Menu Plan

With our kitchen renovations in full swing, I've had to adjust our meal planning a bit. I want to do minimal cooking, so we will have lots of leftovers, which none of us mind. Thankfully I still have use of our stove. We will be eating sandwiches for lunches. Here's the plan for this week:

Monday

Farmer's Sausage, Perogies, Peas

Tuesday

Turkey & Rice Casserole, Roasted Asparagus

Wednesday

Leftovers

Thursday

Sausage & Potato Soup

Friday

Homemade Pizza & Caesar Salad

Saturday

Leftovers

Menu Plan

I'm getting impatient. These last days seem to go by so slowly. Hurry up, Baby! I'm going to try to stay busy so I'm not just sitting around here waiting...waiting...waiting. I think I'll do some of the baking listed below if I get restless.

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Went out for lunch
Leftover homemade pizza for supper

Monday
Company Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Carrots

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Firecracker Salmon, Stir Fry Veggies, Rice
*this one's been on my menu for many weeks now, but I haven't gotten around to it yet*

Thursday
Waffles with Saskatoon Berry Sauce, Eggs, Bacon, Fruit

Friday
BLT sandwiches & Potato Wedges

Saturday
Potato Soup & Baking Powder Cheese Biscuits

Baking/Other
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Gingerbread Cake (NEW) with Whipped Cream
Banana Chip Muffins
French Breakfast Muffins (NEW)

*For more menu ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

Only 8 days away from my due date! (or 10 days if using a different calculation). I'm drinking my red raspberry leaf tea, chowing down pineapple, and have a few spicy dishes for this week. I'm getting terribly impatient!

Here's the plan for the week:

Sunday
Invited over for lunch
Leftovers for supper

Monday
Creamy Tomato Pasta with Salad

Tuesday
Firecracker Salmon, Stir Fry Veggies, Brown Rice

Wednesday
Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry (using this recipe as a base), Mashed Potatoes (or leftover rice), Mixed Cooked Veggies

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Homemade Pizza & Caesar Salad

Saturday
Leftovers

Lunch Ideas
Oven Toasted Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Curry Egg Salad Sandwiches
Greek Salad with Creamy Feta Dressing

*For more menu ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

As I was typing this up I just had to add in Ellie's comments as she's playing with her doll. It's so funny listening to her play!

"Are you supposed to speak that way? No, don't speak that way."
"Look at me in the eyes when I speak to you."
"Don't push. That's not very nice. You need to be nice to ____ (cousin's name)"
"Here, let me help you. You don't have to be afraid."

Anyway...

I'm trying to keep it pretty simple for the next few weeks since we'll be busy with all the family gatherings, I'm not sleeping much, can barely walk anymore, and I seriously feel/look like I'm ready to burst any day. People are shocked when I tell them I am still 3 weeks away from my due date. Yep, I'm hoping it's not a 12 pounder. And if I go terribly overdue again...help.

I'm so thankful my husband LOVES soup. It's one of his favourite meals. He would happily have homemade soup several times a week, which is nice because soup is simple and usually fairly healthy. Here's the plan for this week:

Monday
Oven Toasted Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Easy Homemade Tomato Soup, Leftover mashed pototoes

Tuesday
Homemade Pizza (no-rise crust) & Caesar Salad

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Beef Barley Soup & Cheese Biscuits

Friday
Chicken Fingers, Oven Fries, Veggies & Dip

Saturday - Christmas Eve
Leftovers

*For more meals ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan Monday

photo credit: Can't wait to try these easy Rolo Pretzel Turtle treats from Comfy in the Kitchen


Stressed. Out. Yep, that about sums it up. The busyness of the season mixed with pregnancy hormones has me feeling like I'm on a roller coaster. One moment I'm feeling pretty calm, cool, and collected. The next moment I am feeling like I have a bazillion things to do before the baby arrives and no time to do it. Lists are my friend. I think. Ah well, sooner or later I will have a little bundle to cuddle and snuggle and it really won't matter what I did and did not get accomplished on my list. See? There I go from completely stressed out when I first started typing this post to suddenly calm and collected at this moment.


Anyway...

