Our Dinner Menu Plan

After making homemade hummus for my son's school lunch, breakfast for tomorrow morning for my husband, putting together snacks for my youngest son's camp, laundry, dishes, grocery shopping and mopping the floor I am officially wiped out.  

I have come up with a dinner menu plan this week, but left out Sunday because I just could not think any more for today.  

Maybe you all have some great recipes or ideas you can give me for Sunday night's dinner.

Our Dinner Menu Plan

Sunday - Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs with Brown Rice and a Side of Feta Spinach

Monday -Vegetarian Quinoa Chili and Cornbread

Tuesday - Pesto Pasta and Salad

Wednesday - Country Style Cube Steak with Peppers and Onions, Scalloped Potatoes (Recipe Coming) and Green Peas

Thursday -  Eating out to celebrate my 10 year anniversary with my husband!

Friday - Homemade Pizza and Carrots

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Mustard Breaded Pork Chops (Recipe Coming), Green Beans and Sweet Potato Casserole

Lentil Quinoa Salad

Lentil Quinoa Salad with Strawberry Salad and Garlic Bread

It can be rather challenging I think to come up with vegetarian dinners for carnivores.  I try to have at least 2 to 3 vegetarian dinners a week and I struggle to find ones that will please everyone.  

Well, last night was no exception.  Instead of a main dish I prepared two side dishes and served them along side garlic bread.  I served this fresh and flavorful recipe for Lentil Quinoa Salad that I found on the Food Network.  It got rave reviews and was a great way to incorporate more iron and fiber into our diet.

The final word was three thumbs up, one down (the picky four-year old of course).

The lime and cilantro really make this dish come alive.  Not sure if I would make any substitutions for those two ingredients in this recipe nor would I suggest leaving them out.

Here is a link to the original recipe for Lentil Quinoa Salad.

Our Dinner Menu Plan

My mouth is watering just looking at the picture of this tall glass of ice cold lemonade.  Now I may have to make another run to the grocery store to get some lemons.

It going to be hot here in North Carolina this week.  My husband says I always put soup on the menu during the hottest days of the year.  Sorry to disappoint you honey, but no soup this week.

Our Dinner Menu Plan

Monday - Pumpkin Pancakes (substitute pumpkin for the sweet potatoes in this recipe), Fruit Salad and Vanilla Yogurt with Sliced Almonds

Tuesday - Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos, Whole Grain Rice, and Cucumbers in Apple Cider Vinegar (my kids fight over every last cucumber)

Wednesday - Lentil Quinoa Salad, Spinach Strawberry Salad and Garlic Bread

Thursday - PB & J Sandwiches, Carrots, and Goldfish (this is our super busy day with orientation to a new school for my son around dinnertime so I have to make something that only requires seconds to prepare.)

Friday - Crockpot Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Rolls, and Pineapple Coconut Crisp (Family is arriving from PA today)

Saturday - Asian Chicken (My husband's recipe), Asian Noodle Slaw, Edamame, and Hawaiian Sweet Loaf Bread

Sunday - Surprise for my husband and since he reads my blog I can't list it here.

Hamburger Macaroni Surprise

When I was coming up with my menu for the week I happen to be with a friend of mine who gave me the inspiration for this dinner.

She told me I should make macaroni goulash for dinner.  After she told me some of the ingredients I remembered that my mom used to make that same dish for us when I was a little girl.

I had to change the name from "goulash" to "surprise" because my husband said it did not sound appetizing and the kids would not eat it if I called it "goulash".  With that being said here is a recipe for Hamburger Macaroni Surprise:

Hamburger Macaroni Surprise

Ingredients:

1 lb Hamburger or Turkey
1 Small onion, diced
1 Carrot, shredded
1 Celery stalk, diced
1 Can crushed tomatoes, undrained
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp worchestershire
1 Cup vegetable broth
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
1/2-1 Cup of cheddar cheese

Cook hamburger, onion, carrot, and celery on medium heat until hamburger is brown.

Turn heat up to medium-high.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste, worchestershire, macaroni and vegetable broth (add extra water or broth if needed to cook macaroni).   Once it starts to bubble turn heat down to a simmer.  Stir frequently so it does not stick to the bottom.

Cook until macaroni noodles are tender.  Add basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper.  Stir in cheese and let it melt.  Serve!

Homemade Fabric Softener

Although this is a food blog,  from time to time I find other great ideas that I just have to pass along. 

As you may know I am a heavy coupon shopper.  Lately, the coupons have not been very good for items like fabric softener.  I mean .25 cents off is not really helping me at all.  

We are out of fabric softener and I decided it was finally time to make my own.  I used the Frugal Girls recipe for making fabric softener and it came out perfect.  I could not be happier and I had all the ingredients in my home already, no extra money spent.  I love the Frugal Girls website because they have such creative and innovative ideas that work. 

I thought about trying the laundry detergent recipe as well, but when I pair my coupons to a sale for laundry detergent I can usually get it dirt cheap ;-).

Braised Kale Bowties

If you are new to this blog or have not read the last few posts you may not understand my recent obsession with kale.  

I came across an amazing deal for a HUGE bag of kale at my local grocery.  I could not help but get super excited about all the new recipes I would have to try if I purchased it.  

Well, I am at the end of my HUGE bag of kale so this is the last recipe for this week that has kale as an ingredient.

I did make a few changes because it seemed like the recipe needed a little something.  I added bacon, red pepper flakes and onion.  Take a look at the original recipe here for Braised Kale Spaghetti.  

I also topped the Braised Kale Bowties with shredded parmesan cheese, after taking this picture.

Our Dinner Menu Plan

It has been a long time since I have posted our dinner menu plans, but I am ready to get started again.  My son is in year round school and since he was out for a few weeks I wanted to spend all the time I could with him.

My focus for the last few days has been kale recipes and I have one more I would like to try this week so I have included it below.

Our Dinner Menu

Sunday - Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Salad, Asian Noodle Slaw and Homemade Rolls

Monday - Spaghetti with Braised Kale (recipe coming) and Bread

Tuesday - Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole and Mexican Salad

Wednesday - Apricot Honey Dijon Pork Chops, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli and Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Thursday - Refried Bean Soup and Kale/Cheese Taquitos

Friday - Elbow Macaroni Hamburger Goulash and Salad

Saturday - Leftovers or Eat out

Sunday - Steak, Baked Potato and Sauteed Squash/Zucchini with Onions