menu plan monday

Monday:
A whole bunch of dips, fruits and veggies, a finger food for my Launch party for Origami Owl! :)

Tuesday:
Buffalo Chicken Chili
got this recipe from my friend Christine

Wednesday:
Cilantro Lime Chicken w/ Corn and Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn 
2 minced garlic cloves 
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 
1 tsp cumin 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). 

Serve with tortillas and toppings such as with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.

Recipe adapted from Over the Big Moon. 

I'll double this and freeze one.  

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday:

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts

1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets

2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce (I use light)

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag and mix together.

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. 

Serve with cooked fettuccine noodles, green salad, and Easy Parmesan Knots.

Plan is to double this one as well and stick it in the freezer!

Saturday:

Baked Chicken Teriyaki

Sunday:

pizza dip

mix it up

i'm on a bit of a smoothie kick lately.
two weeks ago i did dr. oz's 3 day detox and liked a couple
of the smoothies so much that they have remained as my lunches
almost daily.

1/2 c. mango
1 cup blueberries
1 1/2 cup coconut water
1 cup kale
1 Tb. lemon
1/4 avacado
1 Tb. flax seeds


blueberries were on sale last week so I stocked up and froze them.
mangos are $0.59 this week at Aldi
I bought Kale for my detox and had some left over so I put it in the freezer
I stocked up on avacado's awhile ago when they were cheap
and stuck them in the freezer as well.

and the flax seeds i ordered from amazon.

Coconut water was the most expensive part for $3.59 at Trader Joe's

but you can substitute regular water and not alter the taste of the smoothie any.

menu plan monday

whew.  we survived.  there were moments last week were I didn't think we would.  kidding of course but man the boys and I both got hit hard with the same virus.  just affected us all differently.  The boys ended up with double ear infections which then turned into pink eye and I just had a terrible cold bug.  but we are all finally on the mend.  

our menu this week includes lots of good ole "go to's."  tomorrow i'm starting a 3 day detox so i'll have my own meals to eat through wednesday, but I spose i'll still cook for my boys :)  

Last Friday I was able to make an extra beef stroganoff casserole and freeze it.  I've never frozen one of those before so I'm interested how it'll turn out.  Also got a loaf of banana bread (of the 3 loaves I made today) in the freezer.  I love having a stocked freezer!  it's a tad of an obsession lately.  

I've been scouring pinterest of course but do any of you have any good freezer meals?  i'd love to hear em!


Monday:
Poppyseed Chicken

recipe from Marci Epp

6 cooked cut up chicken breasts

place chicken on bottom of 9x13 pan and salt and pepper

mix 2 cans cream of chicken, 1 tub sour cream and 1 cup milk

Pour over chicken

Crush 2-3 packages Ritz crackers and pour over top

Melt 2 sticks butter and pour over top

Sprinkle top with poppyseeds

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes uncovered

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday:
Beef Stew in the Crockpot

recipe from Lynda

2 lbs stew meat (I use less to cut down on cost)

chopped onion

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tb. worchestershire

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tb salt

1 tsp. pepper

3-4 cups water

7 potatoes, peeled and quartered 

1 lb. carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

frozen peas (add the last 15 minutes before serving)

Throw all of it (except peas) into the crockpot cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours

Friday:
Buffalo chicken Sandwiches
Just throw 4-5 chicken breasts in the crockpot.
Dump half a jar of buffalo sauce and a packet of ranch
dressing over it and cook all day.  Shred the chicken and 
serve on buns.  Super easy and yummy!

Saturday:
Eat out

Sunday:
For our small group I think I'll make 
a Buffalo Chicken Dip i guess you could say
i'm on a buffalo kick. :)

menu plan monday {jan. 7}

So it's Monday again and it's back to the grind.  Grocery shoppin' and menu plannin'.  Had to rearrange my normal grocery shopping routine and got groceries straight after church yesterday.  I had a love/hate relationship with it.  I loved that I could do it while Tyler took the boys home for naps. It was nice to actually have all my attention focused on my list BUT it was the weekend and grocery shopping.  Don, don, don.  They don't go well together.  I'm so blessed that I have the opportunity to stay home with my boys.  Seriously, very fortunate.  And one of those perks is that I can, if I want to, go grocery shopping during the week at 10am when there is hardly anyone in the store and no lines.  IT ROCKS.  Not gonna lie.  Even though I still despise grocery shopping to it's core, it makes it a little more bearable for me to not have to fight crowds.

