Weekly Meal Plan

Gee I wish my fridge looked half so full.  It's end of pay period and it shows!  There's one lonely potato, one onion in the bin under the cabinet.  There's half a loaf of bread and a head of lettuce in the fridge along with a dozen eggs and a pound of butter.  Even our stock of frozen beef is getting low.  Time to do a nice stocking up shopping trip once again. I have plenty of pantry food items (well all except decaf coffee) but the produce and meat supplies are thin.  That's the way it goes.  Always one set of items that are low, low, almost gone.  Personal care products, over the counter meds and first aid supplies, paper products.  I guess I might as well face it: groceries are like laundry and dishes.  They always want to be done again!



We had a couple of lovely mornings with the windows open.  Not this morning and not any other day this week per the newspaper which is blatantly opposite what the weather lady on the local channel shared earlier today, naturally.  Does seem since they are in the same town they might coordinate their forecast doesn't it?

We've a little busier week than usual ahead of us.  We'll squeeze it all in but having a menu plan will be a tremendous help.  I was looking for inspiration earlier today and found it on my Pinterest board, taking a hint from that Rhonda who did this two weeks ago I believe.  I guess I'm just a scatter brain today.  I keep forgetting why I've walked into a room or I set up coffee but forget to start the pot or forget the clothes I've just washed, etc.  I went over to Pinterest to look for inspiration for our dinner (found it, too) and then decided to look around for meal ideas for the week ahead but I got lost.  I started deleting recipes that have been sitting a long long time on my board, and moved the recipes I've actually tried to a different board.  Great way to totally waste an afternoon ladies, and part of an evening, too.  That's why it's 9pm and I'm only just writing this post!

Beefy Baked Ravioli, Green Salad w/ Homemade croutons, Bess' Famous French Coconut Pie
Never fear I shall share both these recipes.  The Ravioli dish came together quickly and was on the table in under 40 minutes.  Bess' pie is awesome.  She made these for Katie's big dinner at her home back in July and they were about GONE with just a few folks to eat them!  John hinted broadly for this pie Friday evening and even though I'd been thinking along the lines of another dessert entirely, I made a half recipe this morning (it makes two big deep dish pies).  All I can say is, Bess has got a keeper in this recipe.

Chicken Rice Alfredo Bake, Steamed Broccoli, Fruit Salad
A nice stretchy sort of meal.  I don't really have enough chicken to serve but this sort of dish will help stretch it out.  Gosh but I'll be glad to do my shopping this week!  The recipe is new to me, will let you know if it's a keeper.

Spicy Apple Glazed Meatballs, Noodles, Coleslaw with Apples
Another 'new' recipe.  The last one I'll introduce this week.  I actually have meatballs made in the freezer, just need to thaw and cook with the 'sauce' ingredients, a sort of oriental sauce that uses apple juice as a glazing liquid.

Oven Baked Beef Stew, Corn Muffins, Fruit Cocktail
Discovered we have a couple of jars of fruit cocktail that need to be used right away.  The beef stew has vegetables in the dish so no real need of extras. I'll use canned potatoes since I've only one fresh one.  And I'll be using my crock pot not the oven.  Much cooler to use the crock pot. I'll probably add a green salad.

Hot Dogs and Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Fresh Apples
This will no doubt be our quick meal after grocery shopping.  I'm sure to buy apples that day.

Homemade Sub Sandwich, Chips, Fresh Fruit
I'll prep ahead so we can eat when we come in from synagogue.

Oven Fried Chicken with Creamy Gravy and Biscuits,  Garden Peas, Apple and Grape Waldorf Salad
One of the grocery has chicken breasts on sale, so I'm going to pick up several pounds for the freezer.  This dish is an all in one.  You flour and brown the chicken in the oven, add a can of evaporated milk half way through the cooking, then plop biscuits on top to brown and bake.  It's a lovely old fashioned sort of dish and a good one for autumn...even if it isn't cool.