Menu Plan Monday - April 19

This Rigatoni with Chicken, Bacon and Mushrooms from last week was probably our favorite. Actually, my husband's favorite by far! An exciting moment for me though was my picky toddler son actually eating all parts of this Brown Rice Casserole we had with peas. It was another successful week of meals.
This week will be a bit off for us. We have my in-laws in town and went out to eat last night, for lunch today, and quite possibly for dinner again tonight.
I have a dish that was in the freezer, a past with ground turkey dish, that I will reheat and have available for one dinner and possibly lunches.
Other meals we will be having:
Mozzarella Chicken and Rice Skillet
Breakfast for Dinner
Spinach Lentil Soup
For other great meals and ideas, head on over to Orgjunkie today!

Menu Plan Monday - February 15

Still Pregnant!
Still cold and snowy around here!
Still trying to stock my freezer and get my house and life in order for having baby boy #2 any time now...
Still making lots of soup since it is simple to make and simple to freeze, and great in cold weather!

We've been trying to eat a wee bit healthier over the past week or so, trying out some new things for breakfasts and lunches. Been eating a homemade baked oatmeal for breakfast a lot as well as tuna, yogurt/fruit/granola (homemade granola), and eggs for lunches (or sometimes breakfast too). Also getting in more raw fruits and veggies (harder to find decent deals this time of year), nuts, and dried fruits for snacks.

Here is what I am working towards for dinners this week:
Curried Chicken and Cider Soup (this has been on my list for a while, but I roasted my chicken and made my chicken broth, and I am ready to make the soup today!) I have made this one before and greatly enjoyed it!
Hearty Tomato Soup is on my list again, loved it the first time and looking forward to it again!
A simple Hamburger Macaroni Bake
And hopefully this Maple Apple Chicken

Find more great ideas and recipes at Orgjunkie.

Menu Plan and Stocking the Freezer

I am 34 weeks pregnant. I delivered at 37 weeks with my first son. I figure it's about time to get started with stocking my freezer, unpacking all the newborn clothes and necessities, and getting myself and my stuff ready as well...
Since  our area was expecting a big snow this weekend I decided that maybe it would be a good time to stock up on groceries and spend some time in the kitchen, since I probably wouldn't be able to get out anyways...it was worth the insanity at the store as everyone was nervously stocking up on bread and milk.
So far I have mostly worked on stocking for my 1 year old. I know some people often do everything in one day, but I prefer to do a couple things at a time, but not for the whole day. Just my way. Yesterday I made baked oatmeal (my new favorite breakfast for my son, and he loves it too!) and these breakfast cookies. They have similar ingredients, but the cookies have bananas and raisins.  Today I made banana muffins (a combination of two of his favorite foods: bananas and cheerios!) and broccoli potato soup (very simply onion, broccoli, potato, stock, and cheese). My son tried a muffin and enjoyed it greatly, and he has had the soup before and loved it! It feels great to be filling my freezer!

For the meals we will actually be eating this week:
Curried Sweet Potato and Apple Soup
Slow Cooker Turkey Stew
Cream Slow-Cooker Chicken
Chili Cheese Biscuit Pies

And some other recipes that I will be working on to add to my freezer collection:
Meatless Chili
Baked Chicken Fingers
Pea and Spinach Soup

We'll see if I really get to all of this. But I do already have all the ingredients for all of these recipes, and that excites me! It's the little things...
Head on over to Orgjunkie.com for more great ideas for meals.

Menu Plan Monday - January 25

Really working hard to get back on track with meal planning. Not just for the week, but for a month at a time. And it helps tremendously! And I've overestimated enough meals this week-thus pushing meals back to the following week- that I already have my first week of February planned based on overture! Nice! Here are some of the main foods we will be enjoying this week.

Cheese Quesadillas
Blueberry Pancakes
Whole Wheat Waffles
Spinach Tortellini Soup
Easy Crock-pot Tater Soup
Chili Cheese Biscuit Pies 
Autumn Sausage Casserole 
My son has been much better the past couple of days at trying new foods, so I am excited to see how this week and some of the recipes go over with him.
For more great menus and meal ideas, head on over to Orgjunkie.

Menu Plan Monday - January 11

Seems like I have a habit of planning for more food in a week than we actually get to. Or we have other random meals and don't fully get around to what was planned...either way, I still have all the ingredients and plan to make the tomato soup with some grilled cheese sandwiches Monday. It's still cold and I'm looking forward to this.
My review from last week: when making a soup with mostly milk, be sure and stir like the recipe calls for...I'm still trying to scrape the burntness off the bottom of my pan! And what a bummer how a little burning on the bottom makes the whole batch taste burnt, or as my husband graciously called it "smokey!" Even though my husband and my 1 year old turned their noses up at first glance of the vegetable soup, they both enjoyed it when they actually tried it! Success!

So, for this week:
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (out of the freezer)
Hearty Tomato Soup
Artichoke Chicken
Apple and Sausage Pie
Apple Chicken Quesadilla
Blueberry Snack Cake

Okay, so that looks like a lot of food again, but I don't have to buy too many ingredients to make it all happen, and there's a good possibility that at least one of these meals will carry over to next week. It's all good.

