November meal plans ...

[DahliaDoll]

I thought I'd see if there is interest in posting weekly meal plans. There was a thread for September, but I didn't see one for October.

Here's my plan for this week (starting Monday):

November 2-8

• Monday ~ Egg roll in a bowl
• Tuesday ~ Stromboli
• Wednesday ~ Leftover chicken; salad
• Thursday ~ Leftover Polish Sausage Stew
• Friday ~ Shrimp; salad
• Saturday ~ Steak; salad
• Sunday ~ DH cooks (TBD … Stew?)

 

[teachermomof2]

November 1-7th

Sunday~ Chicken and Dumplings with Carrots
Monday~Soup and Grilled Cheese (Dance night)
Tuesday~Tacos
Wednesday~Chicken Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes
Thursday~Ham Steaks and Cabbage and Noodles
Friday~Kielbasa Bake
Saturday~Take Out

 

[Ahorsesoul]

I am really behind on this thread.

 

[DahliaDoll]

I am really behind on this thread.

I've been making weekly menu plans for about a year now. I've never done it before, but DH and I agree that it is really helpful. I make the plan with him during our morning coffee, so he has input. It's a flexible plan and not hard to do.

 

[jampss]

I thought I'd see if there is interest in posting weekly meal plans. There was a thread for September, but I didn't see one for October.

Here's my plan for this week (starting Monday):

November 2-8

• Monday ~ Egg roll in a bowl
• Tuesday ~ Stromboli
• Wednesday ~ Leftover chicken; salad
• Thursday ~ Leftover Polish Sausage Stew
• Friday ~ Shrimp; salad
• Saturday ~ Steak; salad
• Sunday ~ DH cooks (TBD … Stew?)

I love egg roll in a bowl!!

We will have:
Mon - Tacos
Tues- Thurs is our Local Meal Box Kit: Creamy Tortellini Soup with Parmesan, Basil, & Italian Sausage, Skillet Chicken with 3 Mustard Cream Sauce & Roasted Vegetable Medley, Hawaiian Poké Bowl with Ahi Tuna, Mango, & Avocado
Fri - Pizza, Salad
Sat - Hamburgers and mac & cheese with some veggie
Sun - Chicken Paprika and veggie

 

[MrsSoup]

Last week we rolled a dice and each of the kids chose what day they wanted in order of the dice rolls and we planned our meals that way. We haven't done that yet for this week and i'm grocery shopping tomorrow. We have a couple of leftover meals that didn't get made from last week due to events that came up so those will be first this week.

Monday- Burgers on the grill
Tuesday- Chicken and noodles w/ biscuits
Wednesday- Tacos w/ chips and salsa
Thursday- Country Pasta w/ salad
Friday- Bagel pizzas
Saturday-
Sunday-

 

[Lori K]

I've been doing weekly menu planning for years! And, following my husband's death 6 years ago, it continued to provide me with the structure I needed to move forward. Plus, I find that it has helped me maintain healthier eating habits. Although I don't always follow it 100%, at least I know that I have the ingredients I need to make a meal in-house. I meal-plan for all three meals -- breakfasts first, followed by dinners, and then lunch-plan based on what I expect to have available from left-overs. My dinner menu follows:

Monday -- mac and cheese, topped with BBQ and green onions (made from left-over pot roast)
Tuesday -- crock pot chicken, made with apples and dried cranberries
Weds. -- spaghetti with meatballs
Thurs. -- fish with roasted potatoes and cole slaw
Friday -- home made pepperoni pizza with a side salad
Saturday -- meatloaf, sloppy joes, or chili -- will depend on what's on the agenda that day
Sunday -- I'm hosting brunch for a couple of friends (have been in my "bubble" all along) and my DD and SIL. Will make a quiche, ham, cheese, and spinach strudel, a hash brown casserole, breakfast sausage, and banana or zucchini bread. Will snack on leftovers in the evening.

 

[missjane]

Monday - Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Field Peas, Broccoli
Tuesday - Gumbo
Wednesday - Leftover Gumbo
Thursday - Pork Chops, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans
Friday - Maybe eat out...ballgame??
Saturday - Chili
Sunday - Ritzy Chicken, Green Bean Bundles

 

[DahliaDoll]

Lori K ~ You do a lot of cooking for yourself. I'm not sure I would do that much if I were single, but I'm sure it's much healthier! Do you look for recipes that make less or do a lot of freezing of leftovers? Even for the two of us, we sure have a lot of leftovers. I do have them for lunch, but DH isn't much for reheating something for lunch. He's fine with leftovers for dinner though.

 

[Lori K]

Lori K ~ You do a lot of cooking for yourself. I'm not sure I would do that much if I were single, but I'm sure it's much healthier! Do you look for recipes that make less or do a lot of freezing of leftovers? Even for the two of us, we sure have a lot of leftovers. I do have them for lunch, but DH isn't much for reheating something for lunch. He's fine with leftovers for dinner though.

Thanks for your questions! I typically adjust a recipe down to 2 servings -- so if it says it serves 4, I'll cut it in half, if it serves 8, I'll reduce to 1/4, as much as possible. I will then have dinner, plus the second serving for lunch the next day, or I will use the extras in another way. When I buy fresh meat, I vacuum seal it into smaller packages; my pound of ground beef is frozen in two 1/2# packages; if chicken breasts are huge, I vacuum seal them individually, thighs are usually sealed 2 to a package. Since there's no way I can use a full roast by myself, I will vacuum seal and freeze half (fresh, not cooked) for later use.

