Menu Plan Monday - January 30, 2017

Well that was a bust!! I did a fantastic job of writing out my menu plan for last week... and only managed four of the planned meals - and two of those were dinners out!! Oh well, they can't all be winning weeks!

Chicken burrito bowls - and lunch for days!

This week promises to be another busy week, but we are having some special guests for dinner on Thursday (my cousin and her new baby!!) and we'll hopefully stay organized for the rest of the time!! The other night a friend came by when I was unpacking groceries and saw how crazy full my deep freeze was... and of course that led to a challenge - she said I'm not allowed to buy anything at the grocery store except fruit, veggies, milk and bread for the next month - or until the freezer is nearly empty!

Challenge accepted - this week's menu has all seven meals that originate from my freezer!! 

On the menu this week:

Monday: Shepherd's Pie
Tuesday: Perogies and farmer sausage
Wednesday: Chicken burrito bowls (and lunch for days after!)
Thursday: Pf Chang's Lettuce Wraps, spring rolls and rice
Friday: Pizza and salad
Saturday: Ham, scalloped potatoes and beans
Sunday: Superbowl - all appies, all day & chili for dinner!

I'll be linking up to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday - Swing by and find some great menu ideas for your family!

Menu Plan Monday - January 23, 2017

Yummy!!!!

Four weeks!! Can you believe I have managed to plan out four weeks of menus?? Even more impressive? My lovely friend Alana of Alana Joy Photography and I have brought lunch to work for our #teamlunch for three straight weeks! Let's hope we can keep up the same for the next week and weeks to come!

  

This weekend was supposed to be Miss A's weekend away at camp, but she was sick and this mama had to pick her up at 1am on her first night away. She was definitely disappointed, but what she really needed was a weekend at home, with mama taking care of her and lots of sleep. Thankfully she is on the mend and we were able to go out and have a little fun today! A sweet friend of mine opened her own storefront business this weekend. She and her partners have been baking amazing cakes for a few years now, but this weekend Enchanted Cake Studio and Tea Salon opened it's doors and my mom, the girls and I stopped by to check it out! It was amazing! The food was delicious, the tea was delightful, the decor was gorgeous and we had the best time!

Yummy#2!!

Coming up this week we have a few parties, so a few days free of menu planning! For this week's menu, I looked back through my menu plans of years past, here on the blog, and found a few treasures that I hadn't made in a while. Funny enough when I found the recipes on the blog, they were all made two years ago exactly - the last week of Jan! Although there is no guarantee that my kids will eat the planned dinners, I can always throw in some chicken strips to appease the tiny people so the hubs and I can eat the yummy recipes I have planned!

Monday: Turkey Pot Pie
Tuesday: Chicken fajitas and cheese quesadillas
Wednesday: PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps (my fave!!)
Thursday: Dinner out
Friday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (another one of my faves!!)
Saturday: Dinner out for my bro's birthday!
Sunday: Cajun Shrimp Alfredo (Miss E's Fave!)

I'll be linking up to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday - Swing by and find some great menu ideas for your family!

Menu Plan Monday - January 16, 2017

Hello my friends! Hope this week has treated you well! This was our first full week back to full time everything - school, all the after school activities and of course, work. I'm extremely proud of myself (and my friend Alana) for going two straight weeks bringing lunch to work and not going out! It's like a miracle! We used to go out for lunch (and spend money) every single day pretty much. If we had brought lunch, we would still go out and shop in the mall beside work. Now we hang out in one of the lunchrooms at work and make plans, get organized and figure out what's next up!

Our family managed to mostly stay on the menu plan this week too! There were a couple of days where I need to swap one days' planned dinner for another, but we stuck pretty close! I'm also trying to get back on the organizing train. For those of you who have read along with me since the beginning will remember, a lot of my past posts were about simple living, following a minimal-ish lifestyle and household organizing. Since the first of January I have been following along with Peter Walsh's #31Days2GetOrganized and trying to complete the mini-challenges each day.

