Menu Plan Monday ~ March 4 2013

We had some of our very favorite meals last week...click on the links below to find the recipes!  And for more menu-planning inspiration check out my "Recipes I Love" Pinterest board and Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday Roundup!  And please do share your own menu plan or favorite recipe links in the comments below, I'm always on the hunt for new recipes.

Last week's Meals ::

Dilled Pot Roast with wild rice (sooo easy, and it's a crowd pleaser!)
Black Bean Burritos with salad
Lemon Basil Chicken with angel hair pasta
Spaghetti & Meatsauce (great slow cooker recipe, it makes a ton, so you can freeze some for future dinners!)
Pizza Night :: Cheese for the kids and Black Bean pizza for us.  I'm still loving making my own dough & sauce!
Fish fry with the family on Friday night
And Michael & I had a night out with friends on Saturday night.  We had dinner at A Tavola and then went to Bockfest in Over the Rhine.  Have you been to A Tavola yet?  It's pretty amazing.  Here's a post that I wrote about it last year.

It was quite a week...good meals all around.  I even got to go out to eat lunch a couple times, which is a treat.  We took my dear friend Della to Chuy's for her birthday (baja tacos!!).  And then Dad took me and the kids to Wunderbar in Covington on Saturday for lunch.  If you live in this area and like German food, stop by Wunderbar for a meal!  It's a bar, so if you take munchkins I'd suggest going at lunch time.  We had the soft pretzel, which they make in house, with a mustard sampler...delicious!  Just look how big that pretzel is!  It was enough for four of us to munch on.

And with our Dilled Pot Roast on Sunday we had fresh homemade pierogies from Babushka Pierogies (I bought them at Madison's at Findlay Market).  They were so tasty, I'll definitely be getting more of those!  And as a treat we had yogurt with homemade granola and star fruit.  

What's cooking at your house?

Menu Plan Monday ~ February 4

Another Monday, another Menu Plan!  I think it's been a few weeks since I've shared our menu plans with you...when things get busy at our house blogging gets put on the back burner.  My plan this week has some DELICIOUS recipe links...so be sure to check them out then print them or pin them!  For more meal planning inspirations see OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday roundup, or visit my Pinterest board of recipes I love to make!

Last week we dined on....
Pot Roast Sliders with Garlic Fries (I LOVE these sliders, and to mix it up, you can serve the pot roast meat over the garlic fries with some cheese curds thrown in, which is yummy too!)

"Skyline" Pizza with Salad ~ Last week I had made some homemade Cincinnati style chili (recipe handed down from Michael's grandfather) and I used the leftovers this week to make a pizza inspired by Vicky from What Really Matters.  I put the chili down on the crust instead of sauce, then topped with cheddar & mozz and baked.  When it came out of the oven we added oyster crackers and hot sauce - YUM. 
Chicken & Pesto Stir Fry with Rotini
Slow Cooker Potato Soup (the recipe I tried was a DUD - but a friend has shared another recipe, and I'm going to try it next week!)
Red Beans and Rice

Pan Fried Tilapia & Onion Rings


And then we had a FEAST for Michael's parent's birthday dinner ::
Chicken Lo Mein (read the reviews on this one ~ I added oyster sauce & left out water) 
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken (LOVE this!)
Beef & Broccoli (not sharing this recipe, it wasn't that great)
Fried Rice from Oriental Wok
Egg Rolls & Pot Stickers from Sam's
Edamame

And for an appetizer I made Roasted Shrimp(tossed with olive oil and lemon juice and sprinkled with S&P - roast at 400 for 10 minutes) with this copycat Benihana shrimp sauce that I found online.  It was gobbled up in no time!

For dessert we had M&M cookies and Root Beer Floats.

I also did some baking this week....griddle cakes, whole wheat waffles, whole grain donuts (in my new donut maker!), granola and banana chocolate chip muffins.

As you can see, it was a very tasty week here....what have you been eating?

friday...

the kids were off school today, so it was a day of fun.  we made granola, hung out with our cousins, did some cool easter artwork, had a snack buffet for lunch, spent time gazing out windows, hit the fish fry, and read some books...this kind of day makes me eager for spring break to be here. 

