Can we seriously be clocking in at the last week of September already? Three kids in three different schools is making me dizzy trying to keep it all straight. The paper alone can be suffucating that is for sure. I’ll definitely have to post on the strategies I’m using to manage it all but tool number one consists of the use of a very big garbage can 🙂
So last week’s dinner menu went well but boy did I veer off track a few times. We never did end up having the soup I’d planned so that will definitely go back on the menu this week. Potato soup is my daughter’s favorite and I’ve promised her this week for sure.
I did however make the Black Bean, Corn & Chicken Chili (on Thursday, rather than Tuesday!) and it was really good. The big hunks of tomato from the canned tomatoes didn’t go over too well with the kids so next time I would use the petite cut tomatoes to see if that makes a difference with them. The best part was watching my “slaves” work hard preparing dinner that day.
Chili and Buttermilk Wheat Bread in the bread machine. Yum!
Have you got a bread machine hiding away in a cupboard? Why not pull it out and make the bread machine recipe linked above (or the one below), it is so good and your family will definitely think you are a ROCK STAR!!
Weekly Resource:
Making Menus with SayMmm ~ an excellent tutorial by Defrump Me
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I also wanted to tell you about a fantastic Special Fall Bundle that Menu Planning Central is offering this week only ~ this special bundle for fall includes TWELVE ebooks as listed below for only $10.00!!
– All About Apples (Valued at $5.97)
Who doesn’t love a fresh crisp apple this time of year! This e-book walks you through the various apples and their uses, the best way to buy apples, what to do if you end up with a ton of apples, delicious yummy apple recipes and much more.– All About Pumpkins (Valued at $5.97)
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This resource includes 29 super fun and creative fall & Halloween recipes the whole family is sure to love – everything from Halloween Party Fondue, to Vampire Bat Stew, to Ghosts on a stick.– Eat Whole Foods – For the Health of It (Valued at 12.97)
Our family is working on cutting out a lot of processed foods. In this ebook I share what whole foods are, why they are important, info. on organics, how to eat whole foods on a budget and much more. If you are interested in learning more about whole foods – this is a great guide!– Halloween Week Menu (Valued at $6.97)
Halloween is often one of kids favorite holidays! How about making the entire week super fun! We have created a Halloween week dinner menu (with a grocery shopping list of course) to make it a fun food week your kids will never forget! (Don’t worry – these are super easy recipes that the entire family will enjoy!)– Halloween Fun Recipes & Party Games (Valued at $5.97)
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Sleepovers – so much fun for the kids, but sometimes a lot of work for the parents! This illustrated recipe resource takes you through a few of our very favorite sleepover recipes – step by step! Now feeding all those kids is taken care of!– Slow Cooker Recipe Book (Valued at $14.97)
I absolutely love using my slow cooker in the fall – the aroma of dinner drifts through the house all day, and feeding the family is a cinch come supper time! I have gathered up 54 pages of my favorite slow cooker recipes to share with you.– Spooky & Fun Halloween Recipes (Valued at $5.97)
Okay, maybe I went a little overboard on the Halloween Recipes – what can I say! There are so many yummy ideas!– Seven Simple Steps to a Super Halloween Party (Valued at $7.97)
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Okay so I hope everyone has a fantastic week. I can’t wait to see what you’ll be eating. Thanks for sharing your plans week after week!
My Menu:
Monday: Pizza Penne Bake
Tuesday: Mashed Potato Sausage Bake
Wednesday: Spud Special Soup (slow cooker) served with homemade bread machine garlic bread
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Cheeseburger Flatbread Melts (thanks to Bottled Beauty for the recipe link) – I don’t think it’s the healthiest of recipes but I know my family will gobble them up
Saturday: Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken served over rice
Sunday: Picking night!!
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU PLAN THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Monday guidelines and banner selections are here.
The Happy Housewife says
My kids don’t like tomato chunks either. I usually omit them or mash them up so they will eat them in most recipes.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m not a big fan either.
That is a great deal on resources, I’m off to check them out.
Toni
Liz@PocketChangeGourmet says
I need to use my bread machine more. It’s so easy and I always forget about it.