Menu Plan Monday - Jan 4

I am excited to start the New Year off right with healthy meals and great recipes!

We had plenty to eat last week and never got to the Creamy Corn Chowder, so that is first on my list to make this week. Actually, it is freezing here and I am thinking of making all soups this week because that is what sounds really good when the weather gets cold.

So, Creamy Corn Chowder, Hearty Tomato Soup, and Vegetable Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Rosemary to use up some extra sweet potatoes I have from when they were so cheap over the holidays.

These three soups, as well as other foods we have on hand for breakfast and lunches should easily get us through the week.

What's on your menu this week? For other great ideas head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday - December 14

I've got to get back on track!
We've been eating out of our freezer A LOT the past couple of weeks since our main freezer broke and we've needed to get the freezer cleaned out some to make room for normal everyday use...but now it's time to really start cooking again. And I am ready! I have a new desire and excitement when looking for recipes since I have a toddler who is starting to eat more of what we are eating and this makes cooking for all of us more fun. Also, my husband has been having a huge problem with heartburn and I know we could eat even healthier than we already do sometimes, but this makes it even more important that we are eating foods that are good for his stomach.

Spinach Tortellini Soup I've made this once before (it freezes great!) and it was delicious.
Making this Chicken Tortilla Bake when we have company over next weekend.
Cheese and Spinach Tart with Glazed Carrots (found this recipe in the January 2010 issue of Parents magazine, but can't seem to find it online to link to it)
A Pea and Potato Soup made similar to the recipes given here (to have some extra easy food on hand for my son).
Making this Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole for a meeting.
Trying out this Pumpkin Cake recipe on some company next weekend.
Some other snacks/breakfast foods I plan on making to have on hand for all of us, but mostly for my son: Lemon Yogurt Snack Cake, Banana Oat Muffins, and Applesauce Muffins.

For even more great menu ideas, head on over to orgjunkie.com.

Menu Plan Monday - November 9

I have been a slacker with making meal plans the last couple of weeks. Our nights have been busier and it has been easier (and more expensive!) to eat out on the go. Gotta stop the madness!

Monday: Lasagna Stoup
Tuesday: Cincinnati Chili (I am all about finding the BEST chili recipe this year!)
Wednesday: Quick dinner on the go, not sure what yet.
Thursday: Possible we will be out of town for dinner, but if not, Creamy Potato Soup it is
Friday: Most likely leftovers from the week
Saturday: Another possibility that we will be out of town for dinner (we are in the playoffs for High School volleyball and it is all dependent on how far we make it now). If we are in town, I think we might make some burgers.
Special Breakfast: Cheddar and Chile Egg Casserole and Mini Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Special Treat: Apple Pie

Menu Plan Monday - October 26

I have been slacking about posting my menu plans, but luckily I have not been totally slacking in creating them. The weather has been perfect here for soups and that is most of what I have been making lately. There are some great recipes to allow the slow cooker to do all the work, and soup is also very easy to send to work with my husband! Plus my son has been able to eat some of them with us too!!
So, for this week, my husband will be making his favorite chili recipe call Quick Turkey Chili.
Also trying this Apple-stuffed Chicken recipe with a few apples I have from picking a while back. And we have fresh green beans from our garden to go with it, just like the picture scrumptiously depicts.
Also making a Cheesy Broccoli and Potato Soup that we will all be able to eat. Includes onions, potato, broccoli, vegetable stock and monterey jack cheese. Can't remember which magazine I cut the recipe out of.
And, finally, making a creamy chicken noodle soup. I just go by memory with this one, but includes water, chicken bouillon cubes, pasta, chicken and sour cream, and it is very delicious!

Head on over to orgjunkie.com for more great menu plans and ideas!

Menu Plan Monday - October 12

Fall is officially here. We have turned our heat on, set to kick in when the house gets below 65 degrees. It kicked in this afternoon...And with fall comes even more excitement for making soup!

Sunday: we had leftover pizza we bought on Saturday (after returning from a trip to Atlanta and not wanting to cook) from Sam's.

Monday: My favorite homemade chicken fingers (that I pulled out of the freezer to make a fast meal) and some fresh green beans from the garden. Love having a garden!

Tuesday: I made this Carrot Mac and Cheese a while back and froze an extra portion. Very exciting for me this week since I haven't made it to the store yet after our trip. And it was good. I am also excited about being able to share some with my son this time around.

Wednesday: Lasagna Stoup. I haven't tried this one yet, but looks simple and delicious!

Thursday: Slow-cooker Turkey Chili. I have not had this one before but chili sounds really good right now, and so does leaving it in the crockpot to cook!

Friday: Leftovers from the week.

Saturday: Tomato Soup and grilled cheese.

Check out Orgjunkie.com for more great ideas on meals this week!

"Pantry" Soup

I don't think I am always the best at figuring out things that I have on-hand and making them into something delicious.
The internet helps.
And my husband is great!
We had some leftover potatoes and leeks from a meal I made for my son, some homemade broth from roasting a whole chicken a while back, and some other simple ingredients that are normally around the house.
The result? A delicious Potato Leek Soup!
Tasty, Frugal, and Simple!