As an example of how I use my menu plan, this past Sunday I cooked a 1/2 chuck roast in my crock pot. I had pot roast for dinner with potatoes and carrots that were cooked with it, plus I got two additional servings -- one serving was shredded with BBQ sauce added and topped my mac and cheese on Monday night, and I had a BBQ beef sandwich for lunch on Tuesday. The chicken breast with apples and cranberries was used in a similar way. It was a huge breast and I couldn't eat the entire thing. The leftovers will be made into chicken salad for today's lunch. I ended up having leftover mac and cheese (no BBQ added) for a quick dinner last night because I had a Zoom meeting that I'd forgotten about. My spaghetti will have to wait for another day.

I rarely freeze leftovers, though. Out of sight, out of mind, and it will stay there until I clean out the freezer. I also do some canning and preserving, and it's done in pint or half-pint portions, rather than quarts, so that I have more portion-appropriate goods available. Hope this helps!

ADDED NOTE: The BBQ on mac and cheese was served at a favorite bar and grill we used to frequent. They used pork, not beef. I like it better with pulled pork BBQ. But I made do with what I had on hand. It was still good, but pork is better.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

I need to try the roast as a topping on Mac and cheese.

 

[DahliaDoll]

Lori K ~ Great complete answer. Thank you. You've got it worked out perfectly.

The BBQ on mac and cheese sounds like a very interesting combination. I like to try to copy good recipes from restaurants, too. We have a "Sausalito Sandwich" that we like. We had the sandwich in Sausalito quite a few years ago. I copy it very simply with grilled chicken (theirs was turkey), on a ciabatta roll, with mayonnaise and roasted red pepper. It's the roasted red pepper that "makes it". Great use for leftover chicken.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Dh‘s meal tonight was scoops with Cheese and then he picked up cheese enchiladas from the local mexican place. It is not setting well with me and doing very little toward healthy healing.

 

[DahliaDoll]

New week, new plan:

November 9-15

• Monday ~ leftover smoked salmon chowder
• Tuesday ~ leftover Polish sausage stew (pre-cook Salisbury steak patties on Traeger for Wed. meal)
• Wednesday ~ Salisbury steak
• Thursday ~ Pork chops
• Friday ~ Salmon; salad
• Saturday ~ Denver omelet with ham
• Sunday ~ Chicken noodle soup (or other – DH cooks)

 

[Lori K]

Here's what's on the plan for Nov. 9-15 --

Monday -- Homemade pepperoni pizza with a tossed salad (well, with commercial dough that's been in the refrig for several weeks.​

Tuesday -- Crock pot chicken breast, rice or stuffing, vegetables​

Wednesday -- Steak found in freezer on the grill, smashed potatoes, salad​

Thursday -- Fish from freezer, roasted potatoes, cole slaw​

Friday -- spaghetti with meatballs or sausage, salad, garlic bread​

Saturday -- chili in the crock pot, sweet potato fries (?), cole slaw, corn bread muffins​

Sunday -- Hosting brunch for a couple in my "bubble" and DD and SIL; evening meal will be leftovers, I'm sure.​

 

[DahliaDoll]

November 16-22

• Monday ~ Broccoli, Ham, and Mozzarella Casserole (make 1/2 recipe); salad
• Tuesday ~ Late afternoon kaffee und kuchen (pumpkin pie) with friends; leftover Salisbury Steak (if we want something for dinner)
• Wednesday ~ Leftover salisbury steak
• Thursday ~ Salmon; salad
• Friday ~ Swiss Dip
• Saturday ~ Chicken; salad
• Sunday ~ DH cooks (Emelie’s Shredded Beef Tacos?)

 

[MrsSoup]

Week of November 15-20th

Sunday- Breakfast for dinner
Monday- Big salad w/breadsticks
Tuesday- Ham steaks, augratin potatoes, green beans
Wednesday- Pizza rollups, mini pigs in blankets
Thursday- Homemade chicken tenders
Friday- Stuffed shells or manicotti
Saturday- Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie Casserole (new recipe)

 

[teachermomof2]

Lori K ~ Great complete answer. Thank you. You've got it worked out perfectly.

The BBQ on mac and cheese sounds like a very interesting combination. I like to try to copy good recipes from restaurants, too. We have a "Sausalito Sandwich" that we like. We had the sandwich in Sausalito quite a few years ago. I copy it very simply with grilled chicken (theirs was turkey), on a ciabatta roll, with mayonnaise and roasted red pepper. It's the roasted red pepper that "makes it". Great use for leftover chicken.

I make the same sandwich! lol My family loves it!

 

[teachermomof2]

Week of November 15-21

Sunday~Italian Cutlets and Buttered Red Potatoes
Monday~Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Tuesday~Tortellini in Red Sauce with Veal Parmesan
Wednesday~ Copycat Chick-fil-a Sandwiches and Waffle Fries
Thursday~Kielbassa, Kraut and Mashed Potatoes
Friday~ Pizza and Wings (Homemade)
Saturday~Italian Wedding Soup

 

[Lori K]

Nov. 16-22
Monday -- chili with corn muffins and cole slaw
Tuesday -- crock pot chicken with salad and rice mix
Weds. -- tacos
Thurs. -- chicken a'la king with a side salad
Fri. -- pizza with a side salad
Sat. -- fruited chicken over rice, salad
Sun. -- ham slices with pineapple, scalloped potatoes, green beans or other veg, salad