Tag Archives: weekly dinner menu

Dinner menu for the week of May 27th

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This whole meal planning thing is starting to get a bit easier.  Having said that, it does seem like every week, something comes up that changes my plan.

Last week, we skipped the salad night on Thursday, because I went out to dinner with some of my sweet girlfriends.  It was SO nice to have a night out.  With a daily goal of 90% real food, and 10% everything else, I spent pretty much ALL of my 10% on an amazing dark chocolate brownie topped with ice cream and drizzled dark chocolate sauce.  It may have been closer to 20% though.   Shhhhhhh.

Saturday, I had every intention of making the poached eggs with bacon and asparagus, but the bacon jumped out of the package onto the kitchen floor earlier that morning.  It was a total loss.  I decided to combine the asparagus that was on the menu, with the salmon planned for tonight (Sunday).  It turned out amazing!

salmon

BTW, Dave said that I have to acknowledge that HE cooked this masterpiece.  He reminded me that I always have to credit the chef.

Even though the salmon ruled, both the chicken parmigiana, and the taquitos were the stars of last week’s menu.  Actually…the wild rice soup was awesome too.  It is really great when there are no whammies on a menu.  All the recipe links are here.

It is the last week in May, and I am WAY over my grocery budget already.  I was hoping to get back on track by making smoothies instead of juice, but it has been a harder transition than I had hoped.  I have a freezer full of frozen fruit for smoothies, but have been buying tons of fresh stuff to accommodate Trevor’s desire for “doooooooce”.  It is hard for me argue with a 2yo that begs for kale, spinach, beet, celery, carrot, orange and apple juice.  I mean honestly.

So, I am resolved this week to only use items that I have on hand in order to give the bank account a break.  Yikes!  This will mean smoothies (sorry Trevor) using the frozen fruit, and only trips to the store for milk.  This should work given that we plan to skip eating at home two of the seven nights.

Monday:  Happy Memorial Day!!!  We will be going somewhere to eat some BBQ most likely.

Tuesday:  Salsa chicken tacos.  We will use corn tortillas, and add avocados, cheese and tomatoes.

Wednesday:  Creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  Replay from last week.  It was so good, AND this is a “use it up” week for us.

Thursday:  Dave and I will be going out to dinner for our 4th wedding anniversary.  Yay for date night!

Friday: Cheesy pesto chicken bake.  I will be making my own pesto in the Vitamix.  Hope it turns out well!

Saturday:  French toast with carmalized bananas.  Inspired by this recipe, but I will be using whole grain bread and whole milk for the egg mixture.

Sunday:  We do not have any seafood on hand except some frozen pub battered halibut that has been in the freezer for longer than I care to admit.  Not a real food option sadly.  We will be having soup again (ya know…to use it up) that I will pull from the freezer.  Can I tell you how much I appreciate having cooked ahead?!?

In closing, I am reflecting on Memorial Day, and how its significance reaches far beyond the BBQs, and the day we get off work.  I am humbled by the service and sacrifice of those that have made the US safer.  May we never forget what you have done for us, and may we live lives worthy of your gift.

Dinner Menu for the week of May 20th

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Before I get into the menu for this week, I have a request for you…  Please make these fajitas, and then make them again.  They were on last week’s menu, and they turned out so amazing.

It is shaping up to be a busy week for me, so many of the items on this week’s menu will be easy ones.

Here we gooooooo……

Monday:  Fajita chicken burritos from the freezer and a fresh green salad.

Tuesday:  Chicken Parmigiana cutlets over whole wheat spaghetti.  YUM!

Wednesday: Creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  Leftovers will go into the freezer for another night.

Thursday:  Mexican-Style quinoa salad.  Leaving out the onions/shallots, and using diced roma tomatoes since that is what I will have on hand.

Friday:  Beef taquitos.  Did not have a chance to rock some fresh corn tortillas last week, so maybe this will be my chance?

Saturday:  Poached eggs with Asparagus.  I am planning to use bacon instead.

Sunday:  Blackened Salmon with mango avocado salsa and steamed broccoli

BTW, still warming up to my Vitamix.  Cannot get used to the smoothie consistency, so  Juicy will not be retired just yet.  :/  “Vita” (her new name) may be redeemed when the dry container is delivered this week.  Hoping to begin grinding my own wheat and corn.

Happy cooking friends!

Dinner menu for the week of May 13th

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Another week of meal planning is here. Already.

On Friday, my little sis and her family came up to visit.  It was a great weekend of fun and relaxing with a teeny tiny break from real food, though I did still try to make good choices when available.

In other news, Juicy may be on her way out in favor of my new VITAMIX!!!  It is so very different, in both good and bad ways.  I really do prefer actual juice over smoothies, but there is so much less waste with my new tool.  It should reduce our fresh produce spending drastically.  It is not only me that misses the pure Juicy kind of juice.  Trevor has left several full glasses of green smoothie juice around the house.  Hope I can get the consistency and taste right in the coming week.

These are the items on our dinner menu:

Monday:  Left over chicken.

Tuesday:  Chicken pot pie.   Like most things, I modify this recipe.  I make my own whole wheat crust, I use whole wheat flour in the filling, and I will be using chicken that cooked most of the day in the crock pot.  Hands down, the very best whole chicken I have ever made!  I will use the carcass to make stock overnight.

Wednesday:  Salad with black beans, quinoa, apples and almonds.  I  will try to find a suitable dressing to make, or it may end up being oil and balsamic vinegar.

Thursday:  Potato soup made in the Vitamix on Sunday with BLTA sandwiches.

Friday:  Grilled steak and veggie fajitas.  I might try to make some corn tortillas from scratch.  Emphasis on might given how the flour ones turned out.  :/

Saturday:  We did not have dinner at home on Saturday last week, so I will be giving the quiches another go.

Sunday: Lemon garlic salmon steamed in foil on the BBQ with brown rice and zucchini.

Every week there seems to be something that makes it on menu that I cannot wait to cook up.  This week it is the fajitas.  Last week it was the shrimp and quinoa with avocado and orange salsa.  It was SO amazing.  Lived up to the dreams that I had been dreaming about the dish.   Both visually appealing, and terrific flavor!

ShrimpQuinoa

 

For those that are mothers, I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and that you were celebrated today!  Enjoy your week!

Menu for May 6th – 12th

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I am SO aware that this post is a day late.  Being gone for several days requires some rest before jumping right back into the swing of things.

Here is what is in the dinner plan for this week.  Several of these things are new to my recipe box, so I am excited to experiment.

Monday – We had defrosted and re-heated chicken burritos.

Tuesday – Honey lime pork tenderloin with wild rice and either asparagus or broccoli.  Leaving out the sesame oil, and subbing olive oil for the processed canola.

Wednesday – Chef salad with diced ham, egg, avocado, cheese and avocado dressing.  Dressing will be made with organic greek yogurt instead of mayo, and a bit less oil.

Thursday – Potato soup with whole wheat biscuits

Friday – Chicken with beans, tomatoes and corn grilled in foil.  I will be changing this up a bit.  I plan to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned, whole fat jersey cheddar, and olive oil instead of pam.

Saturday – Quiche with cheese and bacon

Sunday –  Sauteed shrimp over orange/avocado quinoa.  Cannot wait to see how this turns out!

Here’s to a great week with no whammies!

Dinner menu for week of April 29th

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Oh planning.  I wish you did not require so much planning.  The menu hunting, the shopping lists, the shuffling of meal options to accommodate schedules.  As a working mama, I also have to plan to cook ahead for many of the weeknights, since prep the night of is a joke.  I have to avoid the open fridge stare at 5pm, or I will start buying convenience food again.

This week, I will be out of town Weds night through Sunday.  You mean I have to do MORE planning for meals that are easy while I am gone?  You betcha.  Due to this unique week, I am only planning dinner.  Breakfast and lunch can be a free-for-all.  Healthy free-for-all, but still…

On the docket for dinners:

Monday:  Chicken tacos using meat that cooked all day in the crock pot yesterday.  The remainder of the meat will be used to make freezer burritos.  (Getting around to making the burritos tomorrow)

Tuesday:  Chicken and cilantro lime quinoa.  Btw, just learned that it is pronounced KEEN-WA.  Yes, I have been calling it Quin-oh-wa.  So awesome.

Wednesday:  Chili and cornbread.  (Both currently in the freezer)  I modify this chili recipe quite a bit based on tips from my friend Val.  I leave out the sugar, bacon bits, hotsauce, corn chips and beef boulion.  I use one whole beer.  Honestly, this turns out AMAZING.  Time to make chili peeps!  Cornbread recipe is modified to use whole corn meal, whole wheat flour, no sugar, and a bit more honey.  Winner.

Thursday:  I will pre-make a salad for Dave with Spinach,  strawberries, almonds and a drizzle of olive oil.

Friday:  Spaghetti with grass fed beef delivered in the CSA box, and whole wheat noodles.  Also prepped and ready in the freezer.

Sat:  Brinner of waffles or pancakes or an omelette.  Dave’s choice here.  Dave’s parents are visiting, so it may end up being take out for the adults.  He can call an audible.

Sunday:  Most likely something like chicken enchilada soup from the freezer. (Made a HUGE batch yesterday.)  I get home right at dinner time, so that should rule.

Hope everyone has a great week!