Category Archives: menu plan Monday

A menu plan after an unexpected and rather lengthy hiatus

06/12/2017 Nichole

I made Midwest Living’s Super Simple Peachy Barbecue Chicken and Well Plated Caprese Pasta Salad for Sunday Night Dinner this week. It was a very low-effort and pretty inexpensive way to feed a crowd, and both recipes were quite well received. I’m adding both to our regular Sunday rotation.

Here’s what we’ll be enjoying the rest of the week:

Monday: Fish sticks and mac and something else for me: The kids love fish sticks and macaroni night, and I do not love it at all. So I’m going to roast some shrimp and put it on a salad for myself.

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner: Eggs, toast, veggie sausages and fruit salad.

Wednesday: Sandwiches: Poppy will have grilled cheese. Pete has requested a microwaved ham and mustard. We aim to please.

Thursday: Tacos: The kids are having friends over on Thursday. The last time Pete’s friend was here for dinner, we were all in awe of how many tacos he put away. We’re going to see if he does it again.

Friday: Beef and broccoli: I’ve been missing pizza night quite a bit since giving up dairy. Hopefully a delicious plate of beef and broccoli will help dull the pain.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.

In which wheat and dairy come back to the party

04/24/2017 Nichole

The last few weeks I’ve put a good bit of energy into making sure we had wheat- and dairy-free meals, because Pete and I were doing an elimination diet. We finished that project and found that we both feel a bit better on limited amounts of dairy and wheat products. So this week finds us sliding back into our old ways a bit, and I’m kind of disappointed with that. We’ll see how we both feel at the end of the week; I may need to go back to a more restrictive menu plan next week.

Monday: Grilled cheese sandwiches: Well, it was meant to be grilled cheese, anyway.
Pete ended up asking if he could have a bowl of Quisp instead, and I acquiesced because it was that kind of evening.

Tuesday: Cracker Barrel chicken: I haven’t actually made this recipe the last several times it’s been on the menu. Maybe we don’t like it enough to leave it in the regular rotation. We’ll see if we actually have it tomorrow.

Wednesday: Leftovers? Sandwiches? Quisp?: We’ll be busy little bees on Wednesday,
so it’ll be kind of a fend-for-yourself evening.

Thursday: Breakfast burritos: I intend to make breakfast burritos, but there’s a pretty good chance the kids will request regular ol’ eggs and veggie sausages instead.

Friday: Pizza: I’m still avoiding dairy and wheat, but I’m not eschewing either all together. We tried a gluten-free pizza from a local place a few weeks ago. It was surprisingly lovely.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.

menu plan Monday

I miss cheese

04/03/2017 Nichole

Hey Nichole, where’ve you been?
Mostly in the car. These kids with their activities, you know?

But why haven’t you been writing anything?
I think I lost my mojo a month or so ago, and I still haven’t found it. But Poppy tells me I should write something, so here we are.

What’s new?
I’ve spent a good amount of time recently trying to figure out what Pete and I can and can’t eat. We’ve both been having some stomach issues, and I’ve been having headaches and dry, itchy spots on my limbs. So we’re doing an elimination diet to try to figure out if my favorite foods — bread and cheese — are doing us wrong. It seems to be working. I haven’t had as many headaches, both of us have had fewer stomachaches, and I had a pretty bad Day 11 after eating some bread and cheese on Day 10. (I know 10 days isn’t long enough, but we had a special occasion.)

We’re trying to eliminate wheat/gluten and most dairy. I say “most” because I’m still cooking with butter. I’ve only struggled with it a couple of times, mostly when confronted with pizza or naan. I can’t figure out which item I’d prefer to be causing the problem, but I’m very much hoping it isn’t both of them.

Monday: Soy-Scallion Flank Steak: I didn’t use gluten-free soy sauce in this marinade. Hopefully that doesn’t do us in.

Tuesday: Balsamic chicken: I’ve been making this for awhile, since my father-in-law changed his diet for health reasons. It’s delicious.

Wednesday: Barbacoa tacos: We’re going to serve this with corn tortillas, and I already know I’m going to miss the sour cream and cheese. I’m hoping copious amounts of avocado will help.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: I have a meeting, so Rockford will be manning the pancake (and gluten-free waffle) station.

Friday: Pork tenderloin: I haven’t decided how I’m going to do this yet, but I’m leaning toward putting it on the grill.

Hungry for more? Check out the Menu Plan Monday linkup at OrgJunkie.