...That's not great.

Meal planning for 5/4-5/10.

Sunday, 5/4. We did Cinco de Mayo a day early with our traditional "Mexi-night" of chicken and cheese quesadillas for the kids, black bean and rice burritos for the adults and chips and slices of cucumbers on the side for everyone.
Monday, 5/5. Broccoli and chicken pasta. It's a favorite of Bubba's. I usually match this meal with the "Mexi-night" since I can split a package of four chicken breasts between the two meals.
Tuesday, 5/6. Marinated steak with rice and corn on the cob. The kids will be happy with the corn, for sure.
Wednesday, 5/7. Kids' Choice Night.
Thursday, 5/8. I'll be out of town at a training all day Thursday and half day Friday, so RD is on his own for dinner!
Friday, 5/9. It's Bubba's birthday! To celebrate, his Auntie V is coming up from Portland and we'll take everyone out to dinner; wherever he wants to go, except McDonalds.
Saturday, 5/10. Chicken with tomatoes and thyme, served with whole grain rice and veggies. This is a recipe from Real Simple magazine that you can prepare, freeze and then pull it out when you need it. Nothing fancy, but it makes pulling together dinner pretty easy.

Meal planning for 4/28-5/2.

Eh. Better late than never!

Monday, 4/28. Balsamic marinated chicken breasts (I just use a balsamic salad dressing), brown rice and corn on the cob. The kids were SO excited to eat corn on the cob - except Sis kept asking if she could eat the stem part. I'm imagining a whole summer filled with tons of it. And I'm okay with it.
Tuesday, 4/29. BBQ pork, asparagus with salt and pepper and wild rice. I use this recipe - except I cut it in half, since we don't need that much. And I'm still amazed that my kids eat asparagus.
Wednesday, 4/30. Kids' Choice Night. RD will be home early with Bubba (from taekwondo), so he'll get to choose a variety of fried foods to be cooked up. Oh, and I'll insist sides of broccoli and strawberries. On these nights, RD and I usually fend for ourselves (I'm planning on making some home-fried potatoes and fried eggs).
Thursday, 5/1. Flank steak, roasted red potatoes, garden salad. For the salad, I'm thinking mixed greens, red onion, grape tomatoes, cucumber and oil/vinegar dressing. Something simple.
Friday, 5/2. Our Friday standby, Boboli pizza: cheese, pepperoni and onion. I'll pick up some corn and the cob, too, so I'll be the best mom ever. Just in time for Mother's Day.

Meal planning for 4/12-4/18.

Trying to get back on track with our family's meal planning.  Everything seems to run a bit smoother around our house when I do. 

Saturday, 4/12. Boboli pizza: cheese, pepperoni and onion.  Broccoli on the side (fresh for Sissy and cooked for Bubba).
Sunday, 4/13. Crockpot chicken and rice.  This is basically this recipe, minus the sherry and plus a cup long-cooking brown rice.  I'll also add carrots for the last 4 hours.  We'll serve it with fresh strawberries. 
Monday, 4/14. Breakfast for dinner. The kids will have chocolate chip pancakes and apples, and we'll have fried eggs and seasoned red potatoes. 
Tuesday, 4/15-Thursday, 4/17. I'll be at a conference in the Tri-Cities, hopefully enjoying their 70 degree weather.  RD's on his own. 
Friday, 4/18.  BBQ short ribs on the grill.  My hope is that the weather will continue to be lovely and we can have our first meal out on the deck of the season.

Meal planning for 3/1-3/7.

Well, based on my previous post you may have picked up on that pretty much everything last week did not go as planned; including our meal planning.  As for the meals that we did serve last week - the kids were not big fans of the pot roast; but we LOVED it.  It worked perfect to serve it and then make the soup the next day.  I'll definitely be doing that again. 

Here's the plan for this week.
Saturday, 3/1. Baked penne (moved from last week).  This will still work as lunch for me a few days this week. 
Sunday, 3/2.  RD will serve leftovers or chicken noodle soup as I'll be delivering The Sister and SP to my parent's house.  It's The Sister has her way, we'll be having Taco Time sometime during her visit.
Monday, 3/3. Chicken with tomatoes and thyme (moved from last week), still to be served with brown rice and veggies (more lunches for me!).
Tuesday, 3/4. Marinated steak and onion roasted red potatoes.
Wednesday, 3/5.  I'll be chauffeuring The Sister and SP again, so RD will probably serve macaroni and cheese.
Thursday, 3/6. "Big Salads" for the adults and grilled cheese sandwiches with apples for the kids. 
Friday, 3/7. Pizza!  'Nuff said.

Baked penne recipe.

I've had a couple of requests for this recipe, so I'd thought I put it up in a post.  The original basis for this recipe comes from Parenting magazine, but I've made my own adjustments to make it work (and I think taste) better for our family. 

