May 23 - 29

I stumbled upon a new recipe while shopping for last week's groceries. I was planning on buying potatoes to mash them for a side dish when I found 1lb packages of bite-sized potatoes in various varieties - golden, red, purple and mixed. On the back of each was a recipe. I ended up choosing the goldens and making creamy lime potatoes. It was quite good warm or cold (think potato salad). On top of that, it was super easy: boil the potatoes whole for about 15 minutes & drain. In a bowl combine 1/2 cup sour cream with the juice and zest of 1 lime. Toss the potatoes with the sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Done!

For this week I found 3 easy chicken dishes while watching the Nate Berkus show the other day (as much as it embarrasses me to admit that!). I'm planning on cooking up an entire family size package of chicken breasts to help with the prep.

Chicken Dishes:

• BBQ Chicken Penne




• Chicken Cordon Bleu Bundles




• Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Sesame Cold Noodles with Zuccini and Cabbage


Cheese, Crackers and Fruit


Tacos

Back in the Saddle - April 5 - 11

Well, it's been a month with our new baby and I've definitely been spoiled. We had family in town for almost 3 weeks straight and during the in-between times our lovely church family provided meals for us. There was a night or two here and there that I needed to provide a meal for my family, but I was able to pull together something quick using freezer and pantry supplies.

Now it's time to get back at it. I'm not sure how this is going to go with t-ball 3 times a week and a month old baby, but we'll see. I already warned Keenan there may be some impromtu take-out nights :)

• Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken


• Baked Tofu with Rice and Sugar Snap Peas


• Orange Marmalade Chicken and Rice


• Tacos


• Turkey Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes


• Hot Dogs with Baked Beans


• Breakfast - Trail Mix Breakfast Bites

Feb 15 - 21

Review time! Our crockpot meals were great and just what I needed as I've hit the "I'm ready to have this baby" wall :) First we tried the Slow-Cooker Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna. While it lacked a little something (garlic maybe?), I think if I try a different sauce it has some potential. Much less work than regular lasagna and just as tasty! Next we had the Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken and Biscuits. I used some of my Mural of Flavor spice from Penzkeys as the poultry seasoning and the whole dish was great! Of course, the best part was the homemade drop biscuits - perfection!

Keenan has a band commitment this week so he'll be gone 4 evenings this week. Bring on the easy, kid-friendly meals!

Falafel Sandwiches

Curried Tomato Bisque with Fresh Bread or Grilled Cheese

Pizza

Cauliflower Gratin

Chicken Nuggets with Mac 'n Cheese

Tacos

Nov 28 - Dec 6

Ok...time to get back at it. Since we just got back in town and needed food in the house, I've made this menu to get me through the next week and a half instead of shopping twice (shiver). We swapped Hannukah gifts with my family while we were in town and I now have a bread maker! I'm hoping to make a loaf or two this week to accompany our meals :)

Tacos

Broccoli and Cheese Soup with (bread maker) French bread

Veggie Enchiladas

Spinach and Brie Chicken with Orzo Salad

Sausage, Apple and Chestnut Dressing

Hannukah Dinner: Pot Roast, Cauliflower Gratin and Latkes

Mac 'n Cheese and Fish Sticks

Tofu Stir Fry

Spinach and Chicken Alfredo

Sept 21 - 27

Review time again! All of the new recipes we tried came out really well. Some were better than others (I think I left the veggies for the calzones in the food processor too long and it came out mushy. The flavor was good, though), but overall very good! Our French toast treat was a hit too. Somehow it was done in half the time, but luckily I caught it in time. Just a little overdone. I'm too tired to go through each recipe individually right now. Maybe another time :)

This will be a short menu. We're having a pot-luck meal at home group this week, we still plan to eat out for a little boy's birthday and then we're going camping this weekend! Next week should be back on track :)

Tacos

Cheese, Crackers and Fruit

Terayaki Chicken Packets (for camping)

Pizza

June 27 - July 3

I think I managed quite well with my "meals on the fly" week. I made one trip to Aldi and loaded up on whatever cought my eye that reminded me of something I've made before. Last week I made a short menu, but didn't get around to posting it. I'm going to do a separate post on our meal last night - it came out wonderfully!

Without anymore delay, here's my back-in-the-swing-of-things menu. Next week I'm going to attempt a 2 week menu to cut down on grocery trips.

Blackened Shrimp Po'Boys with Chips (had this tonight - delicious!)

Zesty Garlic Chicken Wraps with Bean Salad

Chicken Tenders with Cucumber Salad and Chickpea Couscous

Pesto and Tomato Pizza

BBQ Turkey Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Veggies (thanks Sarah!)

Tacos

Hot Dogs with Beans

Spaghetti

April 12 - 18

Our only review from last week is the Shrimp, Tortellini and Spinach - yummy! I didn't have the roasted red pepper dressing it called for so I used sun-dried tomato dressing instead. It came together quickly and was a perfect spring/summer Italian dish. I love that we're getting back to the time of year with more fresh veggies and fruit at reasonable prices. Everything just tastes better :)

Pineapple Jerk Chicken and Rice

Turkey Tacos (found some taco-seasoned ground turkey on super-sale last week!)

