
• 40 clove garlic chicken (I can't go a whole month without making this, even though it's a crock pot recipe)
• Creamy chicken enchiladas (a new twist on a favorite of ours)
• Pizza casserole
• Creamy chicken and pasta bake
• Taco pinwheel
• Pasta salad with grilled chicken or pork. I'll post the recipe next week. DH's aunt passed this along and it's super easy and versatile!
• Shrimp or fish tacos

Breakfasts, Breads, Snacks:

• Caramel french toast
• Chocolate chip muffins
• Banana muffins with cranberries
• Graham crackers
• Sour gummies
• Hummus and homemade pitas
  

Menu Plan Monday - April 27

I believe Spring may be over in NC - we reached 90 on Saturday and are pushing towards 85 today. This is a great time of year! We love the warmer weather and the time outside. We're planning to visit a strawberry patch this week and pick some of the season's first (and hopefully sweetest) berries. I am making a strong effort this week to eat off what we have and stay out of the grocery store! We'll see if I make it all week without a trip in there.

On to the food ...

Weeknight Dinners:
Jambalaya in the crock pot
Spaghetti, Italian breadsticks, salad
Meatloaf cups, mushroom gravy, egg noodles, corn
Pizza

Baking / Freezer Cooking:
Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit cups (didn't get to these this past week)
Waffles for in the freezer
Almost Nutri-grain bars
Cook 1-2 whole chickens with seasonings and freeze meat for easy suppers

It's a pretty simple week for us. DH and I are praying to get the house on the market by May 1, so we'll be busy packing, painting, and cleaning this week. Visit OrgJunkie for hundreds more menu plans each week.

Casserole Recommendations

Here are a few of my family's favorite casseroles. Some I make as written, some I add more spices to. I have found a lot of casseroles to be pretty bland the first go-round. I wondered about that and then though that often, casseroles are give-away meals, so I guess the flavors have to be milder. If you try any of these, go with the recipe the first time and then "doctor it up" to suit your family's tastes.

King Ranch Chicken ( I prefer the non-condensed soup version, but either one is really good)
Cheesy Pasta Casserole
Chicken enchiladas are a freezer staple in our house. I use this sauce recipe.
Cavatini pasta with meat sauce (I add fresh garlic to this and usually double the spices)
Chicken pot pie is another freezer staple.
BBQ Beef and Bean Casserole
Pizza Casserole