Dec 22 - 27

Today I started getting all these ideas of a fabulous spread of appetizers and dishes for our Christmas dinner. Then I realized I only have a couple of (busy) days to plan and prep all this food and in the end it's just for our little family. If we hadn't have been out of town this past week I probably would do it. Alas, I am too tired and just not that motivated. I still planned a few things to make us feel special, though :)

Quick Tomato and Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Chicken and Spinach Fettuccine Alfredo

Grilled Turkey Sandwiches with Chips and Fruit

Spaghetti and Meatballs

CHRISTMAS DAY:

Breakfast - Apple French Toast Casserole

Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail

Dinner - Roast Leg of Lamb (Edit - Turkey. Lamb was too expensive) with Braised Garlic, Sherry & Thyme
Herbed Mashed Potatoes
Maple Roasted Yam Salad with Pecans and Cranberries
Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions

Dessert - Black Russian Cake

Merry Christmas :)

Break Time Again!

We're off again this week. Between a party, leftovers and not wanting to make anymore leftovers I won't be planning any meals this week. So....see you next week - I already have a few ideas for our Christmas dinner menu :)

Dec 7 - 13

I will be making two Hannukah dinners this week - one for our home group on Wednesday and one for more friends on Saturday. I'm planning on making a pot roast to go along side some traditional latkes. I'm hoping to make enough roast on Wednesday to serve as left overs Saturday and avoid some extra work. We'll see how that goes!

Chicken Broccoli Couscous

Turkey Gyros (I'm planning to use chicken - good sale last week!)

Pot Roast and Latkes

Mexican Chicken Stew

Cream Cheese Rigatoni

Nov 30 - Dec 6

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend and ate lots and lots of yummy food. Now...it's time to detox! I tried to plan some "lighter" meals for the week and we're planning on taking it easy on the desserts - we'll see how that goes!

Tofu Stir Fry

Chicken Ceasar Salad with Sourdough Toast

Jamaican Chicken with Rice and Veggies (still haven't made this one!)

Italian Sausage Linguine

Quesidiallas and Spinach Salad

Sausage Pepper Pasta

Breakfast for Dinner - Grits and Eggs

Break Time!

Between leftovers and eating out I have some roll-overs from last week that will get us through until Turkey Day. If you need some recipes to get you by, here are the desserts I'm planning to contribute to our feast:

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Jack Daniel's Chocolate Pecan Pie

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Nov 16 - 22

I have a new plan for menu planning (is that redundant?). The last few weeks I have struggled to pull together a menu. It really shouldn't take that long. As I was thumbing through my recipe file for dinner one night it suddenly dawned on me that I should use it to help me each week! I have quite the collection of meals we enjoy in there and some I haven't made in a long time. So instead of coming up with ideas off the top of my head or pouring over website after website for new recipes or at least an inspiration or reminder of something we like, I'm going back to basics. I made this week's menu in record time and didn't even have to beg Keenan for a suggestion :)

As far as reviews - the Spiced Honey Lemon Chicken with Carmalized Onions and Brussel Sprouts was a huge hit and the Cheesey Chorizo Strata was delicous as well. I'm planning to make the strata for a brunch we have this weekend.

Jamacian Chicken with rice and veggies (didn't get to this one last week)

Shrimp Pad Thai

Mac 'n Cheese with Cauliflower

Turkey Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes

Orange Beef with Cilantro Rice

King Ranch Chicken

Nov 9 - 15

Another review this week. The spinach lasagna turned out to be pretty bland and boring. It wasn't bad by any means, just not exciting. It was just missing something. Our other new recipe last week is a roll-over for this week. When I went to make it I read through the recipe and realized it was supposed to chill at least 2 hours then bake for 1. I read it at 4:30. Ooops. Impromptu pizza night!

This week we're hosting a party for Keenan's co-workers and their families. We're having pot-luck style fajitas and it looks like all we have to provide is the house, grill, paper goods and drinks. Works for me!

Cheesey Chorizo Strata

Creamy Chicken Pasta (using left-over roast chicken. I made 2!)

Thai Chicken

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with rice and veggies

Spiced Honey Lemon Chicken with Carmalized Onions and Brussel Sprouts

Tacos