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Lunch: Went out after church
Supper: Hubby threw in a frozen pizza since I was out and about getting a few groceries and things. Note to self: A store filled with every bulk item and goody imaginable is temptation city for a pregnant woman. A pregnant women during Christmas time? It's hopeless!

Christmas Goodies to Make:
Peppermint Bark
Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Other:
One Bowl Chocolate Pudding Cake
Honey Whole Wheat Bread


Monday:
Lunch: Turkey sandwiches with veggies & dip
Supper: Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu, Scalloped Potatoes, Steamed Carrots, Tossed Salad

Tuesday
Lunch: "Homemade" Creamy Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese
Supper: Leftovers
*Make Spaghetti Sauce for tomorrow*

Wednesday
Lunch: Spaghetti & Meat Sauce, Cooked Peas, Caesar Salad
Supper: Leftovers

Thursday
Lunch: Turkey Wraps, Fruit Slices
Supper: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Veggies

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Something Simple (Chicken Fingers, etc.)

*For more meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

Our freezer is getting nicely stocked with meals for when the baby arrives. To see a list of freezer friendly meals I'm working on go here.

Sunday
Leftover Turkey & Rice Casserole for lunchHomemade Creamy Vegetable Soup and Egg Salad Sandwiches for supper

Monday
Something Simple (Chicken Fingers, etc.)

Tuesday
Sweet & Sour Chicken (freeze half), Stir Fry Veggies, Rice

Wednesday
Leftovers
*Bake Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies for cookie exchange*

Thursday
Italian & Cheese Bread Sticks with Marinara Sauce, Veggies

Friday
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce (freeze leftover meat sauce), Caesar Salad

Saturday
Leftovers

*For more menu ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu & Update

Yikes...did another week really just fly by? I am trying not to stress about the things I still have to do before BABY arrives. It doesn't help that I suddenly have much less energy than I did a few weeks ago, fighting some nausea again, and feel the need to nap during Ellie's nap and go to bed early. However, I have been fighting a pesky cold for the last month or so that keeps rearing its ugly head, which could explain the lack of energy.

On a positive note, bed times are now much happier times around here. For everyone. We tried something new (aka...consistency, anyone?? :-) ), and at home things are going very well on the nap time and bed time front. What a relief! I am finally getting decent sleep at night and sleeping in my own bed. She still gets up many nights, although usually just once, to use the bathroom, but then I can tuck her in and immediately head back to bed rather than "help" her fall back asleep. Occasionally she will sleep the whole night through till early morning (6:45 a.m. ish). We are back in business with regular, consistent nap times, too. HOORAY! This is huge for us and one of the main things we wanted to tackle before baby's arrival. Away from home, things are still stressful with bedtimes, but I truly believe that applying the same consistent method we used at home will work. It just might take a few long, difficult times to get there.

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Frozen pizza for lunch & Visiting family for supper
One Pot Mac n' Cheese with Chopped Tomatoes mixed in

Monday
BLT's and leftovers

Tuesday
Cheesearoni Beef Casserole (double and freeze), Steamed Broccoli, Tossed Salad

Wednesday
Easy Chicken Parmesan (double and freeze), Spaghetti, Caesar Salad

Thursday
Turkey & Rice Casserole, Steamed Carrots

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Something Simple (Chicken Fingers, Etc.)


*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today as I think I'm coming down with another cold or something. Ugh. Little Ellie is sick again, too, I think. Although she has no fever yet, I'm planning on taking her to the doctor in the next day or so just to make sure there's nothing bacterial going on since she's been sick a lot this month and coughing up stuff again. Although a fever is the biggest sign of infection and thus cause for concern for her, sometimes people with neutropenia do not show the typical signs of infection even though there is one going on. Sometimes a fever might not even be present, which is why I'm going to get her checked out by her pediatrician just to make sure her lungs are clear and it's hopefully just a cold.

Here's the plan for this week. As before, my focus is now on doubling up meals and freezing them to get ready for the baby's arrival.

Sunday
Homemade Pizza and Caesar Salad (doubled and froze 2 pizza crusts)

Monday
Leftover Sausage and Scalloped Potatoes, Cooked Mixed Veggies
*Make Pizza Pockets for Freezer*

Tuesday
Meatloaf (double and freeze), Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli & Carrots

Wednesday
Easy Chicken Parmesan (double and freeze), Spaghetti, Roasted Asparagus

Thursday
Turkey, Dressing, Roasted Veggies & Potatoes
*Freeze a bunch of leftover turkey to make into meals later*
*Make turkey broth to freeze for soups*

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Leftovers or Something Simple (Chicken Fingers, Potato Soup, etc.)

