More whole 30 meals

Week one foods

Meal Plan Monday - eat clean -

Sunday; Shepard's Pie Loaded Baked Potato (I added mushrooms, kale, and spinach to the mix)

Monday; Ginger Cranberry Pork Roast in the slow cooker
Tuesday; leftovers
Wednesday; Sausage Kale Soup and cheese biscuits found here

Thursday; leftovers
Friday; Pasta and meatballs
Saturday; grilled fish, squash, and sweet potatoes

lunches are salads with all the veggies, no nitrate lunch meat, fruits and almond butter or plain almonds
breakfasts are leftover pancakes, oatmeal, eggs and veggie scrambles
snacks? yogurt and dark chocolate


linked up at meal plan monday at orgjunkie.com - if you're stopping by, thanks! we eat clean about 90% of the time here...and sometimes I share recipes and sometimes I'm busy living life with my two kiddos and wonderful husband plus training for our first full marathon in April. :-)

Menu Plan Monday

My husband got off a little early on Friday, so he met G and I at the grocery store. It was really fun to do our shopping with Daddy and G loved him pushing her around. I loved checking out with all of our great stuff under budget :-) Two weeks in a row I have gotten a ridiculous amount of stuff but saved a lot of money. The bagger even asked if we had a large family at home...I just replied I like to stock up on staples when they are on sale :-) I saved nearly 50% and we've been eating great!

We're still loving our grill, so there's not much going on in the oven lately. I'm perfectly fine by that...and it makes clean up a lot nicer too!

Menu Plan Monday

In addition to being in the black on our food budget this month, we bought a grill! We ate SO good last night. I seriously start salivating thinking about how delicious our first grill meal was. We had Farmer's Market Zucchini (which G absolutely loved), pork chops, sweet white corn with peppers and onions....and box shells & cheese because when I think of pork chops, I think of Velveeta, so I bought a box special for the occasion of breaking in our grill, a Ducane Affinity 4200 (I'll write more on that in another post).

I also need to write about G's first experience with spaghetti with sauce, and the making of Giada's Chocolate & Cheese Danish--which I altered a bit and devoured Sunday morning.

Onto the main point of this post: our meal plan for the week...as you might imagine, it includes a lot of grilled foods.

Monday: Leftover grilled pork chops, freshly grilled asparagus from the Farmer's Market
Tuesday: Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, salad from the Farmer's Market
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Grilled Brats with whole wheat buns, curly fries, salad
Friday: Baked Fish, pasta with tomato sauce, salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Grilled chicken, grilled veggies, pasta with white sauce

Thanks for checking out our dinners, you can find more on OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

The highlight of this week (Monday) comes from a great episode of Giada at Home that I saw last week. Man, I missed Food Network! We don't have too many more channels than we did in Kansas (locals only there), but Food Network is included in the Digital Economy package we have & I am so excited! If only HGTV was too...

Menu Plan Monday

I'm not doing very well with attempting a budget for California grocery shopping. I am 2 for 2 at over $150/week. I can justify it away, but the fact remains the same, our grocery spending MUST get lower. This week will be different. I'm finally starting to feel normal again, so I hope that spills over to my grocery shopping. I know it sounds crazy, but having my own vehicle here really makes a big difference for 'normalcy.'

Here are our dinners for the week:

New grocery shopping experiences and Menu Plan Monday

After a few weeks absence due to moving, I present to you... our meal plan for the week. I am actually looking forward to getting back into a routine. I think it will make the stress of being in a new part of the country seem less noticeable. I wonder if I am the only one that loves having a grocery shopping routine. I truly enjoyed the stores in our old town and I miss the routine I had down. It's odd being in a new place with NONE of the stores I used to love shopping at (except Target, thankfully).

Menu Plan Monday

Well, I don't know if it's quite yet official, but I can't hold it in any more. We are moving to half way across the country. Next week I am going to my parents while my husband is out of town on business, so I won't be having a meal plan then. The following week we are probably moving (wowzers, huh?), so I don't think I'll be meal planning then either. Welcome to "use up everything in the freezer & fridge so it doesn't have to be thrown out" week.

Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (left over ingredients from last week)
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Cheese & Asparagus Stuffed Pork Loin Roast, sweet potatoes, frozen veggies, bread
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Buffet of random food
Saturday: Dinner out, using a groupon we need to use before moving
Sunday: at my parents

Thanks for checking out our weak meal plan ;-)
Check out the others on OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

The best thing we ate last week was breakfast yesterday. My husband made Taste of Home waffles. They were so amazing, but then he broke the news that they were nearly 1000 calories per waffle. Why is my favorite breakfast food sooooo bad for you! Another highlight was our homemade stuffed crust pizza. We used cheese sticks cut in half tucked into the crust perimeter--turned out great. Oh, and I almost forgot about the awesome oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip cookies I made. I took half to my husband's work, but I kind of wish I hadn't because our half is already gone!

Here are our dinners this week--I'm most excited to go out for a nice dinner on Saturday :-)

Menu Plan Monday

Last week's meal plan wasn't very intense...but our week was...so that meal plan wasn't even looked at (aside from making the chili). We were sick Monday - Wednesday, so didn't eat a lot--and then we just scrounged around the other nights. It happens. :-) Remember that meal planning should come with a little flexibility because life is unpredictable!

Here's our meal plan for this week:

source

Monday: Homemade Meatloaf & Homemade Mac/Cheese, with salad - dinner with friends (they're bringing cake balls for dessert)
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Pork Chops, Rice Pilaf, Salad
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: homemade pizza <3
Saturday: Chicken & Rice Casserole (no condensed soups in this recipe)
Sunday: shrimp cocktails, toasted ravioli, & other finger foods

I think I need to start looking at my food magazines...I'm definitely in an uninspired cook mood. I blame the weather!

