Menu Plan Monday: Week of August 1st, 2011

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It is August already.  This is the month my children will be returning to school. Actually the first day of school is only two weeks away.  My newly promoted 3rd grader is very nervous.  Is 3rd grade hard?  Will I be able to get good grades? He has always heard that 3rd grade was difficult.  We did some studying over the summer, my kids called it Mommy School.  LOL.  I'm not a homeschooler but did my best to try and keep they up on what they learned already.

I have done very little in the kitchen the past few weeks.  I mean I cooked dinners and fed my family.  The dinners served are extremely simple though.  I like to cook and love to try out new things, but lately the fight to get my kids to eat said gourmet items is weak in me.  We would much rather focus on our fabulous OUTDOOR activities.  My daughter told me just last night that she is so happy that we always have such lovely things to do.  That gives me the warm fuzzies!  :-D. We never leave home without a food plan though. What do I end up packing for outdoor activities? Fresh fruits, veggies and ranch dip, nachos and cheese, cereal bars.

My mind has been swirling around food though.  SCHOOL LUNCHES!  What can I do ahead?  My baking day will be my day off from school, Friday.  That also happens to be cleaning day as well since its my only day off!  I need a plan.  I am toying with the idea of making my meals up in advance for the week.  Sort of like OAMC only for just a week.  Our local Whole Foods market sells UDI's now (yay!) so I can let go of some of my make ahead items (maybe).  Bagels are a purchase option for us now and although I really don't like UDI's wonder bread type bagel it suits my daughter just fine.  She has absolutely NOTHING negative to say about it.  I can make a pizza on that bagel half.  Heck, she is even good with just a bagel and cream cheese for lunch too. And you know how a gluten free packed lunch does not fare well when bread is involved, the more stale consistency this bagel will take on by lunch time would actually be a complement to the bagel's texture.  Im our opinion anyway.  Only problem is the market here is small and they run out really fast.  You can not rely on your favorite products to always be there.  Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited that they are offering these products in first place, its just more competitive.

So far my plan for hot lunches is to make ahead and freeze in individual sized portions of:

Macaroni and Cheese.  With this recipe I notice that if I decrease the amount of pasta in half that gives me more cheese sauce to add into each portion.  This is absolutely necessary for freezing and reheating this dish.  Lack of adequate cheese sauce makes the re-heating not so lovely.

Cheeseburger Macaroni.  This dish is my ace in the hole.  My kids love this dish and will eat it EVERY time I serve it and without fight.  WIth such love, I thought this would make a great hot lunch option.  Again I will it make up making sure I have extra sauce and freeze individual portions.

Stuffed Shells.  I was thinking of ordering some giant shells from Tinkyada and stuffing them.  Then I can portion them and top with sauce.  Every time school serves ravioli, I can pack this for them.  No real recipe though, this is still a thought in process.

OK, enough chatter, onto the menu.  More ordinary food for us this week.

Meatless Monday:
Cheese Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Rice.
OEP canned enchilada sauce (tho good) is not a good substitution for Amy's Cheese Enchiladas.  Still on the hunt for a duplicate recipe.

Tuesday:
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, quick brown gravy.

Wednesday:
Rosemary Chicken, Cheesy Rice, veggies

Thursday:
Taco Dinner.  Im wondering if there are enough ripe tomatoes out there to serve at this meal.

Friday:
Home Made Gluten Free Pizza 

Saturday:
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sunday:
TBD

For other great dinner ideas visit OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday linky roundup.