Doodle’s out of town visiting  her paternal grandmother for the next two weeks, so it’s just me and the boys. For snacks, we’re going to get our fill of raw bananas, nuts, broccoli, and carrots, so she won’t have to watch us eat them in front of her when she gets back! (The boys don’t have any food allergies.)

And on to our dinner menu:

Sunday: Ham and lentil stew

Monday: Black bean burritos

Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese and green beans

Wednesday: Sushi and birthday cake and banana “ice cream” (X-man’s birthday)

Thursday: Kids will be spending the night at my mom’s – I’ll eat leftovers

Friday:

[Continue reading Menu Plan from June 27 to July 3]

There’s not much cooking going on around here in the next week. Thursday night is always our “fend for yourselves” night, when I play in a pool league, and we all eat leftovers or whatever we can scrounge. On the weekend, the kids are going to their dad’s, and I’m going to a friend’s barbecue. I will have a grill by Wednesday, though, and I’m going to grill for the first time in my life!  We’ll see how that goes.

Sunday: Macaroni and cheese and green beans

Continue reading Menu Plan for June 13 through June 19]

Eek! The kids spent the night at my mom’s last night, and I’ve gone through the day today thinking it was Sunday! So here’s my menu plan:

Sunday: I had my fresh huevos rancheros while the kids were at my mom’s

Huevos Rancheros

Monday: Spaghetti with Italian sausage

Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Wednesday: Lentils with garlic and rosemary (we STILL haven’t had these)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday:

[Continue reading Menu Plan for June 6 through June 12]

Wow, last week, I got totally off-track with our menu. I don’t even remember what we ate on some of those nights! So a lot of these dishes were on last week’s menu, too. Over the next few days, I’ll post the recipes for the smashed potatoes and cucumber-dill salad from last week, too.

Sunday: Pizza

Monday: Chocolate chip pancakes

Tuesday: Tuna melts with slow-cooker baked beans and chips

Wednesday: Slow-cooker rosemary and garlic lentils

Thursday: Fend for yourself night

Friday: Spaghetti with marinara and meatballs, with green beans

Saturday: Pan-fried fish, cous cous, and steamed broccoli

Yeah, last night we called for pizza. Even though I got the

[Continue reading Menu Plan for 5/30-6/5]

Last night, I had planned on making a new recipe —  crockpot lentils with rosemary and garlic — but I forgot to put it into the slow cooker early enough, and the chicken I’d put in the fridge wasn’t thawed enough to use yet.

So I ended up doing one of my “fallback” recipes. You know, the recipes we all have that uses only pantry and fridge (or freezer) ingredients, that you can make without having to thaw anything (or you can microwave thaw, at least). The one I made last night was my Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese* (a lower fat version

[Continue reading Menu Plan for May 23 through 29]

Whew! The last week was busy! I mostly made stuff I’ve posted before (family favorites), but I did have a chance last night to make some wonderful meatballs and marinara sauce for meatball sandwiches. I also used the multi-grain buns that I shared recently for the sandwiches – but this time, I left the egg out. It made them just a touch less soft, and chewier, which was perfect for our meatball subs!

I’ll be sharing the recipe for the marinara and for the meatballs over the next couple of days.

Sunday: Meatball subs with quick marinara and low-cal meatballs*

Continue reading Menu Plan for 5/16 through 5/22]

Dinners

Sunday: Black bean burritos
Monday: Sushi!
Tuesday: Meatball subs
Wednesday: Black bean enchiladas
Thursday: Something from the freezer
Friday: Fish and rice
Saturday: Lentils

I always end up writing the same thing for lunches and breakfasts (quesadillas, sandwiches, smoothies, cereal, oatmeal), so I think from now on, I’ll only write lunch and breakfast plans down if something changes or there’s a special meal.

The kids and I have been wanting to learn to make sushi forever, and I keep putting it on the menu plan and then something comes up. Today, we are actually going to make California Rolls. I just need to remember to take pictures!

Linked to Menu

[Continue reading Menu Plan for 5/9 through 5/15]

Last week didn’t go exactly as I had planned. Let’s see how I do this week.

Dinners:

Tuscan Soup

Tuscan Soup

Chef Salad*

French Dips*

Black Bean Enchiladas*

Sushi*

Meatball Subs (trying to make a healthier version) *

(The kids will be spending the night at my mom’s house tonight, so I’ll probably just have a Boca burger.)

Lunches:

Quesadillas, sandwiches, leftovers, smoothies

A Very Purple

[Continue reading Menu Plan for 5/2 through 5/8]