*For more great meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

It's time to start stocking the freezer with some ready-made meals for when the baby comes. Meals that are easily doubled and can be frozen are going to be making an appearance for the next several weeks. Here's what we plan on eating this week:

Sunday
Tomato Orzo Soup with Leftover Biscuits

Monday
Yum-a-Setta (freeze half), Steamed Broccoli, Tossed Salad

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Chicken Enchiladas (freeze half), Corn, Salad

Thursday
Meatballs (freeze half), Rice, Cooked Mixed Veggies

Friday
Leftovers

SaturdayBLT sandwiches, Oven Fries


*For more meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

This week my hubby's work schedule is a little different, so I'm just going to plan a couple of main dishes and veggie/salad dishes and put them on whatever day I feel like. I would really like to up the veggie consumption in our household, so I'm going to try my best to always have a salad and a cooked veggie included with every meal, if there aren't any cooked veggies in the main dish.

Here are my meal ideas for this week:

Tuna Macaroni Casserole with Peas

Chili & Cornbread with Olive Garden Salad

Crockpot Coconut Curry, Brown Jasmine Rice, Tossed Salad

Immunity Boosting Mushroom Soup (adding lentils & split peas & barley) (NEW) with Cheese Biscuits, Greek Salad

Baking/Snacks/Others:
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Bars (NEW)




*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Grabbed some fast food for lunch
Leftover Stroganoff for supper

Monday
Tacos/Taco Salad
*Make chicken broth & prep for Tuesday's soup*

Tuesday
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Cheese Biscuits

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Crockpot Beef Burgundy, Roasted Vegetables & Potatoes

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Homemade Pizza & Caesar Salad

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan Monday

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Ordered In

Monday
Leftover Fried Chicken for me and Ellie, Chicken Strips for hubby, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday
Ginger Beef Stir Fry & Veggies (NEW - still haven't made this yet!), Rice

Wednesday
Turkey Meatballs (from freezer), Mashed Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Crockpot Beef Stroganoff (using ground beef instead of stew beef), Egg Noodles, Peas & Carrots

Saturday
Leftovers

*For more great meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Sunday
Leftovers for Lunch
Out for Supper

Monday
Bean & Sausage Chili Soup (using leftover sausage from last week)

Tuesday
Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu (recipe to come), Mashed Potatoes, Coleslaw, Steamed Carrots

Wednesday
Ginger Beef (NEW), Stir Fry Veggies, Rice

Thursday
Shipwreck, Tossed Salad

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Chicken Fingers, Oven Fries, Veggies & Dip


*Alternate Quick Meals for the Week - Fettuccine Alfredo with Salad
- Pizza Buns

*Linking up to Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan & Menu Plan Tips

I cannot believe the gorgeous weather we are having this late into September! What a blessing it is to be having 30 C temperatures and sunshine. We've had to turn the a/c back on! If you haven't ever tried menu planning, I really encourage you to give it a try. I find it helps keep our grocery budget in check, decreases wasting food, Most importantly, in my opinion, it lessens the daily stress of not knowing "What's for dinner?"

Here are a few things I consider when planning my weekly menu.

• What needs to be used up in the fridge? For example, I have a bunch of cabbage left over from last week's borscht. So, I pick a meal this week (cabbage buns) to help use up the cabbage from last week.
• What's on sale this week at the grocery store? This doesn't play too much into my plan as we order all our beef from my husband's Mom and Dad. I do use it to help decide on vegetables and fruits to add to the plan.
• What kind of week will we be having? Is it a busy week with lots of running around? What is my hubby's work schedule like? If the week looks like it's going to be crazy, I plan as simple and quick meals as possible. If I don't have too many projects on the go, I have more freedom to try a more complex dish.
  
