This Week's Menu 9/26/11

It should feel like fall, but we have temperatures 8-10 degrees above normal this week.  It seems that summer does not want to let us out of her grasp just yet!  I am hoping that October brings forth fall temperatures.  I am more than ready for soup weather! What are your favorite fall dishes?  I love anything with butternut squash!


Monday - Celebrating my youngest child's birthday!  Dinner out followed by birthday boy's request -No cake, just Banana Pudding.

Tuesday - Zucchini and Basil Strata, Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday - Apricot Glazed Chicken, Green Beans, Beefsteak Tomato Salad

Friday - Vegetable Pot Pies, Coleslaw

Saturday - Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce, Whole Wheat Couscous with Parmesan and Green Onions

Sunday - Oven Fried Chicken, Roasted Vegetables,  Grated Apple Pie

Non-Processed School Lunches

My family and I are joining Eating Rules and committing to an Unprocessed October 2011.  We, as a rule, limit our intake of processed foods; but I am always looking for ways that we can improve.  One area that seems to stump many parents is in providing a nutritious lunch for their children...that they will actually eat!  I keep a list posted in my kitchen cabinet of meal ideas and combinations that I know my daughter loves and will be happy to find in her lunchbox!

• Muffin (blueberry or whole wheat/dried apricot-pineapple are our favorites), yogurt and carrot sticks

•  PBJ Wrap - Spread a whole wheat tortilla with natural peanut butter.  Place a banana in the middle.  top with sliced strawberries and a little drizzle of honey, if desired.  Roll up and enjoy!

• A slice of quiche or frittata and fruit salad

• Homemade mac and cheese packed in a preheated thermos and served with cucumber spears and from-scratch brownies

• Hummus and veggie dip served with a variety of dippers such as carrots, cucumbers, celery, broccoli and whole wheat crackers.  Add a homemade oatmeal cookie for a little sweet surprise

• Grapes and Apple slices served with vanilla yogurt and a little cup of homemade granola

• Flat bread sandwich with turkey* and Havarti, cottage cheese topped with a sliced peach (Check with your local deli for their unprocessed meat selections. Look for Food for Life  brand healthy breads in your grocer's freezer section if you don't make your own. *For the turkey component, I use Applegate brand.)

• Whole wheat pita stuffed with chicken salad, pear slices

• Hard boiled egg slices, cheese slice, fresh pineapple chunks

• Whole wheat mini-bagel spread with hummus and topped with black olives and a sprinkle of feta, orange slices

• Mini whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and banana

• Pasta Salad, mixed dried fruit

•  Grilled Chicken Salad, blueberry muffin

This Week's Menu 9/19/11

Monday - Roast Beef, Cheddar and Horseradish Paninis, Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday - Sriracha Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Wednesday - Spicy Banh Mi Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Thursday - Quinoa with Balsamic Sauteed Spinach, Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Fritters

Friday - Poblano White Chili, Cornbread

Saturday - Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa, Fruit Salad

Sunday - Cuban Style Black Beans with Brown Rice

This Week's Menu 9/12/11

Monday - Cheese Tomato Tart, Salad


Tuesday - Corn Soup with Prosciutto and Basil, Cantaloupe


Wednesday - Greek Style Pasta with Shrimp, Artisan Bread


Thursday - Creamy Grits with Corn, Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomatoes


Friday - Hawaiian Pizza, Ice Cream Sundaes


Saturday - Stilton Burgers with Onion Jam, Rosemary Steak Fries


Sunday - Panzanella Salad, Lemon Chicken, Peach Tart

Meal Planning Tips

• When I plan my meals for the week, I start with our family calendar. I make note of which nights the kids' have activities and which nights we have meetings. On the busiest of days, I plan for the easiest of meals - those that I can either prep ahead of time, cook in the slow cooker, or whip together in 20 minutes or less. I plan more elaborate family favorites for the weekends.

• I look through my recipe file and then plan my meals based on a mix of favorites and new dinners to try. When trying a new main dish, I always accompany it with a side that is a tried and true kid favorite. At my house that would be broccoli, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, sweet potato fries or coleslaw.

• I jot out a tentative meal plan and make my grocery list as I review each recipe while standing in the pantry/in front of the refrigerator. That way I keep my pantry from being overrun with duplicates:)

• Once a month, I go through the pantry and check to see what I haven't used in the past month.  I make a note of those items and work them into the menu for the upcoming week. 

• I use recipes mainly as a guideline when planning our meals.  If there is an ingredient that we don't like, I make a substitution or just leave it out.  For instance, I love Mexican food, but despise cilantro, an herb found in many of my Mexican recipes.  I usually will substitute Italian Parsley, or if it is a minor part of the recipe, leave it out all together.  Don't like turkey? Substitute chicken. Don't eat red meat? Try pork or chicken, or leave the meat out all together and up the vegetable content.  Do you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet? I have had great success using soy meat crumbles in place of ground beef and seitan in place of chicken.  With a few substitutions, it is easy to customize a recipe to suit your families particular tastes.

Welcome to "Menus and Meals for Moms"

This blog is designed based on feedback I receive from friends and family whenever I post a Facebook status on what I served my family for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Along with my love for creating interesting meals for my family, I also enjoy reading others' blogs, Facebook pages, and websites. I find myself drawn most to those sites not only with scrumptious recipes but also beautiful pictures. As I embark on my blog journey, I will also be cutting my teeth on food photography. Armed with a recommended Nikon model, I find myself at the place equivalent to when I first learned to scramble an egg.

The questions I get from people range from "How do you have time to do it?" to "Where do you find your recipes?" to "Will you come to my house and make dinner?" With this blog, I will answer the first two questions. I'm also open to dinner parties any time.

I'm fortunate that I have a husband with an adventurous palate and children that few people could label picky eaters. Sure, I'm always ready to prepare a go-to favorite; but I'm constantly looking to push the boundaries of what I can pull off in the kitchen. One thing my family has grown accustomed to is that I rarely cook the same thing twice. I might use the same recipe framework but will, either by desire, necessity, or forgetfulness, change a little something nearly every time.

So, here's the deal. I'll troll the web and my cookbooks so you don't have to. Weekly, I'll post the meal plan I've created for my household. Within the list, I'll put links to recipes found on the Internet or type up recipes I find in my library of cookbooks or from recipes passed down through the generations of cooks in my family. I'll add in things food-related on my mind most weeks. And, along the way I'll work on visually representing my meals with my budding photography skills.

I hope you and your family enjoy the menus and meals as much as we do.

This week's menu - 9/4/11

Monday - Zucchini, Olive, Feta Quesadillas, Watermelon

Tuesday - Spinach-Ricotta Calzones with marinara dipping sauce, Cucumber slices