Before I forget.

I thought I would post what I plan on making for dinner this week - you know, before I forget... Dinner planning is one of my hardest jobs - really. Making a meal that four different people will like isn't as easy as it sounds. Some days I just stand and stare at my fridge hoping and praying that a meal will just jump out at me. Usually it doesn't and I end up getting all frazzled and falling to pieces. This is my life. It's not pretty.

If I'm lucky (like this week) I make a list of meals I can create from the stuff in my kitchen - sometimes I need help from the grocery store but hopefully, it's very little. Not only does this keep my on budget and/or keep me from becoming clinically insane (sort of) it also helps me use up some of the articles that have been taking up space - articles I buy because I become inspired by a certain recipe (that I later lose and still end up with 3 bottles of tumeric in my cupboard...). Here we go:

Sunday (tonight): Pulled pork on a bun with ranch potatoes and salad.

Monday: BBQ pork buns (meat done!) and garlic steamed broccoli.

Tuesday: Pork with rice and snowpeas and broccoli.

Wednesday: Chickpeas, peas and potatoes in curry sauce served over brown rice.

Thursday: Beef and rice balls in tomato sauce (I add grated veggies to the meatballs).

Friday: Baked fish with potato gratin and corn on the side. This will probably not pass with the kids - life isn't that simple but Mr. A will eat it happily.

Shopping Extravaganza

This trip was a mild $73.94. Don't get excited... it gets worse...

I then remembered that I forgot to get olive oil (yes, there's some sort of oxymoron thing going in there). $19.74 later I have olive oil ($2.29) and a few other items I probably didn't need.... darn it. Not only that, but later I remembered that I had forgotten to buy Parmesan cheese and went to Trader Joe's to get some (again). Trader Joe's is like crack to me. CRACK! Yah, so $26.26 later (tater tots, scones, fondue, chicken bouillon, cheese, tortellini, ravioli and olives - extra large) I walked out of TJ's. Double darn. So, if you were keeping track or had a calculator handy, you'd realize that this weeks total- which started at a mere $73.94 - is now $119.94.

The boys are on break next week so I'm hoping aside from a gallon of milk and a bag of apples I won't have any other reason to spend money on food. Famous last words....

This weeks menu:

Monday: Pasta with broccoli, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and zucchini served with bread and cheese. Thank goodness for bread and cheese...

Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, tater tots and yogurt. (see Mondays reference to cheese and bread)

Wednesday: Rice with tofu, baby corn, carrots, edamame and egg.

Thursday: Meatloaf with potatoes and squash.

Friday: Nachos - beef with green chilies, the leftover rice from Wednesday, carrots and onion. Cheese on top. Fresh salsa (tomatoes and onions chopped with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice). Plain yogurt.

Saturday: Roast chicken and orzo with olives and shredded cheese and tomatoes.

Sunday: Chicken tortellini soup.

So when should I expect you?

Only a day late...

Alright, after much deliberation between my son and I the dinner menu for this week has been created (I really talk like this). I'm afraid there's nothing too fancy here but hopefully my family will eat fairly nutritiously without breaking the bank - which is a lot harder than it sounds...

Monday - Beef & Barley Soup...mmmm..... Luckily I made enough for me to enjoy a bowl last night around 8pm and for my husband to have for lunch today. Hurray for leftovers (you'll see more of this roast on wednesday).

Tuesday - Muffins (the homemade kitchen sink variety), cheese, apple and walnuts... and maybe a pretzel later...

Wednesday - Leftover roast (it was big) mixed with rice, corn and tomatoes and put in a wrap with cheese and yogurt! Surprisingly (?) this is one of my favourite things to eat.

Thursday - Baked chicken with salad, roast potatoes and squash.

Friday - White bean & chicken chili.

Saturday - Baked pasta with tomatoes and cheese served with salad and bread. This was voted on by the little people in the house. It's a really easy recipe of cooking your pasta then putting it in a oven ready dish, throwing in a can of tomatoes and some grated cheddar cheese. Put it in the oven until the cheese is all melty and voila! Insta dinner. An idea given to me by my dear Aunt Jane. Love that lady!

Where'd you go?

It took me awhile to find my groove again but I'm hoping it's here and we're back at it! So hold onto your coffee/tea/juice/wine or what have you and let's get started shall we?

It's MONDAY! That means it's shopping day and meal planning. I have to admit it's been a bit of a smorgasbord sort of summer and I'm done with hot dogs and chips and all the crap I ate. I haven't even been diligent about hitting the farmers market. I know, I'm shaking my head too... However that's all going to change now that I'm back at the blog and feel some sort of irrational responsibility/guilt.

