Sneak Peek at Next Week

Here's what we have planned for next week:

-- Grilled Apple Salad with Cheese and Bacon Crumbles
-- Quinoa and Cranberry Protein Plate
-- Thai Chicken Pizza
-- Chickpeas with Rice

Have I ever shared this with you?  It's from Real Simple Magazine, and is my favorite tool for organizing my trips to the grocery store.  I downloaded it and printed off a bunch of copies.  I plug in my weekly meal plan, and then write down the ingredients that I need by category.  It makes trips through the grocery store so much quicker, because I don't have to backtrack five times to the produce section because I forgot something!

Sneak Peek at Next Week

I've already got my meals planned for next week!  Here is what we're looking forward to:

-- Soup au Pistou
-- Coconut Chicken Fingers
-- Luau Chicken with Pineapple and Carrots
-- Fried Eggs and "Refried" Beans Burritos

Meanwhile, I have tomorrow off and am looking forward to doing a little baking, but I haven't decided yet what to bake!  Any good ideas or inspiration?  Then we are going to upstate NY on Saturday for a little overnight getaway.  Aren't holiday weekends the best?

Sneak Peek at Next Week

I made sure to get my plan for next week done ahead of time to get to the grocery stores before there is no food left!  Everyone is going crazy around here with hurricane predictions.  I am hoping that all we get is a good rainy day -- I would not complain about being stuck inside doing a little bit of baking.

Here is my plan for the week.  My mother-in-law is coming for dinner Wednesday.  Which recipe do you think I should serve?

-- Hearty Minestrone Soup with Mediterranean-Parmesan Bread-sticks

-- Fast Veggie Pizza with Oregano Hummus

-- White Chicken Chili Blanca with Baked Tortilla Chips

-- Stovetop Tex-Mex Mac and Cheese with Toasted Cornbread Crumbs and Orange-Soy Broccoli

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Well, I'm back to work next week, which means back to getting dinner on the table after a long day of work, just like the rest of the world!  I'm making two microwave recipes (so fabulously retro, right?) and one make-ahead recipe so that we can have wholesome meals while I get to relax a bit after work.

Here's our roster:
-- Sweet and Tangy Lettuce Wraps
-- Pasta Fagioli Casserole
-- Apple-Cheddar Quesadillas, with a Fruit, Nut, and Cheese Salad over Greens
-- Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Well, I may not have always been a faithful blogger, but I have been a faithful meal planner!  This coming week I am off of work.  We have no fancy travel plans, really, but I'm looking forwards to doing a lot of cooking!


Here is what we are having:

• Polenta "Fries" and Zucchini Sticks with Roasted Tomato Sauce
• Fig and Rosemary Flatbread
• Cinnamon Bacon Carbonara made with homemade pasta (my first attempt!)
• Meatloaf with Roasted Vegetables

I've also promised my husband a good batch of hot cross buns.  Do you have any good recipes to recommend?  There's one in my copy of Nigella Feast that I was thinking of trying.

Sneak Peek at Next Week

This weekend is flying by!  Don't you wish that they were all three-day weekends?

Here's what we'll be eating in the week to come...if we ever get to the grocery store!

-- Slow Cooker Thai Chili Chicken and Noodles
-- Fusilli with Spicy Pesto
-- Arugula Salad with Roasted Fruit and Challah Croutons
-- Turkey and Cheese Waffle Sandwiches with Stewed Apples

Sneak Peek at Next Week

One more work day till the long weekend!  Anyone doing anything fun?  We are staying at a B&B in Saratoga, and hanging out in both Saratoga and the Albany, NY area, which is, coincidentally, where I grew up.  I am so excited!  It is beautiful there this time of year.  I am hoping to get a little more apple picking in -- at Indian Ladder Farms, where I went growing up.  They have the best cider doughnuts.  My husband has never had a cider doughnot, can you believe that?  So I am taking him to get the best of the best!

Here's what we'll be eating when we get back...along with a lot of apples, I hope!

-- Spaghetti alla Carbonara
-- Fast French Onion Soup
-- African Chicken Stew with Couscous
-- Roasted Pears, Walnut, and Goat Cheese on a Green Salad

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Can you believe it's the weekend again?  Well, I'm not complaining! 
Here's our plan for next week:

-- Pasta with Chilli, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella
-- Chilli Cashew Chicken Noodles
-- Pizza Napoli (on French Bread!)
-- Southwestern Bean Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Sneak Peek at Next Week

TGIF!  We are going to a potluck tonight, and I'm bringing along a fall version of Marion Burros' famous plum torte, with apples and cranberries instead of plums.  I can't wait to try it!  My mom made that plum torte a lot when I was growing up, and I have VERY fond memories of it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

So, here's what else we're looking forward to eating around here!
- Breakfast for Dinner: Egg McMuffin sandwiches
- Bacon and Cheese Panini
- Hearty Minestrone Soup with Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks
- Parmesan Burgers served with Spinach, Bacon, and Egg Salad

Anyone else have any good plans?

