Menu Plan Monday - Week of 8/18

I made this menu plan based around some meals that everyone has been requesting lately. Surprisingly, there aren't many summery meals on the list. I guess we are all starting to miss our stand-by comfort foods. But I'm not quite ready to switch to full comfort food mode just yet. We still have plenty of summer left before that has to happen! So, I'm still trying to take advantage of as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible. And maybe next week will be more seasonal.

Breakfasts

• M - Smoothies & oatmeal
• T - Crepes w/ bananas foster sauce
• W - Chocolate chip muffins & smoothies
• Th - Pancakes
• F - Breakfast cookies & smoothies
• S - French toast
• Su - Leftover muffins & breakfast cookies

Lunch

• M - Tuna pasta salad & applesauce
• T - Grilled cheese & peaches
• W - Egg salad sandwiches & grapes
• Th - Pepperoni pasta salad & yogurt
• F - Quesadillas & grapes
• S - Ham sandwiches & cantaloupe
• Su - T.B.D.

Dinner

• M - Ham, red beans & rice (carried over from last week), cornbread
• T - Chicken & dumplings
• W - Cheesy pasta casserole, zucchini, breadsticks
• Th - Wet burritos, skillet corn
• F - Polish sausage Reuben hash(recipe below), green beans
• S - Monterey chicken, corn on the cob, onion straws
• Su - Cheeseburgers on garlic Texas toast, sauteed mushrooms, watermelon, strawberry shortcakes for dessert

Polish Sausage Reuben Hash

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. butter
• 5 potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 pkg. skinless Polish sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 1 lb. sauerkraut, rinsed (if desired) and drained
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 T. sour cream
• 2 T. mayonnaise
• 2 T. pickle relish
• 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add potatoes and onions. Cook until potatoes are tender.

2. Add Polish sausage and sauerkraut to skillet. Cook until everything is heated through and a little crispy.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together ketchup, sour cream, mayonnaise and relish to create a Russian dressing.

4. Serve hot hash on plates. Top with some shredded cheese and drizzle with dressing.

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Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/20

This week I'll use some of our freezer meals for dinner and save the rest for next week. I love having these meals on hand, especially for days when we are spending quite a bit of time outside of the house. I also have a lot of chicken on the menu for some reason this week. That means I'll probably improvise if I can. I usually don't like making the same protein two days in a row.

Breakfast

• M - Chocolate chip muffins, smoothies
• T - Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread (recipe below) French toast
• W - Sunshine toast
• Th - Applesauce bread, smoothies
• F - Oatmeal & banana splits
• S - Apple spice multigrain pancakes, sausage
• Su - Breakfast cake

Lunch

• M - Quesadillas, apple slices
• T - Crustless carrot quiches (recipe below), cottage cheese
• W - Chickpea salad in pitas, oranges
• Th - Tuna pasta salad, peaches
• F - Sausage & cheese biscuits, apple slices
• S - Taco roll-ups, pineapple
• Su - Grilled ham & cheese, onion soup

Dinner

• M - Stuffed shells (from freezer), Italian breadsticks
• T - Creamy chicken enchiladas, black beans & corn
• W - Cheeseburger pie, peas
• Th - White chicken chili, biscuits
• F - Parm chicken fingers (from freezer), brown rice pilaf w/mixed veggies
• S - Reuben hash, cinnamon apples
• Su - Homemade southwestern eggrolls, mango salsa

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

• 4 - 4 1/2 whole wheat flour
• 3 t. yeast
• 1 c. apple cider or juice
• 1/2 c. milk
• 3 T. honey
• 1 T. butter or margarine
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. raisins
• 1 T. butter, melted
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• 1 t. water

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the apple cider or juice, milk, honey, butter, and salt until warm (115-120 degrees), stirring often. Add apple mixture to flour. Add egg. Mix until well combined, add remaining flour (1/4 c. at a time) and continue mixing.
3. Knead the dough, adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
4. While dough is rising, cover raisins with boiling water for about 10 minutes, until plump. Drain well.
5. Punch down dough and divide in half. Let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Roll out each section of dough, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with raisins sugar and cinnamon. Tightly roll up jelly roll style and seal with fingertips.
7. Place loaves on greased baking sheets. Cut 4 diagonal slashes across each loaf of bread. Combine egg white and water and brush over each loaf. cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.

Crustless Carrot Quiches

• 1/4 c. sliced green onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 c. shredded carrots
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack
• 3 T. cornmeal
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
  
• 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
  

1. Over medium heat, cook onions and garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add carrot and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, cheese, cornmeal and seasonings. Stir in carrot mixture. Pour into 12 greased muffin cups and bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until set.

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Revamping My Master Menu Plan, Part 2

I finally finished adding and deleting things from my master menu plan. I think I should be all set until spring time now without having to make any adjustments. This plan is not all-inclusive though. I do still like to try new recipes every month so I'll add to it on paper as needed. In about 6 months, I'll readjust again. I'll get rid of meals that we no longer eat and add on any new recipes that we have decided are keepers.

I'll put the whole list into a pdf tomorrow, along with my new master grocery list, and replace the links in my sidebar. I'll also go into more detail on how I use both of these things tomorrow. I'm going to be setting up my plan for this month and my grocery list for Wednesday's trip, so this will help me too.

Here is the second half of my plan. You can find the first half here.

