Menu Plan
Alright I didn’t end up making Burbon Beef Noodle Bowl Saturday… I roasted a whole chicken and served it with some veggie sides. Sunday I turned the chicken [carcass] into a broth that I used for Chicken and Dumplings.
Monday: Shrimp and Crab Cakes with creole remolulade sauce and salad
Tuesday: Falafels with veggies and hummus for lunch; Dinner will be mac and cheese for the kids and lentil soup for me
Wednesday: Fish Fajitas with beans and rice for lunch; quiche or breakfast for dinner
Thursday: Chicken Carbonara pasta for dinner and lentil soup for me [Cuisine at Home Pasta special edition]
Friday: Newburg Pot Pie or Turkey Soup with Stuffing Dumpling [both recipes courtesy of Cuisine at Home]
Saturday: Burbon Beef Noodle Bowl
Sunday: (Dan is working day shift from now on…) Cuban flank steak with lime and orange juice, cuban beans, avocado, and salad for dinner
Menu Planning
Just a day late but catching up 
Monday: We had chicken and cauliflower curry served over brown rice
Tuesday: Dan is working tonight so kids will have mac and cheese with broccoli and carrot sticks and I will have a little leftover curry.
Wednesday: Lunch with Dan: Tacos; Dinner will probably be quesadillas for the boys and taco salad for me.
Thursday: Falafels with hummus- recipe from Cuisine at Home magazine Feb ‘09 issue with mashed cauliflower.
Friday: [We're getting a Costco membership card to buy fish] Fish- probably wild Salmon with an Orange-Ginger Sauce inspired by my favorite cooking magazine: Cuisine at Home, homemade cranberry sauce, and green salad. This is lunch as Dan is working this night and I’ll take leftover fish, cranberry and salad to put into tacos.
Saturday: Thinking of making Bourbon Beef Noodle Bowl [with maple, sweet potatoes, and spinach] from [can you guess?!!!] Cuisine at Home
Prime Rib
Finally catching up with my food blogging- First: I made an awesome Prime Rib for Christmas Day dinner:
This is 6lbs of the 13 lbs we ordered. Then I turned the bones and carcass into a fabulous Beef, Mushroom and Barley Soup [my first time making barley soup]. I got myself a cookbook for Christmas to help me with cooking Prime Rib and other steaks…
Morton’s Steak Bible which is great! I made the Au Jus sauce in the cookbook- a little pricey but a little goes a long way and has been making its way on the Prime Rib, steaks made from the other 7lbs, barley soup, etc
Menu Plan- 22nd to 27th of December
Monday: We’re having leftover White Chicken Chili with cornbread
Tuesday: Seasoned Wild Salmon, rice, and carrots served with hummus.
Wednesday: Christmas Eve! In honor of my Polish Traditions and my husband’s German ancestry- We’ll have Polish Ring and Smoked Bratwurst sausages, sauerkraut, potato pancakes, apple&apricot applesauce, and returning after a couple of years hiatus is French Onion soup as requested by Dan. This is lunch and leftovers will be dinner. Apple pie for dessert. I’ll be making my chocolate-nut waffles with cherry compote for breakfast [Tradition except I am using cherries instead of strwaberries this year].
Thursday: Merry Christmas! Fend for yourself breakfast, banana nut muffins, oranges, nuts, and other goodies will be available. Lunch will be leftover French Onion Soup, deviled eggs, and vegetables with hummus. Christmas Dinner will be [aged] Prime Rib with this sauce, mashed potato, Braised Celery with Crunchy Bread Topping, Garlicky Greens, and steamed carrots. I am undecided for dessert- possibly pumpkin pie or gingerbread cookies. A very special new tradition: Gluhwein [German mulled wine] which I had tried for my birthday at a German resturant and fell in love with it [so did Dan].
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Leftovers for lunch and homemade sushi for dinner
For more menu ideas- see Organizing Junkie!
Soup Base
I love soups, my absolute favorite meal. However, we don’t always have the time to make homemade stock so we I tried a couple of different packaged stock before I saw this little gem at Trader Joe’s. It is called Better Than Bouillon and it is a paste [of the flavor you choose- I first tried Chicken Base] in a jar. It has the best flavor after homemade stock that I have ever had. So easy to use [really easy to dilute to your taste] and keeps well in the cuboard until opened [then keeps in the icebox]. Then Trader Joe stopped carrying it but I found it at a local grocery chain, Zupan’s, and there I found a wide variety of flavors. I have tried [and loved] Vegetable Base, Organic Chicken Base, Beef Base, and Mushroom Base. I look forward to trying the Lobster and Clam Base.
In some reviews posted at various sources online, complain about it being too salty [the company does have 3 low sodium jars] but it is less salty than regular bouillon cubes and we don’t find it very salty but then again I don’t use very much salt in my cooking so maybe I balance it out?
Menu For 8-13 December
Monday: Beef Stew [I didn't make it last week- we had pizza instead]
Tuesday: Quiche [Honey baked ham, carmelized onions, mushrooms, and Gruyere cheese]
Updated to add that I purchased a decent size ham and we had ham sandwiches.
Wednesday: Leftovers for lunch and I’ll take the boys out to Red Robin or somewhere for my birthday
Thursday: White Chicken Chili with Cornbread Ham, mushroom, spinach, and gruyere cheese quiche.
Friday: Family Dinner out at a resturant for my birthday. Went to Berlin Inn for German food.
Saturday: Ham with green and red bell peppers quiche [used my favorite Gruyere cheese].
Sunday: Ham and split pea soup. Also making Sausage and Lentil soup.
Check out Organizing Junkie for menu planning ideas
Posting my weekly menu late- sorry
First off, I didn’t cook a Thanksgiving meal for Thanksgiving as we were guests of family’s friends who hosted and cooked a lovely Thanksgiving meal for us. But I missed out on the cooking so it is seeping out into my menu plan this week:
Monday: We had Turkey Breasts seasoned and baked, sweet potato, and cranberry sauce.
Tuesday: For lunch we had fish tacos. Dinner will be a Carrot-Gingered Soup with some of the modifications listed in the commentary [also left chunky] and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Wednesday: For lunch we’ll have Bratwurst sandwiches [kind of like a philly steak sandwich] and carrot soup. Dinner will be pizza cooked and served by someone else.
Thursday: Whole Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Chicken [recipe called for a Turkey but I am subsituting a chicken], working on developing an appreciation for brussel sprouts so I will be trying this Creamy Brussel Sprout dish and a fresh green salad.
Friday: Stew- the traditional Beef Stew as featured in Betty Crocker Cookbook that my mom made for us when I was growing up. Served with rolls.
Saturday: Leftovers and Christmas Cookies. Will post which ones I make later.
Weekly Menu
Monday: Pasta e fagiloli soup from Cruise At Home Special Edition: Soups, Stews, & Chillies
Tuesday: broiled seasoned fish, salad, and rolls/bread
Wednesday: Shepherd Pie
Thursday: Penang Curry with Cranberry, Pistachio and Coconut Rice Pudding for dessert
Friday: Crockpot Rotisserie-Style Chicken with mashed carrots
Saturday: Ropa Vieja Stew from Cruise At Home Special Edition: Soups, Stews, & Chillies with cornbread lathered in honey
For more menu plan ideas, please see Organizing Junkie!
Foodie
I love food: eating and cooking. I adore reading foodie blogs so I thought I would create my own food blog.
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