And so, I am happy to report that today's groceries came to a grand total of $58.65. Now, I did forget my list for the week (remembered the coupons - phew) and so I've left off the buttermilk and hot sauce I was hoping to get. Bummer. Maybe next week...

There is a LOT of yogurt on the list - as per the norm I suppose - and a variety of different flours. See? I'm trying my best to stay on that healthy eating thing... Mrs. Ser, I hope you notice I found Graham flour, at Giant Eagle no less and it's relatively cheap - $4.39 a box. For those of you not used to buying "Organic" flours and/or "unusual" flours, they tend to be quite pricey but you get used to it and just try to look for the best deals - if there's any to be had.

Dinner this week is as follows:

Monday: Chicken Soup - we had the neighbours over for dinner on Saturday and I've got a boatload of shredded chicken left. I'd make tacos or something but I think my family is done with chicken sandwiches...

Tuesday: Lasagna. Mmmm.....

Wednesday: Tofu, broccoli and rice with peanut sauce.

Thursday: Goyza potstickers, broccoli with almonds and udon noodles. The potstickers and the noodles were bought last week - sorry for not being with it...

Friday: Baked potatoes with cheese sauce and tuna cakes. This is going to be a hard one to get passed the kids. Mr. S despises all things fish related. I have no idea where he gets it.

Saturday: Perogies! Yes Ser, I'm going to get off my butthogs and cook up some!

Sunday: Well, I'm not sure yet... Hopefully something yummy that everyone will eat. I'm thinking some Donairs might be on the menu. I haven't made that in ages and I'm getting a bit of a cravin'.

Dinner Menu for the week.

It's been raining quite a bit. There's a lake in my backyard. It seems that there's always a lake in my backyard. I really have to work on that rain garden. It's a might bit soggy over there...

Luckily, the rain stopped long enough for E. and I to walk/run/skip/jump downtown and go to the local farmers market. Today was "Go Green Day". I love our little town and all their little gimmics to keep us all happy.

I didn't spend a whole lot, never really do and that's one good reason to shop locally! The potatoes you see were the same price as the bars of soap ($1.00 for both). The soap is made by a place called Marvin Goods. It's glycerin and so far it seems lovely. No scent, pure glycerin and rain water! Fabulous! If you interested you can email them at: clanmarvin@gmail.com and remember it's only 50 cents a bar. I'm also looking into rain barrels from a guy who lives down the street. They deliver and each barrel is $70. Not too shabby.

I'm hoping the plants I got will make it to the fall. There's rosemary, eggplant and a black pepper plant. Cross your fingers! I'm dreaming, dreaming, dreaming of veggie lasagnas and caponatas - as I watch a squirrel dig through the herb garden. Darn squirrels.

Anyway, I ramble... Here's this weeks dinner list. I'm not sure what order they'll be in. Tonight might be roast chicken but I'm currently feeling a little sluggish so it could be nachos and cheese instead...

1. roast chicken, rice and asparagus (from the market today).

2. pizza w/ chicken, spinach and camembart cheese.

3. lentil burgers with salad (lettuce from the garden, shredded apple and carrots).

3. quiche with ham and spinach (also from the garden).

4. chicken soup w/homemade bread (I'm putting flax seed, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds in the bread in hopes of lowering A. and my cholesterol levels).

5. chili

6. baked potatoes with chili and cheese.

And that should take us to next Saturday - market day. The first week in June is the first day of our new Tuesday market! Oh, I'm so excited. Until the garden comes in it really does make it easier to have two market days. I go through a ton (TON) of eggs in our house. I asked the local egg lady if they are going to be at the market... they don't know yet though they are really hoping to be. They make an awesome chicken chorizo. Mmmm.... hungry yet?

OMG time flies.

Mondays shopping trip $108.78 - a trip to Trader Joe's and a trip to Target (for peanut butter. Skippy is on sale for $4.74). I still have a few pantry items from last week (carrots, celery, zucchini) that I had to use up. It went well as a meat sauce for last nights penne and it'll be extra special in the lasagna for this evenings meal (Mr. A is dancing at work right now just thinking about it). Tomorrow is a night out at this house (or at least there better be some sort of take-out) and then Thursday and Fridays meal will be homemade chinese (see the dumplings and the shu mai) and polenta fries with some sort of salad - respectively. We're hoping for a sunny Saturday and/or Sunday as my neighbour has promised me a meal of tortellini salad and sea breezes!

The left side of the above picture. See those potatoes? I'm dreaming of an Italian Potato Salad. Mmm.... (Italian Potato Salad is boiled potatoes, chopped onion, and a salad dressing made of red wine vinegar, the above pictured olive oil, s&p, and dijon mustard.)

The right side of the photo above. The kids cliff bars are for S.'s lunch. I'm trying to branch out a little more for him. He hasn't bought his lunch once this year (poor thing) - just homemade stuff - so I thought he deserved a treat. My kids are suckers for these granola bars - me too. I love the chocolate brownies. Mmmm....

