I did it! I made a menu plan this week!

I haven’t made a menu plan in so long that I can’t remember the last time I had a menu plan!  Oh I have my old rotating menu plans and other menu plans but I haven’t actually planned meals out with any regularity in months. This week, however, with the help of my family,  I came up with a plan for one week.

This week’s plan is running Saturday through Friday:

Saturday—we had marinated chuck steak that we grilled along with Rice Pilaf and green beans

Sunday—Homemade Pizza… yum!  My husband is the pizza maker of the family.   The very first meal he ever cooked for me was pizza.  We hadn’t had homemade pizza in a long time.   We made one with sausage.  One with Canadian bacon and pineapple.  One with pepperoni and pineapple. And the fourth pizza?  My favorite!  Honeybear calls it garbage pizza.  BooBear and I call it veggie lover’s or supreme.  Sausage, pepperoni, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion and  green olives.    Left over pizza made a great lunch today!

Monday—Chicken Alfredo,  fresh carrots steamed and a large salad (3 kinds of lettuce along with some shredded carrots with green onion and radishes available for those who like them.

Tuesday—Taco Salad… or maybe Tacos.. I’m having a salad though!   3 kinds of lettuce, tortilla chips, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, salsa oh yes and taco meat.  There was a time when I wasn’t sure my family would eat taco salads.  A friend and her family had my family over to dinner and she served taco salads. It was a HUGE hit.  We’ve been eating them fairly regularly for years now!

Wednesday--- some type of vegetable soup.  I’m planning an experiment that would give the soup an Asian flare.  Soy Sauce, ginger & garlic.  Green onion?  Cabbage for sure and then some mix of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and more onion maybe?  Or I might do “Chinese” broth along with veggie filled dumplings (the recipe calls for shrimp but I don’t do shrimp.

Thursday--- Sweet and Sour Spam.  Yes, Spam.  Several years ago our church had a special potluck for a family that had moved away (military) and were stopping by for a visit on their way to their next duty station.  We were doing a Polynesian theme.  I asked my friend what the people in Guam ate and she said “Spam”.  So I did Sweet and Sour Spam.   This has become a very requested dish in my house and it is pretty much the only way you’ll get me to voluntarily eat that canned meat product.   The key is slicking the Spam super thin and browning it until it is nice and crispy. 

Friday--- We’ve planned for Falafel but we may not be home so that may get served on Monday.  I’ve not made homemade falafel before but BooBear and I have been wanting to try for ages.  I’ll be cheating though and using a mix.  I’ll make the sauce from scratch though.

Saturday--- doesn’t really have a plan yet but I’m leaning towards something very meaty and on the grill.  Hamburgers most likely. 

Sunday—Pizza… not homemade though.  The twins are having some friends over before the Dormition Fast begins on Monday. Their birthday falls during the fast. 

I’m hoping to come up with a two week menu plan that I can use as a basis for a rotating fasting season menu plan.  And I want to dust off and revamp my older rotating menu plan.  Life is just so much easier when I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner!