Menu Plan Monday, March 14, 2011

This week promises to be quite busy, but has already started with a couple menu successes. Yesterday, we hosted some friends for dinner. I made my best chicken ever, cheesy potato bake (tip, this tastes best if you use a shallow dish), and carrot cake from Bob's Red Mill with homemade frosting. (I've reduced the sugar in the cake to 1/4 cup brown and 2 T white. I also omit the nuts and add 1/4 cup raisins. It is moist and tasty!) They brought a tasty corn and green bean dish.

They have a son near our daughter's age. It was fun to watch our children play together. At one point, they were playing with some toys, and slowly and steadily, our daughter managed to take all the toys and put them next to her. Apparently, we will have to teach her about sharing someday in the near future! She has also started eating solids. So far, she likes pears, applesauce, banana, sweet potato, and avocado, and tolerates carrots and peas. It is more work than nursing, but kinda fun to have her join me for breakfast in the morning, and us for dinner in the evening.

I also came across a Crockpot March Madness Bracket. This looks like fun! Plus, I may get some good ideas.

This week's menu has a few new dishes and a few standbys:

Sunday: Tammy's Creamy Mac and Cheese. (I used half and half and topped it with breadcrumbs.) This is rather rich so I won't make it all the time, but it is delicious and creamy. I think I may try sharp cheddar next. My husband liked it. He said it was much better than the boxed stuff :-)

Monday: Cider Bacon Chicken (a new recipe). I plan on serving this with Honeyed Carrots and Oranges. I got this recipe from Real Simple. The first time I made it, the orange was not good, and it turned the whole dish rather bitter. I'm hoping that since the oranges are much sweeter now, it will improve the dish. I'll serve it with leftover applesauce.

Tuesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn.

Wednesday: Leftover Mac and Cheese.

Thursday: Eating out! I'm also making this recipe for Baked Moroccan Chicken to take to a mama who just had a little baby girl. I did a test last week to see if I could make it in the morning and then reheat it in the evening, and it worked just fine.

Friday: Chicken Strips and Fries.
I tried making hamburger buns, but they didn't turn out at all. So, I learned how to make bread crumbs in my blender, and now I have a freezer full! I used to buy my breadcrumbs at the store, but I saw they contained High Fructose Corn Syrup. I'm trying to avoid it as much as possible, so I decided to learn how to make them instead. I'm looking forward to using fresh crumbs with this recipe.

Saturday: ? TBD I'm hoping to get some good ideas from more menus at Laura's Menu Plan Monday :-)