Menu Plan Monday, 11/24 - 11/30
November 23rd, 2008
There were no really highlights this past week — I loved the Mushroom, Barley & Lentil Stew the first night we ate it, but I liked it less as leftovers and J. was way less enamored of it than I was. We’ll see how it is this week, defrosted from the freezer and reheated. I also tried a yeast bread for the first time, with modest results. The Pumpkin Dinner Rolls were just OK, and would have been better if I’d made them with all-purpose flour rather than whole wheat (my own fault, not the recipe’s). Finally, my Unstuffed Cabbage this time around was also just alright. It was definitely a week that reminded me it’s not about making some gourmet, delectable feast every night — my success is just in providing a homemade, healthy meal to my family.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this whole week leading up to Thursday will be special — my sister is in town, the boys are having special holiday events at their schools, and I am sure to hear more renditions of “Aren’t You Glad You’re Not a Turkey?” than ever before. We’re having 17 family members here this Thanksgiving, which makes me feel honored and blessed.
To make my pre-Thanksgiving preparation a little easier and to clear out some space in my tiny fridge, we’re eating from our stock of frozen meals this week (I’ve built up quite a bit of variety in there!).
Monday: Mushroom, Barley & Lentil Stew (freezer), Pumpkin Dinner Rolls (freezer), steamed carrots
Tuesday: Vegetarian Navy Bean & Kale Soup (freezer), cheese, French rolls (Alexia brand)
Wednesday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos (freezer), garden salad, rice
Thursday: Thanksgiving! (here is our menu)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: We’re having friends over during the day, but I haven’t figured out what to cook yet. Lasagna? Enchiladas? Or just assorted finger food?
Sunday: Take out
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
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Entry Filed under: Holidays, Meal Planning, Memes
I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .
9 Comments
1. Beth | November 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I am envious. Your healthy cooking is much healthier than mine.
I figure the boys barely eat my junkier cooking (homemade mac and cheese, pizza, tuna noodle casserole etc.) anyway so I might as well serve them healthy stuff and have them not eat it! — Dara
2. Ranee @ Arabian Knits | November 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
My meal plan this week is basically: Does this clean out my fridge? We’re using leftovers, eating sandwiches, etc. We host Thanksgiving for our families each year (we have the most children, so we reserve the right not to travel on holidays), and I do pretty much all the cooking (by preference, that isn’t a complaint). So, we need lots of room. We have two refrigerators and a cooler in our breezeway going during the holidays.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
3. Karen | November 24th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Sounds yummy!
4. seamaiden | November 24th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Ooh, sweet potato and black bean burritos sound lovely. It seems like the freezer works beautifully for you… I wish I had more than just a in unit freezer. We do try to freeze some dishes, but I would do more if there was more room!
-Sea
I have a relatively small, awkward drawer freezer on the bottom of my fridge (and no extra freezer!). I try to freeze almost everything flat, in quart Ziploc bags, so I can stack them. If I used Tupperware or similar I’d never fit anything! — Dara
5. Heidi @ Blue Eyed Blessings | November 24th, 2008 at 3:00 am
I’m impressed that you have so many “go to” freezer meals. A little jealous, too…
Heidi, I have lots of leftovers from my meals because my kids hardly eat anything and my husband is not home for dinner most nights. So even without planning for overage, I almost always have something I can freeze if I don’t think we’ll get to it in a day or so. (I would much rather my boys ate what I cooked than have leftovers!) — Dara
6. Sherry | November 24th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Great looking weekly menu and Thanksgiving menu!
Have a great day!
Sherry
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8
7. Laura from the Fringe | November 24th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Sounds great!
I stole one of your recipes from last week and put a link to it on my site with my Menu Monday posting.
Cheers!
8. Michelle | November 24th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Sounds so yummy, and so helpful!
9. merrie | November 24th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Because of Thanksgiving, I am also clearing out some freezer meals. Got to love that it is easy to have something in place!
I would do lasagna for friends on Saturday- it is cozy and so different than Thanksgiving food. Finger food is always fun, but many people eat that as apps on Thanksgiving. Who can resist lasagna?