Meal Plan, week of 5/10-5/16

This should be an interesting week since I'm not going to be around much and then I am gone AGAIN for another wedding this weekend. So - I have a feeling I am going to have a lot of produce to eat next week since I won't be around to eat it this week.

So here is what I am eating this week:

Breakfasts: Muffins, oatmeal, bananas

Lunch: Primarily leftovers and misc. produce from the CSA delivery

Dinner:
Monday: Lettuce wraps with Thai Peanut Sauce
Tuesday: Dinner at Candice's house
Wednesday: Dinner with new neighbors
Thursday: Dinner with a friend in town
Friday - Saturday: Out of town for wedding
Sunday: Either salad or a freezer meal, depending on how much produce I have left

This is going to be a busy week!!!

Strawberry Shortcake

What do you do with a bunch of strawberries? Make strawberry shortcake, of course!!!

Garden, week 2

My garden has been growing and I am so excited! Since last week, I've added 3 more pots - 2 with cucumbers and 1 with rosemary. The peppers are getting taller and the zucchini has basically gone out of control! I think I have lots of zucchini in my future! The basil has gotten significantly larger too. It smells AMAZING. I wish a picture could capture the smell of fresh basil.


There have been 2 new developments that are pretty exciting. My tomatoes are flowering which means it won't be too long before I have some baby tomatoes growing. And finally, I have 1 tiny carrot sprout! I put a ton of seeds in this pot so I am hoping to see a lot more soon!!

The sage, rosemary, and cucumbers haven't sprouted yet but I am hoping to see some little sprouts in the near future!!

CSA, week 2

We got our second CSA delivery this week and it is looking like a lot more salads are on my horizon. I just finished the spinach from last week and we got another huge bag of it plus another head of lettuce. We have lots of strawberries this week too! YUM! Finally - for something different we also had some broccoli. We were supposed to have asparagus but it looks like we got broccoli instead - oh well I love both.

Here is my half of the goodies for the week:

Here is our BEAUTIFUL head of lettuce before we chopped it in two.

Sooo - I need some spinach recipes ASAP!!!

May $$ Goals

May is going to be a VERY busy month. I've got events 4/5 weekends in May and plans throughout the weekdays as well.

My goals for this month:
Mini-eating from the pantry challenge. I have a bunch of food in the freezer and with my weekly CSA deliveries I should have plenty of food to eat this month without spending much money. Any money I have extra will go towards my emergency fund. So far it is day 4 and I have spent $0 on groceries. Hopefully I can keep my expenses at a minimum.

My major goal is to not spend too much extra money. I am going to be traveling for 3/4 of the next weekends and I am going to try really hard not to eat on the road or grab food at the airport. It is very tempting to grab something quick and easy but I think if I carry peanut butter sandwiches with me and some healthy snacks I will save money and feel better than I would have had I eaten the greasy 'road food.'

My second major goal is to pay off all my debt this month. I didn't have much and what I did have was related to moving expenses so hopefully by the end of May I will be debt free other than my mortgage :)

Quinoa Pilaf

I inherited a box of quinoa from one of my former roommates. I have been feeling a little adventurous this week so I thought I'd see about finding a recipe to try out for Tuesday dinner and Glee night with Candice. I followed this recipe and added some spinach to it because I have some I need to finish up.

I have to say - it was delicious! We both really enjoyed it and I think I'll probably make it again. We had chicken and cornbread with it and strawberry shortcake for dessert. The recipe says it is 4 servings but I think it is probably closer to 6. Guess I'll be eating it as a side dish for the rest of the week!!

Meal Plan, week of 5/3-5/10

For the time of my CSA I think I will start my meal plans on Monday and then amend them on Wednesday when I have my new delivery of produce. Produce waits for no one so I've got to eat it while I can!

I realize having a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin for breakfast isn't exactly healthy...but it is what I have around the house right now so it will have to do! Next week I'll make oatmeal if I have time.

Monday
B: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
L: Lettuce, spinach, carrot, and cucumber salad with grilled chicken and a homemade roll
D: Quesadillas using meat, cheese, and tortillas from the freezer
S: String cheese, pirate booty, cookie

Tuesday:
B: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
L: Peanut butter sandwich (I am tired of salad!)
D: Dinner with Candice - my week to cook! Chicken breast with quinoa pilaf and spinach
S: String cheese, carrot sticks, strawberry shortcake

Wednesday: CSA delivery day!
B: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
L: Tuesday dinner leftovers
D: Grilled chicken with asparagus (I know this is coming in the box)
S: String cheese, carrot sticks, strawberry shortcake

Thursday:
B: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
L: Wednesday dinner leftovers
D: Chicken curry with rice from freezer and misc. veggies from CSA box
S: String cheese, carrot sticks, strawberry shortcake

Friday:
B: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin
L: TBD
D: Pizza night
S: String cheese, carrot sticks, strawberry shortcake

Saturday: Out of town for wedding
Sunday: Out of town for wedding