• Aim for well-balanced healthy meals and variety. Menu planning helps hugely in this area and helps prevent meal ruts and boredom as planning ahead encourages me to try new recipes. We eat mostly beef (because we have a lot of it on hand), but I try to plan one chicken dish a week and often we have one no-meat meal such as a meatless pasta dish.
• And of course...
• WHAT AM I CRAVING?? No explanation required. :-)
  

Here's what we plan on eating this week:

Sunday
Leftover pizza and Italian bread
*Make cabbage buns (new)* -didn't happen on Sunday...will try for later in the week

Monday
Grilled Cheese, Homemade Tomato Soup

Tuesday
Sausage & Perogies with Cream Gravy, Cooked Mixed Veggies

Wednesday
Chicken Fingers (didn't happen last week), Baked Fries, Carrots & Dip

Thursday
Cheesearoni Beef Casserole, Tossed Salad

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Sausage Potato Soup (using leftover sausage), Savoury Flax & Carrot Biscuits

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan

After a nice week of holidaying-at-home, we are back into the swing of things around here. My husband was off work last week, and we spent the week with family and friends. We went out to eat lots, so I got a break too, which was really nice. However, I must confess I'll be happy to start eating home-cooked meals again, even if I have to cook them myself :-). We spent a few days at my husband's parents' house, so he could help with harvest. His Mom had to get her appendix out a week or two again, and she always helps with harvest, so his parents needed some extra help with an already-late harvest. My hubby, his dad, and brother-in-law worked on the fields while my sister-in-law and I cooked, looked after our toddlers, and harvested some of the garden produce.

This weekend my husband and I had a "date weekend" as we sent our little Ellie off to my Mom and Dad's house for a couple days. I always find it so hard to leave her anywhere, even with our amazing families, but it is nice to spend some quality time with just each other. We went out for a few nice meals, watched a couple of movies, went for a walk, etc.

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Ordered in pizza for lunch
Ate at Mom & Dad's for supper

Monday
Leftover pizza for lunch
Kommst Borscht (using leftover roast beef in freezer) for supper

Tuesday
Leftover Borscht, Cheese Biscuits, Tossed Salad

Wednesday
Grilled Salmon (NEW)(in oven), Rice, Carrot Latkes (NEW)

Thursday
Crockpot Beef Burgundy, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Chicken Fingers, Baked French Fries, Veggies & Dip

*For more great meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan Monday

Looks like I'm feeling adventurous this week. Indian one night, Mexican another night, and tons of new recipes. For some reason, these recipes just caught my attention, and I am craving some delicious food, so I'm trying a few new things this week if it all works out. My husband absolutely loves chicken curry and naan bread, so I'm trying out a new recipe to see if it comes close to his favourite restaurant dish.

Sunday
Leftover roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies

Monday
Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry (NEW) with Rice, Homemade Naan Bread (NEW) Veggies

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Steak Fajitas (NEW), Corn on the Cob

Thursday
Company Meatloaf (trying another new one), Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes (NEW), Tossed Salad

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Something Simple (maybe homemade mac n' cheese or this cauliflower soup)

*For more great meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan Monday

I haven't been following my menu plans as closely these days...mostly because some days certain foods totally turn me off and other days I just "have" to have something. Pregnancy is a funny thing that way. With Ellie I was horribly sick but didn't have as many cravings as I have this pregnancy. The other day my husband asked me when we would eat the big box of chicken fingers we have in the freezer. I told him that I could make them for him if he wanted but I just couldn't eat them. I don't know why, but the thought of eating those chicken fingers just makes my stomach turn.

Here's the simple plan this week...although it's very subject to change according to what I'm craving or having an aversion to at any given moment.

Sunday
BLT's

Monday
Homemade Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Tuesday
Chili, Cornbread Muffins, Salad

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Homemade Pizza & Salad

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Some kind of pasta with veggies...not sure yet!