See the Edamame in the picture? I've never made it before. I'm not sure my kids are going to fall for them. They're a little green to sneak into a wrap but perhaps if I mush them and make them into a dip? Any suggestions? The kids haven't had Fondue either! Oh, doesn't that seem like it would be fun? Hot cheese, kids with sharp sticks and an open flame.... I'm shaking with excitement!

Madhatter Monday...

No particular reason for the title today I was just cravin' a little alliteration and that was as good as it was getting.

Today was shopping day! It's been a few weeks and for those of you that love being a grocery voyeur (yes, you Ser), I thought I should continue on. There wasn't a big load of meat in this excursion - thanks to Stacy's family for the 1/8th of a cow (don't cringe). I've got some Hebrew Nationals down in the corner 'cause it's been warm here and on Saturday I was craving a hot dog on the good ol' Hibachi!

Anyhoo....Kroger made a big whoppin' $74.00 off me today. No real bargoons out there and I do believe my broccoli was priced wrong. The hot dogs were the biggest steal - on sale for $2.50 a pkg. Mmm... hot dogs...

In case you're wondering when to stop by for supper this week, the menu is below!

Monday: Roast chicken, with baked onions, roasted potatoes and squash.

Tuesday: Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli with almonds.

Wednesday: Tacos - using the leftover meatloaf and tofu cubes.

Thursday: Perogies - using the leftover mashed potatoes and squash from Monday and Tuesdays dinners.

Friday: Pizza day! Hurray! And yes, it's alllllll leftovers. Whatever I've got from the week will be thrown on the pizza. Top it with a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and it's heavenly!

Saturday: oh, here I just don't know... I suspect it might be a sandwich night or perhaps those hot dogs will make it over to some hot coals!

Groceries and Dinner Menu.

It must be Monday. It's a big week here - our Papa is coming to visit (A.'s dad) and Nana is flying in for Easter weekend. That means the grocery bill is going to be a little bigger than it has been (one more trip later on in the week for the turkey). Brace yourselves.... note: I had a second picture of the groceries and for some unknown (at least to me) reason I can't load it.

Today's shopping trip was $98.35. Yikes. I did buy cereal (see it way in the back) just in case our visitors aren't big on homemade granola and breakfast burritos. And I've got a lot more fruit there than I would normally have. I think on Friday I'll have to get the bird for Sunday. I can't do it sooner as our fridge is a side-by-side and it's impossible to fit a turkey in. All good - it'll be fresher that way anyway.

Dinner Menu for this week:

Monday: Tofu with peanut coconut sauce (I'm leaving out the spinach), brown rice and steamed brocolli and cut up Mango (I was going to use the Mango for Sticky Coconut Rice but maybe next time).

Tuesday: Beef Stew and No Knead Bread.

Wednesday: Cheesy Casserole (recipe given to me by Stacy).

Thursday: Pork Loin, roasted potatoes, yams and carrots.

Friday: Stuffed Clams (I bought these ready made) and rice pilaf.

Saturday: Night out! I think this is going to be a family outing. Each time Papa and Nana come to visit we usually stay home and relax. I thought this time we might actually show them some of the sights Columbus has to offer... maybe German Village for some Schnitzel?

Sunday: Turkey Day! Happy Easter Sunday. Besides the lovely bacon wrapped turkey (is there any other way to cook it?) we'll have: stuffing, potatoes, asparagus, carrots, beets and of course, cranberry sauce. Mmm... yum.

Patience...

It's Wednesday and I'm feeling a might bit slackerish. I know I should have published the menu yesterday but I kept staring at it thinking I didn't want to eat anything on it so you certainly wouldn't want to read it either. But it's not going to change. So here it is in all it's boring glory. There's no adventure, no excitement. The kids are just going to lose their minds with glee. Last night's dinner was gone in all of 2 minutes. I think they're quite happy with a plain menu. Darn kids.

Dinner:

Sunday: Hot dogs wrapped in bread dough with sides of steamed broccoli and carrots.

Monday: Egg noodles with cheese and tuna.

Tuesday: Chicken wraps with broccoli.

Wednesday: Homemade (of course...) lasagna and salad. Can you see A. doing a happy dance?

Thursday: Breakfast burritos (hee hee hee hee).

Friday: Tacos (a little Mexican theme going on this week?).

Saturday: Black bean burgers and homemade french fries.

There also seems to be a lot more meat on this menu than there has been for some time. I think I'm craving a little protein. With the sun comes running and when I run I become a little bit of a carnivore (alright, a BIG carnivore). Even my 2 miles peaks my need for meat (hanging head in shame that 2 miles is kicking my a** right now)! What's up with that?