Well anyways....back to my menu!  Trying 3 new dishes this week and I'm super excited!  I'll let you all know how they turn out ;)  We tried two new dishes last week, the Spinach Lasagna and Chicken Taco Soup.  Both were good.  I think Tyler leaned a little more towards the soup but Caedmon REALLY like the Spinach Lasagna, I think he ate more that the rest of us combined (I wish I was kidding!)  I froze a batch of the soup but wasn't able to make more of the lasagna for the freezer because I ran out of noodles.....next time.  My goal is the double one meal a week and throw the extra in the freezer to stock up our freezer a little more.  We'll see how that goes.

Our menu this week...


Monday:
Cajun Pasta
Tuesday:
From my friend Megan
One Pot Pasta
Wednesday:
Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne
double the chicken part of this and freeze it.
Thursday:
Leftovers
Friday:
A little different twist on normal pizza night from ma friend Melinda!
Pizza Roll Up
Saturday:
Out to eat or take out... :)
Sunday:
Ummmm not sure yet.  It's the first Life Group at our house so it's gotta be somethin' fabulous of course.  Oh and if you are in the area and want to come join us on Sunday late afternoon's for yummy snacky food and digging into a "yet to be determined" bible study, shoot me an email!

menu plan monday

It's been quite awhile since I've put up my menu plan.  With the holidays it got super crazy busy and this was the last thing I was thinking about.  But now that we're back from our travels and the new year is TOMORROW I'm obsessed with getting more organized again.  So starting with my kitchen and grocery shopping.  In the past couple months I've revamped how I grocery shop and our budget.  So I spend right at $75 a week.


Monday:
Probably just a frozen pizza since we'll be eating all sorts of goodies at our New Year's par-tay :)
I'm taking "Texas Trash Bean Dip"  Got the recipe from pinterest and it looks amazing.

Tuesday:
*New Recipe*
Chicken Taco Soup X2 and the second one will go straight into the freezer

Wednesday:
Leftovers

Thursday:
*New Recipe*
Spinach Lasgana X2 and this can be frozen in individual sections or as a lasagna casserole

Friday:
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
All I do is cook my noodles
Make about 16 cups of chicken broth from soup base
cut up carrots and celery
cook them in the broth
add noodles and shredded chicken and voila!  simple as that
oh and it freezes well!

Saturday:
Chicken Quesadillas

Sunday:
Not sure, Sunday is usually a free for all.  Lunch is either leftovers or sandwiches and we have our small group Sunday evenings so it's snack-y food

Linking up HERE

Menu Plan Monday

This week is a little different and we'll play it by ear for supper each night.  In other words, whatever I'm in the mood for, I'll make.  For myself.  It might be a week of cereal, smoothies and salads for supper but I'm ok with that.  So instead of nightly planning I just made a list of meals that I have ingredients on hand and can make anytime in the next week :)

****Sicilian Spaghetti
1 1/2 cup diced ham
1 cup half and half
1 can cream of chicken
3 Tb parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. pepper (less is better)
2 Tb parsley
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp garlic powder
rotini noodles

mix sauce together and bring to boil.  Pour over noodles and serve. yum!

****Southwest Salad

{source}

****Chicken Milano (for the weekend probably)
****Southwest Chicken Pile up
****Breakfast Casserole (this will be for Thursday morning when my friend, Carly and her hubby, are here staying with us)
9 frozen hash brown pattie squares1 lb. sausage cooked and drained
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
6 eggs
1tsp salt
1 tsp mustard
2 cups half and half

beat eggs with salt, mustard, and half&half.  In 9x13 pan lay hash browns on bottom.  Layer sausage, cheese and pour egg mixture over everything.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours.  Bake 350 for 45 minutes.  Let it sit 10 minutes before cutting.

So that's my "list"
I'm guessing I won't make much of it and we'll just snack a lot this week.  :)

I'm really gonna buckle down here now and quit eating so much junk and incorporate a lot more healthy meals.  Try and get these last few preggo pounds off. Let's do this!

menu plan monday

This week we are eating out of the pantry/freezer.  I have everything on hand for all the meals except the potatoes and carrots for the roast.  What's on your menu this week?  I'm looking for new ideas!

