Menu Plan Monday

This past week provided time for some much needed cleaning & organizing. So, with the help of one of my sons to so the heavy moving and high reaching things, we set out over two days to empty my master bedroom & master bedroom closet. Having everything vacuumed & dusted thoroughly, purging of books {that’s always a hard one for me}, gift supplies & re-organization of movies/documentaries, gift-giving cabinet and a general putting everything in its place...the project is complete. It is once again a space enjoyable to be in without the distraction of ‘stuff’.

A couple changes/additions:

• The purchase of a video cabinet from Target on sale for…$24.99. It nicely houses the video library {which I had categorized and labeled last year} and hopefully will be a neater solution from what we had been using {that was broken and not very practical.}
• A glider and ottoman {similar to this one} found for a great deal on Craigslist…perfect for rocking our precious baby in several weeks. The condition was LIKE-NEW, with no signs of any use or wear. An oak wood and cream fabric, making it fit right in to any décor and Lord willing, provide years of use.
• Several more bags for Goodwill…constant changes in seasons of life, provide on going opportunities to re-evaluate the need for items and extend life to new owners through way of donation.

As a reward, we took advantage of a summer discount offered to the zoo…$2 per person admission…a GREAT savings for our family! For $16 our whole family, along with some friends, ventured an hour away for a morning at the zoo. We covered a lot of ground, enjoyed fellowship time with friends we saw there and then concluded the journey with an ‘in-the-van’ picnic lunch. The humidity and heat really kicked in, so the idea of staying outside the rest of the day was changed to time back at our home swimming, playing and enjoying friends. A blessed day, despite the afternoon heat and smoke {Florida fires…praise the Lord for some much needed rain we received yesterday afternoon!}

Dinner plans for the week are written out…{note to self:  work on a new menu rotation chart for the upcoming year…a summer to-do item}…and we’re off to a good start.

Sunday: We had tortilla night…homemade, whole wheat tortillas filled with homemade salsa, refried beans, yellow rice and cheese…a family FAVORITE!

Recipe is super easy and fresh:  3-4 tomatoes, 1/4 - 1 Vidalia onion, 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, 2-3 tablespoons of minced garlic, small can of green chiles, 2 tablespoons of crushed red chili powder, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (dry), sea salt & pepper to taste.  Chop 1st 3 ingredients to preferred texture, mix last 6 into  mixture...YUM, YUM!

Monday: I prepared Sloppy Joe's in the crock-pot before we left for the zoo yesterday and had a great and simple dinner last night ready and waiting to be eaten. This was served with fruit and chips.

Tuesday: Poppy-seed chicken over bow tie pasta, buttered peas and whole wheat bread {baked later today with the help of Alyssa}

Wednesday: Easy lasagna, mixed veggies and fresh garden salad {items yielded from our garden [read our garden post here}: lettuce, cherry tomatoes, yellow squash, shredded radish and then added green onions and a cucumber from the grocery}

Thursday: Baked chicken, mashed potatoes or maybe parsley-buttered potatoes, steamed broccoli, rolls

Washed chicken placed in my stoneware baker, sprinkled with paprika, black pepper, garlic herb seasoning, a little thyme and a little sea salt to be baked at 325 degrees - foiled covered - for about 2 hours...fall off the bone tender!

Friday: Homemade pizzas - click for recipe link & scroll to the bottom for pizza specific notes {toppings of crushed pineapple with diced ham and another with Italian chicken sausage}

Saturday: Quick and easy…Lord willing, working on concrete slab/sidewalks so a simple meal will be aimed for this day

Sunday: Father’s Day Dinner…baked pork chops with tomato gravy served over rice, steamed California blend veggies, homemade biscuits {from last week's menu...since it's a dad favorite and it didn't happen last week...}


Blessings to you as you gather around your meal table this week ~

To read other Menu Plans, click here…thanks for hosting each week, Laura!