Menu Monday 9/29

I am back in blogging land.  It has been a rough start to the year with the new seven period day and hubby having some health issues.  Then I left for a three day PowerSchool conference on Mackinaw Island, which was  a BLAST-shout out to PSUG-MI- but time consuming.

I have been pondering this weekly post for awhile.  I have a lot of real-life friends that struggle with what is for dinner.  In fact I see a Facebook post almost daily asking that questions, so to honor that and what my fabulous hubby has taught me....

I am excited to introduce:

The plan is to post my menu plan and recipes for the week. I think anyone, but especially teachers like me, needs some help with keeping up with healthy-ish foods that aren't time consuming after a LONG day.

Sunday: Ham and scalloped potatoes in the crock pot.  We are cleaning out the freezer, so I pulled a bag of cooked-sliced ham from the freezer this A.M.  I mixed up some boxed scalloped potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot.  I then put the ham on top.  I turned the crock pot on high for two hours.  I stirred it and then turned it down to low until dinner.  It was super-tasty!

Monday: We are picking up our 1/4 side of beef at some point on Monday evening, so I want to try and eat a little more from the freezer.  Last month I bought, sliced, marinated, and froze a whole pork loin from Sam's Club, so I am pulling a package of 4 out tonight to thaw.  We are looking at our last nice week of 70 degree weather, so I want to grill them.  I will add a side of steamed broccoli and rice or pasta.

Tuesday: Since we are getting our 1/4 side of beef on Monday, I think we should eat some of it.  Taco Pie from Potumus' grandma is on the menu.  Preheat oven to 350.  Cook off a pound of burger with taco seasoning.  I make my own in a mason jar.  Press out a can of refrigerator biscuits into a pie pan.  Spoon taco meat into pie pan. Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until biscuit crust is cooked.  Slice and add your choice of toppings.  We love cilantro, salsa, black olives, and sour cream.

Wednesday: This is often leftover night.  I usually try and save leftover night for an evening when we are busy but get home at a decent time.  It helps me to clean out the fridge.  I would recommend adding a leftover night to your weekly routine.  I also like that it eliminates waste.

Thursday:  This is our cheat night.  The girls have dance at 4, and we don't get home until late, so I usually get something on the go.  Shmurtz loves Taco Bell and Potumus loves Subway.  My personal favorite is Jimmy Johns.  Sometimes I get us each what we want.

Friday: Homemade pizza.  I have a bread maker and will set it up for a delay dough start in the morning before I leave.  This way I will have fresh pizza dough when we get home.  I use the basic pizza dough recipe that came with the bread maker, but I add a tablespoon of gluten to make it super-stretchy.  I wish I could take claim to this idea, but dear hubby suggested it.  I use our pizza cooker, which may seem like a silly appliance, but we use it at least once a week.  I then used canned sauce and mozzarella cheese.  I put pepperoni on the kids' and tomatoes and Italian seasoning on mine.

Saturday:  Once again hoping to take advantage of our 1/4 side of beef and nice weather: our first grilled steaks of the fall.  My go-to marinade is Italian dressing, chili garlic sauce (you have to buy this stuff in the Asian section of most grocery stores), and teryaki sauce.  I'll throw some baked potatoes in the crock pot like I did this summer and add a salad.

I would love your feedback on this new weekly post: do you like it? What else would you like to see in this?