Menu Plan ~ Week of September 29, 2008

Wow. I can’t believe that it is already Sunday night. Time really does fly. It seems like I just did my menu plan for last week. This week is going to be crazy, just as last week was. I have so much going on. I didn’t get half of what I wanted to get baked last week done, so I have moved some of it to this week. I am trying to concentrate on using stuff I have in the house and only buying fresh fruits, milk, eggs & veggies. Well, the $100 I spent at the grocery store today shows that I didn’t do as well as I had hoped! LOL! I really should stay out of the store when I am hungry.

Sunday ~ Grilled Salmon, okra medley (for me; brocooli for my peeps), steamed brown basmati rice and spinach salad. Oh, the kids also had leftover All Purpose Quick Bread.

Monday ~ Crockpot Roast Chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed green beans & salad.

Tuesday ~ Mexican Pizzas with ground turkey taco meat, mexican rice, & salad.

Wednesday ~ Cheeseburger In Paradise. Hannah has ice skating.

Thursday ~ Filet mignon, baked sweet potatoes or baked sweet potato fries & spinach salads

Friday ~ Homemade pizza, steamed broccoli & salad

Saturday ~ Breakfast for dinner (french toast for the kids), veggie frittata for moi, bacon & sweet potato hash browns.

Baking Projects for the Week
Applesauce Cake
Pie in a Pumpkin
Chocolate Chewies
Pumpkin Muffins (did these once, I need to perfect them)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I know that lots of people will proably cringe while reading this post or just scroll right on past it. That is fine. I think that with brussel sprouts, you either love them or hate them. There really is no in between. As with a lot of vegetables in this house, I am the only one who will eat them. I usually just steam them and then add S & P. Well, I picked up some fresh brussels the other day and decided to roast them. I cut off the stems, cut in half, tossed in about 1TBSP EVOO and S & P, then spread on a cookie sheet and baked at 375 for about 30 – 40 minutes. Most recipes I looked at online suggested a little bit of a higher temp at 400 for about 30 minutes, but I was also cooking our salmon at the same time and like to cook that at 375. These turned out phenomenal! I really wish that I could have coerced some of the stubborn members of my family to try these. They were the perfect compliment to steamed brown rice and salmon. I always add Frank’s Red Hot to my rice. I love that stuff!!

Oh, and for the curious, my salmon is made like this:

2-3 pieces of salmon, 4-6 ounces each
Dill
Garlic Pepper
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Sprinkle salmon with spices and splash of lemon juice.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
4. Check salmon to make sure that it is almost done. Turn oven to broil and broil for 2 minutes.

Very simple and very good. You could add butter to the salmon before you cook it. We used to, but I removed it b/c you really don’t need it. The salmon is wonderful without it.