Menu Plan Archive and Comments

This post is where I archive the weekly menus posted on my sidebar. It will also serve as a place for people to comment, ask questions, request recipes, etc. The link on the sidebar brings you directly to this post. Since the actual menu plan on the sidebar will change every week, please reference the dish you are commenting about. Thanks and enjoy!

Sep 29-Oct 5
Baked Chicken - we had some leftover marinated chicken in the freezer and will bake it, along with some sweet potato fries. Add corn on the cob and fresh fruit salad & this will be a healthy dinner.
Pigs in a Blanket - I'm gonna try Jane's recipe and serve them with chili & cheese. Let's hope for some leftover fruit salad & maybe I'll do some jello or something.
Broccoli Bow Tie Pasta - Aaron found a Rachel Ray book called: Kid Food. This recipe looks quick & easy & tasty. We're trying to do more vegetarian meals - for our health and our budget. We will have some awesome rosemary crusty bread I picked up and the leftover jello salad.
Chicken in Tikka Masala Sauce - We're starting Thur. soccer practice this week and I am dubbing it crock pot day. I did this last month sometime & it was soooo easy and delicious. Just serve with rice & a veggie - edamame for us.
Bruschetta Pizza - We're looking to use up some of our delicious fresh basil and happen to have everything else for this pizza.Sunday Roast - with all the trimmings! Aaron found the most fabulous recipe and made it at his parents this summer. Hands down - the best roast I've ever eaten!

Sep 1-7
Labor Day BBQ with the Rasmussens - We bought a grill pack at Fresh 'n' Easy. For $5 you get four hamburgers, 4 brats, and a bunch of chicken, pre-marinated. We are going to swim first, then BBQ and play at our house.
Beans - Aaron's favorite. He is buying roasted chili peppers at Food City to cook in the crockpot with them. My contribution is usually cornbread. Note to self: one put about 2 chilis in a batch of beans. Ten will make them as hot as fire & pretty much inedible.
Chipotle Chicken Tostadas - from the freezer! This is one of our favorites but a little time consuming to make. We were lucky to have some leftovers last time so we can enjoy it easily this week.
Tilapia - just sauteed with seasonings and served with brown rice and a veggie. This is our healthiest meal of the week.
Dinner Out! - This week is Aaron's birthday and we're going out for it on Thursday. Then Saturday we are having dinner with some friends. No cooking & good company!

Aug 17-23
Pork Loin Roast - With mashed sweet potatoes and some kind of green veggie. Aaron found a recipe and we cooked it in the crockpot all day - delicous! As were the sweet potatoes. We added a little cream cheese, cream, cinnamon, and cardamom. Aaron made this roast & it was soooo delicious! I'm lucky to have a husband who cooks so well (and so willingly). The mashed sweet potatoes were great too - Aaron said they are his new favorite.
Tarragon Chicken with Leeks - We love this recipe, I'll have to post it soon. Leeks are sometimes hard to find and a bit expensive, but worth it for this. The sauce is delicous and buttery and we will have some pasta with it to soak up the yumminess.
Tacos - another freezer find - at least it looks like taco salad kind of meat. Hopefully we'll have better luck than last week.
Grilled Turkey Breast - we made this once in Florida and loved it, but somehow haven't done it again. Here's hoping I can find the recipe. I just remember it had cloves stuck randomly into the meat for flavor. I want to do traditional sides like stuffing, jello, etc. This turned out okay, but not as good as I remember. The marinade is good, I think it was just a little dry. The dressing mix we used was pretty bland & flavorless. Not even as good as StoveTop, even though I chopped & sauteed my own veggies for it.
Quiche - this is a great basic recipe from allrecipes.com. We have some spinach, bacon, and feta to add. And maybe the asparagus will still be good!
Steak - the last two from our Omaha Steaks bonus. We'll pair with roasted red potatoes and maybe some broccoli or green beans.

Aug 11-17
I know there were only 4 things this week, but I actually made all of them, on the day I actually planned!
Chicken Croissants - The Mormon homestyle favorite with packaged croissants, cream of mushroom soup, and cream cheese. Aaron & Candice really liked these.
Veggie Soup (from our freezer) and homemade bread - Not quite sure what kind it is, but it has a lot of vegetables in it. And I agreed to make homemade bread since the soup only has to be dethawed. I might even get crazy and do herb butter. This soup had apparently been in the freezer 27 years and since it consisted largely of barley, which tastes like sponges after freezing - we had to throw it out. We pulled out some canned soup and mostly enjoyed the delicous bread and herb butter I made.
Pesto Shrimp Pasta - just cook your pasta of choice, and add a small container of pesto sauce, some cooked shrimp, feta cheese, and vegetables. I like asparagus, but it's usually too pricey so I substitute something else. We'll finish off the bread here too.
Homemade Fish Sticks - a Nigella favorite, we will serve with a creamy dill dip, a veggie, and maybe a salad.

July 21-24
Going up North again this weekend so planning for a short week.
Chicken in Masala Sauce - I bought a jar of sauce and plan to throw it in the crockpot with a couple frozen chicken breasts. This took about 5 minutes and turned out fantastic! Just served with rice and a veggie. Brand: Seeds of Change Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce.
Skillet Baked Ziti - We saw this on America's Test Kitchen and pulled the recipe from their site - looks tasty and easy. You can get free recipes on their site but you have to register so I'm not going to link - but check them out.
Beef Burgandy - with some beef & some mystery meat. I think it's elk or that someone gave us. This recipe is also from America's Test Kitchen and looks good.
Homemade Refried Beans & Tortillas - a favorite recipe from my friend Jane.

