Meal Plan Monday

Here's my lineup for the next two weeks...

Saturday - Fruited Chicken Salad with Couscous / Breadsticks
Sunday - Garlic Herb Oven Fried Halibut, Charred Summer Vegetables
Monday - Parmesan Chicken Paillards with Cherry Tomato Sauce, Lemon Linguine, Green Beans
Tuesday - Anniversary dinner at Carraba's! (lunch will be Sesame Brown Rice Salad with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts)
Wednesday - Beef Stroganoff, Salad
Thursday - Cheese Blintzes, Sausage, eggs
Friday - Green Chile Chicken Casserole, Fiesta Rice
Saturday - BBQ Flank Steak Sandwiches, Coleslaw
Sunday - Moravian Chicken Pie
Monday - Don Pablos Chicken Tortilla Soup, Green Chile Cheese Cornbread
Tuesday - Japaneses Style Pork Cutlets, Iceberg Salad with Ginger Dressing
Wednesday - Fish Tacos with Big Mama's Green Sauce
Thursday - Corn Chowder, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Friday - Feta Herb SunDried Tomato stuffed Chicken, Orzo, Salad
Saturday - Mexican Soup
Sunday - Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples, Buttered Noodles
and at some point I'll be doing THIS dessert: Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

I'm thrilled that as I was putting the hyperlinks on each of these for the recipes to find that most recipes were recieving 4 or 5 stars - the highest reader ratings possible at www.cookinglight.com! I must have found some real winners! Most of these I've done before, but some are new...hope they're good!

Fave Food

I've seen this meme going around for awhile now - and I've been contemplating what restaurants I would choose. And it's been HARD. There are several reasons for this...

1. We're on a tight budget. We don't eat out very often - but when we do, we tend to eat a lot of the fast food variety - like Schlotzsky's, Sonic, Subway, etc...(see a pattern with the Ss???)

2. I'm allergic to MSG. And for anyone who knows anything about MSG, you'll quickly realize that it is in most foods that are created in restaurants. So while I love food, I don't love feeling like my heart is going to jump outside of my body for all the jitters I experience after ingesting it - so it has made eating out somewhat of a challenge. And food simply isn't as much fun when you have to drill the waiter and chef about every single ingredient.

However, because I love Kelly at Love Well, and I'm just so proud of her for blogging about food, even in the midst of feeling a bit green with being pregnant - I am going to persevere and DO THIS! Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite restaurants. (Oh, and by the way, the rule about LOCAL restaurants? Not gonna happen. I've moved and traveled WAY TOO MUCH to just stick to one locale.)

The rules, as such, are as follows:
1. Link to the name of the person that tagged you. Kelly at Love Well
2. Include state and country you live in. Oklahoma, USA
3. List top 5 favorite local restaurants. see below
4. Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged. Andrea, Alana, Katherine, Erin, and just for kicks - and to see if she does it - Ree

#1 - The Rheinlander, Portland, OR - I grew up knowing that my parents LOVED this restaurant. Any time they had a chance to get away from the three of us, they'd head to Portland, and a stop at this place was always in order. It's a fancy, celebratory - go here for birthdays and anniversaries kind of place. The German food is to DIE for! Their chicken schnitzel is perfect, I love the sweet and sour cabbage, their salad is heavenly, but the real star of the show is their Swiss Cheese Fondue. Oh yeah. And for Christmas two years ago, my mom got me their recipe book. So if any of y'all want the recipes to the aforementioned - I've got 'em!

#2 - Tin Star, Tulsa OK - This is a brand new love for me. It's actually on the opposite end of town from us, but a few weeks ago, we had to track down a pillow for Shira's new bedspread, and ended up at an unfamiliar Kohl's after church one Sunday. And of course, since it was Sunday, the pull to eat lunch out was strong - so we decided to try something new. AND OH MY WORD I AM SO GLAD WE DID! Tin Star is remarkably similar to Moe's Southwest Grill - but with an amazing difference. I like all their salsas featured at their salsa bar. Normally, I don't like any of them, because they are always too spicy for my delicate palate. But these are phenomenal! They have a Fire-Roasted Tomato one, a green one that I can only assume is Tomatillo and a Sweet Corn Salsa. Literally - I could make a meal just of these salsas! YUM! Needless to say, we're spending more on gas to make a trek back there SOON. Our family will have some celebrating to do in the next week or so - and my plan is to celebrate THERE!