Thanks for checking out our dinners this week! See more menu plan Monday at OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

This week's meal plan is really simple. I made a HUGE thing of chili on Sunday and I'm thinking it will last almost all week. Soooo... pretty boring around our house, after an exciting weekend. We did his birthday dinner on Friday night with his cousin. Saturday, my husband and I took the baby to the boat show. We had planned to get take out Red Lobster on the way home, but then decided we'd rather just go out to eat since G was behaving so well. The wait at the restaurant was 45 minutes at 5:30 pm!! we were not about to wait that long and chance ruining her good mood. We opted for Carrabbas (it's like Macaroni Grill, if you've never heard of it). It was soooo good! We both had one of the specials: Champagne Shrimp & Scallops with a salad. I got peach sangria, and my husband had two winter lagers. Baby G got munchies, peas and bread. We had such a good time! I wish we could do it more often (but then it wouldn't mean as much when we do go out).
Anyhoo, here's our lame-o meal plan:

Menu Plan Monday

In some ways, I feel like I just wrote my meal plan for last week; but in other ways, last week seemed so long. It was the first week that my husband worked the full five days since the week of 12/11. Luckily, leftovers stretched a bit farther than anticipated, the crock-pot helped out, and I made one meal ahead of time--so the kitchen was not my nemesis despite having to get back in the swing of life while the baby is still getting over an illness (and teething).

One whole meal didn't get made last week, so it reappears this week.

Monday: left over chicken caccitore (first time I made it, and it was so good!)
Tuesday: baked potato bar
Wednesday: pork chops, cheesy rice, peas
Thursday: chicken fajitas, homemade refried beans, salsa/chips
Friday: homemade cheeseburgers, pasta salad, fries, salad (requested by the birthday boy)
Saturday: eating out after the boat show for my husband's birthday :-)
Sunday: chili and corn muffins

source: the curvy carrot

As indicated above, my husband's birthday is this week. I am going to make chocolate cupcakes with cheesecake filling and butter cream frosting. I found a recipe I'll be loosely following at The Curvy Carrot.


Thanks for checking out what we'll be eating this week, Menu Plan Monday is hosted at OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

This week's meal plan is brought to you by my Taste of Home cook book. I had little to no inspiration while making my grocery list. The recipes are also on their website, so I've linked to them for you.

Menu Plan Monday

I did not have meal plan last week. I wouldn't say I was "stressed out" about cooking, but I was far from organized in the kitchen. We got back into town Tuesday afternoon and scrounged around. Wednesday I made chicken pasta. Thursday we ordered pizza (first time in probably a year). On Friday evening, friends came over for an impromptu dinner (I wasn't sure what I was serving until that morning--my mom's rigatoni recipe). Then, Saturday we went to my husband's cousins for finger foods on NYE. We ate leftovers last night.

It's time to get back into the swing of things, including having a menu for the week.

my chicken & dumplings are an art

Monday: homemade Chicken & Dumplings, I use a secret personal recipe. It's kinda similar to the instructions on this blog, but not really.
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Crab Salad & Crackers, veggies & dip
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Taco Macaroni Skillet
Saturday: meat, potatoes, carrots
Sunday: Homemade Pizzas (our Sunday night shows return!)

Thanks for joining me for OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week went pretty well, although my husband came back from "a quick run" to the grocery store with more than I told him to get....so we had some impromptu meals and went over our budget. At least it wasn't my fault ;-)

Monday: Baked Homemade Pork Egg Rolls, veggies, rice
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: eat anything in the house that will go bad while we are gone
Thursday: dinner at my parents after driving all morning/afternoon (kettle beef)
Friday: (second annual holiday) taco night with my parents and family friends
Saturday: Christmas Eve dinner (probably pizza)
Sunday: Christmas dinner: Ribs (weird, but it's my mom's plan)

For holiday dessert I am going to make an amazing Brownie, Cookie, Oreo Layer dessert that I saw on Katie @ NFP & Me (which she found on Pinterest). I'm going to be following the recipe I found on BrownEyedBaker.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Thanks for stopping in on Menu Plan Monday, which is linked up at OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

So last week was really nice... I had an easy meal plan, I went out with a friend, my sister came to town, I celebrated my birthday, and my husband's work had two evenings of parties.

I'd say the food highlight of the week was the homemade ice cream cake that my husband made for me. It is a-mazing! It got even better the second time we had some. He based his recipe off of a few ideas he found online; layers of vanilla ice cream, Oreos & chocolate syrup, cookie dough ice cream, whip cream, whoppers, fudge sauce.

Check it out:

Menu Plan Monday

This week is a busy week! My sister is coming in town, it's my birthday week, and my husband's work is having their Holiday Party and Annual Meeting. Therefore, this week is really easy on me...and probably boring for you! I promise my menu plan will be more exciting next week :-) If you'd like more ideas, check out my recipe page that lists some of my personal or adapted recipes, including the super easy Faj-ritos I made this past week. I'd also like to hear any recipes you have for the 8 pound bag of oranges we bought for $3.99 this weekend. They smell and look delicious, but aside from eating them plain...any ideas?

Menu Plan Monday

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! I took last week off from posting my meal plan, but I still had one:

Menu Plan Monday

This week's meal plan is week two of me REALLY REALLY trying to stick to our food budget. I am glad that our local grocery store is offering a free item each week from now until Christmas. That free item this week is Johnsonville Chicken Sausage. What do you think anchors my meal plan this week? The same store is also having a steak sale. 6 oz Cowboy steaks for $2 a piece, so we are having those for a 'fancy' meal. The potatoes are on sale for $1.99 for 5 lb bag of organic potatoes. Hooray!