Thanks for hosting Laura!
~Liz@HoosierHomemade & Pocket Change Gourmet
Miranda says
Sounds like it is always busy at your house with the kids at all different schools! Thanks for taking the time to host us every week!
Tammy says
Hi, Laura.
I can only imagine what it’s like to keep 3 children in 3 different schools and their schedules.
The chicken chili sounds great!
Sept. 25th – Salad & crudités available
Sun. – Shrimp cocktail, grilled steak, sweet potatoes, asparagus, corn, rolls
Mon. – Quesadillas – chicken (leftover grilled in freezer), beans, black olives, & cheese on wheat tortillas, blue corn chips, salsa
Tues. – Out – coupon for a free 2 lb. lobster at a local restaurant
Wed. – Mama’s amazing ziti
Thurs. – Chorizo & cheese wrapped in crescent rolls, eggs
Fri. – Pizza
Sat. – Groupon for Mexican restaurant or grill
Mon.SackLunch – leftover steak, carrots, raspberries, cheese, roll, brown rice crispy treat
TSL – Pizza, fruit strip, snack
WSL – Turkey sandwich, string cheese, carrots, snack
ThSL – Leftover Ziti, snack
FSL – Spaghettios & meatballs, fruit strip, snack
I would love to hear more ideas for sack lunches. My oldest son doesn’t eat pbj, yogurt, or applesauce.
Thanks!
MrsD05 says
Not sure if you will see it at this point but thought I would respond just in case. I make sack lunches everyday for my 31 year-old pickier than any child I’ve ever met husband. Thank the good Lord above he will eat pb&j but I get tired of making the same thing over… and… oh sorry I got so bored thinking about it I nodded off. 😉
Here are some alternatives:
Kabobs- take anything your kid likes and skewer it on a stick. It makes it more fun! My husband likes salami, cherry tomatoes & cheddar cheese chunks
Wraps- take whatever your kid will eat in a sandwich and put it in a wrap roll it up and cut it into spirals. My husband like peanut butter mixed with a little greek yogurt spread on a tortilla with banana slices down the middle, I roll it up slice it and he has peanut butter & banana spirals. Might not work for you since your son doesn’t like pb&j but maybe it will help you think of something that your son would like…
Pita pockets- Stuff with chicken salad, egg salad (which I love but would make my husband retch) or just fun stuff like tomatoes, lettuce, chicken & salad dressing
Make your own Lunchables! Crackers + cheese + meat + a fun treat! Rubbermaid makes perfect containers for these. I think they are meant for sandwiches but it is the perfect amount of room for everything. I just keep things divided by using silicone cupcake liners. They keep the crackers from getting soggy!
Soup in a thermos! If you are lazy, like me, it can even come from a can! I have a thermos that can also be microwaved but I usually do the whole prep the thermos, heat the soup, put the soup in the heated thermos thing anyway to make it easier on the hubs.
Well I hope something here will help you… I know I have done other things I just can’t think of them…
Tammy says
Thank you so much! I appreciate it! Great ideas! Thanks!
Miz Helen says
Good Morning Laura,
Everything on your menu looks good to me today. Thanks for hosting and have a wonderful week!
Miz Helen
Jen (Balancing Beauty and Bedlam) says
Potato Soup is one of our family faves, along with taco soup, and I can’t wait for it to get a bit chillier here in NC to have soups simmering all day. With me hosting Tasty Tuesday each week, I have been negligent on linking up here, but really need to get organized again with posting my weekly meal plan, so I hope to make this a priority.
Thanks for sharing your inspiration. 🙂
Jen
Laura says
Thanks Jen, I’ll definitely have to check out Tasty Tuesday for some new ideas!!
annika says
Cheeseburger Flatbread – YUM! My family would love those! Chili Soup and bread sounds delicious today, it is rainy and cool here today. Thanks for more great recipes 🙂
Patty says
The bundle looks great. I am going to check it out right now. And hope paypal is an option. Thank you!
