March meals (with a grocery list)

Week 1: March 4 - 7
Monday: taco salad
Tuesday: sausage Alfredo
Wednesday: baked chicken with (frozen) broccoli/cheese and (instant) rice
Thursday: spicy beef sandwiches and chips

Week 2: March 11-14
Monday: sloppy joes and chips
Tuesday: chicken pot pie
Wednesday: ravioli and pepperoni rolls
Thursday: chicken and broccoli casserole, with rice
St. Patrick’s Day: shepherd’s pie

Week 3: March 18-21 
Monday: meatloaf and twice baked potato casserole
Tuesday: spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday: creamy chicken noodle casserole
Thursday: tomatillo chicken

Week 4: March 25-28
Monday: breakfast for dinner
Tuesday: chili
Wednesday: macaroni beef casserole
Thursday: white chicken chili

Grocery lists: 
Week 1: ground beef (2 lb), black beans, taco seasoning, Doritos, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, sausage (kielbasa), whipping cream, frozen peas, pasta (penne?), chicken breasts, frozen broccoli/cheese, rice packet, roast, pepperocini, beef broth

Week 2: ground beef (2 lb), onion, buns, tomato sauce (2 c), frozen pie crust, chicken breasts (3 meals worth), cream/celery soup, large can of veg-all or frozen veggies, ravioli, spaghetti sauce, string cheese, crescent rolls, pepperoni, rice packet, broccoli (frozen), Greek yogurt, sharp cheese, Parmesan

Week 3: beef (2 lb), potatoes (5), butter (stick), chicken Stove Top stuffing mix, BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, sour cream (24 oz), green onions, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, spaghetti noodles, French bread, chicken breasts (for two meals), cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg noodles, cream/chicken soup, Ritz crackers, tomatillo sauce, black beans, hominy, frozen corn, tortillas

Week 4: pancake mix, eggs, sausage patties, ground beef(4 lb), chili mix, Fritos, tomato sauce (2 c), macaroni, velvety, onion, chicken breasts, great northern beans (2 cans), chicken broth, green chilis (8 oz), shoepeg corn, sour cream, whipping cream (1/2 c)

St. Patrick’s Day: ground beef (2 lb), mixed veggies, onion, beef broth, instant mashed potatoes

Another menu (with grocery lists!!)

Week 1	JAN 28 Cowboy soup	JAN 29 Chicken sandwiches and chips	JAN 30 Cheesy chicken noodle casserole	JAN 31 Breakfast for dinner
Week 2	FEB 4 Chicken tacos	FEB 5 Spaghetti and meatballs	FEB 6 Green enchiladas, using the leftover chicken taco meat instead of beef	FEB 7 Grilled chicken Caesar salads
Week 3	FEB 11 Pasta Faggioli	FEB 12 Breakfast tacos	FEB 13 Crock pot cube steaks, twice baked potato casserole	FEB 14 Make your own pizzas
Week 4	FEB 18 Packet Roast	FEB 19 Fiesta chicken over jasmine rice	FEB 20 Spinach fettuccini alfredo	FEB 21 Hawaiian ham sandwiches and chips
Week 5	FEB 25 Baked Ziti	FEB 26 Chicken tortilla soup from a mix	FEB 27 Baked Ziti leftovers	FEB 28 Frito pie

Grocery lists:

Week 1 : Ground beef – 1 lb Chicken breasts Breakfast sausage patties Chicken patties Onion Celery Garlic Yellow pepper Red pepper Green pepper Carrots Red potatoes (5) Egg noodles Sour cream (24 oz) Cheddar (8 oz) Mozzarella (8 oz) Eggs Ritz crackers Syrup Bisquick Buns Chips Whole tomatoes (14.5 oz. can) Beef broth (4c) Cream/chicken soup (2)

Week 2: Flour tortillas Corn tortillas Chicken breasts (2 packages) Salsa verde Hominy Corn Pimentos Green onion dip mix Canned milk (sm) Velveta Spaghetti Spaghetti sauce Meatballs Garlic bread Romaine lettuce Shaved parmesan Caesar dressing