Here's a photo from the challenge this week to get your kitchen utensils under control - it was an easy task, I didn't spend more than ten minutes working on it, but gave me a little sense of accomplishment and incentive to keep going on my journey!

On the menu this week - a few family favorites, and one of my faves too!!

Monday: Turkey Pot Pie
Tuesday: Ravioli Lasagne (my favorite!)
Wednesday: Crockpot Honey Chicken
Thursday: Salmon, rice and veggies
Friday: Miss A's heading to camp for the weekend! Out for dinner!
Saturday: Baked ham, mashed potatoes and veggies
Sunday: Teriyaki chicken rice and veggies

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I really appreciate it!! Here's hoping this is the first of many posts this year!! I'll be linking up to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday, stop over and check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - January 2, 2017

Hello old friends!! I know it's been a L-O-N-G time since I made an appearance here, but it's a new year, and I'm going to try to use this little corner of the internet to help me get back to being organized, even in chaos. Life has changed a lot over the past year, my kiddos are now 10 and almost 8, I got a new job, and I have two new nephews and another niece or nephew on the way!

My new job has meant less down time for me, and it also means I'm working more and after work I perform my usual chauffeur services to ferry the girls between the dance studio, brownies, girl guides, and their other activities. In fact, I spent today filling in the activities on our new 2017 family calendar that we keep on the fridge so everyone knows who has to be where, when!

We tried to keep our holiday season really chill this year. When in years past we did an Advent Activity Calendar, and wrapped and read a Christmas book each night this year we didn't plan out our activities for every single day. Instead, we made plans with friends and family as they came up and tried to slow down and enjoy our time with our loved ones.

We did plan one new event this year that we hope to make into a family tradition for years to come - a cousins Christmas party. This year my adult cousins and I planned a night where we all got together, kid free (except the newborns) and just enjoyed each other, had some yummy appies and drinks and chilled out! It was so much fun, and we managed to get almost all of the cousins together! At this party, my cousin, who is going back to work next week after her year's maternity leave reminded me that the menu plans I used to be so good about making were some of her dinner inspirations in her own home! She has two very busy little boys, and having a dinner plan helps her to keep her sanity in check, feed her family healthy meals and help avoid having cereal for dinner 3 times a week!

So, to help her (and me!!) out, I spent today filling out my calendar, and planning our menu for the next month - yes, you heard that correctly, MONTH! I like to plan out the whole month so I don't end up repeating recipes over the month long span. Also, planning for the whole month allows all members of the family to request a favorite meal! I let the girls pick two or three favorites, the hubs gets a couple of picks and mama gets to choose the rest! So, without further adieu, here is the first week of menus for 2017!!

Monday: Chicken Burrito Bowls (with lots of leftovers for lunch at work!)
Tuesday: Cheeseburgers and roasted potato wedges
Wednesday: Perogies and sausage
Thursday: Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
Friday: Rotisserie chicken, salad and hot dinner rolls
Saturday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Sunday: Turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes and veggies (freezer meal, makes dinner for today plus a bunch more for the freezer for future dinners!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I really appreciate it!! Here's hoping this is the first of many posts this year!! I'll be linking up to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday, stop over and check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Nov 16, 2015

Happy Monday my friends!!! Does anyone else feel like time is just flying by?? Can you believe it’s already the middle of November?? I feel like as organized as I try to be, I am super behind schedule!! Normally I would have all of my shopping done, most of the gifts wrapped, the tree ready to put up, and all my Christmas cards written and ready to mail – this year… Notsomuch :(.

2014 Cookie Exchange Goodies!!!

I guess I had better get cracking on my to-do lists!! This week I am really excited to share with you one of my family traditions, ten years in the making!! This December, a group of ladies and I will celebrate my 10th Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange!! It’s a great way for us to get together, have some wine and appies and share our favorite cookie recipes! The event is a lot of fun, but follows some pretty strict rules – check back in later this week to find out how to host an amazing cookie exchange!