Patty
Erin@TheHumbledHomemaker says
This is my second week linking up, but I didn’t comment last week. I’m so excited to get some new recipes! I included a recipe for a creamy potato soup (tonight’s supper!) on this week’s meal plan. 🙂
Laura says
Thanks for joining us Erin!
Tiffany says
I miss our bread machine. But now I have a 13 year old son who loves bread and likes to bake. He can make a pretty good loaf of Artisan bread in 5 minutes a Day nearly by himself.
Laura says
That’s awesome! Yum 🙂
Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
I could not live without my bread machine! I use it to make pizza dough, pretzel dough, all kinds of breads. I actually have not bought a loaf of bread in probably like 5-6 months. I do not use it bake the bread though only to make the dough. I prefer to use a bread pan and bake it in the oven.
I actually just posted today about a simple trick to cut homemade bread…because it can get real tricky trying to slice nice uniform slices.
Also, I cannot wait to read about your school paper mgt tricks. My dining room table is being taken over!
Queen of the House says
Yum! I’ve decided that chili will be on our menu….tonight! :0)
Thanks for the great idea!
Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says
Thanks! Is that picture with the crockpot and bread machine yours? If so, I have the same crockpot. Cool :). Anyway, I am with you on the large garbage can for school papers. I am actually going to write a post for how I organize our school papers- 3 tools-a garbage can and two paper trays :). I can’t wait to see yours, too!
Laura says
Yes that is my picture…my two favorite tools! 🙂 I actually went and bought a fancy dancy programmable crockpot one time and ended up selling it because I didn’t like it. I like my simple three setting crockpot (warm, low, high) the best!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Yep, schools send out a lot of stuff- most of which ends up in recycling here as well. 🙂 I was going to wing it this week with a Chicken & chili soup, but I think I’ll use your link, since it’s already been tried out! Thanks- Jami
April @ Angel Foods Kitchen says
That spud special soup sounds really good, and I cant wait to try it out next week.
I’m like you and love my bread machine and use it to make fresh bread almost everyday. I also use it to mix up my pizza dough. I’d be lost without it.
Thanks for hosting MPM Laura and have a great week!
Shawnee H says
Thanks for all the great ideas!!!
Kendra aka The Meanest Momma says
Hey Laura,
I’ve enjoyed participating in MPM for quite a while and have been meaning to ask/request…
is there a way to make the link-up fields larger?
trying to post the name of url is such a pain because you can’t see the whole field and something about the magic of the field it keeps trying to jump back to the beginning of the field, making it impossible to see if I have put a typo in at the end.
If it’s possible to extend the length (or change the “refocus” action) I would be soo soo greatful.
Thanks for hosting!
Laura says
Hi Kendra, I will check that for next time, I’m really not sure. I did make the thumbnails bigger this time and am wondering what everyone thinks of that. There use to be 5 thumbnails across and today there are only four. What do you think?
Kendra aka The Meanest Momma says
The bigger seems fine, but honestly, I didn’t even notice the difference. With the link-up exceeding 300, it might be worth it to keep it smaller, just to keep 5 per row.
beth@redandhoney says
Hi! I just added my link (#239) but forgot to mention that this is my first time! Thanks for the inspiration!
Laura says
Welcome Beth, thanks for participating!!
Amy J says
The potato soup sounds great – and I have all the ingredients withering in my fridge and garage! However, your link was for a stove top version – would you please share how you adapted it to crockpot?
Laura says
I simply make the soup in the afternoon when the kiddos are at school and then cook it on low in the slow cooker for a couple of hours until dinner. Works really well.
Cassie says
Thanks for hosting. I am just getting back into meal planning and love seeing all the links!
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
I know they say so many people have a bread maker sitting in the cupboard unused but I use mine all the time. What can be better than throwing a few things in a machine and having fresh bread a few hours later? It’s great watching them work away!
Laura says
The best!
Jenne says
I made the spud special soup last night with some homemade parmesan cream crackers (from the cooking channel). OH my, it was so delicious. I did add some precooked bacon to it when I added the milk but since my oldest isn’t crazy about bacon, the next time I make it I will crumble up bacon for a garnish. Thanks for sharing your menus. I come here everyday!!!