Monday:
Spaghetti and garlic bread

Tuesday:
Chicken and noodles over potatoes

Wednesday:
Chicken, broccoli and rice casserole (I never got around to making this last week)
I will double it and freeze one

Thursday:
leftovers

Friday:
Roast in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots
I don't do anything special to my roast, just add water and cook all day

Saturday:
out to eat

Sunday:
Planning on making either pumpkin bread
or chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for our LifeGroup.
I tried to make them this past week but first I was out of eggs and then
brown sugar and so I just gave up :)

menu plan monday

I'm back!  You missed me right?  :)  I took an unplanned blogging break last week.  No reason, just didn't have much to say and even if I did, I hardly had any time to say it!  Busy, busy, busy.  But I'm back and I've got my menu plan for the week.  Excited?  yeah me too.  Actually I'm super stoked about this week.  We cut our grocery budget by a {gulp} $100, starting this month to make room for other necessities in the good ole budget :)  So I had to really plan, even more than I already do.  Aldi's here I come!  But I'm bound and determined to do it!  So here's the plan, lotso chicken this week (like almost every meal! lol)

Monday:
homemade chicken noodle soup
Tuesday:
Chicken Spaghetti
Wednesday:
supposedly the Chicken spaghetti makes a lot
so I'm planning on leftovers from it
which is perfect since I have to leave for
Bible Study at 6:30
Thursday:
Pasta with fresh tomato sauce
Never tried this one before but it looks yummy
Friday:
Chicken, broccoli and rice casserole
this recipe will make enough for me to freeze the extra
for a rainy day :)
Saturday:
out to eat
Sunday:
we don't have our small group this week
so it's a free for all.  Maybe popcorn
and some fruit....whatevs.


happy Monday!

menu plan monday

planning groceries is always such a big process for me.  I don't know about all of you but it usually takes up most of my Sunday evening.  I get out all the store ads, my coupons, pinterest and sit at the kitchen counter so I'm close to my cupboards in case I have to jump up and see if I have something that a recipe calls for.  It's quite the mess on my counter when I'm done but I always feel really organized afterward and glad I did it.

So as a result of all that, here is what our meals will look like this week...

monday:

Chicken milano

Taking this meal to a friend who just had a baby so it's just easiest to make it for us too :)
and I mean it's delicious so any excuse to get to make it, I'm ok with :)

tuesday:

cheesy vegetable chowder
(excited for lots of soups now that it's fall!)

wednesday:

chicken ranch tacos

thursday:

tuna sandwiches

friday:

brocolli and quinoa casserole

saturday:

probably pizza to eat during the Husker game :)

sunday:
as always just a snacky supper with our Life Group.  I'm bringing guac and chips (avocados are only $0.49 at Aldi this week!)

So another week planned and I'm excited to eat all this food!
what about you?  what does your menu look like this week?

Menu plannin' on this monday morning

I'm declaring that Fall is officially here!

I've pulled out my jeans and sweatshirts 

(even though it's far from cold enough to need a sweatshirt yet)

This past weekend I pulled out all the fall decor I own,

much to Tyler's dismay.  I think his exact comment when asked

how the decor looked was, "wow, we have a lot of pumpkins."

yes we do!  and I love it!  

I'm just waiting on my order of Krylon "looking glass" spray paint

to come in the mail so I can spray paint the majority of those pumpkins.

Some have already gotten their new make over with white spray paint

and I can't wait to put the two together!  

Oh how I love decorating and making new decor out of the stuff I already have.

I can thank my mom for this love :)

We both do the whole...

-pull out all the decorations

-randomly set things out where you think they will look good

-change it once or twice that same day

-wait a couple more days

-change it all again

-are finally happy with it

-and maybe change it one more time just for good measure :)

anyways, you came here thinking that I was going

to be sharing my menu plan for the week so I'll finally get around to it :)

My point with all the fall talk was that I am getting in the mood for lots of hearty, warm soups and crockpot meals.  

mmmmmmm.....my mouth is watering just thinking of all these delicious meals I get to have soon!

Oh and a side note:

never, I repeat NEVER, browse pinterest for recipes when you

are hungry.  It just makes you angry that you can't eat all

that delicious food right then and there. 

Not talking from experience or anything :)

So without further ado...

MONDAY:

Lasagna Primavera

recipe courtesy Megan Anthony :)

taking this meal to a friend who just had a baby

2T olive oil

3 cloves garlic

2 c. thinly sliced carrots

2 c. sliced zucchini

8 oz. mushrooms sliced

3/4 t. thyme

1/4 t. pepper

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Ital. seasoned diced tomatoes drained

15 oz. Ricotta

1 egg

1/4 c. fresh parmesean

1 jar alfredo sauce

3/4 c. milk 10 uncooked lasagna noodles

3 c. moz. cheese

Oven 350

Heat oil.  Add garlic, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, thyme, pepper.  Cook 7 min. - veg. crisp/tender.  Remove from heat, add tomatoes.  Set aside.  Combine Ricotta, egg and parm.  Comgine alfredo and milk.  