Spaghetti Sauce
This sauce is the foundation of the Baked Penne and it's also great by itself with the addition of meat (sausage, beef or faux meat product) over pasta.  The original Parenting recipe required the dicing of  2.5 pounds of beefsteak tomatoes (which I did once, but it's time consuming), so I substituted the canned diced tomatoes and canned tomato paste. 

2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1, 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1, 12 ounce can of tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the cans of tomato products, then add about 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the sugar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes.  You can divide this recipe but using 1, 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes and 1, 6 ounce can of tomato paste.

Baked Penne
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound dried penne (we use whole wheat)
Spaghetti sauce recipe
1/2 cup heavy cream
15 ounces ricotta

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Oil a 4-quart casserole dish.  Cooke the pasta according to the package directions.  Either make or reheat the spaghetti sauce and stir in the cream.  Add the cooked penne and toss.  Spoon the pasta into the prepared casserole dish and top with dollops of the ricotta.  Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. 

Additions, notes, etc.
We add more garlic than listed, because we LOVE garlic.  You can also try the "Itailian" flavored diced canned tomatoes, for more flavor.  You can also easily add cooked ground beef, savage or faux meat when tossing the penne and the sauce.  I've also tried adding a thin layer of homemade breadcrumbs before baking it - YUM.  Also, you can easily divide this recipe in half if you have a smaller household.  Enjoy!

Meal planning for 2/23-2/29.

Saturday, 2/23. Slow cooker pot roast.  I add the Montreal Steak Seasoning like the reviewers recommend and substitute one whole red onion and red potatoes because we like the taste better.
Sunday, 2/24.  Beef soup.  I'll use the left-overs from the pot roast.  I'll store a few servings for my work lunches and freeze whatever is left. 
Monday, 2/25.  Macaroni and cheese (I have plans after work, so they are pretty much on their own).
Tuesday, 2/26. Baked penne. Ricotta cheese?  YES, PLEASE.  These left-overs will get me two more lunches to complete the week.  If it sounds good to you, let me know in the comments and I'll post the recipe.
Wednesday, 2/27.  Chicken with tomatoes and thyme, served with whole grain rice and veggies.  It's a new recipe I am trying out from this month's Real Simple magazine.  I was intrigued for two reasons: I could basically prepare and freeze it and I thought my kids would actually eat it. 
Thursday, 2/28.  Left-overs for the adults and fish sticks and fries for the kids.  Hey, nobody's perfect.
Friday, 2/29.  Almost every Friday night we have pizza - either Papa Murphy's Take and Bake or I make my own with a whole wheat Boboli (this is actually my preference).  We're a bit complicated with the toppings; RD likes Canadian bacon, pineapple and extra cheese, Bubba likes ONLY CHEESE and very little sauce, I like pepperoni and onion and Sissy will eat anything.  But we'll eat it with a side of steamed broccoli. 

The turkey will be delivered Tuesday.

I'm in a rush tonight readying our house for my family that will begin to arrive tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We will not actually be hosting the main event here; rather we'll be traveling up to my parents' city next week.  I'm in charge of the cooking duties (my sister has a newborn, my sister-in-law is a vegetarian, and I'm the best cook either way), so enjoy taking a peak at our menu!  The most interesting issue has been that my brother-in-law has ordered a heritage turkey for us; and it will ship overnight on Monday.  I've linked to to recipes when available.

Rosemary Turkey and Gravy
Sage Stuffing
Traditional Mashed Potatoes
Lemon Rosemary Green Beans
Canberry Sauce
Spinach and Pear Salad
Apple Galette
Store bought Pumpkin Pie

Take two of these and call me in the morning.

This recipe is for Sundry.  I am not much of a cook, but I can bake with the best of them.  This is a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have developed to perfection.  I get rave reviews whenever I make them.  Enjoy!

Bethany's Famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flower
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips make a yummy cookie, too)
3 cups oatmeal (not quick cook oatmeal)

I find it best to use as many organic ingredients as possible in this recipe; it seems to work and taste better.  I also recommend using a Silpat Cookie Sheet Liner; it help produce even baking of the cookies and provides a non-stick surface, making for easier clean-up.

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Beat until light and fluffy; about 3-5 minutes.  Mix in vanilla.  Add egg, and continue beating until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl often.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Slowly mix in these dry ingredients into the butter mixture.  Mix on low speed until just combined.  Then mix in chocolate chips.

4.  Measure out 3 cups of oatmeal and then add to mixture at a slow speed.  You will have to scrap the sides and bottom of bowl to completely mix all oatmeal in.

5.  Scoop out approximately 2 tablespoons of dough on the baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  When you remove them from the over, they may look undercooked.  Let them cool slightly before removing cookies.

Other note:
You may choose to not include the oatmeal or substitute part of the oatmeal with your choice of nuts.