Foodmomiac

Weekly Menu - Week of December 17th

This is a crazy week. We leave for New Orleans on Sunday, and we have plans nearly every day leading up to that. I don't want to do any major food shopping, so I'm predicting lots of take out.

Last night we attended the wedding of our old babysitter. It was so sweet. They are very young, and very much in love.

Tonight we are having our traditional Hanukkah dinner. We were going to eat it on Saturday, but then we went out for a late, last-minute lunch of Korean BBQ, and after all of that beef, we were in no mood for brisket and latkes.

So, tonight is Braised Brisket, Potato Latkes and Salad
Tomorrow I have a meeting at Dylan's school at 6, so I'm thinking Michael will order something in for himself and the kids.
Wednesday I'm taking another class at that cooking school, so it's Michael and the kids fending for themselves once again. Pizza maybe?
Thursday we have a bunch of holiday parties, but I will try to make some bolognese with the leftover brisket.
Friday no clue.
Saturday no clue.

Sunday, N'Awlins baby!

Funkadelic - A weekly menu brainstorm

Oh, I am in such a cooking funk. I haven't done weekly menus in a couple of weeks. The food I've made has NOT been well-received. And, living where we do, it's pretty easy to just give into the funk. The family is more than happy to have food delivered, so there isn't much incentive to snap out of it.

Michael is in Singapore all week, so it's just me and the kids. Last night we had spaghetti with butter and tomato sauce (thanks Stefania!). Tonight we are having bratwurst (they are in the crockpot on low with a bottle of beer right now). The rest of the week? Honestly, I have no idea. Thursday we'll probably do pizza because Michael will be home. Tuesday might be a good night for Butternut Squash. I have plain, cooked spaghetti in the fridge, so perhaps I'll serve it as a pasta bake, once again a la Stefania. Wednesday is the only night up in the air, now. I am tempted to pick up a rotisserie at Whole Foods. I'll make my own potatoes and salad. This is subject to change.

So, here is what we have:

Sunday: spaghetti with tomato/butter sauce
Monday: brats with peppers and onions on a roll
Tuesday: Butternut Squash pasta bake
Wednesday: rotisserie chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and salad
Thursday: pizza night
Friday: delivery
Saturday: Hanukkah dinner at home

Weekly Menu - Week of 11/19 (The Interactive Version)

I'm trying to figure out our menu for the week, and I don't plan on doing any major food shopping. The baby is still sick (tips on cleaning vomit from an antique wool oriental rug, anyone?), and we leave on Wednesday for Toledo. I need to use up the food in our fridge. So, I'll list the major ingredients I have on hand, and hopefully you guys will have some good suggestions. Assume I have all major pantry staples (onion, garlic, pasta, rice, couscous, etc.). Anything with an asterisk is somewhat urgent - if it isn't eaten before we leave, it might need to be tossed.

• Goat cheese*
• Butternut squash
• Carrots*
• Eggs*
• Shredded italian blend cheese
• Shredded mexican blend cheese
• 5 Lemons*
• 1 Avocado*
• Chicken stock - homemade
• Onions
• Garlic
• 1 1b. Boneless chuck roast
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 large smoked polish sausage*
• Old, mushy apples*

I do have some ideas, but I'm eager to see what you guys have up your sleeves.

UPDATE:

Sunday: Chicken and noodles (chicken stock thickened with roux, and cooked with egg noodles, shredded chicken meat, chopped carrots and frozen peas)

Monday: Polish sausage/Comte cheese frittata served with lots of mustard and a Sierra Nevada pale ale. (Max is on a pedialtye-only diet, and Dylan ate Annie's brand spaghetti-0's in the shape of Arthur. She was anti-frittata.)

Weekly Menu - Week of November 12th

Today was Dylan's fifth birthday. We had a crazy party at the Chicago Children's Museum and ate a delicious and extravagant Barbie cake. It's hard to believe my big girl is five. I was just compiling pictures from every year of her life for her school celebration tomorrow, and it's amazing to me. She is so old and mature now, but as I told my mom earlier today, Dylan has been "Dylan" from day one. She has one of the largest personalities I have ever encountered. She does everything big; bright outfits, loud talking, huge tantrums, enormous expressions of love... She is so very full of life, and I adore spending time with her. We had a grand time this evening preparing muffins for her school party. We used Moxie's recipe, but added a big frozen cherry to each muffin instead of zucchini, carrot or jam. They smell great, and I'm pleased with how healthy they are. This is the first school party that won't feature ice cream cone cupcakes, but Dyl's new teacher is pretty strict (in a GREAT way) and insisted on healthy treats. Mission accomplished.

