Menus 3/13/11 - 3/19/11 and some ramblings

It's Spring Break here! The weather's supposed to be in the 70s all week, which is a true delight. We've already been to Zion once and will surely be back again. We're also going to help GolfDad out with replacing some sprinklers, as well as work on our own yard/garage. I'm getting my hair done and am going to go even shorter than I did six weeks ago. I do have one day planned for going onto the classroom - Monday, to get it over and done with - but at least some others from my team are coming in also, and we're going to go out to lunch (Woot! THAT never occurs on regular school days!). Toward the end of the week we might head up to Bryce Canyon, though it depends on how cold it still is there - I want to enjoy some SPRING!

So, I did plan for dinners, but things could change - I LOVE being on break!

Sunday, 3/13:  Healthy turkey burgers with feta cheese mixed in prior to grilling (topped with with a store brand of creamy cucumber salad dressing, lettuce, and tomatoes), slow cooker baked beans (from the freezer).

Monday, 3/14: Mom's tuna casserole (got bumped from last week), steamed broccoli, green salad.

Tuesday, 3/15: Cheap eat out - Mr. Mamie has a class and I am getting my hair done. It's his week to pick, so I am guessing it'll be Pollo Loco.

Wednesday, 3/16: Near East brand falafel, served in whole-wheat pita bread with yogurt-cucumber sauce and diced tomatoes and other garnishes. **Meatless**

Thursday, 3/17: Porcupine meatballs (making extra for the freezer), Irish potatoes, steamed green beans, Irish soda bread. Maybe the meatballs don't really "go" with the other vaguely St. Patrick's Day menu items, but they sounded appealing this week when I have the extra time to make them.  It's my menu, I can make it weird if I want!

Friday, 3/18: Chicken Gyros (chicken cooked on the grill) served in whole-wheat pitas with tzatziki sauce.

Saturday, 3/19: Basil cheeseburgers on the grill and served on homemade whole-wheat hamburger buns, baked sweet potato fries, burger garnishes.

Sunday, 3/20: Cheese Enchiladas with Tex-Mex Chili Gravy,  Mom's Arroz Mexicano (made with organic brown rice), lettuce/tomato topping for enchiladas.

Monday, 3/21: Moroccan Chicken Salad (minus the kalmata olives), served in Flatout brand multi-grain/flax wraps.  I included Monday the 21st on this menu plan as it is the last day of our Spring Break.  I'm looking forward to having leftovers of the chicken salad in my lunch when I go back on Tuesday!

I haven't made bread lately, as we recently got several loaves of Rudi's organic whole wheat bread from the clearance shelf at Natural Grocer's. It's nice to have bread in the freezer and free up time to make some other stuff.  We've been having smoothies for breakfast lately, something we crave when the weather warms up. I've also been enjoying Lazy Granola with yogurt as a quick breakfast, and need to make a new batch. I want to make several batches of cookie dough and freeze the (unbaked) dough balls to bake later.  I also hope to make at least a couple batches of muffins for the freezer, especially these peanut butter ones that the Igor family has been making and gobbling up lately.

For "freezer meals" I made TONS of turkey burger patties tonight (Healthy Turkey Burgers as well as Southwest-Style Turkey Burgers with green chilies added in) and will also make plenty extra of the Basil Cheeseburger patties.  I plan to double the recipes for both Mom's tuna casserole and  Porcupine meatballs. I'm going to make a big batch of taco meat sometime this week and freeze it in meal-sized potions. In addition to things already stashed in the freezer we'll have a nice little stockpile to help get us through some busy weeks coming up after Spring Break (lots of school events and other activities)!


~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)