Hiatus

Whoa.  It's been awhile!  I've been so caught up in the holidays that I've hardly had a single minute to scrap, blog, veg, etc.  Our Christmas was fantastic catching up with family and taking a mini-vacation to my in-laws.  We just played games, talked, watched movies, chased kids...  Perfect.

I've been neglecting my menu planning since early November, so it's time to get back in business!  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, a safe and happy New Year, and are ready for great things in 2011!

Sunday: Tacos
Monday: Simple dinner (Mr. Pepper has a basketball game)
Tuesday: Angel hair pasta, homemade spaghetti sauce, green beans, garlic bread... and a BUCKEYE VICTORY!
Wednesday: Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Beef and Vegetable Noodle Bowl
Saturday: Stuffed shells
Sunday: Out for birthday dinner...  I turn 30 the next day. :) 

Menu Plan and layouts

Happy Sunday... well, ok, not happy.  Monday is tomorrow *sigh*.  Today is Mr. Pepper's birthday...
10-10-10!!!!  We celebrated by singing "Happy Birthday" to him at 10:10am, opened presents, and had coffee cake for breakfast. Mmmmm....

This week's menu:

Monday: Beef stroganoff (Mr. Pepper's belated birthday treat) over noodles, corn, orange jello

Tuesday:  Orange Honey Tilapia and asparagus (I had this on the menu two weeks ago and never got to it)

Wednesday: Italian chicken breasts and noodles

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: FOOTBALL

Saturday: slow cooked pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes and gravy

Sunday: pulled pork sandwiches, applesauce, peas

Here are two layouts that I finished and didn't post last week.

Team

Gift

Menu Planning

Busy week people!  We have a few days of being out of town or having dinner with friends/colleagues.  I can tell you that my family probably wants to have me put away because I keep finding recipes that sound DELICIOUS, but they have spinach in them. There's only so many things I can make for the three other people who eat like a three year old!  We'd be having chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and peanut butter and honey sandwiches everyday if I let them be in charge of meals!

Monday: Spinach and Feta stuffed chicken breasts, fruit salad

Tuesday:  Out of town meeting

Wednesday: Light Mac n Cheese, cucumber and tomato salad

Thursday: Family dinner out

Friday: Dinner with friends

Saturday:  Orange Honey Tilapia slow cooker recipe,  white rice

Sunday:  Baked Potato Soup,  Bob Evan's rolls

Menus and Previews

Happy Monday!  Two exciting things happening this morning:

Owl Tree Studio has put out the previews for the October Kits!  15 kits, plus 20+ quick pages for $10!  You can't beat this deal for digital/hybrid scrapping!  Click on the link to view the kit previews.

And here is my weekly menu planning!  Not too exciting and no links to great recipes today.  Trying to use up some items that are already in house... particularly in the freezer.

Monday: Filet Mignon, red potatoes

Tuesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, green beans

Wednesday: Quesadillas

Thursday: Chicken breasts, peas, pears

Friday: Chinese take-out

Saturday: Simple dinner

Sunday: Tacos

I'll be back later today with pictures from our Muffin Tin Monday.

Menu Planning

Wow!  It's been a week or two since I've posted a menu plan!  It's getting harder with Mr. Pepper being a principal.  I'm finding there are nights we're planning on him being home, and then he's called to go to a board meeting or there's some fiasco at the school...  But we roll with it!  Here's this weeks' plan!

Monday: Leftover Creamy Bowtie Pasta

Tuesday: Easy dinner with kids

Wednesday: Pork chops with roasted veggies

Thursday: Baked ziti

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Vegetable Beef soup (I leave out the potatoes and celery)

Sunday: Simple supper (Brinner is always a possibility)

Menu Planning

Happy Monday!  I'm exhausted after a long but super fun wedding weekend extravaganza!  Here is a picture of the beautiful bride and groom (whom I thanked repeatedly for taking my sister! :) ).

I haven't been able to get to the grocery store yet, so we'll see how this goes! :) 

Monday: Mini pizza's

Tuesday: Leftover beef stroganoff

Wednesday: Muenster cheese smothered chicken

Thursday: Spinach and cheese ravioli

Friday - Sunday: Out of town

Easy week! :) 

A New Year

For most people, the beginning of the year is January 1... when resolutions are made and a new calendar is opened.  Well, that time is NOW for me.  My calendar has always, and probably will always, run by each school year.  Last year, I made resolutions in September rather than January.  It's what happens when you're a teacher... married to a teacher/administrator... have kids in school.  It's inevitable.  So, right now I'm searching for a new planner. I've stumbled upon MomAgenda, and I'm thinking I like it.  I just can't decide if I should purchase the bound version or the spiral version (that doesn't ship until September 17... my year has already begun people!!!).  So, what do you think I should do? Leave me a comment and I'll take your thoughts into consideration before ordering.

