Meal Plan 4/19 - 4/25

I think I've almost fallen too far behind on this blog to ever catch up again, but I'm determined that I will!

This week, I am going to try creating a new casserole. I love experimenting with making up my own recipes and I'm really hoping this one turns out great. I have tentatively named it Frito Chicken and Bean Casserole. The Beef and Broccoli I made earlier this week came from one of those by-mail recipe club cards (you know, where you get some free recipes just for trying out their over-priced club). We also had some yummy loaded baked potatoes that I baked rubbed with a little bit of oil and sprinkled with seasoned salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It gave the skins some nice encrusted flavor.

Monday - Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry with rice
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Lentil Vegetable Soup (from freezer) with salad
Thursday - Loaded baked potatoes with salad
Friday - Frito Chicken and Bean Casserole with cornbread
Saturday - ???
Sunday - Leftovers

Check back to see these recipes posted... eventually! :)

Meal Plan 4/12 - 4/18

Once again I find myself behind on posting my meal plan (and last week's recipes). This week I'm making two new recipes, Skyline Chili and Tiramisu which are both copycat recipes from Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes series. The Stuffed Shells is the same recipe I had originally meal planned for two weeks ago and then ended up not making... this time I already bought all the ingredients so it will definitely be made.

Monday - Leftover Three Cheese Vegetable Lasagna
Tuesday - Skyline Chili spaghetti with cornbread
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Stuffed Shells with salad
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing Tiramisu
Sunday - grilled bratwurst and salad

Visit again to see these recipes posted!

Meal Plan 4/5 - 4/11

Yikes, already Thursday and I don't have my meal plan up. This is a light cooking week for me since I have three meals taken care of by mystery shopping! I snuck another soup in this week even though the weather has warmed up but my husband didn't even complain. Haha! Then tomorrow, I will be trying a new lasagna recipe (yes another one... I think I'm addicted to lasagna!). Saturday's Lemon Cream Cake is one that I've made before but this time I plan to alter it by substituting a key ingredient, so that should be fun.

Monday - Restaurant mystery shop
Tuesday - Pizza delivery mystery shop
Wednesday - Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup with bread
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Three Cheese Vegetable Lasagna with Strawberry Spinach Salad
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing Lemon Cream Cake
Sunday - Restaurant mystery shop

Check back soon to see these recipes posted!

Meal Plan 3/29 - 4/4

Well, this week isn't adventurous at all; I don't think I'll be trying anything new unless I end up doing a new recipe on Saturday. The stew I'm making on Wednesday is from my mother-in-law's excellent recipe and the stuffed shells I've been making for years using a recipe I modified from the back of a pasta box. Next week I need to make sure that to try at least one new recipe...

Monday - Leftover Pasta e Fagioli
Tuesday - Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup (from freezer)
Wednesday - Gone All Day Stew with cornbread
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Stuffed Shells Sausage and Mushroom Quiche with salad
Saturday - Birthday party bringing Tortellini Salad
Sunday - Restaurant

Check back soon to see these recipes posted!

Meal Plan 3/22 - 3/28

This week I'm making several things, a few of them new. Tuesday's lasagna is one of the new ones. Lasagna is one of my favorite foods and I love trying out different ways to fix it. Thursday I'm making a casserole that I've adapted from Giada de Laurentiis. Over the weekend I'm going to experiment with a meatless version of the chicken 'n' rice casserole I made last week and will be fixing two of Todd Wilbur's "Top Secret Recipes" plus a chocolate bundt cake. I'm looking forward to being busy in the kitchen this week!

Monday - Restaurant mystery shop
Tuesday - Black Bean Lasagna with rice
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Italian Baked Chicken and Shells with salad
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Lemon-Garlic Mac 'n' Cheese*
Sunday - Pasta e Fagioli with Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Don't forget to check back throughout the week to see these recipes posted!

*I need to make this again to perfect the recipe, so I won't be posting it until then.

Meal Plan March 3/15 - 3/21

Our first meal this week is soup - I'm trying to get as many soups in as I can before the weather warms up. I could eat soup year round, but my husband only likes it during fall and winter (though I can occasionally convince him to eat it during the summer). Then I'm planning on making Shepherd's Pie on St. Patrick's Day... not quite as Irish as corned beef and cabbage but tastier in my opinion. Friday's meal is one that I sort of created; it was inspired by a stuffed chicken dish on All Recipes that I decided to simplify by turning it into a casserole. I'm also going to experiment with making cream-filled Zeppoles, an Italian pastry traditionally eaten on or near St. Joseph's Day, March 19. I'm hoping they'll turn out all right, especially since I'm not actually using a single recipe but am going to be combining a few.

Monday - Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with bread
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Savory Shepherd's Pie with salad
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Garlic-Lemon Cheesy Chicken 'n' Rice with salad
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing Zeppoles
Sunday - Leftovers

Don't forget to check back throughout the week to see these recipes posted!

Meal Plan 3/8 - 3/14

This week I'm making one new recipe and one very old recipe, a favorite from my childhood. And that's it! It's unusual for me to have to cook only two meals in a week, but maybe that will leave me with some extra time to make sure I keep this blog updated with recipes and photos.

