Menu Plan Monday-November 21, 2016

Thanksgiving is almost here in the US!  It’s only a few days away and it’s going to be a fun-filled week of marching band activities. This Thursday is our high school’s 110^th football game against its rival school. The school holds many spirit activities during the week including a Powderpuff game and a pep rally both of which the band plays at. In addition, the band hosts the rival’s band for a dance on Tuesday night. Each day there is an activity and it is all leading up to the big game on Thanksgiving morning. It’s going to be an exciting week!

Here’s what we are planning for our meals:

Monday-    Thin Spaghetti with Tomato, Basil & Garlic flavored tomato sauce and crescent rolls
Tuesday- Chicken with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette  
Wednesday- Jerk Chicken Nachos
Thursday- Turkey Day!

Friday- Pizza Night
Saturday- Chipotle Lime Salmon – New recipe!

Sunday- Cheeseburgers & Hot dogs with Crinkle Cut fries

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday-November 14, 2016

Hey everyone!  It’s another Monday and it’s time for another weekly meal plan. Last week’s meal plan went pretty well.  I only made one change to the plan.  I swapped out a simpler chili recipe for the Crockpot Chili because I didn’t have all of the ingredients needed.  (Note to self: remember to put the ingredients for the planned meals on the shopping list!) I still want to make that recipe so I’m going to add it to this week’s menu. We did try the new Caprese Chicken recipe. It was easy to make and tasty despite overcooking the chicken just a bit. Oops!

This week is a full week of school again so it’s chock full of activities. We also have soccer and basketball practices overlapping this week so that adds another layer of “busy”.  I’m going to make simple, tried & true meals during the week and then on the weekend do a couple of crockpot meals.

Here’s what we are planning for this week:

Monday-    Thin spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Garlic flavored tomato sauce, crescent rolls and a Mediterranean Chopped salad (I’m loving the pre-packaged chopped salads lately)
Tuesday-  Beef Tacos with Basmati Brown Rice
Wednesday- Leftovers/Grilled Cheese sandwiches
Thursday- “Mommy’s” Chicken (breaded & fried chicken cutlets) with Stove Top Stuffing

Friday- Pizza Night
Saturday- Crockpot Chili

Sunday- Slow cooker Teriyaki Chicken

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday- November 7, 2016

Happy Monday!  I woke up today and it was light outside in the morning again.  Yay! The clocks turned back early Sunday morning for us and we “gained” an extra hour in our day.  I really do like having more daylight in the morning but now the sun is setting earlier, and that makes for earlier soccer practice times because the fields are so dark.  Logistically, earlier soccer practices are difficult for us but at least there are only about 2 weeks left in the season.

We have a Teacher’s Convention here in New Jersey which means the kids will be out of school on Thursday & Friday so we’ll have a couple of days to relax this week.  Plus we only have one event, a soccer game, scheduled for this weekend so we’ll have some time to get caught up around the house and try a couple of new recipes. 

Here’s what we are planning for this week:

Monday-    Rotini with Italian Sausage and garlic flavored tomato sauce, garlic bread with portobello mushrooms
Tuesday-  Jerk chicken Nachos
Wednesday- Leftovers
Thursday- “Mommy’s” Chicken (breaded & fried chicken cutlets) with a chopped salad
Friday- Pizza Night: this time it's take out
Saturday- Crockpot Chili

Sunday- Caprese Chicken

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday– October 31, 2016

Happy November & Happy Belated Halloween! I hope you all had a ghoulishly fun time on Monday. My kids had a great time with their friends and they brought home too much candy from trick-or-treating. It's going to be very hard not to eat any of their goodies while they are at school but I will do my best to resist.

Last week was so busy that I didn't quite follow my menu plan but I guess that's bound to happen once in awhile. I do enjoy having a menu plan to guide me each week even if we go off track sometimes. We did try the new recipe on Sunday, Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes.  It wasn't a fan favorite so I'll be looking for another chili recipe to try this month.

As for this week, we have a much quieter schedule than last week which I am grateful for. There's not too many "extra" activities going on. This weekend the boys will finally go camping and we will have the last marching band competition (the National Championships) for the season. Also, don't forget to adjust your clocks! For most of us in the US, Daylight Savings time will be here this Saturday night/Sunday morning.   

Here’s what we are planning for this first week of November:

Monday-    Take-out Pizza Night- This is a tradition that we have on Halloween because there's never time to cook.
Tuesday-  Thin Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce and crescent rolls with a chopped salad
Wednesday- Beef Tacos with quinoa & brown rice
Thursday- Chicken with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette from Real Simple
Friday- Pizza Night: this time it's frozen
Saturday- Cheeseburgers and hot dogs with waffle fries
Sunday- Dining out.  Tonight is the last competition of the marching band season so we'll be dining at the snack stands.

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday– October 24, 2016

The Halloween countdown is on!  It's only one week from today and none of my kids have decided on costumes yet.  Yikes! At this rate, I'm going to make them wear last year's costumes. Ha! Also, I think this might be the busiest week of the new school year so far.  Marching Band will be happening on  six of the next seven days (practice, competitions, parade & game) and that's just for my teenager.  The twins both have scouts, band, doctor appointments, after school clubs and a Halloween Masquerade dance.  Then for the weekend, we have a couple of soccer games along with the parade & band competition. So, despite the craziness, I'm going to plan my meals for the week and hope that my plans don't get derailed. I did find a new fall chili recipe that sounds so yummy and I'm determined to test out on Sunday.   