And, now to menu planning.  With it being the beginning of the school year and my husband being an administrator, I'm a single mom this week.  It's the first week of school... very busy.  And since Mr. Pepper is driving 50 minutes to school right now, his hours are like 5am-9pm.  SUPER!  :(  Plus, my sister is getting married this weekend, so my menu plan is lacking.

Monday: Mac N' Cheese and hot dogs (request from Cocoa)

Tuesday: Taco in a Bag... yeah, I'm doing it!  Just need to find some small bags of Fritos.

Wednesday: Bertolli simple meal

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff (Mr. Pepper's favorite)

Friday: wedding festivities

Saturday: wedding festivities

Sunday: pizza (who knows what's going to be going on after the wedding)

So, not the greatest of weeks, but we have to make due.  Tomorrow, themes start again for Muffin Tin Monday.  I've got some fun things planned for ABC/123!!!

Menu Planning

Last week I had so many other things to post about, I completely forgot my menu planning!  I'm ready for this week though!

Monday: Simple Supper (Mr. Pepper working late)

Tuesday: Dinner with my parents

Wednesday: Orange Roughy, stir fry vegetables, watermelon

Thursday: Steak (sirloin or Filet Mignon from Omaha Steaks), mashed potatoes, applesauce

Friday: Fettucini, chicken, fruit

Saturday: Sister's bachelorette party (hubby and kids are on their own!)

Sunday: Hamburgers, watermelon, pasta side dish

Menu Planning

Don't have  ton of time to write, so I'm just going to post my menu plan for the week.  More later! :)

Monday: Dinner out

Tuesday: Tacos, Crockpot Apple Dumplings (carried over from last week)

Wednesday: Grilled chicken, Sweet potatoes

Thursday: Must Go's or simple dinner

Friday: BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, mixed berries

Saturday: Hamburgers/Cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, applesauce

Sunday: Ricotta shells, garlic bread, green beans, tapioca

We're home and meal planning

Boo.  We had to leave the beach.  I wouldn't want to be there during hurricane season, but I would love to live there.  There's nothing like stepping out on the deck first thing in the morning and being greeted by the ocean.  Of course, I was greeted by screaming Bean, so I'm just conjuring morning memories from two years ago.

I'm completely exhausted after doing most of the driving home over the past two days (more on that later).  So, I'm going to post my menu plan and spend the rest of the week catching up.  I have stories, cute muffin tin meals, pictures, etc.  But, here's this weeks meal plan:

Monday: Beef Stroganoff, corn, applesauce (Mr. Pepper's favorite.  He suffered an injury on vaca and deserves some comfort food.  I'll be making his favorite cookie, Oatmeal Scotchies, with Cocoa later in the week as well).

Tuesday: Oriental chicken soup, Bob Evan's rolls (I miss soup)

Wednesday: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, peaches (just need a good meatloaf recipe)

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: Spaghetti with homemade sauce, garlic bread, green beans

Saturday: Friend's wedding

Sunday: Tacos, crockpot apple dumplings

Menu Plan Monday... on Sunday

While our week of menu planning begins on Monday, I sit down each Sunday and figure out what we're eating for the week. I then make a trip to the grocery store on Sunday evenings, when the kids are in bed.  The hope is by doing this, we're saving money...  I need to become much better at clipping coupons and paying attention to sales though!  A good friend of mine shared her menu planning secret, and I'm trying it out this week. Last Monday night at the store (delayed due to holiday weekend) I wrote down what exactly is in each aisle at the grocery store I shop at most.  I have made a spread sheet to record what we'll be eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, as well as what is in each aisle at the grocery store.  The last column holds a place for my grocery list and I'll write everything down as I meal plan. When finished, I cut off the list (which is already organized by aisle at the store) and head to the grocery!  FANTASTIC!!!  It's not incredibly pretty... I could've used some of my scrapping supplies to doll it up, but I wanted the maximum amount of writing space.

Here are the dinners for this week.  From participating in OrgJunkie's "Menu Plan Monday", I've found a great bog called "Chubbie Chica" that gives meal recipes as well as Weight Watchers points.  I've taken a few recipes from her this week (I've linked them back to her as well).
 Monday: Garlic Chicken, red potatoes, watermelon
Tuesday: Hot dogs, green beans, applesauce
Wednesday: Baked salmon, squash/zucchini, grapes
Thursday: hamburgers, oven fries, strawberries/bananas
Friday: Pizza loaf, steamed broccoli, pineapple
Saturday: Daddy Dinner (Mr. Pepper makes the meal... I have a bachlorette party to attend!)
Sunday: Brinner (french toast, bacon, strawberries)

Mr. Pepper will not be dining with us on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the meals are pretty basic.  This way, I can make them even with kiddos running around!  Check back tomorrow for our Muffin Tin Monday meal and on Tuesday for a great new kit coming out from Kerry'd Away Designs!