Menu Plan Monday: Breakfast and Dinner Edition

We're counting down the days until the return to school, so I'm going to add a breakfast item to my menu beginning this week (we have gotten too attached to cold cereal and milk!). I'm easing myself into more hardy breakfasts so that I'm sending my kiddos off to school with a healthy start and full tummy come August 18th. Where I can, I'll make double or triple batches and freeze it so that there are leftovers for the first week or two of school when things start to get a little more busy around here.

As far as last week's menu, we had a few changes, but I was able to make the Rich and Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. It was delish with a dollop (or two, or three...) of sour cream. And, I let mine simmer quite a while since I like it to thicken up a bit. Mmm, mmm good! I highly recommend it if you like tomatoes. On with the menu so that I can cozy up with my newest book, Breaking Dawn (can't wait to read it...the reviews on Amazon have been very mixed!).

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Vegan Blueberry Muffins (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these!)

Dinner: Ravioli, salad, crusty bread

Tried and True Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Sausage and Rice Casserole (scroll down for the recipe once you click the link)

Work less on Wednesday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried fruit

Dinner: Mac and Cheese, peas, sliced fruit

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning):

Leftovers!

First Time Friday:

Breakfast: Peanut Butter Blender Bread with jam

Dinner: Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

Simple Saturday:

Breakfast: Grits (It's a southern thing!) and eggs

Dinner: Hamburgers, fries, green beans, fruit salad

Slow Cooker Sunday:

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: BBQ Riblets, corn, baked beans, garlic bread

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Visit Orgjunkie.com for more menu plans!

Celebrate National Cheesecake Day

It's all over the blogs I read, but just in case you are living under a rock (just kidding!), The Cheesecake Factory is celebrating 30 years in business and National Cheesecake Day by offering cheesecake slices for $1.50 each on July 30th! Like someone else said, the only downfall is the offer is limited to one per person. :(

Never fear, however; if you don't have a Cheesecake Factory nearby or just don't feel like fighting the crowds (because you KNOW there are going to be long waits for this one!), check out the Crockpot Lady's recipe for fuss-free CrockPot Cheesecake! Or, do both--you can never have too much cheesecake around. :)

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, I wanted to try some new pizza pockets. Unfortunately, due to old habits, I had the traditional pan pizza going in the oven before I remembered that I had planned to try something new. You'll see them again in this week's rotation so I can report back on my findings.

This week's menu is below. Check out orgjunkie.com every Monday for more meal planning ideas:

Meatless Monday: Baked potato bar

Tried and True Tuesday: Sausage and Rice Casserole (recipe at the end of this post), broccoli

Work less on Wednesday: Cold pasta salad, garlic bread sticks

Thanksgiving Thursday (so named after my family's traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning): Leftovers

First Time Friday: Pizza Pockets, cinnamon apples

Simple Saturday: Bratwursts with peppers and onions, oven fries, Easy Carrot Salad

Slow Cooker Sunday: Melt in Your Mouth Beef Brisket, rice, green salad [Note: The directions indicate that the beef is prepared on the stove top, but it's just as good in the slow cooker...dump everything in (saving the potatoes and carrots for the last couple of hours), set it to cook all day on med-high, and it will be perfect-o!]

Edited on 6/10/08: OOPS! I forgot to post my Sausage and Rice Casserole recipe for Tuesday. Here it goes:

Easy Sausage and Rice Casserole

1 lb sausage
1 c rice
1 can each of Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken soup (undiluted)
2 cans water

Brown the sausage, drain, and add it to a 9X13 casserole dish/pan. Add the rice, condensed soup, and two cans of water. Give everything a little stir, cover with tinfoil, and pop into a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so. Yummy and easy!

Easy Pineapple Salsa Chicken

A friend of mine is scheduled to be induced tomorrow morning, so I have been trying to decide what meal I'll be delivering in the next day or so. Each time we had a special delivery, a few of the ladies from church or extended family would bring something over. I SO appreciated this gesture. I think I'll make Easy Pineapple Salsa Chicken. It goes something like this:

4 chicken breasts (or whatever you have on hand)
1 can of black beans (no need to drain)
1 can of pineapple tidbits (Drain or don't drain...I'll leave it up to you. I will add that the pineapple juice makes some healthy and tasty popsicles for the kiddies!)
1 32oz jar of salsa

Directions: Put the ingredients in your crockpot and cook all day (about 8 hours) on low (or I guess you could do several hours on high).

You can wrap this stuff up in tortillas and serve with a side of Mexican rice, or just serve over plain rice.