Menu Plan

Okay. I've concocted a menu plan, but I'm not feeling so great today, so absolutely nothing on it sounds good to me. With that in mind, there's a good chance that when I am feeling better, I'll make some changes. Even though I feel like I prepare a large variety of meals, when I look at my menu plans, they all somehow seem the same to me, and this week's seems especially boring.

Starting next week, I think I'm going to try a new approach or two to meal planning to try to break us free from meal boredom. First, I'd like to look at the menus of the restaurants we love and try to duplicate some of the things we like to order there--we don't eat out super often, so this may be a good way to make us feel like we do. Second, I'd like to take a new look at some of the cookbooks and cooking magazines I have on my shelves--there must be many yummy-looking recipes in them that I haven't tried yet. We may even develop a few new family favorites! Also, I may start leaving a day meal-plan-free and trying to be more creative on that day; last Saturday, I cooked up some yellow rice and combined it with leftover cooked chicken, and made some flavorful black beans to go with. We topped it all with cheese and sour cream, and I couldn't BELIEVE what a hit it was with my family. I was just looking for an easy way out of preparing a big, time-consuming meal, and my creativity paid off.

Well, enough talk of creative meals. Here's this week's boring meal plan!

Monday
Homemade pizza
Salad

Tuesday
Brats with onions and peppers
Oven Fries w/ parmesan and rosemary

Wednesday
Ham
Scalloped Au Gratin Potatoes
Peas

Thursday
Lemon Sage Butter Roasted Chicken
Herbed spaetzle
Broccoli

Friday
Chicken Noodle Soup
Homemade bread

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
TBS lunch; then Super Bowl food later. I haven't totally decided what, though...

Menu Plan

This week, I need quite a few quick, get-out-the-door meals. So that's what's on the menu!

Monday
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches w/ caramelized onions, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce
Go-to Mac and Cheese

Tuesday
Ravioli "Lasagna" (layer cheese ravioli with sauce and mozzarella and bake for a shortcut lasagna)
Salad

Wednesday
Shepherd's Pie (I'll brown the ground beef the night before, when I make the "lasagna")

Thursday
Schultzie's Mess (big breakfast-for-dinner scramble with potatoes, ham, peppers, onions, cheese, and eggs)
Buttermilk biscuits with jam

Friday
Soup TBA

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
takeout

What's a Meal Plan?

Just kidding. I almost always have one, I've just become such a horrible blogger that no one ever gets to see it except me. Which I guess is better than nothing. Here's this week's plan:

Monday
Cuban Sandwiches (sliced roasted pork, ham, pickles, provolone, mayo and mustard on a homemade soft, slightly-sweet mini baguette, grilled panini-style) (an dI will likely add sliced tomato and some greens to mine, 'cause I can)
Salad

Tuesday
Roasted chicken
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Glazed Carrots

Wednesday
Tortellini with chicken and pesto cream sauce
More Salad (I've got some nice greens I don't want to go to waste!)

Thursday
Roast Beef
Homemade noodles
Steamed Peas

Friday
Hawaiian Ham Steaks
Pineapple-almond Rice Pilaf
Veggie TBA

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Chinese?