Last week’s menu plan was a success!  We had so many great meals last week, and I never had to scrape around at 5:00 in the evening trying to figure out what we were going to have for dinner.  It was great! However, I am not planning a menu for this week.  Trust me, after how well last week went, I am still committed to doing a weekly menu plan. But we are going to be spending this week with some of our family, and most of our meals will be provided by them!

So instead of sharing my weekly menu plan with you, I am just going to share some recipes that I have bookmarked to try out soon.  They all look delicious, and they will probably be showing up on my real menu plan sometime in the near future!

Simple Summer Soup – I usually don’t make soup very often in the summer time, but Trevor has actually been requesting it lately.  This recipe from Keeper of the Home looks like the perfect soup to make in the summer to use up all of the season’s wonderful produce.

Sausage Zucchini Bake – Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies, and this dish from Kitchen Stewardship makes great use of it’s abundance.  I’m actually getting really hungry just thinking about this one right now!

Fish Tacos – I’ve never actually made fish tacos at home before, and I thought that this recipe from Passionate Homemaking sounded great!  This one will definitely be on the menu plan soon!    

Delicious Tomato and Eggplant Curry – We love eggplant at our house – specifically Eggplant Parmesan.  However, we’ve had that dish so often lately that this meal from The Nourishing Gourmet looks like a delicious change of pace.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas – I seriously think that I could eat Mexican-style food every night.  Riddllelove’s easy enchiladas look SO good, I can’t wait to try them!  And I don’t think that Trevor will be complaining either!

Stuffed Marconi Peppers – Okay, here’s another Mexican meal, but like I said, I seriously think that I could eat Mexican-style food every night!  These stuffed peppers from A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa look heavenly.  YUM!

So there you have it.  What I would be making if I were making anything this week!  I’m so excited and feel very blessed to be able to spend some extra time with my family this week, and I know that we will be enjoying a lot of yummy meals together – I just won’t be the one making them! 

Let me know if you try any of these meals out, and how they turn out for you.  I can’t wait to try them all!

Tweet

I have a confessions to make.  Actually, I have two confessions to make. 

 Garlic Carrot Potatoes – we’ll be having these with Monday night’s dinner

1.  I have majorly been off my game in the kitchen lately.  Last week was actually not very pretty at all.  Meals that I normally would be able to make blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back, were total flops last week.  Several nights, 5:30 rolled around and I still didn’t know what I was making for supper.  This leads me to my second confession.

2.  I have been such a rebel in the area of menu planning.  Have I ever menu planned before? Yes.  Do I know that menu planning makes my life a whole lot easier?  Yes.  Am I aware of the fact that when I menu plan, I not only save time and money, but I also feed my family better?  Um, definitely!  Then why have I not been menu planning?  I guess I really don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that I have a new resolve to plan out our meals every week.  We are really trying to watch our spending right now, and I know that planning like this will definitely help me stay within our grocery budget and at the same time will ensure that we are not eating junk for every meal!

So now that I am committed to planning my weekly menus, I will be posting them every week to make myself accountable.  So here we go with the first weekly menu that I have planned in several months (and I actually had fun planning it too!)

(Also, if you have any menu planning tips for me, I would LOVE to hear any advice you have!)

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Oatmeal, Kefir Smoothie

Lunch:  Garlic Herb Chicken con Broccoli, Salad w/ EVOO and White Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner:  Pizza Pockets, Fresh Fruit and Veggies

MONDAY

Breakfast:  Egg Sandwich on Sourdough English Muffins, Fresh Raw Juice Smoothie

Lunch:  Black Bean and Rice Burritos

Dinner:  Roasted Chicken, Mashed Garlic Carrot Potatoes, Salad w/EVOO and Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar

TUESDAY

Breakfast:  Breakfast Burritos, Kefir Smoothie

Lunch:  Buffalo Chicken Dip w/ fresh veggies and tortilla chips

Dinner:  Cobb Salad w/ Homemade Ranch and Sourdough Biscuits

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast:  Sweet Potato Oatmeal (leftover), Fresh Raw Juice Smoothie

Lunch:  Pizza Pockets, Fresh Veggies and Homemade Ranch Dip

Dinner:  Eggplant Parmesan, Salad w/ EVOO and White Balsamic Vinegar

THURSDAY

Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs, Kefir Smoothie

Lunch:  Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches on Homemade Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread (from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads), Fresh Veggies and Homemade Hummus

Dinner:  Sloppy Joes, Homemade Fries, Salad w/ EVOO and Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar

FRIDAY

Breakfast:  Sourdough English Muffins with Butter and Raw Honey, Fresh Raw Juice Smoothie

Lunch:  Guacamole with Tortilla Chips, Fresh Fruit

Dinner:  Homemade Pizza with Sourdough Pizza Crust (from American Pie)

SATURDAY

Breakfast:  Sourdough Waffles with Maple Kefir and Fruit

Lunch:  Grilled Cheese, Fresh Veggies and Homemade Ranch Dip and Homemade Hummus

Dinner:  Rustic Lemon Onion Chicken, Salad with EVOO and White Balsamic Vinegar, Fried Okra

Do you menu plan?  Do you have any tips for (me!) a rebel menu planner?  Please share what works for you and help me get out of my non-menu planning rut!

Tweet