Menu Plan Monday - Week Of 11/23

We are heading out of town for Thanksgiving. We're going to my parent's house on Thursday morning. The drive takes anywhere between 5 and 7 hours, depending on how many potty stops we have to make. So, we'll be leaving as early as we can in order to get there an hour or two before dinner.

The plan on Friday is that my grandma, my mom, my sister and I will all be making pierogies together. I'm really looking forward to this. (I wrote about starting this tradition and shared the recipes here at Happy To Be At Home last week.)

Beyond that, we don't have any other set in stone plans for the weekend. I think the kids would just be content to play with their cousins and not do anything else. But I also know they'll have fun doing other things. They've all been counting down the days until they get to see nana and papa.

Breakfast

• M - PB & ? French toast fingers (recipe below)
• T - Oatmeal w/ apples and raisins
• W - Banana muffins and smoothies
• Th - Breakfast cookies (in the car)

Lunch

• M - Quesadillas, oranges
• T - Tuna pasta salad, peaches
• W - Leftovers (clean out the fridge!)
• Th - Snacks in the car. Roasted chickpeas, chocolate chip muffins, banana chips, and crackers

Dinner

• M - Chili Mac, cornbread
• T - Ranch breaded chicken (recipe below), crashed hot potatoes, peas
• W - Cheeseburger pie, steamed broccoli and cauliflower (possibly with a cheese sauce - I have some cheese that I want to use up before we go.)
• Th - Thanksgiving dinner with my family! I am going to bring an apple-sour cream pie. Hopefully we'll be there early enough that I can help my mom prepare a few things too.
  

PB & ? French Toast Fingers

For each sandwich:

• 1 egg
• 2 T. milk
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 slices bread
• Peanut butter
• Choice of honey, strawberry preserves or banana slices
• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. powdered sugar (optional)
  

1. Whisk together egg, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Set aside.

2. Make a sandwich with the bread, peanut butter and one of the three choices. Dip sandwich in the egg mixture and let sit 15-20 seconds. Flip sandwich over and repeat.

3. While sandwich is soaking, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sandwich and cook for 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Cut sandwich into 4 fingers. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Ranch Breaded Chicken

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 c. Ranch salad dressing
• 1 c. crushed croutons or breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
• 3 T. Extra virgin olive oil

1. Place each chicken breast in a plastic bag and pound until paper thin, using a meat mallet, rolling pin or can. Cut each piece of chicken into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on how big it is once flattened.

2. Soak chicken in Ranch dressing then dredge both sides in crushed croutons or breadcrumbs.

3. Cook chicken in hot olive oil for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes, or until cooked.

Head over to Laura's blog for more menu plans.