Hello! Here’s our tentative menu for the week:

Corned Beef Hash (one for now, one for the freezer)
http://www.marthastewart.com/341197/corned-beef-hash?czone=holiday/spring-celebrations-cnt/st-patricks-day¢er=307033&gallery=274244&slide=341197

Burritos with Pineapple Salsa (Vegetarian)
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-pineapple-salsa-226-recipe-038.html
Aldi had whole pineapples and a package of jalapeños on sale for a buck each! Find an Aldi and embrace the savings!

Stir-Fry over Brown Rice
I wanted to use quinoa instead of the rice, but Michael likes that as well as lentils.
Frozen broccoli, shredded car rots, red onion, garlic, ground ginger, fresh asparagus, and two chicken thighs comprise the rest.

Spinach Crust Pizza (Vegetarian)
We’ll top that off with pizza sauce, onion, and cottage cheese.
By adding spinach to the dough I’m able to add more spinach than I would if I used it as a topping.
http://www.dollarfriendlymeals.com/post/2823197705/spinachpizzadough

Chicken Tortilla soup
I don’t know which recipe I’ll use, but Martha Stewart.com and BudgetBytes.com have some promising ones.

Kale, White Bean, and Chicken Soup
http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2012/03/chicken-beans-and-greens-soup-recipe.html

Potato Soup with Chicken
8 small potatoes
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 onion
1 cup cooked chick peas
2 -3 garlic cloves
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice everything, toss in pot, and cover with 8-9 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Once chicken is done, cool and refrigerate. The flavor will improve over a day or two.


Wow, that’s a lot of soup! Summer’s coming so it’s best to make the most of the soup days while they last!


These look yummy...
Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies

http://www.christinamarsigliese.com/2011/11/mexican-hot-chocolate-brownies-book-in.html

Michael said he'd clean up the mess if I make brownies. Sweet deal!

It's been one of those weeks. It's been one of those weeks that makes you truly appreciate sunshine, familial good health, and falling asleep at a reasonable hour. Such simple things, but this I've taken for granted. First Isaac, then James succumbed to a fever, lethargy, and severe congestion. Yesterday morning I felt it coming on. Today Michael feels it. At least he and I aren't running a fever! The boys' fevers subsided after a day or two, but the congestion has remained the same. Some virus is having a last hooray before summer officially begins - according to the calender.

I hope this warm weather continues. If it does it means that a group from church and I will be able to pick and put up cherries before the usual time in mid June to early July. We've run though our cherry stores and I'd really like to can (or will be able to) BEFORE baby arrives. Supposedly he/she debuts June 30, but you know how that goes! ;)

Due to a long week, I have no idea what our meal plan is. We'll forage and make room in the freezer for birth food. Still have that ham waiting to be eaten. Yum!

Here is a website that offers a $100 per week meal plan for a family of 6. All of the kids are teens, or nearly so. She offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in this plan.

http://thepeacefulmom.com/2012/04/20/100-budget-menu-420/

Have a good week!

Here are some site I visit for inspiration for meal plans:

budgetbytes.com

pinterest.com

marthastewart.com

dollarfriendlymeals.com

pennilessparenting.com

passionatehomemaking.com

This past weekend we traveled to my folks for Easter and James’ birthday. While there I found out that Meijer sells their no hormone, no anti-biotics whole chicken for $0.89 a POUND! YEAH! Next time we visit I’ll pick up some to prepare our “birth food”. (Birth food is food put up for the family with the new arrival to use after the birth.)

Wednesday I visited my midwife and had a good report. She did warn me that now I’m 28 weeks (due around June 30) it’s normal to drag for a few weeks due to low iron. This is the last major increase of blood my body will produce for the baby – or maybe the baby’s self-producing by now. Yesterday it hit me. So this week’s menu will be less involved than some others or allow me to make ahead. My iron levels will return to normal by next month.