One thing I have been able to stick to (list wise anyway) is menu planning! I have found myself looking back over my old recipes here on the blog to find some old favorites that I forgot about!!

On the menu this week:

Monday: Homemade pizzas
Tuesday: Fish burgers and French Fries
Wednesday: Pasta with veggies and prawns
Thursday: New Recipe – Beef and Broccoli
Friday: Chicken strips and potato wedges
Saturday: Everyone is out tonight – hockey game, Girl Guide camp, sleepover… Mama’s going Christmas Shopping! Dinner will be Starbucks fueling me on!!
Sunday: Chicken Fajitas and Cheese Quesadillas

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - November 9, 2015

Happy Monday my friends!!! I’m not sure what the weather was like where you are, but in our neck of the woods, this past weekend was soaking wet and completely miserable – a perfect weekend to stay indoors, watch movies and sports and drink hot cocoa.

Link to this amazing recipe!!

When I saw an entire weekend without a single commitment on it (after recovering from my shock!!), I figured that I would have a ton of time to finish organizing the girls clothes in their newly shared room, and get to work on my crafting space in Miss E’s old room. Instead, we were Lazy Bones Joneses all day Saturday! Sunday after church, the girls and I went Christmas shopping for a couple of hours and then there was a great afternoon of Lego building, so alas, the organizing plan fell to the wayside… oh well, there’s always next time!

This week, after Remembrance Day, of course, I am putting together a post about all of my favorite Christmas organizing and planning ideas. Christmas is a BIG DEAL in our house, and in order to make sure we don’t miss a single tradition, I need to plan things out early!! Come back over here for a read later this week!

On the menu this week:

Monday: Spaghetti and meat sauce with garlic breadsticks
Tuesday: Dinner at my moms!
Wednesday: Salmon, rice and veggies
Thursday: Perogies and farmer sausage
Friday: Brinner! Breakfast for dinner!!
Saturday: Homemade burgers and fries
Sunday: Chicken Florentine Lasagne

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Nov 2, 2015

Good morning!! I hope you all had a safe and exciting Hallowe’en! We had a split household this year – one 6 year old trick or treating witch and one stay-home-and-hand-out-candy nine year old. Miss E brought in a great haul of candy, and Miss A went on a trip to Purdy’s for her favorite candy (hedgehogs). A fair trade off, I think!

Can you believe it’s November already? It’s definitely time to get my organization hat on and get ready for Christmas! We don’t start decorating until after Remembrance Day (obviously) but the shopping I need to get done quickly! I get majorly stressed out fighting with people at the mall in December.

This week, once I finish planning out our November menu plan, I hope to put together a post on my favorite ways to organize Christmas – how to budget, how to make sure you don’t miss a gift, and how to keep your family Christmas traditions alive and strong. New to our family traditions this year is our Elf on the Shelf, Scarlett. The girls can’t wait until she arrives back this December 1!!

On the menu this week:
Monday: Fettucine with homemade alfredo and prawns
Tuesday: Fish and chips
Wednesday: Pork tenderloin, potatoes and veg (my sister is cooking!!)
Thursday: Turkey tacos and cheese quesadillas
Friday: Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic breadsticks
Saturday: Teriyaki chicken, rice and stir fried veggies
Sunday: Roasted chicken, potato wedges and veggies
I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 26, 2015

Good morning!! After a weekend of gorgeous weather it looks like fall is finally upon us… pouring rain and not very warm… makes me want to curl up with a good book and a blanket in front of the fireplace. We had a fantastic weekend though! Travelled an hour away to get my littles to an Irish Dancing Feis (competition) and they did fantastic! Yesterday we spent the day cleaning the house and preparing for the week.

