WELCOME!

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!
For a while now, I have been posting my montly menus on Facebook. Well, I decided to create a blog so that more people will have the opportunity to check in and hopefully be inspired. As for the name of the blog, Sherri's Sanity, that is what montly menu planning is for me; my sanity. With 3 young kids, I do NOT have the patience for the clock to turn 5 and have no plan for dinner, it just adds to the craziness to the "witching hours" (those insane hours at the end of the day where we, moms, try to jam-pack 4 hours worth of stuff into 2) I HATE the hours of 5pm-8pm. BUT I have found that in my (almost) year of planning monthly menus, I have been so much less of a headcase during that time. When mom is happier, hubby and kids are happier. AND their tummies will be filled with yummy homemade food; even better!!Now, this blog will definitely take time to put together. Once again, I am a mother of 3 small kids and although I wish I could just sit down and crack it all out, that just isnt going to happen. So, check back often and I will try and keep things rolling. :) Another thing that fills my bucket, so to speak, is crafting! So I'm sure that will come along on the blog shortly too. Happy planning!!!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

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

Sunday, March 30, 2014

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

Friday, January 3, 2014

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.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Homemade hot cocoa mix

3 C Powdered Milk
2 C Nesquick 
2 C Powdered sugar
3/4 C powdered coffee creamer (we like vanilla carmel!)
2 pkg instant chocolate pudding 
1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix well and get all the clumps out if you can :) store in an airtight container

Mix 1/4 C with 1 C warm milk

Monday, December 2, 2013

December Menu

Ok, this month proved to be especially hard for me to put together. All I really want to eat is comfort food (aka carbs and more carbs), but the hubby and I have committed to eating better soooo, putting pen to paper was an internal struggle. I think I managed to plan some pretty healthy meals, but also threw in some comfort foods, ya know, for moral. Thank goodness we're heading out of town for the holidays, otherwise those extra 6-8 meals would have taken me all day to figure out! Here ya go!

(These first two were on last months and never materialized :/ )

Lasagna and salad
Taquitos and guacamole
Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries
Broiled Tilapia, green bean casserole, roasted red potatoes
Sweet n Sour Chicken, rice, and steamed veggies (you can also skip the bread and frying pan, just add a little cornstarch to your sauce and bake cubed chicken)
Thai Meatballs over spaghetti squash, edamame
Sweet Pork sandwiches with cilantro lime slaw, roasted veggies
Grilled chicken, brussel sprouts, Paleo sweet potato soufflé
Gyros, greek salad
Riobollita
Grilled pizzas
Chicken strawberry salad wraps, raw veggies
Tortilla soup
Tuscan Lemon grilled chicken, artichoke
French Dip sandwiches, canned peaches
Thai coconut curry noodles (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)
Butternut squash soup, lots of homemade croutons. Lots.
Breakfast
BBQ ribs, cornbread, green beans
Avocado bacon chicken salad (this is a new one for us!)

Green Bean Casserole

Description:You'll never make the campbells soup recipe again! These take a little more prep time, but it's sooo worth it!

Ingredients:1 large onion (cut into 1 inch wedges)
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 lbs fresh whole green beans, trimmed
6 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 oz cream cheese, softened
2-3 Tbsp milk

Directions:Preheat oven to 400.

In a large saucepan cook green beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain.

In a large baking dish combine green beans and mushrooms

In a small bowl combine olive oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Pour over beans and mushrooms, tossing to coat.   Bake 15 minutes, stirring once, until crisp tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onions, covered, in hot oil over medium-low heat until tender (about 13-15 minutes). Uncover and add brown sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are golden and carmelized (about 3-5 minutes)

In a medium mixing bowl mix together cream cheese and milk until smooth.

Spoon cheese mixture lengthwise in the center over beans and top with carmelized onions.

Return to oven until cheese and onions are heating through (about 5-8 minutes).

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Sherri's Pasta Fagioli

Sorry I don't have a pic of this soup I just wanted to hurry and publish the recipe for my November menu. AND it's a great soup to make when you're feeding lots of people for the holidays (and I mean L.O.T.S.) it makes a TON! So just imagine a yummy tomato-based soup with yummy sausage, beans, veggies and pasta. You get the idea...

This is a super easy, hearty soup that will feed 15-20 people, maybe more

1 pkg Jenni O sweet italian turkey sausage (casings removed)
1 pkg (20oz) Jenni O ground turkey
1/2 lb frozen carrots and peas (rinsed)
1/2 lb frozen corn (rinsed)
1 can white beans (drained/rinsed)
1 can kidney beans (drained/rinsed)
1 meduim onion chopped
3 29oz cans tomato sauce plus 3 cans water
1 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs dried oregano
1+ Tbs. (to taste) garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb (before cooking) whole wheat rotini pasta (cooked in salted water)

Brown the meats together with onion, minced garlic and salt and pepper, chunking into smaller pieces.

In the meantime combine tomato sauce, water, veggies, beans, oregano, and garlic salt in a large pot and simmer until your meat is ready to be added . Simmer together 20 minutes, add cooked pasta last. Serve with parmesan cheese

This will freeze better without the pasta, just make your pasta when you are ready to eat.