14 Day Menu 4/25 - 5/8/09

The Menu:

Hey! Sorry, I have missed a round of menus. Only because I failed to do them, which definitely threw me for a loop as I totally stress out on the daily when I do not know what we are having for dinner..LOL. So here is our dinner menu for the next two weeks. I am actually working on one for the 2 weeks after because I am expected to go into labor around the 17th of May! I do not plan on doing much cooking, but i want to pre-cook a few things and freeze them ahead of time. Ok, so here is the menu..Enjoy, and I hope it sparks some ideas for your own menus!

1. Vegetarian Taco Salads(you can add some roasted shrimp or fish) garnished with Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Frozen Pineapple Lemonade.

2. No Pasta Lasagna made with breaded eggplant, mozarella, ground turkey, marinara, and zucchini

3. Turkey Bacon Cheeseburgers(ground turkey & turkey bacon) with smoked provolone

4. Stuffed wheat pitas with cool shrimp & dill salad, mixed fruit, and garden salsa Sun Chips

5. Whole Herbed Roasted Chicken with Mango BBQ Glaze, Sweet Plantains, and Ginger & Coconut Green Beans

6. Tofu Subs & fruit

7. Fried Chicken Salad

8. Baked Tilapia pockets steamed with Yellow Squash, Wild Rice Pilaf & cream of Mushroom Sauce

9. Chicken Alfredo Pizza w/ Salad

10. Lentil Roast, sweet potato fritters, and steamed broccoli

11. Grilled Turkey Sandwiches on Flat Bread w/ Grilled peaches in Sparkling Pear Cider

12. Shrimp Filo Rolls w/ Salad & Sweet Asian Dressing & Seared Sea Scallops

13. Dill Chicken Rotis with Fruit Salad & Strawberry Ginger Ale

14. Wild Card..Dining Out!

Dessert Ideas: brownies, grilled poundcake with warm peaches and ice cream.

Bring In The Dining Out! {tips that work}

Hi everybody! So, As I was preparing dinner for tonight, I figured I would take a quick moment to share a cost saving dining tip with all you fabulous moms! Many times if we all look over our budget, we will see that we can spend an insane amount of money on dining out. At least this is the case for me. Whether it is because of my lack of dinner planning or for the days that I just simply don't feel like cooking...the dining bill can get way out of hand. So quite some time ago, I started collecting take out menus from our favorite restaurants, cafes, and smoothie shops, and instead of going there and giving them my money, I figured out a way to make some of our favorite dishes from their menu. For instance, we love O'Charleys Chicken Salad which is served w/their signature honey mustard dressing. Yet instead of going out and spending about 20 bucks plus tip, I made my own version (pictured above), and purchased their homey mustard salad dressing from the market. Not only did this save us money tonight, but there are plenty of leftovers for tomorrows lunch!

Not only will this tip save you money, but by collecting to-go menus, you will collect a HUGE amount of dinner, appetizer, snack, beverage, breakfast, and dessert ideas for you and your family to enjoy!

Psst: Put all of your to-go menus in a cute little 3 ring binder and organize them with tabbed dividers according to categories. Also, In addition to collecting your to-go menus, you can also browse the restaurant menus that are available from lots of destinations online!

Cinnamon & Apple Juice {kids love it}

The little one and I just made some fresh apple juice. There is nothing more refreshing and tasty than some cool apples juiced and then served over ice. We added some cinnamon sticks to ours and it added some great flavor, especially when you get towards the bottom of the cup. We used 4 Braeburn apples and it made 2 cups. We use the Champion juicer. It works well, yet I do wish I could put bigger pieces of fruit and veggies in there, but as far as juicing it works great!

Mini Pops (mini tips)

So our little one has been begging me day after day to make some popsicles for him. Although they are probably the easiest dessert to make, I just kept putting it off. anyhow last night we made what we call mini pops. They are quite yummy and a perfect size for a little treat or snack.

For the strawberry pops we used fresh strawberries, added some sugar. The sugar helps your pops freeze better, otherwise you will end up with ice pops..LOL, but be careful not to add too much sugar as it will make your pops too soft and will not mold properly. I would say we added about a Tbsp. We also added just a little bit of lemonade to it..just a little and blended it into a puree. For the pineapple-lemonade we blended fresh pineapple, and lemonade together, added a bit of sugar and poured them into the ice tray.

Once you have poured your puree and juice into the molds, place a piece of foil on top. Gently press your palm along the ice tray ridges so that you will be able to tell where the center of each mold is. Using a sharp kitchen knife, gently poke hole/lines in the center of each ice mold. Place your popsicles in the holes and carefully place your tray in the freezer. Straighten any sticks that may have moved while moving.