#3 - Old Spaghetti Factory, Portland, OR - I'm sure that many of you have heard of this one. However, this ONE is the ORIGINAL. And beautiful. And overlooking the river. And did I mention beautiful??? Their food is just comfort - we went there a lot with good friends during the time that Kevin was a music minister in the Portland area. Sweet sweet memories of babies in bibs, lots of food, lots of conversation. I love their mushroom sauce, their blackberry cream soda's (you get to keep the glass!) and their pesto ranch dressing on the salad is absolutely heaven!

#4 - Cracker Barrel, anywhere, USA - I know, it's not original. But I love it! And the great news is that most of their menu items are MSG free - including their ranch dressing - which is hard to find! My favorite lunch/dinner meal is always the veggie plate - with a combination of turnip greens, mac n cheese, green beans, hashbrown casserole, fried apples and sweet carrots. Breakfast of course, is simple - eggs, hashbrown casserole, apples, grits and their biscuits just can't be beat. We've also enjoyed taking the kids there, because it's fun to get to shop with them while we wait for a table, or rock in the rocking chairs on the porch. It's really become a sweet family tradition to spend a lazy Saturday morning there occasionally. Both big kids love it. (Micah has yet to express an opinion...)

#5 - Makatos Japanese Steakhouse, Johnson City, TN - I looked really hard to find a website, but was unsuccessful. This restaurant is also great for the many memories it holds...I went there many times during college - with many the friend and many the fiance! (another story...) It is your typical grill in front of you Japanese steakhouse, but they do have the best shrimp sauce in the world, and their sweet carrots are pretty rockin', too! I love it so much, that I've done my best to recreate the recipes to make here at home - and I've come mighty close! Kevin declares it's his favorite meal that I make - but I use every skillet in the house to do so, so it's not often that we splurge on this meal! But when we do, it's always a lot of fun!

How about you? What are your favorite restaurants? I'd love to hear about them, so that one day, when Kevin and I retire and travel the US in our motor home, we'll stop by and try them out! Let me know if you decide to do this meme!

Meal Plan Mondays

It's been awhile since I've planned any meals for our family. I've been using up some old stuff in the pantry - and it's time to get back in the groove of cookin' again! Here's what's on our plates for the coming week:

Saturday - Barbecued Hamburgers, baked beans, chips, watermelon
Sunday - Japanese! (Kevin's favorite - Happy Father's Day!) and Blueberry Cheesecake
Monday - Mexican Casserole, chips, guacamole
Tuesday - Baked Herb Chicken, sauteed zucchini, rice pilaf
Wednesday - Chicken Creole Cakes, pea salad
Thursday - Grilled Pork Chops, BBQ beans, coleslaw
Friday - Biscuits and sausage gravy, fruit
Saturday - ?
Sunday - BBQ Pork and Loaded Baked Potato Casserole, sauteed spinach
Monday - Beef Stroganoff, Caesar salad

Meal Plan Mondays

Friday, May 18 - Falafel (one of our Favorites!)
Saturday, May 19 - Taco Salad (Birth and Baby Expo)
Sunday, May 20 - meeting at church
Monday, May 21 - grilled flank steak, Spoonbread, salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Tuesday, May 22 - Chicken Piccata, Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
Wednesday, May 23 - Smokey Chef Salad (from Soup Makes the Meal)
Thursday, May 24 - Vegetable Beef Soup (from Soup Makes the Meal), homemade rolls
Friday, May 25 - Breakfast Casserole, Hashbrown Casserole
Saturday, May 26 - Broccoli Cheese soup, Strawberry, Cucumber, Kiwi Salad (from Soup Makes the Meal)
Sunday, May 27 - BBQ Ribs in crockpot, coleslaw, cornbread
Monday, May 28 - Fried Chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, Boomama's Beans, Raspberry Pretzel Salad, Biscuits (Memorial Day feast, folks - normally this would be a WEEK's worth of cholesterol for me!) (most of today's recipes are from A Return to Family Picnics)
Tuesday, May 29 - Japanease Chicken Salad
Wednesday, May 30 - Savory Baked Chicken, Zucchini Squash Saute, Rice Pilaf (all from Paula Deen's new magazine - Mar/Apr)
Thursday, May 31 - Happy Birthday Quinn VP!!! Chicken Cakes with Creole Sauce, Pea Salad (from Paula Deen)
Friday, June 1 - Chicken and proscuitto pasta, tangy sweet dressing over greens, cheesy french bread (from Paula Deen)
Saturday, June 2 - Happy Birthday Shira!!! We're having an old fashioned TEA PARTY (more to be posted on that later....)

Join in the fun! Head on over to Laura at "I'm an Organizing Junkie!" and tell us what you're having for dinner!

to prove how much we love Food Network...

