Menu Plan Monday- May 21, 2012

Ugh, sometimes I feel like I seriously fail at life. I have good intentions of getting back on track with my blog and then I don't do anything with those intentions but stick them back under the desk again where they've been for the past 6 months.

Now though, I really need to get the grocery budget back on track. I KNOW I do better when I menu plan so I'm going to try to sit down every Sunday evening and look at the ads and plan my menus. Even if I really don't want to, I know I can extract 15 minutes from my "not doing anything whatsoever" time budget and do it!

This week I am going to dig through the freezer to make room for the ice cream machine clear out some of the older things that need to be used.

Stir-fry with leftovers and noodles from the cupboard

Sweet Potato Falafels- How handy that I have a sweet potato just languishing on the counter and a bag of chickpea flour hanging out waiting to be tested!

Sweet Chilli Bangers- I have some sausage in the freezer and I think I'll fry up some onions and serve them in buns with whatever sort of vegetable is on sale this week.

Sticky Salmon with Chinese Greens- There is some salmon in the freezer and I think I have everything else in the pantry aside from the greens! I might be a rebel and add red bell pepper because I have quite a lot of that in the freezer too.

Menu Plan Monday- April 23, 2012

Last week:

The Noodles with Shrimp and Peas was alright. I probably won't put it on the top of my YES MAKE THIS AGAIN list but it wasn't bad.

We both quite liked Herby Salmon and Couscous Parcels. I think quinoa or bulghur would be a good fit for this recipe too.

When I was making the Quinoa-Black Bean Casserole I kept wondering what had possessed me to put it on the menu in the first place. The sweet potato was throwing me off but it was actually really really good. I'd make this one again too, and it was rather filling.

As for the Tuscany Tuna Salad with White Beans... good, but it was lacking... something. We put a little cheese in it and that helped but it was just missing something to make all the flavors pop.

This week:

Corn Tortilla and Egg Bake

Bourbon Chicken and Fried Cauliflower "Rice"

Schouderkarbonade (a cut of pork here good for the grill), Salt 'n' Vinegar Roasted Potatoes, and a green veggie of some kind.

Ground Beef, Spinach, and Egg Scramble



Do you have anything super extra magically delicious planned in your menus this week? Do share!

Menu Plan Monday- April 16 2012

I'm trying to use up a few things that have been kicking around in the cupboards and freezer for a little while. I think I can squeak by spending very little on groceries this week.

Noodles with Shrimp and Peas

Herby Salmon and Couscous Parcels

Quinoa-Black Bean Casserole

Tuscany Tuna Salad with White Beans




P.S. I let my subscription to my web host expire so there are a few missing pictures and images on the blog here and there. I know it looks stupid in a couple of places but I'm still host shopping and haven't found quite what I'm hoping for in a host yet.

Menu Plan Monday- February 20, 2012

My pantry, freezer, and food storage areas are all looking a bit of a mess right now. This week I'm trying to work on eating some things that have been there for awhile or lost in the back of the cupboards.

Paprika Pork Chops- I don't have any pork chops but they are on sale and I do have everything else. I like to double the topping recipe and then I only spread it over two chops. As written it just isn't krauty enough.

Lentil Sloppy Joes- I am just going to use my standby sloppy joe recipe and sub in lentils for the ground beef. It seems like it should work... I'm also considering trying these Oopsie Rolls to use as buns.

White Beans with Kale and Pork Sausage- This looked quite good to me. I might go crazy and use frozen spinach instead of kale only because I have frozen spinach and I don't have kale.

Salmon Burgers- I only need to get fresh coriander for this one and then I'll be set.

What's on your menu this week?

My Newbery Project

One of the things on my 101 list is to read every book that has won a Newbery Medal. The first Newbery Medal was awarded in 1922 so if you do the math this gives me a rather lengthy list of books to get through. I have read several on the list through the years of growing up but it's been long enough that I felt like I should just start with a clean slate and re-read those that I had read in the past.

I first thought I'd start with the 1922 winner and go in chronological order but after several weeks of trying to make it through The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon, I abandoned that idea and decided to just read them in whatever order I felt like. If you're wondering, I'm still slogging through The Story of Mankind. It's approximately ninety-million-billion pages long... and it hasn't grabbed my attention enough to sit down and just get through it!

I will confess that I do count the books that I've listened to as books that I've read. Some may think I'm a cheater, I just think it's a safer way to "read" and ride my bike... hah!

I'm going to put a Newbery Project tab on my nav menu in case you start to feel curious about my progress.

How many Newbery books have you read?

Menu Plan Monday- January 9, 2012

This past week's menu had mixed reviews.

We both really liked the Tuna Patties but weren't really sold on the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms.

The Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mash was not bad. We did make a couple of small changes though and we decided that it probably needed a couple more to make it just right. We added some cream cheese to the mash and a lot of garlic and onion powder. Also, we tossed in about a cup of lightly steamed diced celery root into the beef mixture just to stretch it out a bit more. I think it could use a rather big slosh more of Worcestershire sauce but it still needed something else to perk it up a bit.

The smoked salmon BLT salad was tasty with a bit of avocado thrown in and was basically just the breadless version of the BLT itself!

I didn't make the Mexican Baked Eggs and didn't get to the Meatloaf with White Beans and Mushrooms. I still have most of what's needed to make those so they'll carry over.

This week:

Mexican Baked Eggs

Meatloaf with White Beans and Mushrooms

Chicken Tandoori- Totally cheating on this one and using a boxed mix.

Roasted Tomato, Halloumi & Quinoa Salad

Are you eating anything new and exciting this week?

Menu Plan Monday- January 2, 2012

Part of getting back on track involves getting my menus up again.

On the agenda for this week:

Meatloaf with White Beans and Mushrooms
Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Mash
Smoked Salmon BLT Salad
Tuna Patties on Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Mexican Baked Eggs