I’m so pleased with my fam for how we managed to get through yesterday! We made a GIANT to-do/clean list and managed to get through the whole thing. Everyone pitched in and we not only got all of the chores done, but the girls and I packed and prepped for the week’s activities, baked for a party tonight, AND my husband went grocery shopping!! I know, crazy, right??

This week we’re hoping to try out a new recipe that I can share with you on the weekend! Also in the works (since I missed it last week) is my post about my master bedroom closet. Two weeks later and it still looks fantastic and is completely functional!

On the menu this week:

Monday: Cajun Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo

Tuesday: Fish tacos with a zesty lime slaw, homemade guacamole

Wednesday: Cheese and bacon quiche

Thursday: Chicken parmesan and spaghetti

Friday: New recipe – Beef and Broccoli

Saturday: Hallowe’en – Pizza and candy for dinner!!

Sunday: Tex Mex Lasagne

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 19, 2015

I made this!! Can you believe it??? 

Good morning!! I hope you all had a great weekend – mine was completely chaotic, filled family photos with our fave photographer, birthday parties, Operation Shoreline Cleanup and a fun filled Paint Nite out with some of my fave ladies!

My minions and a friend cleaning up a local park as a community service #GirlGuidesinAction

I am so so so thankful that I was pushed by my friend Alana to get back to blogging. Without the push of making this schedule for myself, I pretty much didn’t plan a meal all summer and we just ate whatever was quick and easy, which was not necessarily wholesome and nutritious. This week we are fully booked once again, and the girls have a dance competition an hour away, so part of my menu “plan” will be planning to eat dinner on the road a few times!

I hope you will have time to check back in on the blog later this week! I’ll be posting about our master bedroom closet overhaul – it’s a big big big change!!

On the menu this week:
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Tuesday: Lettuce wraps, gyoza and rice
Wednesday: Chicken fajitas and cheese quesadillas
Thursday: Homemade pizzas!!
Friday: Kids are at a birthday party – Date night dinner out for mama!!
Saturday: Kids dance competition! Dinner out!

Sunday: Tex Mex Lasagne
I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Oct 5, 2015

Hello everyone! I hope you are all keeping well!! I know it’s been ages since I checked in her – I missed a whole summer – but I’m hoping to be able to get back to blogging a little bit at a time. As I am sure all the mama’s out there know, back to school is a crazy time, and my girls are scheduled to the max! Between their activities and me working full time, this place seems to get forgotten.

After taking the summer off from planning and organizing and trying to enjoy the many adventures with my husband and girls, I finally managed to pull together a menu plan for the month of September. Even more exciting than a whole month of dinners all planned out?? We managed to stick to it most days!!

Today I wrote out our menu plan for the rest of October. When I printed out the blank calendar, I had a complete brain freeze. I couldn’t think of a single recipe that I wanted to make… I went through my archives on the blog and found some recipes that I can’t wait to make again! First on the list - Baked SalmonParmesan and Turkey Meatloaf!!

It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend, so with the extra day off from work I’m going to hopefully manage to get a couple of freezer meals (Tex Mex Lasagne and Baked Ziti) prepped and put together to make the rest of the month even easier!

On the menu this week:
Monday: Pizza and Salad
Tuesday: Scalloped potatoes, BBQ chicken breasts and beans
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, cheese quesadillas
Thursday: Baked salmon parmesan, rice and veggies

Friday: Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s – I’m bringing Chocolate Éclair Cake
Saturday: Turkey pot pie
Sunday: My birthday! Maybe we’ll go out for dinner?

Here’s hoping I can manage to a) follow the menu plan; and b) continue on the planned blogging schedule I’m trying to keep! Wish me luck!

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - March 30, 2015

Happy Monday my friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! If you live out here on the Wet (I mean West) Coast, I hope you managed to stay dry! We had a pretty low-key weekend, which almost never happens, but it gave us the opportunity to re-try a cookie recipe that failed for us a few weeks ago. Did you see it? We made Super Amazing Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Belle at the World Irish Dance Championships!!