Tonight I was reading the kids their bedtime story from a phenomenal book recommended by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer called "The Jesus Storybook Bible - Every story whispers his name." I cannot even begin to tell you how much my kids love this book - this is one you'll want to have in your kids' library, for sure. We started in the New Testament when we got it, because we were close to Easter, so I wanted to read the kids the story of Jesus and the cross, etc...so we read from there to "the end." So now, we've started again at the beginning and tonight's story was about Abraham sacrificing his son Issac. We read the story, and stopped to put the bookmark in, when Shira asks what the title for the next chapter was. It was "The girl nobody wanted" - about Leah and Rachel. So Shira reverently whispers "Rachael Ray!" Apparently, God is into 30 minute meals...at least in the mind of my daughter!

Meal Plan Monday - a few days late

I tend to have better organizational luck in planning more than just one week at a time. Lately, I've done two weeks and it's really working out well with my shopping schedule. So here's what's for dinner in our home for the next two weeks...

Tuesday - Spaghetti Carbonara, steamed broccoli
Wednesday - MacNCheese for the kids (last Crown class!)
Thursday - Chicken Packets (from Once-a-Month Cooking) (Melaleuca Launch!)
Friday - Penne with Pancetta, Spinach and Buttery Crumb Topping, green salad
Saturday - Chicken Enchiladas, Fiesta Rice, Guacamole (Happy Cinco de Mayo!)
Sunday - Heavenly Chicken, Springtime bread, honey orange carrots
Monday - Payday Pizza (amazing - you HAVE to make this - Kevin's favorite!!!)
Tuesday - Sausage and Pepper Calzones / Broccoli Sausage Calzones
Wednesday - Pastitsio, green salad, fresh rolls
Thursday - Pork Loin Chops with Cinnamon Apples and Buttered Noodles, green beans
Friday - Cajun Chicken Pasta, Fruit Salad
Saturday - Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs, roasted potatoes, veggie?
Sunday - hopefully, someone else besides "mommy" will cook today!

Also, when I plan my menus for the week(s), I try to make a list of baking goods/snacks that I plan to do as time allows. Here's what's on my list for this upcoming month:

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Banana Nut Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel
Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip
Orange Rolls
Spelt Salad with White Beans and Artichokes

Meal Plan Mondays

This weeks menu includes:

Monday - Ham and Bean soup, Collard Greens, Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Tuesday - Sirloin Steak, Roasted Cauliflower, Baked Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday - sandwiches (kids only)
Thursday - Waterless Chicken, potatoes, broccoli (in my new waterless cookware!)
Friday - Mexican Casserole (from this gal), chips, salad, frozen lemonade
Saturday - Lentil Soup (from here), homemade bread
Sunday - Cheesy Corn Casserole (from Once-A-Month Cooking), green beans
Monday - Chicken Packets (from Once-A-Month Cooking)

Meal Plan Mondays

I've been ahead of the game this week! I have been able to sort through recipes and plan out the entire rest of the month for menus! So here are the next few days...

Monday - Broiled Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Cucumber Salad and Colcannon Soup
Tuesday - Apple Pear Salad, Chicken Salad on Croissants
Wednesday - Mac N Cheese, peas and carrots, applesauce (kids only)
Thursday - French Onion Salibury Steak, Green salad
Friday - Pork Stir Fry
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - Heavenly Chicken (from Once-A-Month cooking), Springtime Bread, honey orange carrots

One of my goals in preparing meals is to be healthy, of course, but also to offer variety. I try to do a beef, a chicken, a pork, a soup and a pasta every week. Sometimes it works out that way, sometimes it doesn't. Also, to economize, if we do whole steaks or chicken breasts in a meal, then I try to use meat in the rest of the meals that is more economical - like using a small amount of pork for the stir fry, or shredded chicken in a casserole. This trick really stretches out my meat budget, but doesn't make my husband end up feeling like I'm trying to convert him into being a vegetarian!

Meal Plan Mondays

I don't claim to be the world's greatest cook, but thanks in huge part to my friend Heather, I have found so many good recipes and tips that I have eventually morphed into a lover of all things FOOD! So, in order to help those that have requested some of my recipes, I will try to post my latest and greatest. This weeks meal includes:

Monday - Hoison Pork Tenderloin, Sesame Noodles and Broccoli
Tuesday - Beef Stroganoff with egg noodles and Caesar salad
Wednesday - Macaroni and cheese, peas and carrots, applesauce (kids only)
Thursday - Linguine a la Anne, Green Beans a la BooMama
Friday - Pork Chops stuffed with Feta and Spinach, herbed pita bread, mandarin oranges
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, coleslaw