3/4 alfredo on bottom of pan, 5 noodles, 1/2 ricotta, 1/2 veg 1/2 moz.  All of that X2

Remaining sauce on top.  Cover and bake 50 min.  Uncover 10 min.

Tuesday:

Beef Stew and cornbread 

recipe from Lynda

2 lbs stew meat (I use less to cut down on cost)

chopped onion

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tb. worchestershire

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tb salt

1 tsp. pepper

3-4 cups water

7 potatoes, peeled and quartered 

1 lb. carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

frozen peas (add the last 15 minutes before serving)

Throw all of it (except peas) into the crockpot cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours

Wednesday:

Poppyseed Chicken and green beans

recipe from Marci Epp

6 cooked cut up chicken breasts

place chicken on bottom of 9x13 pan and salt and pepper

mix 2 cans cream of chicken, 1 tub sour cream and 1 cup milk

Pour over chicken

Crush 2-3 packages Ritz crackers and pour over top

Melt 2 sticks butter and pour over top

Sprinkle top with poppyseeds

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes uncovered

Thursday:

Buffalo Chicken Bread

haven't tried this one yet but it looks yummy!

Friday:

Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes

recipe from Nancy Goodson

This one is SUPER easy and I'm going to try and make it even easy-ER by using Trader Joe's frozen mashed potatoes.  

Boil chicken breasts 45 minutes, take chicken out and shred.  Use same water to boil noodles and add more water if noodles aren't covered.

Once noodles are done, don't drain the water and add 1 can cream of chicken soup.  Serve over mashed potatoes.

Saturday:  

Probably eat out, Chipotle anyone? :)

I love it for Saturday night because we always have

a ton leftover for lunch on Sunday!

Sunday:

as always a snacky supper :)

menu plan monday

the menu this week is just for Tyler as the boys and I are

packing up and leaving on a early flight tomorrow morning to.......

KC!  We have some pretty amazing friends and once of which blessed us

tremendously last Friday with 2 free plane tickets!  

I was floored!  So, so, so grateful to her and her hubby!

So since it'll just be Tyler for the next 2 weeks on his own...

Tonight: I've got chicken cooking in the crockpot and we'll have barbeque chicken sandwiches

Tuesday: Tyler will probably have leftover sandwiches

Wednesday: Homemade chicken noodle soup from the freezer

Thursday: Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole from the freezer (this will probably last him 

a couple days)

Weekend: He'll probably eat out :)

So that's Tyler's menu for the week.

I'll be at my parents house getting spoiled by not having to cook :)

So I've got a couple posts already typed up and scheduled for this week but if it's quiet around these parts for the next 2 weeks don't worry, I'll be back soon!

what's cookin'? {menu plan monday}

Happy Monday everyone!!  Hope your week is off to a great start! I've got chicken cookin' in the crockpot for some yummy Tacos tonight....mmmmm!  


I think I MAY be just a tad obsessed with freezer cooking, or rather freezing anything and everything I can think of that'll make for convenient lunches and dinner's.  I made up a bunch of smoothies, poured them into muffin tins and froze them, after they were frozen I popped them out of the tins and put them in gallon freezer bags.  3 of them are perfect for a single serve smoothie for me for a quick lunch or snack anyday!  LOVE it!  


Oh and I made this casserole on Friday and made a double batch so I have another one in the freezer!  I just love having homemade "back ups" in the freezer for a rainy day.  


Monday: Chicken Ranch Tacos

Tuesday: Crockpot French Dips

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Italian Crockpot Chicken

Friday: Chicken, Bacon, Guac Quesadillas 

Saturday: Chipotle

Sunday: LifeGroup snack-y supper

Menu Plan Monday {July 2}

Happy Monday everybody!!!

This weeks menu plan is gonna be kinda boring.  I got thrown off a couple nights last week so the Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole and Italian Chicken didn't get made so get what's on the menu this week?  Yep those two!  So nothing new.  Also my sis and brother in law are coming to town (yay!!) so we'll probably be eating out a lot more than usual.  Or just play it by ear.  

So here is our boring menu this week :)

Monday:

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
I'm excited to try this new recipe (thanks pinterest!) because it has
No mayo
No cream of anything
No sour cream
No cream cheese
yay for a healthy, yummy meal!

Tuesday:

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Trying this recipe as it comes highly recommended by my friend Megan. 

Wednesday:

Happy 4th of July!!

My sister and BIL (brother in law:) Derek will be here!  