Week 3: Ground beef (1 lb) Ground turkey (1 lb) Sausage Cube steaks Bacon Onion (2) Carrots Celery Green onions Potatoes Fresh mushrooms Diced tomatoes (2 28 oz) Kidney beans Cannellini beans Tabasco sauce Beef broth (30 oz) Cream/celery Cream/chicken Onion dip mix Spaghetti sauce (2-20 oz) Pizza crusts Mozzarella cheese Parmesan cheese Sour cream Cheddar jack cheese (2) Flour tortillas Egg

Week 4: Roast Chicken breasts (2 pks) Ham slices Ranch dressing mix Italian dressing mix Brown gravy mix Carrots Potatoes Green onions Alfredo sauce Parmesan cheese (1/2 c) Fettuccini Frozen spinach (10 oz) Rotel Black beans Corn Cream cheese Chips Butter Swiss or provolone slices Hawaiian rolls

Week 5: Garlic Onion Italian sausage (1 lb) Ground beef (3 lb) Chicken breasts Tomato sauce (16 oz) Whole tomatoes (28 oz) Rotel tomatoes Marinara (28 oz) Ziti (16 oz) Ricotta (15 oz) Mozzarella (1.5 lb) Cheddar cheese Parmesan (1/2 c) Egg Chili mix Fritos

Five tips for accommodating vegetarians

For a while both of my children were vegetarians, and many times I like to avoid meat for a season just to give my body a break from it. Here are some tips that can be used to adapt many meals to be vegetarian.

1. Instead of beef or chicken broth, use veggie broth. You can even buy veggie broth cubes, and use them like bouillon cubes. We swapped it out many times, and did not notice.

2. The fake ground meat is really wonderful now. There is "meat" made from chopped up mushrooms, and some from soybeans. You can hide it in things like chili and enchiladas, or just eat it straight up like tacos. You will probably not even realize the difference.

3. Anything that uses bacon can  usually be made with the bacon left out, or served on the side for those who want to add it. Same is true for chicken or sausage links.

4. If your recipe needs the meat, leave it in giant chunks. This will offend a strict vegetarian, but many will happily pick out the big chunks and eat the rest of the soup or stew.

5. Breakfast for dinner is a great way to accommodate a vegetarian - with eggs, pancakes, hash browns, muffins, scones, and breakfast burritos.

Dinners for January 2014

Seared steaks	Chicken tetrazzini	Cheeseburger soup	Chicken pot pie	Chicken enchiladas (we have these frozen) – Shauna’s recipe from Bread & Wine	Spaghetti and pita pizzas
Taco Soup	Chili (chili pie!)	Chicken broccoli casserole	Chicken enchilada chicken (Homemade Gourmet) with beans and rice	Meatloaf with mashed potatoes	Pizza rolls
BBQ Sausage with mac & cheese	Crunchy chicken casserole	Sloppy joe sliders on Hawaiian bread	Shake and Bake/onion Pork chops with mashed potatoes	Egg salad sandwiches	Chicken & Dumplins
Beef Fajitas	Meatball soup	Shake and Bake/onion chicken with rice	Chicken spaghetti	3 Envelope Roast	Tomatillo chicken

Dinner plans

Below are some upcoming dinner plans for the Green household.  We sometimes shift these ideas around, but the plan is that at the beginning of the week, we will have the ingredients for the things listed for that week, whether we eat roast on Monday or save it until Thursday.  A lot of the meal planning is dictated by our schedules - on days when we have busy evenings, maybe we will have something that is made ahead or something that is thrown in the crock pot. 

I have not linked the recipes yet, but will.  Also, every day, we have salad.  Sometimes the salad is just spinach or romaine lettuce, and sometimes it has grapes, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, or something else. 

Also, you will see a theme - one day is beef, one day is Mexican food, one day is a salad, one day is vegetarian, one day is a chicken day, and the other days are "miscellaneous."  I am always looking for and loving trying new recipes, but if we have the things that are required for these meals, I know that we will at least have something good to eat at the end of the day, even if it is something we have been eating for years. 