SNACKS Graham crackers Wheat crackers Fried wheat berries Homemade cookies: Chocolate chip Molasses Peanut butter Oatmeal raisin Oatmeal crisps Snickerdoodles No-bakes

Oven-roasted garbanzo beans Homemade hot pretzels Breads/muffins Fruit platters (w/dip) Veggie platters (w/dip) Yogurt Homemade corn chips Homemade granola bars Cinnamon bread twists Pumpkin seeds Nuts Dried fruit Trail Mix

DESSERTS Ice cream Pudding Tapioca Rice pudding Brownies Cobblers Cookie bars Strawberry jam bars Lemon bars Gingerbread cake Homemade pudding pops

Cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips Bread pudding Peanut butter-hot fudge cake White cake/cupcakes Pepsi 4-layer dessert German chocolate bars Apple pie Turnovers Frozen chocolate-covered bananas Strawberry shortcakes Apple spice cake 3-layer chocolate/pb bars

DINNERS

Poultry Parmesan chicken (F) Pretzel chicken Chicken fricassee Sesame-seed chicken fingers (F) Chicken-veggie stir fry Chicken chop suey Curry chicken & broccoli casserole (F) Chicken pot pie (F) Monterey chicken Chicken marsala (F) BBQ chicken sandwiches (F) Chicken hash Chicken & dumplings (F) Chicken & gravy (F) Chicken & black bean tacos (F) Chicken enchiladas (F) Crock-pot creamy chicken Crock-pot white chicken chili (F) Chinese chicken salad w/peanut dressing

Chicken tortilla soup (F) Chicken piccata w/ capers (F) Chicken cordon-bleu (F) Chicken Kiev (F) Chicken pasta salad w/grapes Chicken curry crepes (F) Garlic chicken & spinach spaghetti Spinach-artichoke chicken Cap’n Crunch chicken (F) Chicken fried rice Blackened chicken Chicken Francese Orange chicken (F) Turkey cutlets Thanksgiving casseroles (F) Sweet & sour chicken Cider vinegar chicken (F) Chicken wontons/cream cheese puffs Honey chicken (F)

Beef (or ground turkey) Sloppy Joes (F) Sloppy Joe shepherd’s pie (F) Beef pasties (F) Beef & potato pie Taco casserole (F) Swiss steak (F) French dip Taco soup (F) Cheeseburger pie Beef stew (F) Hamburgers/cheeseburgers (F) Salisbury steak (F) Chili mac Chopped steaks BBQ beef & bean cornbread casserole

Spaghetti w/meat sauce (F) BBQ meatballs (F) Swedish meatballs (F) Chili (F) Meatloaf (F) Meatloaf cups (F) BBQ beef biscuit cups Tacos (F) Tortilla pie (F) Beef & rice burritos (F) Taco salad Cheeseburger macaroni Lasagna (F) Empanadas (F) Ground beef & onions w/gravy (F) Shepherd’s pie (F)

Vegetarian Spaghetti w/veggie sauce (F) Cheesy pasta casserole Black bean & rice burritos (F) Spicy lentil stew Nacho platter Fettuccine w/creamy mushroom alfredo sauce Red veggie lasagna (F) White veggie lasagna Ricotta-spinach stuffed shells (F) Cheesy potato soup Quiches (F)

Lentil & potato soup (F) Taco lentils 3-bean chili (F) Mushroom & wild rice chowder Cheesy garbanzo beans Curried garbanzo beans Eggplant Parmesan Baked mostaccoli Pesto w/toasted pine nuts or walnuts Sloppy lentils Curried lentils & broccoli Cheese ravioli (F)

Everything Else Bangers & mash Pork scaloppini Polish sausage (F) Polish sausage Reuben skillet Black bean & ham bone soup (F) Italian sausage & peppers (F) Cheesy potato & ham casserole Baked French toast w/bacon or sausage Breakfast casserole Bratwursts (F) Sausage ravioli (F) Honey-ginger salmon

Ham slices (F) Pizza fondue (F) Dirty rice Ranch ham casserole Red beans & rice (F) Ham & cheese strata 15-bean soup (F) Polish sausage & cabbage soup (F) Tuna casserole (F) Sole gratin Cheddar fondue Shrimp fondue Homemade pizza (F)

Dinner Sides Sunny Paris rice pilaf Brown rice Cheesy rice & broccoli Buttered & seasoned noodles Homemade spaetzle Mashed potatoes (F) Broasted potatoes Rosemary potatoes Oven Parmesan fries (F) Sweet potato fries (F) Cheesy potatoes Pierogi (F) Wheat berry pilaf Couscous Polenta Cheesy grits Spanish rice Macaroni & cheese Potato pancakes (F) Fried onions & mushrooms (F) Zucchini Broccoli Cauliflower Peas Skillet corn (F) Black bean & corn salad Fruit Baked beans (F) Refried beans (F) Pasta salad

Crash hot potatoes Garlic spaghetti Baked acorn squash w/ honey Twice-baked potatoes (F) Roasted veggies Stir-fried veggies (F) Garlic zucchini & mushroom sauté (F) Spaghetti squash Bulgur salad Pea salad Mixed greens tossed salad Creamed spinach Spinach salad Wilted spinach salad w/hot bacon dressing Sauteed cabbage Quinoa pilaf Quinoa & black bean salad Green beans Asparagus Ginger carrots Carrot slaw salad Cinnamon apples Corn on the cob Cornbread stuffing Lazy Pierogi Egg noodles Homemade noodles (F) Maple carrots (F) Fried potatoes Zucchini cakes (F) Corn cakes (F) Onion straws

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