Weekly Meal Plan: June 24, 2012

It was a hot one this past week so I had to get a littler creative [aka, hubby cooks on the grill] so I didn't have to heat up the house with the stove!


Monday: Ground Beef & Mushroom Lasagna (We had a cold spell on Monday, so I fired up the oven!)

Tuesday: Pork Chops & mixed veggies on the grill


Wednesday: Cheeseburgers and Broccoli with Parmesan


Thursday: Homemade Egg McMuffins and Hashbrowns


Friday: Salmon on the grill & baked potatoes

I also wanted to share a few frugal ideas for lunches if you have to pack yourself, your kids, or your significant other a lunch on hot days during the summer. Here are a few things I have been doing.

- Homemade fruit salad - whatever fresh fruit is in season by you, cut it up into pieces to make your own fruit salad for lunches. This week in ours, we have watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and blueberries. Obviously, the only thing that is fresh and in-season right now for our area is the blueberries. I purchased a half of each melon at the store as well as the grapes.

-Fresh Veggies - I have been cutting up pieces of fresh green peppers, carrots and celery and packing them up for lunches with homemade ranch dressing.

-And, one more frugal, time saving time you'll love yourself for when you have nothing to take for lunch! Burritos in the freezer. I just cooked up six burritos left over from a chicken we had for dinner. TOO EASY. Sprinkle some mexican seasoning on the chicken and put it in a tortilla with cilantro, cheese and tomatos (or whatever you like), roll, bake at 375 degrees for 10 min, wrap in wax paper and throw into a ziploc in the freezer. Grab one for lunch when you have no other options!

Weekly Meal Plan: June 18, 2012

This past weekend was a busy one with cook-outs and birthday parties! This coming weekend will be our first CSA pick-up and I believe this time around, it will be two chickes - yahoo! I can't wait!

Sunday: Shrimp Sauerkraut Eggrolls

Monday: Grilled Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower

Tuesday: Chicken Quesadillas on the grill with leftover chicken from Monday night :) And fresh Cilantro from the herb garden.

Wednesday: Caprese Meatballs & Spagehtti (recipe coming this week!)

Caprese Meatballs & Spaghetti

Thursday: Burgers on the grilled with steamed broccoli & parmesan cheese

Friday: BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Saturday: Hot Ham & Cheese


I am trying to be creative with meals since it has been so hot and I don't want to turn on the oven in the house. We are doing a lot of grilling - and clearly, this past week was chicken week!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday: Grilled Quesdaillas - told you we liked these!

I also soaked black beans to be used on these with extra into the freezer.

Monday: The Fishmarket Salad

Tuesday: Spaghetti with the last jar of canned roma's from last season *tear*

Want to kick up your 'sgetti? Add capers to your marina - you'll love it!

Wednesday: Breaded cube steaks with roasted beets from the garden, baked potato & rice

I also roasted a chicken in the crock pot while we were away at work so the babe and I had chicken for lunches the rest of the week. Mine went onto salads, his went with some rice :)

Thursday: Burgers on the grill with salads - lettuce fresh from the garden!

Boring I know, but I wasn't home until late and it was easy for hubby

Friday: Venison Backstraps on the grill, leftover chicken from Wednesday & Sweet Potatos

Saturday: Pork Chops in a Cream Caper Sauce w/ Rice, Chard from the garden cooked down with bacon

It's been longer than usual since we've had these pork chops!!

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This post was shared at Pennywise Platter

Weekly Meal Plan, Memorial Day Week

Thank you to all who have served our country!

Happy Memorial Day.

Sunday: Grilled Quesadilla's

This was the first time we made Quesadilla's on the grill - they were awesome! And we had some fresh Cilantro in the herb garden to add! Topped with sour cream and lettuce from the garden.

Monday: Hamburgers on the grill, Sweet potato fries, salad with lettuce from the garden

I made a homemade 'Caper Dressing', for which I found the recipe in a old McCall's Cookbook that was a wedding present to my grandma :) Hubby & I love capers and this dressing doesn't disappoint! I will share the recipe soon.

Tuesday: Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli and carrots

Wednesday: Scrambled Egg Burritos with Chard & Spinach from the garden and Breakfast Sausage

Yes, we have breakfast for dinner at least once a week...usually Monday's! It is too easy which is great!

Thursday: Bone-in Chicken Breast on the grill, Roasted Cauliflower, Salad with lettuce from the garden

Friday: Homemade Pizza on the grill :-)

Saturday: London Broil on the grill with baked potato's and salad with lettuce from the garden

The weather here is crazy hot and our AC is broke! Yes, I live with an HVAC man -- which also means if I want him to fix it for pennies on the dollar, I have to wait until the holiday weekend is over and he has access to the parts he needs from the supplier. *sigh* And then, it is supposed to go down to the 60's mid-week this week...what?! I hope my tomato and pepper plants can hang!