Here’s what I am planning for the super busy week ahead:

Monday-  Leftovers from the weekend  
Tuesday-  Jerk Chicken Nachos
Wednesday- Rotini with Italian sausage & garlic sauce served with a chopped salad and garlic bread
Thursday- “Mommy’s” Chicken (breaded & fried chicken cutlets) with a chopped salad
Friday- Pizza Night
Saturday- On your own- most likely we'll eat at the competition
Sunday- New recipe!- Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday– October 17, 2016

We are entering the second half of October and pretty soon Halloween will be here! This month is going by very fast for me probably because our family has been so busy.  This week is looking like a typical week with with all of the kids' usual fall activities. The weather here in New Jersey is going to be in the high 70's/low 80's which is a big change from the past few weeks when we dipped down into the low 50's during the day.  The kids are happy to put their shorts back on, if only for a few days.  I’m trying another new salmon recipe from BuzzFeed this Sunday. The One-pan Tomato Pesto Salmon from last week's menu was delish and easy to make, so I'm going to try another one of their one-pan recipes. Have a wonderful week!

This is what we are planning for this week's dinners:

Monday- Thin spaghetti with pesto served with a chopped salad and garlic bread
Tuesday- Beef soft tacos with quinoa & brown rice
Wednesday- Four cheese mini pierogies with steamed broccoli 
Thursday- Leftover night
Friday- Pizza Night: Frozen pizza
Saturday- On your own! 
Sunday- One- Pan Honey Soy Salmon from BuzzFeed

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday– October 10, 2016

October is well underway now!  This week will be a little calmer than last week because of the Columbus Day holiday,  a bye week for our high school football team and only 1 band competition. soccer practices have been switched to different days, but we still have art club, scouts (this time, Girl Scouts), and a soccer game.  For this week, I’m trying a new salmon recipe from Buzzfeed. Their web page shows 4 one-pan salmon recipes (with videos!). I already tried the Parmesan Crusted Salmon and it was a keeper!  

Here is what we have planned for this week:

Monday-    Penne Rigate with parmesan, garlic, & olive oil served with a spinach salad and garlic bread
Tuesday-  Jerk chicken nachos from Pampered Chef
Wednesday- leftover night
Thursday- Chicken with goat cheese vinaigrette from Real Simple
Friday- Frozen pizza: the kids' favorite is Freschetta Brick Oven Crust 5 Italian Cheese
Saturday- Hamburgers & hot dogs with french fries
Sunday- One-pan tomato pesto salmon from BuzzFeed

What will you be eating this week?

I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday– October 3, 2016

The first full week of October is finally here!  This is my birthday month so I’m very excited for October.  I love fall and the cooler weather it brings here in the Northeast. However, it’s also a very busy time of year.  This week is going to be especially hectic with practices for soccer, elementary school band & high school marching band, as well as 2 band competitions, art club, Cub Scouts, a football game, and a soccer game!  So for the rest of the week, I’m keeping it simple by preparing a typical menu for us. However, this month, I’d like to experiment with some new fall recipes and some quick weeknight “grab n go” type meals. So, I’ll be scouring my Pinterest boards and adding some new selections to our dinner menus in the coming weeks. Hopefully, we’ll find a few new dishes that the family will enjoy and want to add to our menu rotation.

Here’s what we are planning for this first week of October:

Monday-    Thin spaghetti with tomato & basil sauce served with a chopped salad and Pillsbury crescent rolls
Tuesday-  Beef Tacos with rice - It’s National Taco Day!
Wednesday- No cooking for me - it’s my birthday! 
Thursday- “Mommy’s” Chicken (breaded & fried chicken cutlets) with a spinach/kale salad
Friday- Pizza Night – Take out Domino’s Pizza
Saturday- We’ll be eating at the marching band competition
Sunday- Mema’s Salmon- my mother-in-law’s recipe with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli

What will you be eating this week?

  I’m linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Week in the Life 2016–I’m In!

Today marks the first day of Week in the Life project by Ali Edwards.  I’ve participated in this project before but never fully followed it through to a completed album. This year I’m hoping to execute and document the week completely (fingers crossed) and my plan is to blog about my photos and thoughts daily.  I am setting my intentions now so that I can focus my efforts on the specific shots that I want to accomplish rather than taking tons of random photos which will overwhelm me and prevent me from finishing.  In the past, I have partially filled out worksheets and I have taken lots of photos of the week but somehow the week went by without me fully immersing myself in the project and the completed album just never happened. My one accomplishment was that I did make a Flipagram of the photos from the week. Yay!

This year, I am going to use what I have on hand and put the project in my 6x8 Simple Stories Snap Burlap binder in a black chevron pattern with some pocket pages.  I will be using the Simple Stories Daily Grind Snap card kit as well as other elements I may find in my stash.  I have been using this binder for my 2016  One Little Word project and well as for Day in the Life.  I will definitely do another Flipagram with the final photos but I plan to include some journaling on those photos as I think the story behind the photos is important to include in the video.

In order to keep the project at the forefront of my mind, I printed out the daily sheets in the 6x8 format and am keeping them on a clipboard on my kitchen counter so that they are highly visible throughout my day.

I will mostly be using my iPhone 5  and the Camera+ app to capture my images and I’m also going to use my fairly new Canon t5i for some self-portraits and for additional camera practice.

I am most excited about capturing the changes we made to the house this year in terms of switching the kids rooms around and each of my kiddos getting their own room.  I want to document each room/space in the house as I know that those spaces have changed significantly since even the beginning of 2016 and no doubt will change again.

Here are a few of the shots I’d like to capture:
A daily self-portrait
Books that I’m currently reading
Each room in the house
Our vehicles
A photo of each family member (including the dog)
My daily outfit
The meals we’ve eaten
My daily routines
The kids’ current activities

Are you in?  If so, leave a link to your blog so I can follow along with your journey.  If you are just hearing about this, don’t worry! You can start right now, or tomorrow, or just pick any day that will be good for you.  Happy snapping!