July 7 - 13
Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. Aaron took Alden & Emmett up north, so I'm trying to get back into the swing of life with three boys. Wish me luck making dinner this week!

Chicken with Peanut Curry Sauce - Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade, 20-minute meals - We loved this! Must make often. Not too peanutty, or too coconutty - just tasty and with a little bit of kick.
Fish - not sure of the preparations, but we have some filets in the freezer. We like to just lightly saute with seasonings.
Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce and Peas - an old favorite that I can't remember the source. Not exactly low-fat, but it has a veggie in it!
Shrimp Coconut Corn Chowder - from the One-Armed Cook. I reviewed this book and posted this recipe on my blog, The Well-Rounded Woman. Very good! Next time use less corn, a bit less chicken broth and add some cream.
Asian Roll Ups - from the Fly Lady, actually Leanne at Saving Dinner. I forget how good this mix is. Use as much salmon as recipe calls for or more - we didn't have quite enough.

June 1 - June 8
Lately I have seen a few episodes of Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking and when we tried one a few weeks ago it was a smashing success! So I checked out one of her cookbooks from the library and ended up marking about a dozen I would like to try. We are planning on three this week - the noodles, salmon, and tofu.
Spicy Peanut Noodles - a vegetarian dish that looks very easy. This needs some work. Next time I will use half the peanut butter and little to no chicken broth. I also used udon noodles, which were fine, but will try the soba noodles called for next time.
Broiled Salmon with Pesto Mayonnaise - trying a semi-homemade side too, Tuscan White Beans with Tomatoes Super yummy and easy! Aaron loved the beans, we're always looking for new sides.
Sesame-Crusted Tofu Over Mixed Greens with Orange Vinaigrette - we like the few tofu dishes we've tried so are hoping this is good too, love the sesame seeds all over it and you fry the tofu in sesame oil too. This one was great too - a good meat substitute.
Mushroom Burgers - with creole seasoned french fries and steamed veggies
Rosemary Grilled Pork - a very flavorful specialty of Aaron's, we will serve with a rice pilaf

May 26-June 1

We're going with cheap and easy dinners this week, using up things we already have and finishing off some great leftovers from last week.

Bruschetta Pizzas
Crockpot BBQ Chicken
Tomato Soup with Sandwiches
Saag Shorba

May 12-May 18
Chalupa over fritos (thanks to Candice), yellow squash, fruit
Spicy Orange Porkchops, couscous, sweet potato fries, salad
Garlic Lime Chicken, rice noodles, carrots
Beef Stroganoff, egg noodles, carrots, salad. Trying the stroganoff recipe from The One-Armed Cook, to be reviewed soon. We really liked this recipe and it was so easy.
Beans, bread, fruit
Chicken Enchiladas, spanish rice, corn on the cob, jello salad. I'm going to try this sauce and actually make rolled enchiladas instead of just a casserole. We couldn't do rolled because our tortillas were old and just cracked, but still tasty. Aaron has raved about the sauce, which doesn't have any tomatoes in it. It's like a mole sauce and is actually finished off with a square of chocolate. Pretty spicy for me - next time 4 Tbs chili powder instead of 5.

April 28-May 4
We had a rough last week and even rougher weekend with sick kids so we didn't get to many of our planned menus. That's okay, just easier planning this week!
Chicken & Rice Salad - Aaron keeps sending me recipes from this blog and they are always delicious! Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole
Red Curry Coconut Pork - with steamed broccoli and leftover casserole from above
Bruschetta Pizza - salad
Miso Poached Tilapia - served over udon noodles. This is from Semi Homemade cooking episode we watched this weekend and it looked delicious and easy.

April 21-27
Beef Stew - from the food supply (should be interesting)
Cornflake crusted chicken, steamed broccoli, and Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole
Red Curry Coconut Pork - will pair with a veggie of some sort, anybody have any great side recipes? I always need them.
Chicken & Rice Salad - Aaron keeps sending me recipes from this blog and they are always delicious!
Bruschetta Pizza - salad

April 14-20
BBQ in the desert - courtesy of Mom & Dad!
Pork Chops - still looking for ideas but will pair them with these yummy-sounding BLT mashed potatoes
Creamy White Chili and Cornbread - my two favorite recipes from Shannon
Cornflake crusted chicken, steamed broccoli, and sweet potato & apples
Tilapia - still deciding how to prepare
Beef Stew - from the food supply (should be interesting)

April 7-13
Spiced Bean Curd - best recipe for Chinese food I've found (from a cooking class I took at MCC)
Tacos - a request from Aaron, we're gonna try thin steaks cut in strips. I may make these homemade tortillas too.
Grilled Chicken & Zucchini Pie - Jody has a good marinade I will try, it uses soda pop
Tuna Casserole - a classic that we try to fancy up a bit
Pork Chops - haven't decided how to prepare them - any suggestions?
Pesto Shrimp Pasta - will use premade pesto and the wonderful Omaha Steaks frozen shrimp we have