Weekly Meal Plan; May 20

Sunday: Leftover Ham Sandwiches

Monday: Ham & Rice Casserole

(You know we are using every last piece of that delicious ham!)

Tuesday: Ground Pork & Veggie Lasagna

I guess we are on a pork kick this week?! Find the recipe here; It is a must try!

Wednesday: Ribeyes and baked homemade fries

Thursday: Homemade Pizza

Friday: Scrambled egg, spinach & chorizo burrito

Saturday: Burgers on the grill and baked cauliflower

Pork & Veggie Lasagna

Weekly Meal Plan: a little bit of everything!

Sunday: Roast Beef and Mashed Potatos & Pan Gravy

Leftovers were lunch the next day! I also mixed some horseradish in with sour cream for dipping sauce.

Monday: Fritatta and Bacon

We stuffed the fritatta with spinach from the garden, onions and some cheese. Mondays are quickly becoming our 'Breakfast for Dinner' day of the week!

Tuesday: Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday: London Broil on the grill with Roasted Cauliflower

Thursday: Soy marinated Pork Chops on the grill

Friday: Brats & Sauerkraut on the grill

I am sure these brats were loaded with MSG among other things - ugh - since we are working our diets away from all that 'garbage', I am excited to get sausages through a local buying club were are starting this week with a local farmer! There is no msg or any other nastys added in them! More on that later!!

Saturday: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Beef & Cheese Burritos!

Weekly Meal Plan

Things have been busy .... and cold ... at the farm this past week. Here was our meal plan - enjoy! Try something new for one of your dinners this week!

Monday: Chili

Tuesday: Spaghetti with homemade marinara from Roma's I canned in the fall!

Wednesday: Stuffed Cube Steaks with Rice

I used my homemade sun dried roma's and fresh spinach from the garden!

Thursday: Crock Pot Pot Roast with Mashed Potato's

Friday: Bone-In Chicken Breast on the grill with Orzo, Broccoli and Bacon salad!

Saturday: We treated ourselves to a meal so easy, and so good for you! Shrimp Scampi and Baked Salmon!!

Weekly Meal Plan

I am still not up to speed with my meal planning for this week, and I know I never got one posted last week :) So, I'm sharing last weeks meals with you - hopefully you find something to help you out with your own dinners this week.

Monday: Scrambled Egg & Cheese Burritos with Bacon

Tuesday: Crockpot Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Fries

I bake my fries. For Sweet Potato fries, I like to sprinkle them with Smoke Paprika and then toss them in shredded parmesan cheese when the come out of the oven!

Wednesday: Bone-In Chicken Breast on the grill with Roasted Cauliflower

I roast my cauliflower tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and when it comes out of the oven, I sprinkle it with shredded parmesan. Clearly we love parmesan!

Thursday: Homemade Cheese Pizza & Garlic Cilantro French Fries

Friday: Mongolian Beef in the Crockpot with Rice

This was my first time trying this recipe and it was FANTASTIC! I scaled back the red pepper and hubby still thought it was pretty spicy. I added mushrooms to my dish and the leftovers the next day for lunch were still good :)

So what are you cooking up this week?

Weekly Meal Plan [and a fun video!]

I know I am late on this for the week, but none the less! You could very well have some leftovers from Monday or Tuesday too eat later in the week - warning!

Monday: Black Bean Quesadillas

*Soak the barley for tomorrow's soup as well! These are great because you can dress them up really however you want! I used Cilantro, Cheese and some tomato sauce. I flavor my beans by warming them in a pot with lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, salt and some tumeric. When I cook them on the stove top, I coat them with coconut oil.

Tuesday: Beef, Barley & Mushroom Soup

Have I mentioned how in love I am with this soup! It's seriously SO good! Hubby requests double the amount of meat next time, but I think 1# works just fine! Take yur pick.

Wednesday: Stuffed Shells

Thursday: Bone-in Grilled Pork Chops & Potatos au Gratin

I let my chops marinate in soy sauce at room temp for at least 30 minutes and thenhubby usually sprinkles them with some onion & garlic powder while grilling. 

Friday: Egg Salad Sandwiches

...because we have a dozen hardboiled eggs to use up from Easter!

So, what are you cooking up this week?

And just for fun, have you seen this? Hillarious :)

Weekly Meal Plan [2 meals from one]

How is meal planning coming along for those of you trying to be more consistent with it? Anyone finding my weekly posted meal plans of any help? Any questions?

Monday: Crockpot French Onion Soup

Tuesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

I like to make enough meatballs so that we have leftovers  to use the following night for Meatball Subs. *Meatball recipe   coming soon!

