Menu Plan Monday!

Hi! How was your weekend?  The weather in our neck of the woods was absolutely fabulous!! We did LOTS of playing outside, went on bike rides and got in several games of Daddy Dodge ball :)  I got all of my kids' fall/winter clothes put away and their spring/summer clothes out....YAY!  That is one of my least favorite tasks...but the whole time I was doing it I focused on how BLESSED we are with an abundance of clothes and healthy, vivacious children who get to wear them :)

I also made a huge batch of M & M cookies...I think I will share that recipe later on this week! :)

Time to share our weekly menu plan! My husband will be at a couple dinner meetings this week- so I planned EASY, HAPPY KID dinners for those nights.  Truth be told- some nights I just want to give my kids a bowl of cereal for dinner (and sometimes I do!! :)- but I always feel better when I have meals planned out- even on the nights my husband won't be home for dinner.  Even if it is crazy town...I love sitting down and having dinner with all of my girls and precious baby boy (who eats as much as his almost 3 year old sister- HA!! :)

I am making a HUGE pot of potato corn chowder today (Monday) because I am bringing in a big crock pot of it for my daughters' Teacher Appreciation Luncheon later this week.  I doubled the batch- which makes more than enough to fill a big crock pot and for our family to have several meals!  I posted the recipe awhile back- check it out here if you are interested! I am going to make some hot ham and cheese sandwiches and tossed salads to go along with potato corn chowder tonight.  Soup, sandwich and salad night- perfect combination! :)

Tuesday my husband will be gone for a meeting, so the girls and I will be having leftover potato corn chowder and grilled cheese sandwiches.  My baby boy LOVES potato soup- so he will also be having a bowl! :) I like to cut my daughters' grilled cheese sandwiches into rectangles...perfect little dippers for their soup! :)

On Wednesday, I am going to make homemade chicken nuggets. I made these a couple weeks ago and they were a BIG hit!  My oldest daughter, who is my pickiest eater LOVED them- which made me so happy!  I don't follow a recipe to make them...I just cut up 3 chicken breasts in bite size pieces and marinade them in buttermilk (or regular milk + a couple splashes of white vinegar) and a ranch seasoning packet.  About 45 minutes before it is time to eat, I cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  Then I mix up some panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow dish.  I cover a few pieces of chicken in the breadcrumb mixture at a time, line them all up on the cookie sheet and bake them for about 15 (or less) at 425 degrees!  We served our nuggets with ketchup, but I think it would be fun to make a honey mustard sauce to dip them in too!  While the nuggets are baking, I am also going to put some potato puffs in the oven and we will have steamed broccoli for our veggie!

Thursday my husband has another dinner meeting, so the kids and I will be having breakfast for dinner!  All of my kids (including the baby :) love cheesy, scrambled eggs- so we are going to have those, with a "fruit salad" (combination of cut up strawberries, mandarin oranges, peaches and blueberries) and some vanilla greek yogurt.  This is what my girls call an "Easy Dinner." HA! :)

We are serious creatures of habit at our house...so like every Friday night...it is homemade pizza night! The girls have a pizza picnic in the living room while watching a movie and my husband and I hang out in the kitchen with our baby boy- who is a big fan of pizza himself:) It is a fun, casual night and one that my girls look forward to all week!

For Saturday night, I am going to try something new!  Whenever we have turkey burgers, I mix 1 pound of ground turkey with a ranch seasoning packet- and they are so good!  So I thought we would have Southwest burgers...I am going to use a taco seasoning packet to season the meat and top our burgers with sharp cheddar cheese, some guacamole and a tad bit of salsa.  Doesn't that sound good?? I will let you know if they turn out- meaning- if my husband likes them or not- HA! :)  I am going to keep it super simple and just serve some cut up veggies (carrots and cucumbers) along with our burgers.  My girls will get a little ranch dressing to dip their veggies into :)

For Sunday, MOTHER'S DAY!! :) I have requested my husband make one of my favorite meals- grilled shrimp and veggie skewers!  We just put shrimp, zucchini and baby portabella mushrooms on skewers, lightly spray them with cooking spray (or olive oil), season with salt, pepper, and some garlic powder and let the grill work it's magic!  My husband is going to have a loaded baked potato and I am going to have roasted acorn squash.  This is not what my girls consider an "EASY DINNER" and since it is Mother's Day, where no whining is allowed :), my girls are going to have shells and cheese for dinner :)

I am sure my girls and my husband will have some other yummy treats planned...I think there was some talk of making homemade ice cream for dessert!! :)

What are some of your dinner plans for this week??

I am always looking for new recipes...please share if you have a good one! :)

Have a wonderful Monday!!

I am linking up with Laura today!