Welcome to another week of menu planning! Menu planning becomes especially important during this busy holiday season yet it’s one of the first things that seems to get neglected in all there is to do. For your sanity, please let me encourage you not to do that. You already have so much on your mind right now that taking that half hour or hour to plan your weekly menu today means that for the rest of the week you don’t have to think about what you’re going to cook. Mind you, you still have to cook it (I’m not a miracle worker people! :)) but advancing planning specifically allows you to chose meals that are quick and easy to prepare in order to free up time for other things. And at this time of the year “extra” time is going to come in really really handy I’m sure, not to mention the sanity it saves on top of it all!
As you can see I get a little excited talking about this stuff 🙂 Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit down with Kelly over at Wisdom Begun to discuss menu planning and why I love it so much. If you are interested you can check out that interview here.
Last week’s menu highlight definitely goes to the Honey Hoisin Chicken. Can we say YUMMY! Oh my gosh, I could literally drink the sauce up. And of course the fact that it was so easy to throw together as well didn’t hurt either 🙂
So here is what is on our menu for this week:
Monday: Beef and Vegetable Noodle Bowl
Tuesday: Ravioli Chicken Casserole
Wednesday: Honey-Garlic Pork Chops
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Oriental Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
Saturday: Spaghetti with meat sauce
Simple Supper Sunday
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Monday guidelines and banner selections are here.
Anna says
Love the new look of your site! Thought I was on the wrong blog at first. LOL!
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
How did I miss that Honey Hoisin Chicken? I’m heading over to check it out. Everything else looks yummy too!
Love your new design!
~Liz
Joy @ Five J's says
That beef & veg noodle bowl looks a lot like the stir fry we make. We used to make it with rice, but found that spaghetti noodles taste SO much yummier.
BTW, I accidentally got linked up twice. Could you delete my #27 link? Sorry! I don’t see the big red X to delete it myself.
Christine@Money Funk says
I am so glad to hear the Hoisin Chicken was divine! Definitely going to try this out next week. 😉
SnoWhite says
we love the beef and noodle bowl!
PlanningQueen says
Menu planning saves your sanity any time but particularly at this time of year! I have been actually planning monthly now, as I find the weeks just fly by so quickly!
Christine says
It’s been a while, but I’m back!
Susie's Homemade says
I have pork chops on my menu this week too:-)
Tiffany says
I’m so glad you liked the Honey Hoisin Chicken. A yummy, easy crockpot recipe is my favorite thing to discover.
Krista says
I love MPM!!!
Char says
My menu is up! The new site design looks great, Laura!
Clever Colleen says
Check out my menu plan. . . . courtesy of Stolen Moments. Love them! While you are at my blog, please follow me. . . I’d love to increase my following! 🙂 THANKS!
Amy says
The beef and noodle bowl is making me so hungry. Yum! Thanks for the recipe links. 🙂
Kelli says
Finally! This have slowed down some at my blog, so I am playing along again. 🙂 I have a couple of my recipes linked, but need to get busy typing more up. 🙂
I am off to visit some more blogs for inspiration. 🙂
Gudrun says
love the new blog design!
And yes, you are right. This time of year, a menu plan is so important. Allows me to remain sane and spend the time I want too with my family, not stressing about dinner. Hope you have a great week!
Mamie says
Menu planning is often the most enjoyable, relaxing time of the weekend for me!
Ronni says
My menu is up, we are trying alot of new recipes this week. I really like the new site. The Honey Hoisin Chicken looks really good, we are going to have to try that next week. Thanks.
Tara McMillan says
I am just starting my website..thanks for a great content idea!
floridamom says
Love your site! I really need to get back to menu planning, and hope that playing along here will help me stay with it.
Andy says
I’m trying out the Honey Hoisin Chicken this week- it sounds amazing.
Angela says
I’ve been taking a bloggy break and didn’t realize you had changed your blog look. Very spiffy!
Thanks for hosting!
Chelsea the Yarngeek says
Here’s my first MPM. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sammy says
This is my first Menu Plan Monday! I’m really excited about it! I’ve read a lot of these on my reader for months now and I’m finally taking the plunge! Sure did make groccery shopping a lot easier this week!
Shawnee H says
CONGRATS on winning one of the Candy Apple Red Kitchenaid Mixers from Pioneer Woman. I hope your Christmas wish comes true and your husband gets a job real soon!!
Blessings,
Shawnee
Judi says
Thanks for another great menu!!
JvW says
This is my first Menu Plan Monday with the group – I’ve been posting them for a while but never saw the rest. Thanks!
Nyky says
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I just started blogging about getting my life in some sort of order…and your blog has been addicting to me! I have three kids under the age of three and I can tell yur blog will help me tremendously! Menu planning is just what I needed.
Tamara says
Still hanging in here with the rush of the end of the school year. At least I have planned to have meals from the freezer and that is what we have got. Sorry there is nothing more inspirational in my menu this week.
purple moose says
Yup, that’s last week. Too busy to meal plan meant chaos in the kitchen. ARGH! Hopefully this week will be better.
Nice re-do on the blog, btw!
Jena OrganizingMommy says
Laura, I have an idea for the new year. I think we should link up our menus thematically. I’m not even sure what the categories should be. They could be : budget conscious/ gourmet/ vegetarian/ low fat/ everyday food/ etc.
So, when we are trying to look at everyone’s menus, it will be easier to find people who cook like us. Just an idea.