Sorry I'm lame...and Sept menu

I used the Sisters Café website for a lot of inspiration this month. I've added links to all the recipes that are new to my blog. Try doing a search for any others. I'm lame, sorry. And I also realize it's already mid-September :/




BBQ grilled chicken, loaded baked potatoes
BLTA's (BLT's with avocado)
Broiled salmon, dinner rolls, salad
Ham and cheese sliders, raw veggies and dip
Honey chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
Eggplant parm, salad, garlic bread
Cheeseburger salads
Homemade chicken nuggets, fruit
Butternut squash soup
Chicken lo mein
Broiled tilapia, biscuits, green beans
Breakfast for dinner (maybe a yummy chorizo burrito because I'm craving it!)
Homemade pizzas
Lemon cream chicken, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts
Tortellini salad, garlic bread
French dips, fries
Pork chops
Taquitos, guac & chips, Spanish rice
Chicken roll casserole, mashed potatoes
Ribolitta

May menu

Once again, I really don't have any new recipes to share. I also have a gazillion errands to run since it's the first of the month. So today i'm just going to list my menu and if you need a recipe you can do a search on my blog and find it on another month. I guess the list is just kinda for inspiration sake this month. Good luck planning!!

Broiled fish, green salad, corn
Cordon Bleu, mashed potatoes, green beans
Orange Chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
Corn dogs, sweet potato fries
Homemade pizzas
Grilled pork chops, Strawberry/spinach salad
Lettuce wraps, fried rice
Fajitas, spanish rice, chips and guac
Tortellini pasta salad
Pesto wraps, raw veggies/dip
Fondue (Fire dinner, as we call it)
Hamburger salads, milkshakes
Butternut squash soup
Thai coconut curry noodles
Pot roast
Caesar salad sandwiches
Taquitos (with leftover roast) homemade salsa, green salad
Basil lime grilled chicken, brussel sprouts, roasted red potato

April Menu

I'm sorry that it's been a few months since I've posted!! I've found that the past few months have been very....lack luster in the dinner department! I would love to hear from my readers what some of your families favorite recipes are!! If you have a link to a recipe, even better! I will try and implement some in my next menu :)


Grilled chicken, artichokes, fruit salad


Thai coconut curry noodles (plus chicken!)(ok, heres how I do this recipe...Grill up some chicken, make the sauce, steam some broccoli and carrots, pop edamame in the microwave and let the kids pop the pods, sautee green onion and mushrooms, throw it all together. The kids get noodles, us grown-up go no-carb)


Egg Salad sandwiches


Tortilla Soup


Sriracha lime salmon, salad


Meatball sandwiches  (half this recipe, I use ground turkey so use less breadcrumbs or they'll be dry, bake as directed and serve on crusty rolls with cheese, olives and whatever else you like), raw veggies and dip


Roasted turkey, sweet potato soufflé, green bean casserole


Cheesesteaks, chips


Swedish Meatballs, green beans


Honey butter pork, salad, corn on the cob


Homemade pizzas


Stir fry (I basically just make chicken, steamed veggies, and rice and serve with Yoshidas sauce)


Fajitas, chips and guac, fruit


Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli


Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries


Pot Roast


Crepes and eggs


Peach whiskey BBQ chicken (I use about half of the whiskey and about 2/3 of the peach preserves and added a bit more BBQ sauce.)
, and something else...


French Dips, fruit salad


Easter ham and fixins


Fish tacos


Pistollettes

Happy New Year! January menu

Wow, I can't believe I've been doing this for as long as I have been! It seems like such a short time ago I was presented with the idea of menu planning and my thoughts were, "There's no way that will work for me, I'm way too emotional about what I eat at dinner and PS that's WAYYY too much work".  Fast forward a few kids later, plus after school activities, plus church responsibilities etc...and I can't imagine life without a dinner plan!

 If I don't know what we're having for dinner come 1pm, guaranteed we're in the drive thru at 6, spending way too much money and eating junk (or eating cereal). Period. Life is way too hectic to throw together a plan last-minute.

Here's a look back on how I plan. Not much has changed in the way I do things. I've found a groove so I'll stick to it. A few people have asked how long it takes me to sit down and get a plan together. Well, it totally depends. For example, in the month of December my whole family came down with the flu and I didn't do much cooking. So I have meat in the freezer and recipes that never got used so I move those over to January and I don't have as many blanks to fill in. But, normally, to plan a full menu (including getting my shopping list together) it will take anywhere from 1-2 hours. The more you do it (and I'm going on over 2 years now) the easier it will get. Just keep your previous menus OR a master list of the meals your family eats as a reference.

I'm not sure I have ever shown pics of my calendar/menu so I'll include those today. And without further adieu:

Sweet pork sandwiches with cilantro jalapeno slaw (oh how I love these!!)
Swedish Meatballs and green beans
BBQ pork ribs, sweet cornbread, brussel sprouts (I'll try to get this recipe posted soon!)
Freezer pasta (or make your own pasta and freeze leftovers for another time!)
Sweet n Sour Chicken, rice, steamed veggies (yep, it's a repeat)
Gyros and greek salad (another repeat)
French dip, chips, canned peaches (and another...)
Tuscan grilled chicken, artichokes, biscuits
Taquitos, homemade guac.
Grilled tilapia, roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli
Chicken, strawberry wraps, raw veggies and dip
Chicken noodle soup, rolls
Christmas chicken (another recipe I'll try to get up)
Cordon Bleu, green beans, mashed potatoes
Cheeseburger salads, sweet potato fries (I double the sauce!)
Grilled Pork tenderloin, green salad, rolls
Broccoli potato soup (only use 1/2 C of onion!)
Sriracha Lime salmon
Pesto Wraps, chips, raw veggies
Meatloaf, sweet potatoes, corn
Taco Pizza, Spanish rice
Meatball sandwiches, fruit salad

That first picture is my menu front, written in pencil, of course!
The second is the back of my menu, where fresh produce is listed by week. I add the first week of produce to my big shopping list.