Monday - Leftover Cider Vinegar Pork Roast with egg noodles
Tuesday - Black Bean Burgers with salad
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Restaurant mystery shop
Friday - Alpine Chicken Casserole with potatoes
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Sunday - Leftovers

Come back later in the week to see these recipes posted!

Meal Plan 3/1 -3/7

Can't believe it's a new week already. I still need to post a recipe from last week and add a few photos to recipes already posted. My menu this week isn't very adventurous for me. The only new recipe is the pork roast, and since I've eaten it before, I pretty much know how it's going to turn out. But next week will be a little more exciting; I plan on trying another recipe from Food Network (love that site!). I even picked up some smoked paprika - something I've never used before - while I was shopping today to use in the recipe.

Monday - Leftover Mushroom Swiss Noodle Bake with Salad
Tuesday - Turkey Muffaletta with Salad
Wednesday - Creamy Broccoli Soup with Salad
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Cider Vinegar Pork Roast with Potatoes
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing Lentil Rice Casserole
Sunday - Leftovers

I'll try to get all these recipes post by the end of the week!

Meal Plan 2/22 - 2/28

Last week, we ended up doing something different one night so the soup I had planned on making Sunday got pushed to Monday. So that left me with only having to come up with two more recipes. The Fiesta Lasagna planned for Wednesday is a new one I'll be trying out and the casserole for Friday is one that I created last year and then forgot to make again (until now). So I'm looking forward to having it again.

Monday - Lentil Vegetable Soup with Bread
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Fiesta Lasagna with Cracked Pepper Cheddar Muffins*
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Mushroom Swiss Noodle Bake with Salad
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Restaurant mystery shop

Be sure to check back later in the week to see these recipes posted!

*Update: The Cheddar Muffins were seriously lacking in flavor, so I won't bother sharing the recipe.

Meal Plan 2/15 - 2/21

I still have one recipe from last week's meal plan to post, but I wanted to go ahead and get this week's meal plan up. I'll be trying two new recipes this week, both from Food Network. Thursday's recipe is from Melissa D'Arabian and the Sunday meal is from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I'm looking forward to seeing how both of these turn out!

Monday - Leftover Children's Delight
Tuesday - Broccoli Chicken Casserole with Rice
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Potato Bacon Torte with Salad
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Dinner with friends, bringing Chef Salad
Sunday - Lentil Vegetable Soup with Bread

Be sure to check back later in the week to see these recipes posted!

Updated Meal Plan 2/8 - 2/14

Due to unexpected illness (nothing serious, just a flu-like episode that left me unable to cook for a few days), I had to revise my meal plan for this week. :( The new plan is mostly the same but switched around. The original Tuesday recipe got skipped entirely, but should be back next week.

Monday - Restaurant mystery shop
Tuesday - Fridge/Pantry raid
Wednesday - Tortellini in the Pink with Salad
Thursday - Leftovers with Salad
Friday - Children's Delight with Marinated Broccoli
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing ???
Sunday - Restaurant mystery shop

So at the beginning of the week, I was planning on posting new recipes as I made them... but being too nauseous and dizzy to sit at the computer wrecked my plans. But, I'm mostly better now and will definitely be posting at least one recipe tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!

Meal Plan 2/8 - 2/14

This is my first meal plan post, so I thought I'd include a little bit of info about my family and our weekly eating routine.

We are a family of four, but only three "real" eaters (my baby just started eating baby food, but if you've ever tasted that stuff...). My older child is 2 and although a great eater for his age, naturally does not consume as much as his parents do. I meal plan from Monday through Sunday, which may not be a technical week, but it is in my book. :) Typically, I try to make meals that will give us leftovers for the next night, so that I'm not cooking every night of the week. Occasionally, I perform a restaurant mystery shopping assignment so that also eliminates some cooking for me. On Saturday evenings, we usually go over to my husband's parents' house to have dinner with them and my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece.

We love flavor, especially garlic! I cook with freshly minced garlic whenever I can. Chicken and turkey are my favorite meats to cook with but I try to cook at least one meatless meal per week. Cheese is another favorite ingredient - I'd take cheese over meat any day! I also love experimenting with cooking from scratch (pizza dough, cornbread, pita pockets, and cinnamon rolls are a few recent successes).

Monday - Restaurant mystery shop
Tuesday - Creamy Chicken 'n' Rice Soup (half being brought as a meal to a friend) with Salad
Wednesday - Children's Delight with Salad
Thursday - Leftovers with Salad
Friday - Tortellini in the Pink with Salad
Saturday - Dinner with family, bringing ???
Sunday - Leftovers with Marinated Broccoli

When I meal planned this week I forgot that Sunday was Valentine's Day, so I'm not sure yet if we'll stick with boring leftovers or not. One thing is for sure, we will not be going out on Valentine's Day! So much nicer to celebrate it when everyone else is not overcrowding the restaurants!

Don't forget to check back throughout the week to see these recipes posted.