Menu Plan Monday 5/30

I love three day weekends. It was SO nice to have that extra day. Since my husband rarely has a day off and only has 10 vacation/sick days a year, days like today are super special for us. We did a lot of fun errands (aka shopping!!) this weekend and had a lot of quality time with friends and delicious food. Including tonight's dinner:
Yum. I just love the colors. This was our first time attempting kabobs (we are newbies in the grilling world... we've done chicken, hot dogs & burgers, so we took it to the next level with these.) I soaked the skewers for HOURS in water... but they still caught on fire... Any helpful hints?? The food was totally fine, with the exception of a few pieces of zucchini that got too close to the flames...

Sunday: grilling out here with some good friends :-)
Monday: Honey Chicken Kabobs & rice
Tuesday: whole wheat penne w/ red sauce & green beans
Wednesday: pancakes (I think they have been on the menu for 3 weeks in a row but we still haven't made them!), eggs & turkey bacon
Thursday: veggie burgers & pierogies
Friday: homemade pizza (again, didn't make from last week)
Saturday: not planning anything since there are ohhhh about 10 graduation parties I can go to and quite a few other options with family & friends. Gotta pack everything in before I leave the country!

This week is my last "real" week of school... 4 days and then the next week involves me giving exams Mon-Weds and then Thurs is a teacher work day. Summer is SO close.

no-vacation nation

I just saw this article on CNN.com. If you get me started on this topic, I will go on and on for quite some time.

The bottom line: we do not have nor do we take enough vacation in America. I know we need to work to provide for our families, but I wonder if more families would be stronger relationally if we spent more time together and less time working away from each other?

I love teaching my students about the school system in France. The looks on their faces each year are priceless. I print off this calendrier scolaire from the French government's website and pass it out.

All students in France start the school year at the beginning of September. At the end of October and into early November, they get 10 days off. They have a 2 week long Christmas break (mind you, we only had 9 days off last year, and 11 this). Then things get awesome, but slightly confusing: the government divided France into 3 different zones, and the next two breaks in the school year differ based on where you live. Everyone gets 2 weeks off in late February/early March (perfect time to hit the slopes in the Alps) and then another 2 weeks off in late April/early May. The school year continues throughout June, but they have all of July and all of August off for a summer vacation... and WHY can't we adopt this?

Menu Plan Monday 5/23

Well it has arrived... the last FIVE day week of the school year! I'm glad I have five whole days of work because my to-do list of grading and exam week prep is very, very long. Another easy week of meals. I really am getting excited to have more time to cook. AND more seasonal produce to choose from! We planted our garden this weekend and I really hope everything survives!

Sunday: small group cookout at our house! We used our grill for the 1st and 2nd time today... chicken for lunch and burgers for dinner!
Monday: leftover burgers & pasta salad
Tuesday: homemade hamburger helper
Wednesday: black blean, zucchini & tomato quesadillas & Mexican rice
Thursday: gnocchi with parmesan peppercorn sauce (can't find the recipe... might have been one I made up in my mind and never wrote down...)
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: hoping for nice weather so we can grill out!!

Menu Plan Monday 5/16 (on Tuesday)

My meal plan has been set since Sunday... but it was a very busy Sunday & Monday, and last night, we decided to watch the last week's episode of The Office during the time in which I would usually update my blog. It was a good choice- FINALLY a funny episode. Speaking of The Office, here is an awesome re-interpretation of the painting"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat (a French painter!) using the cast of The Office. Love it.

I am not really cooking much this week- we had all of my college housemates and their husbands at our house this weekend and I have leftovers. A lot of leftovers :)

Here's what we are eating this week:
Sunday: Tacos, Mexican Rice, corn & black bean salad (leftovers!)
Monday: Tacos, Mexican Rice, corn & black bean salad
Tuesday: Ravioli, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Quiche(leftover from the weekend), fruit
Thursday: I'm taking 40+ French club students to Bon Vie at Easton. Yikes. Please pray. If you live in Cbus, random French grammar fact... it should actually be called Bonne Vie, because vie, meaning "life," is a feminine noun, and adjective "good", which is bon, needs to agree with the gender of the noun it modifies. Oh how I love discussing French grammar :-)
Friday: pizza frozen from last Friday.
Saturday: hopefully using our grill for the first time... not sure what we will cook yet.

Menu Plan Monday 5/9

We FINALLY got some sunshine this weekend!! It was so nice to spend sometime outside yesterday afternoon. This week is super busy as I'm giving lots of quizzes and tests at school and will be getting ready for my housemates from college to come visit! Hopefully I can do some of my grading outside this week :-) Fun little culture tidbit- in France, they don't call French onion soup "French Onion Soup." It is simply called "Soupe à l'oignon"... soup with onion. Onions were on sale, and since it's still been rainy, I figured why not.
Here's what's on the menu:

Sunday: Mother's Day Brunch: chicken & mushroom crepes, roasted asparagus with thyme, and crepes with strawberries for dessert. Dinner: Soupe à l'oignon
Monday: Toad in a hole/egg in a frame (whatever you want to call it) & fruit
Tuesday: Pasta Primavera (probably cutting back on the cream...), bread
Wednesday: Veggie burgers & leftover soupe à l'oignon
Thursday: Honey garlic pork chops & baked potatoes
Friday: homemade pizza using this crust recipe
Saturday: out with my college housemates & their husbands!!!

go to http://orgjunkie.com/2011/05/menu-plan-monday-may-9th.html for more menu-planning ideas!

Menu Plan Monday 5/2

How is it already May?!? 24 more days of school, followed by 3 days of giving exams and 1 day to submit grades and finish everything up for the year. Crazy.

This week's menu plan is inspired by Cinco de Mayo... Even though I teach French, Mexican and Tex-Mex are some of my all-time favorite cuisines. We are having a French club picnic tomorrow after school, so that should balance this week out a little more :-)

Sunday: whole wheat linguine with this sauce, salad & baguette
Monday: Chicken Sandwiches, onion barley casserole (you need to try barley if you haven't had it before... it's healthy and the texture is amazing) & peas
Tuesday: Sweet potato & black bean burritos, Mexican rice & pico de gallo
Wednesday: Chicken Cilantro Wonton(from Trader Joes) Soup & egg rolls (from TJs)
Thursday: Southwest Chicken salads with cilantro lime vinaigrette
Friday: pizza
Saturday: out??

For more menu planning ideas, go to http://orgjunkie.com/2011/05/menu-plan-monday-may-2-2011.html