Menu Plan Mondays

Menu Plan Monday: Keeping It Simple Christmas Week!

December 19, 2011 By Meagan Leave a Comment

We’re keeping things SUPER simple this week. It’s the week before Christmas, and we have a lot going on! We’re having dinner out two nights this week. One of those is dinner at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre while we watch “The Christmas Carole”, a gift from Kyle’s grandparents. I’m SO excited! Then there’s our Christmas Eve tradition, where I cook Vegetarian Chinese and we watch The Nativity Story.

As for the rest of the nights this week, I’m trying to keep them as simple as possible. I still have a HUGE list of handmade gifts to make, as well as a million other things on my to-do list. I know I won’t have much time to cook. I’m relying on some meals from last week’s menu that never got made, as well as one night of frozen food.

Merry Christmas, everybody! Hope you have a wonderful week of celebration!

Here’s what I have planned this week:

Monday – Dinner out with a friend

Tuesday – Dinner at Alhambra Theatre!

Wednesday – Zucchini Grinders

Thursday – Little Quinoa Patties (from Super Natural Every Day cookbook)

Friday – MorningStar Black Bean Burgers, Alexia Sweet Potato Fries, Salad

Saturday – Vegetarian Chinese Meal (Christmas Eve Tradition). Usually includes a Vegetarian Lo Mein dish, cream cheese won-tons, and Egg Rolls. We splurge and do the won-tons and egg rolls fried once a year. I cringe, but it’s fun!

Sunday – Christmas with family. Merry Christmas!!!

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

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Menu Plan Monday: Getting Back Into The Groove

December 5, 2011 By Meagan 5 Comments

We’re finally in our new home. I finally have all the boxes marked “kitchen” unpacked. Everything is tucked away in its proper place. I have a functional kitchen all to my own again.

…and it is so nice. It’s funny how you don’t realize just how important something is to you until it’s gone. I’ve been without my own kitchen for 6 months now, and boy did I miss it.

I’m SUPER excited to get back into cooking and planning meals again. Menu planning is such a way of life to me, and I felt so disorganized and unhealthy without it.

It’s official. Menu Plan Monday is back in session. Every single week.

Here’s what I have planned this week:

Monday - Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas from Vegetarian Times magazine, December issue

Tuesday - Little Quinoa Patties (from Super Natural Every Day cookbook)

Wednesday - Greek Salad Pitas (from Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Meals cookbook)

Thursday - Baked Potatoes and Salad

Friday - Spinach Strata (from Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Meals cookbook)

Saturday - Potato and Zucchini Bake (one of our faves)

Sunday - Creamy Chickpea Curry (the only curry my husband actually loves)

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

Filed Under: Menu Plan Mondays 5 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: Trying Some More Recipes

October 24, 2011 By Meagan 1 Comment

I’m trying to get back into the swing of planning meals each week. I tried a couple new recipes last week and they were absolutely delish. It made me remember how much I LOVE cooking. I can’t wait to be back in my own kitchen once again! I’ve got 4 more recipes this week that I’m trying out for the first time. They’re all Fall-ish comfort recipes. I’m super excited to see how they turn out.

Here’s what I have planned for this week:

Monday - Leftover Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili (this was a winner, for sure!)

Tuesday - Autumn Gold Vegetable Lasagna (from Every Day With Rachael Ray, October issue, page 119)

Wednesday - Veggie Fajita Burritos (from Every Day With Rachael Ray, October issue, page 87)

Thursday - Soup and Salad

Friday - Pumpkin Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole

Saturday - Leftovers (because I know we’ll have a lot by this point)

Sunday - Curried Sweet Tater Tot Casserole with Mmmm Sauce (I can’t wait to try this one)

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

Filed Under: Menu Plan Mondays 1 Comment

Some Recipes I’m Trying This Week…

October 18, 2011 By Meagan 5 Comments

I’m not quite back to my routine of posting Menu Plan Monday each week, but it’s coming. We’re almost done with our house hunt. Hopefully in a month or so, we’ll be in our new home, with my very own kitchen once again.

As soon as we’re in our new place, I’ll be back to cooking every night. I’m looking forward to starting back up my Menu Plan Mondays and Veggie Delights. I’m ready to get back into a meal-planning routine. I feel so OFF when we’re just winging it.

I received some great magazine issues in the mail recently: Vegetarian Times, Rachael Ray, Whole Living, and All You. I forced myself to relax last night and flip through some of them at my leisure. I stumbled across some really great recipes that I’m excited to try.

Here are a few I’ll be trying this week:

I found tons of others, but I had to be kind of careful in my selections, since I’m still on my Weight Watchers plan. Finding Vegetarian, protein-packed, healthy, and WW-friendly recipes can be tough I tell ya!

I’ll also be whipping up some delicious Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwiches that my friend showed me how to make a couple months ago. I’m HOOKED. I’ve been wanting to share it with you, but I’ve yet been able to get a great picture of it. Coming soon to a Veggie Delights post near you…

What About You: What kinds of meals have you been cooking lately?