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan Monday

Oops. I forgot to plan my menu on Friday (which is my usual menu planning day...or Saturday...or Sunday), so I spent today working on my menu. No, it didn't take me all day to come up with the menu if you were wondering. Well, not really. Although, I discovered Pinterest today, which has seriously changed my world-wide-webbing for the better, so uhhh...I did spend a decent amount of time snooping around new recipes and pinning them to my board, which greatly increased the amount of time used to plan this week's menu. P.S. If you want to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon but don't feel comfortable using your Facebook to sign up with, you can sign up using Twitter, which is what I did. But just for the record, I don't Twitter...or tweet, or whatever it's called. I just have an account that I never use for the explicit purpose of signing up for Pinterest. Umm..yeah, nevermind. I have gone off on my tangent for long enough. Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday
Picked up subs for lunch
Visiting family for supper

Monday
Frozen Pizza for lunch
Lazy Cabbage Rolls (recipe to come), Tossed Salad, Steamed Veggies

Tuesday
Leftover Lazy Cabbage Rolls

Wednesday
Easy Curry Chicken, Rice, Salad

Thursday
BLT's, Potato Wedges

Friday
Homemade Pizza, Caesar Salad

Saturday
Leftovers

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Menu Plan and Potty Parties

(This is an older picture of Ellie, but I want to try to include more pictures in my posts.)

Last week's menu was a bit of a flop, and I didn't follow it all that closely. Oh well. Some weeks are like that, and that's okay. There are a few repeats this week because of that.

Here`s the plan for this week:

Sunday
Went out to eat

Monday
Hamburgers on the BBQ, Grilled Veggie Salad

Tuesday
Leftover Hamburgers (I don`t know why my computer is acting weird and underlining this)

Wednesday
Grilled Chicken Salad with Honey Citrus Marinade, Baked Potatoes, One-Hour Focaccia Bread

Thursday
Baked Fettuccine Alfredo with Mushrooms, Caesar Salad

Friday
Sausage, Perogies, Cooked Mixed Veggies

Saturday
Chicken Fingers, Tater Tots, Veggies & Dip

*For more great meal ideas visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

In other news....this morning we threw a Potty Party for Ellie in hopes of getting her excited about trying potty training again. It wasn't really that big of a thing. I just threw some balloons in the bathroom and strung a couple of streamers. I also wrapped up her training underwear and let her open it. She was super excited at first, but the excitement kind of wore off quickly. She's going diaper-free (except at nap and bedtime), and I have the timer set for every 30 minutes or so to remind her to try. I'm going to give it an honest go again this week and if it still isn't clicking, I'll hold off totally for another month or so. She will be 2 soon, so I think it's a good time to try, but no pressure really.Believe it or not, the best success we`ve had so far was when she was about 16 months old and she was really into it and telling me when she had to go. I can tell you this much...potty training isn't exactly my favourite thing so far. It`s kind of interesting because she knows when she`s had an accident because she`ll come to me and say ``uh oh. Big mess!`` Lol. (I don`t know why my computer suddenly is typing my apostrophes all weirdly.).

Menu Plan Monday

Last week we were on holidays, which was wonderful. The weather was fantastic, and we were able to get a lot accomplished. My hubby was busy every day working on stuff for the house and vehicle shopping, so it wasn't really much of a "break" for him, but it was so nice to have him home for the week and be able to relax a little bit. He got A LOT accomplished on the doors and door frames we are sanding and painting. It will be so nice to have that all done soon. We also made a whirlwind trip to go buy a vehicle, and we are now owners of a van. We actually went up to look at a different van but that one just seemed...well...sketchy. As in, mysterious writing someone had tried to wipe off the side window that said something like "free," "discount," "missing rad." We couldn't make out all the writing since the sun had to shine just right to even notice there used to be any writing at all, but to make a long story short, it was oh-so-sketchy and we knew we should high tail it out of there. The next morning, we ended up looking at a different van that had just gone for sale by a private owner and this one was sketchy-free as far as we could tell, so we ended up buying it and bringing it home. Hooray for our new-to-us van!

Here's the meal plan for this week:

Sunday, July 10
Homemade Tuscan Pizza (spinach, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, red onions, black olives, and feta cheese) & Veggies with Dip

Monday, July 11
Leftover Pizza

Tuesday, July 12
Greek Chicken Salad Pitas (NEW) (Caesar Chicken Pitas for my Hubby)

Wednesday, July 13
Sweet & Sour Meatballs with Rice, Peas, Spinach Salad

Thursday, July 14
BBQ'ed Steak with Grilled Mixed Veggies

Friday, July 15
Fettuccine Alfredo (Healthier Version) & Salad

Saturday, July 16
Sausage, Perogies, & Cooked Vegetables

*For more great meal ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*