So we'll probably grill some burgers or chicken, not sure yet

Thursday:

Chicken Milano

recipe here

Friday:

Lincoln's 3rd Birthday!!

So we'll probably take him somewhere fun to eat!

Saturday:

We'll probably take Hope and Derek out to eat

Red Robin?  mmmmm.

Sunday:

leftovers or maybe pizza

menu plan monday

monday:

chicken milano

it was on the menu 2 weeks ago and 

i never got around to making it so it's back

on the menu!

tuesday:

beef stroganoff
I may try doubling this one and freezing it.  I've never frozen it before so not sure how it will turn out...

Lynda's recipe

10 oz cooked egg noodles
1 lb hamburger browned
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 slices american cheese torn up
stir all ingredients together and put in 9x13 pan to bake
bake at 350 for 1/2 hour covered
top with chow mein noodles the last 5 minutes

wednesday:

layered enchilada casserole

I'm going to double this and freeze the extra one

thursday:

we'll probably just grab something after our photo shoot with 
j.reiss photography :) so excited!!

friday:

homemade pizza

saturday:

meatballs from the freezer, potatoes and 

green beans

sunday:

snack-y supper with our LifeGroup

menu plan monday, a day late

Monday:

We had steaks on the grill....yum

asparagus...yum

corn on the cob.....YUM!

Tuesday:

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

recipe found here

Wednesday:

Quesadilla Casserole

I'm going to double this when making it

and freeze the extra one for a rainy day :)

Thursday:

Southwest Chicken Crockpot

easiest dinner EVER recipe here

lately instead of eating it over rice we've just been using it as a dip

and eating it with chips....super delicious.

Friday:

eat out.

Saturday:

Honey Garlic Chicken in the Crockpot

recipe here

Sunday:

snack-y supper at our Life Group

menu plan monday

Monday:

Wild rice and ham casserole
recipe here

Tuesday:

Grilled Mesquite Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
We are really liking (well mostly me because they are easy to prepare) Trader Joe's frozen mashed potatoes.  Super easy and super yummy.  I haven't compared prices on them but I remember them being relatively cheap, so it's worth it to me!

Wednesday:

Chicken Ranch Tacos
recipe here

Thursday:

BLT's
or 
For Tyler, Fried egg sandwiches
since he doesn't care so much for BLT's

Friday:

Chipotle!

Saturday:
Chicken Milano
recipe here


Sunday:
Snacky Supper with our Small Group

menu plan monday

Monday:

Sicilian Spaghetti, garlic bread and green beans

Recipe from my mom-in-law

and this is my sis-in-law, Kelsey's, favorite :)

1 1/2 cup diced ham (deli thinly sliced)

1 cup half and half (I add a little more, 1/2 cup or so)

1 can cream of chicken (or mushroom) whatever you have in the pantry :) 

3 Tb. parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. pepper (less is better in my opinion)

2 Tb. parsley

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 tsp. garlic powder (I do a little less)

rotini noodles

Mix sauce together and bring to boil.  Pour over noodles. 

Tuesday:

Beef Stew and Cornbread 

Also my mom-in-laws recipe

2 lbs stew meat (I use less to cut down on cost)

chopped onion

2 garlic cloves minced

1 Tb. worchestershire

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tb salt

1 tsp. pepper

3-4 cups water

7 potatoes, peeled and quartered 

1 lb. carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

frozen peas (add the last 15 minutes before serving)

Throw all of it (except peas) into the crockpot cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours

Wednesday:

Poppyseed Chicken, mixed veggies and strawberries

recipe from Marci Epp :)

6 cooked cut up chicken breasts

place chicken on bottom of 9x13 pan and salt and pepper

mix 2 cans cream of chicken, 1 tub sour cream and 1 cup milk

Pour over chicken

Crush 2-3 packages Ritz crackers and pour over top

Melt 2 sticks butter and pour over top

Sprinkle top with poppyseeds

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes uncovered

Thursday:

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Recipe from pinterest here

On Thursday's I try and always have a crockpot meal planned

since I babysit my one time a week for Jazzercise from 4:15-5:15 and after getting out of there I usually don't get home until 5:30 or 5:45ish so it's just nice to have something already ready when I get home.  And the timing usually works out that Caedmon is needing to eat as soon as we get home as well so I have no time to cook :)

Friday:

Homemade pizza with Trader Joes garlic pizza crust

Sat./Sun.:

Saturday we'll probably eat out

Sunday is a snack-y supper at our Life Group....always yummy! :)

And because this post needs at least one picture...

here's one from our mini photo shoot at the beach yesterday