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Well, I am still here and I still exist!  I teach pre-kindergarten, and the kids started up at school this week.  Every year, I am surprised how much energy it takes to settle them in!  But I have a great slow-cooker recipe from this past week to share with you, so check back in tomorrow.

As for the week coming up...here's what we have planned!

-- Panini Night: Tomato, Cheese, and Basil Panini AND Pizza Panini
-- Pesto, Spinach, and Broccoli Pizza
-- Cold Soy Sesame Noodles and Spring Rolls
-- Spicy Honey-Nut Chicken with Barbecued Succotash

Anyone have any exciting recipes planned for next week?  Do share!

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Whew, it is finally Friday!  Thank goodness for that!  I am enjoying a sneak preview of fall weather these few days here in the Boston area -- it is cooling down a little.

So here's what up on the roster for next week.  Looks like it will be a busy week for me, as the kids at school are finally starting, and I have a few appointments after school.  So I tried to find some good, quick dinner solutions!  This is what we're having:

-- Sloppy Bombay Joes
-- Hot Dog night!  Baked Beans and a slaw on the side
-- Egg Foo Yung, with a side of rice
-- Salad Nicoise in Pita Pockets
-- Cuban Beans and Rice

Anyone trying any interesting new recipes next week?  Or have fun weekend plans? 

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Whew!  I had a long week!  My classroom is all set up though, and I'm excited to see kids actually playing in it!

Here's what's coming up next week, dinner-wise...
-- Muffleta Sandwiches
-- Homemade Chicken Sausages with Colcannon and Applesauce
-- Chickpeas and Rice, with Zucchini, Dates, and Feta, served with Matzo Ball Soup (this is what we're having for Rosh Hashanah)
-- Broccoli-Egg-Cheese Burritos

I am really excited to try the homemade chicken sausages with colcannon and applesauce.  I can't decide if I'm more excited about the side dishes or the main course there!

Sneak Peek at Next Week

I have a lot of teacher trainings next week and some later days, so we are going to realy heavily on the slow cooker!  Here's what we're having...

-Summer Squash Enchilada Casserole with Three Cheeses
-Vegetarian Cholent
-Easiest Pinto Bean and Brown Rice Chili
-Arugula Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Crisp Turkey Bacon

Can you guess which one is NOT going in my slow cooker?!?!

Sneak Peak at Next Week

Well, I am back to work next week, starting Wednesday.  It was hard to remember how to find some quicker recipes to make!  But, I managed.  Here's what we're having:

-- Salad with Potatoes, Green Beans, and Corn in my Buttermilk Dill Dressing
-- Sesame Chicken with Spicy Dipping Sauce
-- Corn Cakes with Chives, Caramelized Onions, and Feta Cheese
-- Huevos Rancheros
-- Louisiana Catfish with Okra and Corn, served wtih Cornbread

We'll be having lots of side salads this week, due to my big win.  Yes, my big win!  I won a bunch of coupons for Olivia's Organics salads from the lovely Megan over at Delicious Dishings, one of my favorite Boston-area food blogs.  This represents the first time I have won something since I was six and won Chipper the goldfish at the Forest Park Elementary School fair (Chipper was a good fish who lived a long time and who I still miss).  I cannot tell you the excitement these salad coupons have created!  Usually those Olivia's Organics salads are things that I stare at sadly and longingly, and then walk by, since they are a little out of our usual budget.  But not now!  It is great to be able to start off the school year with quick, healthy options ready to go in the fridge.  My mother-in-law LOVES those salads, and she always saves the containers for me to use in my classroom.  Now I will start the school year off with a double stock!  They are great for storage, for art projects, and for planting things in!  Word on the street is that my mom-in-law is a little jealous of all the salad coupons...perhaps I should invite her over for a good salad dinner! 

Hope you all have a great weekend.  What are you doing?  We are going to a Red Sox game tonight!

Sneak Peek at Next Week

Next week is my last full week of summer vacation, though I am already obsessing over where to put the furniture in my new classroom!
Here's what's on our menu:
-- Polenta with Meat Sauce
-- Carmelized Onion and Cheese Panini
-- Kasha Varnishkes, topped with Hard-Boiled Egg
-- Skillet Macaroni and Cheese
I am especially excited about the macaroni and cheese...that's one of my favorite things to eat!