And of course beer is on the menu this evening. I'm even thinking of stopping for a pint of Guinness before the day is out and there's a glass of green beer just waiting to be part of my belly sometime around 5. Mmmm.... a day devoted to drinking cold beer. I love St. Patty's day - BEST DAY EVER!

You know you've got great friends when not even 10 minutes after you post a blog they're calling you to see when we're going for Guinness. God love 'em!

Menus.

DINNER
Sunday: We finally got around to having that finger-licking pasta dish and I have to say I absolutely loved it! And the kids too! Well worth the 8 minutes it took to prepare it.

Monday: Lettuce Wraps with chopped veggies in an almond/thai sauce with fried rice & egg. Tastes better than it sounds.

Tuesday: I'm going to give Bobotie a try, along with some yellow rice and cucumbers in yogurt. The recipe looks delicious. We'll see if the family gives it a thumbs up.

Wednesday: Baked chicken, roasted potatoes and squash. Mmm... it's supposed to be a rainy day and this is going to be fabulous.

Thursday: Squash pancakes with sausages and blueberries!

Friday: Sausage soup (sausage, potato, canned tomatoes, carrots, celery, cauliflower, pasta) and No knead bread. My friend Ser made this bread and it was fantastic! I've found a recipe(s) online. It seems that I have to plan 18 hours ahead; not liking that.

Saturday: Baked potatoes topped with broccoli, cheese, tuna and roasted red peppers. This might even turn into Breakfast Burritos instead. Darn Robin. I made these the day she posted the recipe and that batch went as fast as I was making them.

LUNCH
Monday: Pizza (leftovers from Saturday), broccoli w/dip, yogurt, cookies (2) SNACK: Apple

Tuesday: Spaghetti w/cheese and bl.olives, yogurt, banana, broccoli w/dip SNACK: Graham crackers with apple butter

Wednesday: Banana and Peanut butter wrap, yogurt, cookies (2), cheese curds SNACK: ritz crackers

Thursday: Chicken Burrito (cheese, chicken, hummus), yogurt SNACK: almonds

Friday: Pancake sandwich with almond butter, yogurt, celery sticks with cheese SNACK: apple

What's for dinner and all that.

Alright, I haven't had a chance to get out to the market and surprisingly I'm not out of a thing at home... except milk, and eggs, and butter... I had meant to go today as it's become a bit of a habit and I know how much you look forward to starting your week off by looking at all the crap that comes into my house. But alas, it was not meant to happen. Little E. woke up in the middle of the night with a bit of a silly belly and then proceeded to expel all that said silly belly contained. A wonderful start to the week I think.

So, instead of running out to the store I decided to make up the dinner list and see what I could come up with. Every week I try to make something that I haven't tried before (like the Dal last week - thank you R. for the recipe, perhaps I'll try it again). It doesn't always work out well. I'm much more of a country cooker than I am a gourmet - for example, I can whip up a mighty fine turkey and fixin's but not so great on Thai food or East Indian cooking. Now my friend Ser is awesome at Asian cooking - she makes the best chicken soup! This week I'm going to give the "new recipe" a go with Buttercrust Corn Pie with Fresh-Tomato Salsa. We'll see.

Sunday: We had homemade All-American pulled pork on a bun (thank you to our neighbour for making these) and Nanaimo Bars (an All Canadian favourite). Gee, I wonder why we had an American/Canadian dinner? Could it be the biggest hockey game of all time was on tv? Well, you didn't honestly think I'd skip mentioning the game the day after did you?!! Congrats Canada on a very well played Olympic Games!

Monday: Since we've got the upset tummy situation I thought it would be a great day for some homemade Chicken Soup. Everyone should have homemade stock of some sort in their freezer for such an occasion!

Tuesday: The Buttercrust Corn Pie with Fresh Tomato Salsa. It looks yummy right? Mmmm...

Wednesday: Mac and Cheese made with Scooby Doo noodles! I just love these noodles and who doesn't love that they're named Scooby Doo?!

Thursday: Spaghetti and tofu with finger licking peanut sauce. I mentioned that I was going to make this last week but we had those super yummy pork sandwiches instead (E. said they tasted like candy).

Friday: Buffalo burgers and french fries (possibly sweet potato fries... we'll see how the day goes).

Saturday: Pizza! Hurray, it's the weekend.

As an aside: I purchased Tierra de Luna this weekend (yah, it's a necessity) and I quite liked it. It's a Syrah-Malbec from Argentina and for a price of $6.99 it's a steal! No surprises here however, so if you're looking for something with a full body and lasting after taste this isn't it. Go buy a Da Vinci instead or perhaps The Prisoner and then invite me over! I'm so full of great ideas sometimes I just surprise myself.