Baked Lemon Pasta

Make Your Own Pizza

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Tofu Stir Fry

Hamburgers & Pan-Fried Potatoes

March 22 - 28

Last week's menu had some big hits for us. Among them, the Cheesey Baked Pasta with Spinach and Artichokes (I now realize my typo last week - oops!), Mexican Meatball Soup and Hoisin Cashew Beef. The Ginger Noodles were ok, just nothing spectacular. I'll post the soup and pasta recipes next since they're not online yet. They're super easy and yummy!

This week has a rollover and a repeat because we liked it so much. We're also having guests one night so our chicken dinner will be featured once again.

Hamburgers with Carrot & Apple Slaw

Creamy Basil & Tomato Pasta

Spanish Tortilla with Red Pepper

Tacos

Roast Chicken and Veggies

Pizza (for Keenan and the kids - I'll be having a ladies night out at Pei Wei - woo hoo!)

Hoisin Cashew Beef

Feb 22 - 28

I tried to make this week's menu an easy one as I'll be on my own for most of it. For some reason, Keira gets super-clingy when she knows I'm trying to cook dinner and then I have my little chef trying to help me at the same time. When Keenan's home he's able to distract one or both of them so this will be a challenge without his help. I'm sure I'll survive! :)

Brinner - Fried Eggs and Potatoes with Turkey Bacon

Tamales and Beans (both from the freezer!)

Spaghetti with Bread and Veggies

Tacos with all the fixin's

Turkey Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes and Veggies

Orange Chicken with Broccoli

Miso Soup with Spring Rolls or Potstickers (whichever I find in the freezer section)

Oct 5 - 11

Not much to report this week. Tuesday is National Night Out and our neighborhood is having a party complete with hot dogs - we were just asked to bring a side dish or dessert. I'm planning on bringing the summer corn and bean salad and, if I have time, a batch of Cyndi Gray's famous oatmeal cookies :) Saturday we'll be having friends over and I'm planning on making the Garlic Hanger Steaks and Sage Butter Gnocci - it looks and sounds fancy, but is really easy and tastes so good. Here we go!

Tacos

Summer Corn and Bean Salad

Chicken with Cran-apple Sauce and Almond Rice

Chicken Alfredo with Spinach

Chicken and Veggie Kebobs with Rice

Garlic Hanger Steak with Sage Butter Gnocci

Beef Stew

Aug 3 - 9

Phew...this was a tough menu to plan! I can't tell if I'm too tired or just not in the right mood tonight, but it took me way too long to come up with this list tonight. Hopefully next week will be better...

Spaghetti and Meatballs (again. It was tastey last week and I promised a meal for friends that recently had a baby so I'll be doubling and sharing this week.)

Tacos

Pesto Gnocci with Chicken

Mock Monte Cristos

Sauteed Talapia with Rice Pilaf

Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

BBQ Chicken with Mashed Potatoes

June 29 - July 2

Just 4 nights until our summer vacation! That means no menu next week, but hopefully I'll get back on track quickly after we return. Until then, happy eating! :)

Monday - Mac 'n Cheese with Cauliflower

Tuesday - Chicken Pesto Pasta (I need to harvest our basil before we leave!)

Wednesday - Tacos

Thursday - Leftovers/Empty the Fride Before We Leave Smorgasbord

May 25 - 31

As usual I'll kick-off this post with some quick reviews. The Chilie Lime dressing on our Cobb Salad was great! It was so light and refreshing with a kick of spicy. Ari and Keira both loved all the ingredients in the salad so it was a hit all around! The Honey Mustard Lime Chicken Legs were a bit disappointing. Not as much flavor as I'd hoped. Maybe if I double the sauce recipe. The leftovers were turned into our Firecracker Enchilads and were great in there, however. Our pesto came out fantastic and I was able to put the leftovers in the freezer for quick and easy dinners down the road. We still have plenty of basil in the garden so I think I'll get a pesto stock pile going!

Now for this week:

Monday - Tacos

Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry with Brown Garlic Sauce

Wednesday - Turkey Kebabs

Thursday - Red Rice with Chorizo (actually Soy-rizo. I hope it's good!)

Friday - Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Saturday - Pizza

Sunday - Hummus Sesame Noodles

Week of March 23 - 29

I'm finally getting to try out a new recipe from my latest Real Simple! I've also got a couple from the latest Kraft magazine as well.

Monday - Chicken with 20 garlic cloves, roasted red potatoes and carrots

Tuesday - Spinach Pasta Toss

Wednesday - Lasagna Toss

Thursday - Mediterranean Salad with Chickpea Patties (Real Simple, not online yet)

Friday - Chicken and Tofu Stir Fry with Brown Garlic Sauce

Saturday - Tacos

Sunday - Hot Dogs, Baked Beans and French Fries