Family Briefs

Well, we sprung forward today; I usually drag forward instead - it’s like jet-lag that takes me several days to actually recover from. As I drag through the week, we still gotta eat! So, I’m menu planning tonight - here’s what we had last week:

MONDAY
Lunch - 15 Minutes Red Bean & Rice (see recipe below), smoked beef sausage, cornbread, grapes
Dinner - Eat with Grandaddy at our favorite BBQ joint

TUESDAY
Lunch - leftover buffet
Dinner - Tex-Mex Shells & Cheese, sliced apples, raw carrots/dip, salsa & chips Read the rest of this entry »

My sister and her husband were in town two weeks ago, and all we did was cook all weekend! Don’t get me wrong - it was great fun. She brought delectable cheeses and crackers, wines to coordinate with any occasion, and scrumptious Valentines cookies. I didn’t bother to post last week because we were just living on the leftovers!

This week, however, we’re back to the grind of actually having to cook! (Well, if that’s what you can call my quick and easy menus ):

MONDAY
Lunch - leftovers STILL from last weekend!
Dinner - Out with Grandaddy to Cici’s (everyone’s favorite!)

TUESDAY
Lunch - Potato bar - broccoli & cheese (Green Giant), baco’s, sour cream, shredded cheddar, Ranch dressing, a can of soup and a salad
Dinner - Barber’s Stuffed Chicken Dijon Bleu, Green Giant green beans with almonds, Lipton broccoli/cheese rice side dish

WEDNESDAY
Lunch - ham sandwiches, chips, apple slices (our car “picnic” that helps get the 3-year-old to ballet on time)
Dinner - Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin, sweet potatoes, canned asparagus, Green Giant corn in butter sauce Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things I love about menu planning is the opportunity to screw up your plan and then try to keep your composure figuring out your “Plan B” while your 18 month is hanging on your leg crying, “HUNGY, HUNGY.” Well no, not really; but I did more of that this week than I’d planned on!

MONDAY
Lunch - Make-over Mexican Roll-ups, chips/salsa, grapes (I didn’t plan on running out of tortillas ).
Dinner - out with Grandaddy to our favorite BBQ place

TUESDAY
Lunch - I was planning on 15 min Red Beans and Rice, like we had here, but I forgot the Red Beans - as you might have guessed, they are essential to this dish , so we had some leftovers instead!
Dinner - Leftover Buffet! Read the rest of this entry »

With all that’s been going on in our house this last week (household projects of construction and painting), I’ve almost let Valentine’s Day slip up on me. I’ve got stuff for the kids to take to their friends at school, but I’m still trying to decide on what kind of goody to make to share some love at home! I’m thinking about these, but I also think these might be fun. Then again, I may break out my new mixer to make the divinity I didn’t get to make at Christmas since I didn’t have a working mixer.

Well, we gotta eat something besides Valentine’s sweets, so here’s our plan!

MONDAY
Lunch - Mile-High Tortilla Pie, chips/salsa, apple slices
Dinner - Out with Grandaddy to Cici’s Pizza! Read the rest of this entry »

January is gone ALREADY. I’m no where near where I wanted to be in terms of my “To Do” list. Only eleven more months to get on the ball. Eleven.

Well, at least I have my menus to keep me on track :

MONDAY
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - Out with Grandaddy to Taco Bell (bring your Pepto )

TUESDAY
Lunch - Banquet Turkey Pot Pies, salad, melon slices
Dinner - leftover Chicken Cacciatore, canned Italian green beans, Pillsbury wheat rolls Read the rest of this entry »

I love it when a menu comes together in such a way that I don’t spend most of my waking hours in the kitchen. I am in awe of many of you who do lots of cooking - I just don’t know how you get anything else done!

Here’s my plan for the week:

MONDAY
Lunch - Canned Lentil soup over brown rice, polska kielbasa, grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges
Dinner - Eat out with Grandaddy at Cici’s Pizza Read the rest of this entry »

I am usually relieved when the Christmas break ends and my kids go back to school/preschool, but this time I was a bit sad to see them go. We had a really good vacation from all the normal running around we do on a daily basis, and I was disappointed to see all that come to an end this last week.

Well, vacation is over, so I guess I better get back to the Menu Plan Monday thing! Read the rest of this entry »

Well another week has already passed, putting us JUST.THAT.MUCH.CLOSER.TO.CHRISTMAS!!! Yikes! I can’t believe we’re only two weeks away - are all of y’all ready?

We still gotta eat, unfortunately. While I’m planning for this week, I’ll share last week’s plan with you. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »

Shannon, over at Rocks in My Dryer, has a themed Works For Me Wednesday this week - I’m late as usual.

The theme is last minute dinner ideas when you haven’t planned. Well, I plan, so I’m kinda struggling with this. I could just refer you to all my great menu plans that I post every week over at Laura’s for Menu Plan Monday. I tend to stick to easy, 5-ingredients-or-less kind of recipes.

When those Hormel and Tyson ready-to-eat-meat Read the rest of this entry »

There are times when all the bargains I’ve bought at the grocery store begin to overwhelm me. Really, it’s just overwhelming when I open the freezer. Wake up Karen! You’ve bought this stuff, now you need to actually cook some of these bargains! That’s the plan this week! Read the rest of this entry »