Menu Plan Monday 3/28

SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!! Five glorious days off from work. I tend to be overly-ambitious during my days off, and I'm already seeing how little time I truly have this week to cross off the tasks on my to-do list. There are the "needs" and the "wants," and I need to make time for both... for my sanity... and for our basic survival. Of course, cooking more complicated, elaborate meals is right in between needs and wants... we need to eat, right? Here's this week's lineup:

Sunday: leftovers from Cumin Indian Restaurant (our date night on Saturday)... it was good, except the dish I ended up ordering tasted EXACTLY like a dish I have been making at home. Sigh.
Monday: Asparagus Risotto (w/a pinch of saffron) & garlic bread
Tuesday: Modenese Pork Chops, homemade pierogies (frozen from when I made them a few weeks ago) & haricots verts (love that TJ put the French words for green beans on the bag!)
Wednesday: Croque Monsieur & salade (the croque monsieur is my most favorite French sandwich. Post coming later describing its awesomeness.)
Thursday: Chicken & black bean enchiladas & mexican rice
Friday: fig, caramelized onion & goat cheese pizza, salad
Saturday: Potstickers (from TJs), rice & egg rolls(TJs)

I'm also making Mexican Lasagna as a birthday gift for a great friend and hopefully am going to make some strawberry scones... because I had one at Panera last week and can't get it out of my mind. Yum.

Go to www.orgjunkie.com for more meal planning ideas!

Menu Plan Monday 3/21

Can someone please tell me how it is already MARCH 21?!?! Less than 3 months and the school year will be over. Each year seems to go by faster. Making more soup this week... even though it's almost 70 here today, it'll be back to 40 by the weekend. I also just happen to really like soup... especially the fact I can make as much of it as I want and have enough for lunches all week.

Here's this week's menu:
Sunday: leftovers from Cleveland's Melt Bar & Grilled (post on the restaurant coming soon)
Monday: homemade chicken noodle soup
Tuesday: italian wedding soup (making up a probably not so authentic recipe... probably chicken broth, TJs meatballs cut in 1/2 or 1/4, frozen spinach, israeli couscous, diced tomatoes, parmesan, onion & garlic)
Wednesday: black bean veggie burgers & rice
Thursday: Crustless broccoli cheese quiche (you can do any combo of ingredients with this recipe) & hashbrowns, fruit
Friday: game night with some friends :-) (make your own pizza!)
Saturday: a much-needed date night... place tbd

As always, go to www.orgjunkie.com for more meal plan ideas!

A season of waiting

I've been waiting for answers since the end of January about a career-related situation and have no clue how much longer I will have to wait. I know and believe God has a plan for my life, and that He knows every little detail of that plan...but for my own good, He will not reveal it to me until the time is right. And though it is important for me to plan for the future, my plans may not be what God wants. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

Knowing this truth is comforting... yet it is still HARD to be in a season of waiting. And it's even worse to be upset about everything when there are so many people in the world who are in much more difficult situations. Yet this is my day to day reality. "This Road" by Ginny Owens (came up on my Pandora station, of course) pretty much summarizes my feelings... with the exception of the first few lines that talk about suffering... because like I said before, with all that is going on in the world, I do not think the word "suffering" applies to my situation. This is painful; it is unfortunate; but I still have a wonderful family, great friends, a home, food & clothes, and for the time being, a job.

So here are my feelings, as stated so wonderfully by Ginny Owens:

In my heart I know your plan is so much bigger
But this small part is all that I can see
And I believe you haven't left me here to wander
Still I can't help but ponder where you're leading me
(chorus)
And I ask why this road
Why this way
And this load
Tell me how far must i go
Till I see
Till I know
Why this road

Menu Plan Monday 3/14

It's that time of year again... the time during which I pretend it truly is spring, even though it totally still feels (and often looks) like winter. I start wearing my shoes without socks and switch from my ski jacket to my lightweight fleeces... but when it comes to food, it's such an awkward season for planning meals. It feels weird to eat heavy winter dishes yet the produce I usually use for summer meals is nowhere near being ready. Thus, soup season continues.

Sunday: small group social (pizza)
Monday: tomato soup & leftovers from the weekend
Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup (I also add in black beans and probably more cumin... and cilantro)
Wednesday: Potato, Roasted Red Pepper & Chevre Frittata (substituting goat cheese for the feta) & grapefruit
Thursday: Garlic Parmesan Orzo (cut waaay back on the butter) & salad
Friday: off to Akron for the weekend for Mom's corned beef & cabbage, Irish soda bread & St. Patty's Day cupcakes. Yum-o.
Saturday: out somewhere in NE Ohio :-) And hopefully reliving my childhood at Hale Farm & Village's Maple Sugar Festival in the morning!

Jump over to orgjunkie.com for more meal planning ideas!

Menu Plan Monday 3/7

Last week was a little crazy, so I never got around to posting my menu plan... and we were in Florida Thursday through Sunday so I didn't cook very much. We got home pretty late on Sunday, so the meals this week are fairly simple since we will be adjusting back to normal life... and I'm going to avoid going to the grocery store for as long as possible.

Sunday: will be on a plane heading home from Florida [sigh]
Monday: Broccoli Cheese Soup (with a few modifications- post coming later)
Tuesday: Veggie Burgers & roasted potatoes
Wednesday: Chicken Sandwiches & carrots
Thursday: Red Beans & Rice
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: having some co-workers over for appetizers and desserts, but not sure what yet :-)