Our schedule is a little all over the map this week. We have a week off from dance, as our teachers at the Steel School of Irish Dance are accompanying some of our dancers to the World Irish Dancing Championships in Montreal!! Here is a photo of the dancer who inspires my girls to dance - her name is Belle and she is amazing!! 11 years old and dancing on a World Stage!!!

Since we'll be home Monday and Tuesday, we expand our dinner options! Normally we only have an hour between activities to prep/cook/eat dinner, so this week we'll be able to have a proper dinner. Also this week, my lovely husband and I are heading out to a fancy award dinner. My husband is up for an award at work, and I can't be more proud.

On the menu this week:

Monday: New recipe! Spicy smoked sausage alfredo bake
Tuesday: Smashed potatoes, turkey meatballs and veggies
Wednesday: Mom and Dad having dinner out!
Thursday: Mac n cheese
Friday: Salmon, rice and steamed asparagus
Saturday: Cheeseburgers and fries
Sunday: Easter Dinner with family

I'll be linking up with OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday - you should check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - March 1, 2015

I can hardly believe I just typed the words March 1 in the subject line for this post! March??? When did that happen???We had an amazing weekend, filled with family, friends and trophies!! We celebrated Miss E’s 6th birthday with a rainbow themed party at our local gymnastics facility. She had a ton of friends and a ton of fun. All the kids left the party a sweaty mess, filled with sugar and with giant smiles on their faces!

Yesterday the girls competed in a feisanna (Irish dancing competition) with a few hundred other competitors. I’m so proud to say that the Steel School of Irish Dance dominated the winner’s podium! Both of my girls rocked their dances and they both won medals and even more exciting – they won trophies!

The Cinnamon Swirl Bread post that I shared last week was gobbled up in mere minutes by the girls.  Make sure to serve a few slices right out of the oven.... it was amazing!!

Last week’s menu plan was a great success – we managed to follow along five out of seven days. Although we didn’t get a chance to try out the new recipe I had planned for Sunday, I think I’ll add that on to this week’s menu to try it out.

On the menu this week:
Monday: Spaghetti Carbonara
Tuesday: Teriyaki chicken stir fry and spring rolls
Wednesday: Kiddo’s cooking tonight – chicken strips, fries and salad
Thursday: Baked Ziti
Friday: Bacon wrapped pork roast, parmesan roasted potato wedges and steamed vegetables
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Kung Pao chicken and rice
I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!

Menu Plan Monday - Feb 23, 2015

Hello my friends!! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We celebrated our littlest little, Miss E getting ready to turn SIX! Our whole family (except my sister, who had to work) got together for an evening of lasagne, cake and good times.

Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!! That's what I have in my future! Miss E needs cupcakes for her kindergarten class, cupcakes for her Sparks group, and of course, cupcakes for her birthday party this weekend! Throw in a batch of cupcakes for a baby shower this weekend, and I figure I have about 125 cupcakes to bake this week. Hopefully I'll be able to fit some actual food into the plan for the week, too!

This past week was filled with amazingly delicious meals. A few recipes I have shared with you already (Tex Mex Lasagne and Chicken Florentine Lasagne) and another recipe for a Lemon Butter chicken that I will hopefully be able to share with you later this week!

I'm not gonna lie to you guys... this week we are not looking at the worlds most healthy dinners. It's just going to be a crazy busy week and we'll be lucky to have meals that can be cooked in under 20 minutes (because that's about how long we have at home most evenings this week)... wish us luck!!

On the menu this week:

Monday: Spaghetti with turkey meatballs
Tuesday: Tortellini with prawns and homemade alfredo sauce
Wednesday: Chicken nugget sliders and fries
Thursday: Pizza
Friday: Turkey meat loaf, scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies
Saturday: Pizza at Miss E's birthday bash!
Sunday: New recipe! Shrimp & broccoli stir fry and pot stickers

I’ll be linking my menu plan up to OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday – check it out!!