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Monday, January 11, 2010

menu monday mania: week 2

one week down. how's everyone doing? still keeping those resolutions? still feeling good about the new year? school starts this week. the decorations are all down. i guess it's true, the holidays really are over.

so are you ready for this week's menu? my shopping list is complete, the meals are planned. i'm crossing my fingers that my family will be eating a home-cooked meal nearly every night this week. & any leftovers will head to work with my hubby, for lunch.

just like last week, i'm encouraging YOU to share your menu plans with me, i definitely need all the ideas i can get. so leave a comment with your menu plan, or, even better, post your menus on your own blog & just leave a link here. &, without further ado, here is week two of menu monday mania...

* monday: zesty crockpot chicken
* tuesday: taco soup
* wednesday: home made pizza (thanks to everyone for all the fabulous dough recipes. i'm definitely trying each & every one of them out. i am, however, still looking for a homemade recipe for sauce... anyone? anyone?)
* thursday: hash
* friday: chicken pizza packets

wahoo! i kinda impressed with myself (obviously, it doesn't take much). 5 more meals, planned. although, you may or may not have noticed, i don't have any "sides" listed. to be honest, i haven't quite worked up to that yet. picking & planning side dishes is just as hard, as planning the meals themselves. & remember, i'm baby stepping here. planning the meals, is a HUGE accomplishment. i'm hoping to work up to side dishes in a month or so. in the meantime,  how do YOU handle side dishes? do you have a side or even possibly multiple sides with every dinner? do you match the "sides" to your meal, or do you have several "sides" that you just rotate through? do you do "sides" & a salad, or just a "side" or just a salad?

looking forward to once again checking out your meal plans.... don't let me down. remember my family needs to eat, & i need ideas.

16 comments:

Donna @ Mudpies & Memories said...

I usually do the main dish and then throw in a vegetable and a starch (rice, pasta, sweet potato, etc). However, if it's spaghetti, or a pot pie or chili... you know, those kind of main dishes, then I forget about the sides. Maybe throw some bread at the family and that's it. Great job on the menu planning! It's hard at first but gets easier. I need to post mine on my blog to make me more likely to stick to it!

Melissa's Thoughts said...

That chicken (crockpot) looks great. My sister is coming into town and I'm trying to plan our meals.

The Roberts Rollercoaster RIde said...

Alright, alright...I'll share my sauce recipe. It goes like this.

Saute 1/2 diced onion in evoo until clear. Add diced garlic. (if you like bell peppers add now)

Add one can of dice italian tomatoes. Cook for 5 mins on med high, stiring. Mash up tomatoes.

Add sprinkle of salt, dash of pepper. Add 2 cans of tomato sauce. Some fresh or dried parsley, sprinkle of red pepper to taste and always a dash of dried italian herbs.

Personally I like to add a pit of sweet. Either a squeeze of grape jelly or a couple table spoons of white sugar. If your sauce is too thin, boil down or add tomato paste until to your likeness.

And whalla!! Sauce!! Feel free to add ground meat/sausage or a cheap can of sp sauce to make it a great pasta sauce!!

Ellie said...

I normally keep frozen veggies in the freezer and just pull them out for the sides - we go through green beans, broccoli, and mixed veggies pretty often.

Jenny said...

For most meals, we have a main dish, a fruit, and a vegetable.

My favorite pizza sauce is from Sunset magazine:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=608353

Shepherd Family ACALPM said...

We are having...
Creaming Chicken and Veggies (from womans day mag which by the way had a Month of meals calendar in it which is useful for inspiration)
Broc. and Tomato Pizza
Teriyaki chicken with Rice
Honey mustard chicken wraps with Cottage cheese
fajitas
Grilled Cheese and soup
Roasted potatoes with steak and a green veggie

Kelly for sides I usually do a green veggie from the freezer, or nothing if there are veggies in the main dish...sometimes bread if it fits with the meal, Or sometimes I really crave butternut squash and I will make the main meal around the side... but mostly just a frozen veg.

Shari said...

Ok, just because of you I felt compelled to pull it together. I got today and tomorrow's dinner figured out and kind of Wednesday's. Thurs. hmm, not gonna be around and Friday I don't cook so I'm pretty good for the week. Thanks.

Shanna - My Favorite Everything said...

Looks yummy Kelly! Here's our menu for the week...http://www.myfavoriteeverything.com/planner/

Have a great week!

kelly said...

sides are just easy, green beans, steamed broccoli, rice, roasted red potatoes, mashed potatoes. something that seems to go with the meal. some things need no sides or just a salad like chili or taco's or spaghetti, cornbread or garlic bread is enough but we are not big eaters. i love menu planning i don't know how i would know what to eat otherwise. (sorry i just similar comments!)
this week's dinner: chicken cordon bleu sandwiches, chili, pad thai, homemade tomato soup and grilled panini's, enchiladas, taco soup too and a crockpot roast on sunday. thanks for your recipes.

kristen said...

this sauce recipe use is one i found from all recipes, but it's been tweaked a little bit:
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground paprika
2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
dash red pepper flakes
--mix tomato paste and tomato sauce until well blended, then add rest of ingredients; mix well. let it sit for a few minutes to 'meld'

this one is pretty easy and really tasty, also, if you need too feel free to sub the basil and oregano with italian seasoning.

also, if you have a bread machine i have a really great recipe for dough--a white and a whole wheat one.

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KJ said...

Sunday: chicken & dumplings w/ sliced pears on the side
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Spicy Boneless Country Ribs (via Real Simple Magazine) w/sweet potato fries & broccoli
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Grillled Ham & Cheese sandwiches w/ fruit on the side
Friday: Baked Fideos w/shredded chicken
Saturday: Leftovers
Next week, I'll post on the blog.

Priscilla said...

I'm all for eating more home-cooked meals! I've always been more of an impromptu meal planner, catering to what I was craving that day - so seeing all the great menu planning ideas from Week 1 was very impressive. Hope you will stop by my blog if you need any new ideas. I have a cornbread recipe that is my 18 yo's favorite thing in the world :)

Jerilyn said...

i absolutely love your blog, so i nominated it for an award (over on my blog)

Sunshine Paperie said...

LOVE the menu monday mania!!! I am in! I plan our menus and NOW have a reason to post them! As soon as I post on Monday...link coming your way!!

Stephanie said...

So proud of you...and let us know if you discover a great homemade sauce recipe for pizza. I'm on-the-lookout for one as well.

RE: sides. Sometimes we have them, sometimes we don't. We usually opt for very simple sides: peas, corn, broccoli, sliced peaches, a loaf of french bread, etc.

stephanie@metropolitanmama.net