Wednesday: Meatball Subs

Thursday: Bone-in Chicken Breast on the grill with steam broccoli dressed in butter and parmesan cheese

If you are used to cooking  boneless breast, take note bone-in will take longer to cook, but in my opinion, so worth it! I usually try to remember to throw the breast into a marinade before we leave for work. Sometimes, for the grill, I do a simple one like a can of beer, some spices like smoked paprika, s&p and some cumin....whatever your taste buds like.

Friday: Scrambled Egg Burritos

This is an easy dinner that helps clear out the fridge too! We had mushrooms that needed used, a leek and then we threw in some cheese. Scrambled it all together and I personally like to dab on some hot sauce, then roll it up into a flour tortilla.

Weekly Meal Plan [plan for leftovers!]

This is a pretty easy meal plan for the week, depending on the size of household you plan to feed. We had leftovers available for lunches and for a dinner as well.

Monday: Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos with Mexican Rice.

The Mexican rice is super easy! Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a dutch ove pot. Stir in a chopped onion, garlic and 1 cup of rice and sautee until it starts to lightly brown. Pour in 2 cups of chicken stock, or water, and one can of diced tomatos, 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and take down to a simmer. Let it cook for about 15-18 minutes, until rice is tender. Once finished, remove from heat, stire in 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and some cilantro & enjoy! The best part is, you can change this up to meet your tastes! When peppers are in season in the garden, we like to add those too! And note, you have to use 'regular' rice for this recipe -- quick cooking type rices won't work!

Tuesday: Steak on the grill with Baked Potatos

Wednesday: BBQ Crockpot Western Style Ribs

I am still working on this recipe, but this time around wasn't bad. I mix up my own 'bbq' sauce. Also, for this, I use bone-in western style ribs because, a) they have more meat than a spare rib and b) when cooking in the crock pot for 10-ish hours, bone-in works better with a long cooking time. They don't dry out as fast. If you turn on your crock before you leave for an 8 hour work day, you know you likely don't get to the food it is cooking for at least 10 hours :)

Thursday: Leftovers

We still had plenty of shredded beef left over for some quick soft tacos/burritos as well as some ribs from the night prior.

Friday: Homemade Pizza Night!

This is a handy, quick meal. Make up some of your favorite pizza dough or pick up a dough ball from your local pizza parlor on your way home! If you make your own, usually the recipes call for enough to make 2, so you can freeze one for next Friday :) Our favorite way to do pizza, which happens to be my husband speciality, is to simmer down a can of whole tomatos and a small can of tomato sauce, add our favorite seasonings and then we kick it up a tad with some crushed red pepper, load it with cheese and some mushrooms and cook!

So, what are you cooking for dinner this week?

Linked up with Pennywise Platter!

Weekly Meal Plan [break out the grill!]

Ok, so I said I was going to start posting weekly meal plans. I haven't had time to decide this weeks, so I am starting by posting last weeks :) Hopefully this might help you out in trying to get together your dinners for the weke.

Monday: Whole Chicken & Roasted Cauliflower

I just half a lemon and stick the two pieces inside the chicken, salt, pepper & sometimes throw on some thyme or tarragon and bake at 350* for 90 minutes or so depending on the size of the chicken. For the last 15 mimutes I turn the oven up to 400*. The only thing I put in the pot with the chicken is some butter, a carrot and a celery stalk for the chicken to sit on! Roasted cauliflower is too easy; drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper and bake with the chicken the last half hour.

Tuesday: Homemade Burgers [on the grill] and oven roasted red skin potatos

For our burgers, we mix it up depending what we have on hand, but it is usually at least a chopped onion, one egg, bredcrumbs, mushrooms and some red wine mixed into 1# of ground chuck, topped with cheese. Roasted Red Skin Potatos get halved and thrown into a baking dish with coconut oil, salt and pepper and into the oven at 375* for about 30 minutes. You can cook in less time if you up the oven to 400*. Shake the pan every ten minutes or so to help prevent any from cooking to it :)

Wednesday: Homemade Fettucini Parmesan with Broccoli

Thursday: Pork Chops in Caper Cream Sauce w/ Rice (I told you we eat this often!)

Friday: Homemade Fish Sticks with Kale Chips

For the Kale Chips, I tear the Kale into pieces, throw it in a bowl to coat with some olive oil, then onto a baking sheet. I spread it out, sprinkle it with sea salt and bake for 12-15 mintues at 350*. You have to keep an eye on it, or at least I do, because otherwise I end up burning them sometimes! And trust me, if my husband request these, then pretty much anyone would like them!!

This post is linked up at Real Food 101, Pennywise Platter and Monday Mania