Menu Plan Monday!

Hi!

Happy Monday!!

How was your Thanksgiving Holiday??

My husband ended up having Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday off + the weekend!! I think the last time he had that much time off was when we went on vacation this past summer! It was so nice to have him home for several days in a row!! And now it is back to the work week and we have to go through Aaron/Daddy withdrawal! HA!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day and our meal turned out super yummy!

All of the girls got really into helping out this year- which was so fun!!

And to top off an already great day- the weather was AMAZING! (Which I am so thankful for, because then it rained for 2 days straight and then it got super cold yesterday. YUCK. Please re-locate me to Hawaii right now! HA!)

And now we are back to Monday and the start of a new week!  December, like everyone else, is a busy month for us...but this first week isn't too crazy- which is nice :) Our Thanksgiving break was seriously so nice- but between all the cooking and cleaning we did + yesterday was my precious Charlotte's birthday- which we spent all day celebrating (SO FUN)- well needless to say- my heart is very full- but Mama is TIRED.  HA!

So...I am grateful we are easing into this busy month and I planned a fairly easy menu to go along with our "not so busy" week :)

Here is what's for dinner at our house this week:

Monday: PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps + Rice

When Aaron and I were living in Texas and Charlotte was just a baby, we would make lettuce wraps ALL the time!! We both LOVE them! I am not sure why I haven't really made them as much over the last several years- but when I was planning out our menu for this week- they came to mind and sounded SO good.  So that is what we are having for dinner tonight! I am using this recipe from Damn Delicious- which is such an AWESOME food blog!! 

Now, I know I have mentioned my love and devotion for Aldi over hundred times- but when picking up the ingredients for this recipe- I ran into a situation that sometimes happens when you shop at Aldi.  I needed a few specific, "ethnic" ingredients that Aldi does not carry- and I had to run into Walmart.  For me- it wasn't a big deal- because Walmart is right next to Aldi- but that can be a downside to shopping at Aldi.  For me- I don't mind the occasional run to another store- but for others, because of time constraints, they HAVE to get all their shopping done in one place.  Anyway- just thought I would let you know- all of my ingredients for all of my meals this week came from Aldi- minus the three ingredients- which were rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce and water chestnuts- which I got at Walmart :)

Tuesday: Pasta and Meatballs

Last week, we had meatball subs for dinner one night. We had some meatballs and sauce leftover- so I am going to take them out of the freezer and boil up some pasta and dinner is DONE!  FYI- I used this recipe for my meatballs and they were SO easy and good! If I could change anything- I think they could have used a little more seasoning- but otherwise they were delicious!

Wednesday: Turkey Pot Pie Soup + Rolls

I am going to take the dark meat from our turkey we had at Thanksgiving and make this YUMMY turkey pot pie soup! My husband prefers "creamy" soups- but I like to be careful with how rich of a soup I am serving the kids.  This soup is the perfect compromise of light, but slightly rich and is SO good. And SO easy. I love Gina's recipes!!

Thursday: Aaron is in charge of dinner :)

I could NOT come up with something to make for dinner for one night of this week- so I told Aaron he was in charge of dinner. HA! I have no idea what he is making- but all I know is that I am not cooking!! :)

Friday: Pizza Night!

Cheese and pepperoni pizza (We are currently using the pre-made crust + sauce kits from Aldi and LOVE them!) and a Christmas movie- such a FUN night!! 

Saturday: Grilled cheese, applesauce and carrots/cucumbers

Aaron has a work party to attend on Saturday night- so I am making the simplest of simple dinners for the kids. In my house, you can't go wrong with grilled cheese and applesauce :)  3 of 4 my kids LOVE cucumbers, especially if I give them a dot of ranch dressing to dip them in :) Easy meal to make and VERY little clean up. The perfect dinner in my opinion :)

Sunday: Thanksgiving Dinner! (AGAIN :)

We have one more round of Thanksgiving dinner in the freezer- so we are going to have it for our Sunday dinner! I know our girls won't be thrilled (they aren't the biggest fans of Thanksgiving dinner)- but Aaron will be happy he gets to indulge one more time! :)

I hope you had the happiest Thanksgiving and you have a WONDERFUL day today!!

Here's to a great week! :)

 I am linking up with Laura today!