Menu Plan for the week of November 25

SUNDAY: Ranch-breaded chicken tenders, yellow rice, green beans

MONDAY: Chicken pot pie

TUESDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs

WEDNESDAY: Pot roast, mushrooms and onions, noodles and gravy

THURSDAY: Hawaiian Chicken, pineapple, jasmine rice, broccoli

FRIDAY: Linguine with shrimp marinara

SATURDAY: Breakfast for dinner: Omelets (I like mine with onions and cheese)

Menu Plan Week of November 25

OK, I forgot to do this on Monday. But the menu was done on Saturday and sitting here on my desk.

SUNDAY: Alphabet Soup, Danielle Bean's Beer Rolls

MONDAY: Heather's Tandoori Chicken, rice, fresh green beans, the rest of the beer rolls

TUESDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread

WEDNESDAY: Spanish rice with pork, salad

THURSDAY: Thanksgiving Feast at my sister's. There will be over 40 for appetizers to celebrate our great-aunt's birthday, and over 20 for dinner.

FRIDAY: Pierogi

SATURDAY: Ranch breaded chicken tenders, baked yams, broccoli

Christmas Giveaway at 5 Minutes for Mom

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a Christmas Giveaway! Every day until November 24, a new contest will be posted. Leave a comment to enter. Get there by clicking the image above.

And there's also a Pedal Car giveaway going on at the same site. Use this link to reach that giveaway. Again, leave a comment to enter.

Contest!

Lindsey at Enjoy the Journey is having a contest! The prize is an ebook called

A Recipe for Christmas Joy by Mary Beth Whelan

Enter here!

UPDATE: Contest is now closed. Congratulations to the winner!

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Kool-Aid Stains

I tried this tip on Sunday after Little Brother had way too much Kool-Aid at a Boy Scout event.

Oops, sorry. He had way too much Bug Juice. (That's Scoutish for "Kool-Aid.")

Anyway, Little Brother was sporting that trademark Kool-Aid mustache, which is not an approved fashion accessory at his school.

But I removed it in only 2 minutes--gently! I just took a wet washcloth, put a little toothpaste on there, and rubbed his face. Before I knew it, his face was clean, and minty fresh too.

Visit the home of Works-for-Me Wednesday for more tips!

Menu Plan Monday, November 12, 2007

SUNDAY: Favorite Chicken, Brazilian Rice, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, green beans

MONDAY: Pork Chops with maple syrup and balsamic vinegar, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, broccoli

TUESDAY: Spicy Orange Chicken for grownups; Chicken piccata for kids (same base chicken, different sauce), jasmine rice, mixed vegetables

I don't often make 2 different main dishes, but I really like this Spicy Orange Chicken, and the kids are not big fans of it. So I figured out a way to have what I like and let them have what they like with a minimum of extra work. TheDad is happy for either dish, but he'll probably have the Orange Chicken with me.

WEDNESDAY: Beef enchiladas made with leftover pot roast, macaroni and cheese, salad

THURSDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs

FRIDAY: Salmon, fettuccine alfredo, vegetables

SATURDAY: Whether I will cook dinner at all on Saturday is a big fat "maybe" but if I do cook, we MIGHT have this: Taco Skillet.

Visit Menu Plan Monday for many fabulous menus and recipes!

Food Budgeting

What's your food budget?

I feed our family of 5 (including Big Brother, the Teenage Bottomless Pit) for about $125-150 a week. That includes food, lunches for everyone but TheDad (the kids mostly bring lunch to school), paper products and cleaning supplies.

According to the USDA, if I follow a "low-cost" plan, I should be spending $209.70! YIKES! For that kind of money, we could eat fresh fish, organic meat and all kinds of gourmet treats. On the "liberal plan" I'd spend $270! But I really don't think anyone is feeling deprived by what's served here.

And apparently the USDA guidelines do not include "nonfoods" like dish soap, shampoo, Comet and tissues--but all of those are included in my budget.

H/T to Angie at Many Little Blessings.

Food Safety Information

You can't be too careful!

With Thanksgiving coming up, this is my friendly reminder to you: purchase a meat thermometer if you don't already own one.

And print out the information here: Is It Done Yet? I have this hanging on the inside of one of my kitchen cabinets.

I cook my turkey with stuffing "in the bird" so I use TWO meat thermometers: a probe-style digital one for the turkey and a conventional dial type for the stuffing. My stuffing contains raw pork sausage, and I want to make sure that meat cooks before I serve it!

Menu Plan Monday, November 5, 2007

Last week was one of those times when we just didn't work off the planned menu very well. Hopefully this week will go better.

SUNDAY: Pizza with friends

MONDAY: Teriyaki pork, jasmine rice, broccoli

TUESDAY: Chili, macaroni & cheese, salad. This has been on the menu for 3 weeks running but we haven't had it yet. Let's see if the third time's a charm!

WEDNESDAY: Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes

THURSDAY: Spaghetti, garlic bread

FRIDAY: Salmon, fettuccine alfredo, vegetables

SATURDAY: Pork paprikas, noodles, green beans with carrots