Michael has been nominated for two scholarships! This Tuesday he and a guest (so happy he picked me!) will attend a dinner in Indy and will be put up for a night in a hotel! At the dinner the scholarship committee will announce the winners of a $1,500 and $2,000 scholarship. Even if he doesn’t win, it will be a great date that we’re both eagerly awaiting.

Homemade Pizza


Homemade Tortillas, Black Beans, Rice, Cheese, Salsa (couldn’t fit fresh spinach into this week’s budget)


Turkey Burgers and Fresh Asparagus
20 oz package of ground gobbler
1 egg
Handful of oats (Or saltines, dry breadcrumbs)
Oregano
1/4c frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Tomato sauce/salsa
½ t each of salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced


Sorry I can’t be more specific about measurements. I mix all the ingredients until it it’s still wet… you know, burger consistency! With one package of turkey I get 6 burgers. Form into patties and cook on a pre-heated skillet/griddle on medium heat.

Pasta with Homemade Pasta Sauce
Cottage cheese and refried beans added for protein. I wanted to use white beans, but read beans were what I had on hand. Still tastes great! Oh, there’s kale in the sauce for our greens.

Ham Chowder
http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/2011/01/ham-chowder.html
I bought a ham prior to Easter when I knew I’d get a great price - $.77/lb. Rather than serving ham by itself, I’m going to stretch it by preparing it in dishes like this one. All of the leftover ham will be cubed, bagged, and frozen until I get my game plan together. Hopefully I’ll be able to use some of it for birth food.

Tuna Melts and Frozen Green Beans
I’ll be basing this meal off of this recipe. I’ll use some extra tomato sauce, reduce the mayo and add some spicy mustard, and who knows what else.

http://www.starkist.com/recipe/classic-tuna-melt

Someone told me that "nesting" hit earlier and earlier the more kids you have. At the time I didint believe it but now I do! Closests and shelves need re-organizing (gag), the pile of laundry on our extra bed needs to be exterminated, the laundry area needs cleaning, and a general de-cluttering and deep cleaning all around would do the house good. So this week's menu will both help to clear out the fridge, freezer, AND pantry and allow me to focus on non-culinary things. A week or two ago a friend gave us some quinoa and I'm excited to use it!


Shepherd's Pie (in the freezer, made from left-over corned beef)
Tomato Soup (see previous entry for "pasta sauce", just add milk at the end)

Make extra Pasta sauce for later in the week. :)

Quinoa Spinich Bake, carrots on the side
http://www.marthastewart.com/258876/quinoa-spinach-bake?center=852566&gallery=359926&slide=258876


Broccoli Calzones
I'm going to add some cottage cheese to these for a creamy texture.
http://www.marthastewart.com/313608/broccoli-calzones?czone=food/vegetarian-cnt/vegetarian-favorite-recipes¢er=852566&gallery=360627&slide=262689


Vegetable Chowder
Great way to use some of last summer's corn!
http://www.marthastewart.com/318061/vegetable-chowder?czone=food/vegetarian-cnt/vegetarian-favorite-recipes¢er=852566&gallery=357873&slide=263726


Home-made Burritos

Slow Cooker Taco Soup, cornbread
This is the first time I've tried this technique: throw all ingredients into a gallon freezer bag. On the morning of the day you plan to serve this, toss contents of bag into cooker, set on low, and check after 6 - 8 hours.

Add to a freezer gallon bag:

1.5 cups cooked hamburger
1 cup crushed tomato
1 cup yogurt (part of the ranch flavoring)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 minced jalepeno, seeds included
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. paprika

To Taste:

green pepper
red onion
corn
any other Mexicany veggie your heart desires


After adding contents of bag to crock-pot, add a cup or two of water.




Polenta and Pasta Sauce
Sounds fancy, huh? Everthing sounds better in Italian. Polenta is how Italians say "corn grits".


A certain teething 11 month old needs attention so I'll be back...