Menu Plan Monday ~ In Reverse ~ January 30

I am participating in Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com, but unlike most of the other participants who plan their menus and post them that week, I'm always a bit behind, and I post my menus a week later. I do this so that I can let you know if I try a new recipe and it's not that great. I don't want to blog about a recipe if it's no good. I cannot emphasize enough how much menu planning has helped me out. I'm spending less at the grocery store, we are eating out less, and eating healthier foods. I'm not as stressed out at dinner time trying to pull something together with whatever ingredients I have on hand. It takes a bit of time on the weekends to create our menu plan, but all week long I'm thankful that I took the time to get organized and make a plan! I look at my calendar for the week while menu-planning and figure out what kind of meal would be best for each day. Busy evenings call for crock pot cookin' while Friday night family nights are a little more relaxed and I can take my time cooking. Participating in MPM has also inspired me to find new recipes for my family, and I hope that when you read this post you can find new recipes for your family as well!


Here's Last Week's Menu ::
~ Crunchy Garlic Chicken with Green Beans & Grandma's Biscuits
~ Basil Chicken over Angel Hair
~ Pulled Pork BBQ Pizza (Oh My!) - made with leftovers from last week's Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork - both recipes are from Skinny Mom's Kitchen. 
~ Skillet Pork Chops (from the Eat What you Love cookbook by Marlene Koch) with Parmesan Knots (yum!)
~ Spaghetti & Meatsauce

And to snack on...Granola

I'd like to mention that I find Pinterest a great resource for new recipes!  I've been checking my boards each week when I menu plan.  I have a "Recipes I Want to Try" board and a "Recipes I Love" board, which make menu planning more intersting!  Look for me!  "TheLittleThings Mama"

Menu Planning Monday ~ In Reverse ~ May 23 2011

 I am participating in Menu Planning Monday at orgjunkie.com, but unlike most of the other participants who plan their menus and post them that week, I'm always a bit behind, and I post my menus a week later.  I do this so that I can let you know if I try a new recipe and it's not that great.  I don't want to blog about a recipe if it's no good.  Participating in MPM has inspired me to find new recipes for my family, and I hope that when you read this post you can find new recipes for your family! 
May I present to you, our family's menu for last week's meals:
Monday ~ Basil Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta (see picture, yum yum...don't be stingy with the garlic though!)
Tuesday ~ Chicken Caesar Pitas
Wednesday ~ Brinner!  ~ Whole Wheat Waffles from Weelicious (not at all like the kind of waffles we are accustomed to because of the "wheaty" taste, but we all thought they were tasty)
Thursday ~ I took the kids rollerskating, and there was no time for cooking...so I opted for a take-out treat
Friday ~ Sesame Beef, Roasted Broccoli & Rice ~ this is my own version of beef & broccoli, I roast the broccoli at 425 for about 20 minutes, with olive oil drizzled on top and a healthy dose of garlic stirred in.  Yum.
Saturday ~ Turkey Burgers, Hot Dogs, and all the cookout sides
Sunday ~ Sam's Birthday ~ Dinner at Sky Galley at the Lunken Airport.

Extras:  I made some delicious granola this week for snacking :)  and of course we had some delicious bread on Monday with our pasta.  I'm hoping for some more time for baking in the kitchen this week, I have some new recipes to try out.

So there you have it, our menu for the week.  What's cookin' at your house?  And if you are a visitor popping over from the orgjunkie, please leave a comment to say hello, or follow along with my blog...I have lots of fun craft & recipe ideas along with cool giveaways here and there.

Have a great week!

granola!

today my assistant chef and i made some very tasty granola. it was simple to put together, and oh soooooo yummy! our family loves to snack, and max loves loves loves granola, so i thought i would give it a try. i found a recipe in Real Simple magazine, but had to doctor it abit according to what we like to eat, and what i had in my cabinets (we used sunflower seeds & slivered almonds). there are so many other things we could have added, but we made a very basic mix. so if you are looking for a new snack to make, try this! max, sam & i give it two thumbs up!