OK, enough sappiness. Time for the weekly menu. We're on a frugal kick, so I tried to get all of my food shopping accomplished today at the supermarket. The daily trips to Whole Foods can really add up (I think it is immpossible to leave that place without dropping at least $50).

Sunday: We ate leftover pizza from the birthday party.
Monday: Pork Chops
Tuesday: Tortellini and Salad
Wednesday: Stuffed Butternut Squash
Thursday: Taco Casserole
Friday: TBD, probably takeout
Saturday: BIG Michigan/Ohio State football game (GO BLUE!!) We'll be out somewhere.

I'm too pooped to write this out by hand and take a picture, but please feel free to post your menus to the Flickr Pool and/or write them in the comments. If you have your own blog, just post a link!

Weekly Menu - Week of 11/6/06

  Weekly Menu - Week of 11/6/06 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

Here's the latest installment of the Foodmomiac Weekly menu. As always, please leave me a link to your menu in the comments (or just post them there if you don't have a blog). I'm always running out of ideas, so it super helpful to see what you guys cook every day!

Tonight was comfort food; roast chicken, sweet potatoes (soul food style), stuffing made from a bag and green beans. Tasty, all of it.

Update!!! I have just created a Flickr Photo Pool for Weekly Menus. If you write yours out by hand, please take a picture of it and upload it to the group. If you need help doing this, email me at danielle (at) foodmomiac dot com.

Weekly Menu - Week of October 30

This is going to be a week of old favorites. We are having some major issues here (will write more tonight, likely), and I know in advance that I will have little to no time to prepare any dinners. So, we are turning to the easy favorites, and using leftovers judiciously.

Sunday: Last night I made Chicken Parmesan. I made a couple of extra breaded cutlets, and though we only used about a third of it (if that), I prepared an entire pound of spaghetti. I also made extra sauce.

Monday: Chili. I am going to make a huge vat of chili. This will take little prep time. Leftovers will be frozen for future use.

Tuesday: Halloween craziness, and the first of three nights in a row that Michael is out of town. Pizza made with dough from Trader Joe's.

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thursday: Squash soup in the crockpot - I have a recipe for an Asian-flavored variety, but I think that sticking with my old standard recipe might be the best bet this week. No matter, there will be plenty of squash at the market for a while yet.

Friday/Saturday: Take out or eat out (we might be traveling)

Weekly Menu - Week of October 23, 2006

The eGullet week was fun, but boy am I glad to be back to normal life!!

Let's try to get back to the normal routine, shall we? I will post my weekly menu today, and will get back to Dear Foodmomiac on Wednesday. (And please feel free to send questions - I'd love to keep the hopper full.)

As I mentioned previously, feel free to post a link to your weekly menu in the comments section (or leave a trackback if you know how).

Foodmomiac Weekly Menu, October 23

Monday: Chicken and Noodles (made with leftover rotisserie chicken)
Tuesday: Finnish Meatballs with Noodles (I'll make extra noodles on Monday)
Wednesday: Caribbean Black Beans with Rice
Thursday: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (made with leftover pot roast from tonight's dinner)
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: My birthday! Out to dinner with Michael

Weekly Menus

How many of you guys make a weekly menu? As I've mentioned before, I suck at it. Once in a while, I make one, but we are big fans of spontenaity, and we usually end up skipping one or two of our scheduled meals in favor of impromptu pizza night, or satisfaction of a craving for Thai food delivery.

BUT, I think that weekly menus are a great tool for saving money, avoiding food waste and keeping life organized. I would personally like to do a better job at this. I'm going to once again try to post weekly menus up on this site, and I would love all of you to do the same. The more participants we get, the better we will ALL be at sticking to this. If you have a blog, please send a trackback to my weekly menu post or post the link in my comments. If you DON'T have a blog, just put the menu right in the comments section.

Our Weekly Menu - Week of October 9

Notes: Michael is away most of this week, which makes meal planning that much harder.

Monday: A Trader Joe's special. Gorgonzola ravioli tossed with pumpkin butter and topped with crushed spiced pecans.

Tuesday: Homemade Borsht or other soup using beets

Wednesday: Mac and Cheese with Peas for the kids (I'm going out)

Thursday: Fried rice made with leftover crispy duck from Sunday's Chinese food delivery

Friday: Pizza night

Saturday: Out to dinner sans kids

Sunday: TBD (my eGullet food blog starts Sunday, so this will be fun - more details to come)