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Menu Plan Monday: Trying Some New Recipes

August 29, 2011 By Meagan 9 Comments

I’m seriously about to go crazy. I have not truly cooked or been creative in the kitchen in a very, very long time. We’re getting so close to being able to buy our very own home. I’ve enjoyed our time at my mom’s house (and the money saved), but I’m ready to be in our own place once again. It’s difficult for me to cook in somebody else’s kitchen, with all my gadgets in storage, and opposite schedules pressuring me (my mom goes to bed before I get home from work some nights).

Every time we look at a house, I envision myself standing in the kitchen, cooking at my own pace, listening to some music, and dancing around in delight as I whip up something delicious. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that kind of freedom in the kitchen.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve really had the desire to cook some new recipes. I even pulled out all my cookbooks two weeks ago in anticipation of planning out a week’s worth of brand new recipes. I ended up opting for the simpler option of easy recipes that I’ve made a hundred times. It keeps creeping back up, though…

Tonight I sat out on the swing by the pond with Kyle. He read his book, and I sifted through cookbook after cookbook looking for new recipes to try. I picked out a handful of goodies, after Kyle giving his disapproval of some of the ones I wanted to try. Come on – Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwiches?! We GOTTA try it. I’m just curious now…

Forgive me ahead of time for there not being many links. These all come out of cookbooks. I promise to share recipes as Veggie Delights features if they turn out wonderfully!

Here’s what I ended up planning for this week:

Monday – We had frozen pizza.

Tuesday – Gazpacho Style Pasta (from Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Meals cookbook)

Wednesday – Greek Salad Pitas (from Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Meals cookbook)

Thursday – Zucchini Grinders

Friday – Rice and Veggies

Saturday – Apple Onion Cheese Gratin (from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook)

Sunday – Oatmeal Banana Pancakes (from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook)

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

Filed Under: Menu Plan Mondays 9 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: Delicious, Healthy, and Simple

August 15, 2011 By Meagan 5 Comments

I’m relying on some old favorites this week. I haven’t made many of these in months. I went through my recipe binder and picked out some meals that looked delicious, yet decently low-calorie and healthy. (Because I have quite a few of those recipes that are delicious, but not great friends with my waistline.)

I wanted to get creative, pick brand new recipes, and sift through my cookbooks. After 30 minutes of sifting and searching, and not deciding on anything, I figured I should stop wasting so much precious time. I can do that another leisurely day, when I don’t have quite so much on my to-do list! So I opted for the simple option.

Here’s what I came up with for this week:

Monday – Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches (left over from last week’s menu)

Tuesday – Chickpea Filling Wraps

Wednesday – The Best Veggie Sandwich

Thursday – MorningStar “fried chicken” Salad (Yes, I eat this just about every week. It’s just too easy and yummy!)

Friday – Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls (To utilize some of those almost-free egg roll wrappers!)

Saturday – Farro Salad

Sunday – Leftovers, Pizza, Whatever suits our fancy.

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

Filed Under: Menu Plan Mondays 5 Comments

Menu Plan Monday: Craving Some Cooking

August 8, 2011 By Meagan 4 Comments

The Menu Plan Mondays have been few and far between over the past couple of months. I haven’t been cooking very much while we’re at my mom’s house. It’s difficult to find my groove when I’m in another person’s home, in an unfamiliar kitchen, without all of my gadgets, and all of our schedules are completely opposite.

This week, however, I actually planned out all my meals just like I used to. I got back from my 10-day trip last Thursday evening. The trip was so much fun. I went to see my dad in Tennessee, where I grew up. From there, we drove to Texas for a hot air balloon race that my dad was competing in. My sister, aunts, and I crewed the balloon. After that, we drove over to Destin, Florida, to have some R&R time on the beach at my dad’s condo.

Even though it was a blast, I came home craving some wholesome and healthy cooking. We were on the road quite a bit, and I feel like we ate a lot of junk food, fast food, and restaurant food. I was just ready to get back into the groove of how I usually eat. So I made a menu plan. I kept it very simple, but I made one nonetheless.

Here’s what we have on the menu this week:

Monday – Frozen Amy’s Pizza (Snagged it for $4.50 at Publix after sale and coupon! Great price!)

Tuesday – Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches

Wednesday – Black Bean Taquitos and Mexican Rice

Thursday – Crunchy Quinoa Fruit Salad

Friday – MorningStar Black Bean Burgers, Sweet Potatoes, and Mushrooms

Saturday – Delicious Big Bowl Quinoa (with broccoli instead of asparagus)

Sunday – MorningStar “fried chicken” Salad

We do cook Vegetarian. To read more about how this affects our budget, check out this post.

What About You: Got anything delicious planned for this week? Feel free to share recipes!

Want some more inspiration for menu planning? Visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie’s website! 400+ bloggers gather there every Monday to share their ideas!

Filed Under: Menu Plan Mondays 4 Comments