Roast with mashed potatoes	Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Bread and Wine) and refried beans	Taco Salad	Spinach Fettuccini Alfredo	Grilled Chicken and roasted veggies	Meatball soup	Turkey burgers (Bread and Wine has a great recipe)
Stew	Taco Soup	Chicken Caesar Salads	Chalupas	White chicken chili	Pork chops, roasted potatoes	Sloppy joes
Brisket with mashed potatoes	Tomatillo Chicken	Grilled Chicken Salad	Spaghetti	Chicken pot pie	Kielbasa sausage with BBQ sauce, mac and cheese	Stir fry chicken
Macaroni and beef casserole	Enchilada Casserole, refried beans	Egg salad or chicken salad over spinach	Ravioli	BBQ chicken and sweet potato fries	Pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes	Chili (maybe meatless, maybe Frito pie)

School lunches

My kids decided early on that buying lunch at school was a waste of time.  Literally, it sucked up all the good eating time when you had to stand in line and wait to get your lunch.  Since we move a little slower around our house, and we also like to maximize the time we can spend eating, wasting 10 minutes in line for pizza was not worth it.  I am secretly happy that they take lunch instead of buy it because I can watch what they eat and what they do not.  I know school lunches are nutritionally sound, but they are not always as appealing as the fresh fruit or veggies I can throw in the lunches. 

 

I know that Bento boxes are all the rage, but frankly I did not have time to look for where to purchase these precious little boxes, and I was not sure they would be cheap enough for me to have 10 on hand at any time.  So, I bought these Ziploc divided containers, and they are cheap and dishwasher safe, and work well.  Ours have held up for a couple of years, and I am not aware of any leakage issues.  These fit great in the 31 insulated totes, too. 

 

In the big part I put a sandwich, and since I love a fresh sandwich, these are usually made the day of.  However, all other assembly is performed on the weekend, and stuck in the fridge to stay cool and untouched.  In the little parts, we put:  mixed nuts; trail mix; pretzels; yogurt covered pretzels; pickles; carrots cut into little sticks; cucumbers; pineapple; berries – strawberries or blueberries are a hit for us; jello; oranges segments; or cheese slices.  I also add in chips or crackers or something that we have either bought in individual packages or have divided into snack baggies. 

 

I must admit that while a lot of this is driven by my need to make mornings run smoothly, a lot is also driven by the fact that I live with a bunch of snackers, and if I do not pre-package some things, there is a good chance that Friday morning, I would pull out a bag of crackers with one single lonely cracker left in it, and there is no way I would be able to cobble together enough fruit or pickles to fill the little containers. 

11-week menu

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
Chicken Bowtie Pasta	White Chicken Chili	Green enchiladas	Lentil soup	Prosciutto Chicken	Baked ziti
David’s Pasta salad	Crunchy chicken casserole	Tomatillo chicken	Holly’s bean soup	Buffalo chicken macaroni	Ravioli
Pizza rolls	Chicken enchilada casserole	Meat loaf	Corn chowder	Chicken fajitas	Chili (Frito pie)
Hamburgers	Chicken with Rice	Macaroni beef casserole	Meatball soup	Chicken spinach alfredo	Cincinnati turkey chili
Bierox	Oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes	Brisket	Italian hillside soup	Soft tacos	Pita pizzas
Steak on the grill	Hawaiian ham sandwiches	Roast with green beans	Pork tenderloin	Beef fajitas	Spaghetti and meatballs
Paula’s chicken enchiladas	Honey mustard roasted chicken	Sloppy joes	Beef stew	Fettuccini with pesto, bruschetta	Sun dried tomato chicken, mashed potatoes
Chicken & Dumplins	Chicken spaghetti	Shepherd’s pie	Wing chicken sandwiches	Chopped steak and scalloped potatoes	Pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches
Taco soup	Chicken pot pie	Baked potato soup	Slow cooked philly cheese steaks	Mexican pile-on/taco salad	Pork tenderloin kebabs
Scalloped potatoes and ham	White bean gnocchi	Chicken tortilla pie	Cheeseburger soup	Harvest vegetable soup	Spicy beef sandwiches
	Make ahead Mexican casserole	Chicken vegetable casserole	Vegetarian chili	Tortilla crunch chicken	Cheesy chicken casserole