Menu Monday February 27-March 5

Breakfast
Brunch
Oatmeal with apples and raisins
Waffles with peaches
Eggs and toast
Cereal and pb toast
Muffins and yogurt
Kid's Choice

Lunch
(none since brunch after church)
Potstickers, brown rice and edamame
Pb or almond butter sandwiches, grapes, veggie sticks
Sukiyaki-style beef, soba noodles, dried fruit
Crab sushi, salad or edamame
Baked chicken kara-age, brown rice, broccoli

Supper
Cheese Frenchies, onion rings (oh the decadence)
Baked bean chili, brown rice
Crock pot french dip, oven fries, coleslaw
Tuni-noonie, cottage cheese, grapes
Chicken on a biscuit, salad
Pizza
Spaghetti, salad

Marriage Challenge Wednesday

So, Courtney over at Women Living Well has raised our next marriage challenge. I have to say, for a G-rated post, this one really hit the spot! We are too look at our husbands through the eyes of his fiance and remember how once he made our hearts skip a beat. (Although I am sure that all your hearts still do.) So for this week's challenge, we are to be the womenly women that God made us to be, kiss him like we mean it, and encourage him to continue his advances on us, even if he has been making those same moves for 20+ years! We need to show him that we still like him, like we did when we first knew him, and that even after 20+ years, he still trips our triggers! (It has only been 19 years for us, so no boredom here...lol)
Now, close that computer and go get him girls!
Your him,
not mine...

Menu Monday January 31st

The word of the month is budget. The word of the month is also Mexico, but the only way we can go there without freaking out about the money directly relates back to the first word. Apparently I have once again fallen prey to my grocery hording style of shopping, lol, because I could feed a small army with all that I have. Soooo this months shopping will consist mostly of fresh produce and dairy and keeping our costs as low as possible.

Breakfast
Oatmeal and leftover muffins
Eggs and toast
Waffles and yogurt
Cereal and bananas
Breakfast scones and boiled eggs
Pancakes and smoothies
Biscuit sandwiches with egg, cheese, turkey sausage

Lunch
Soba noodles and hard boiled eggs, fruit cups
Ham and cheese, apples
Soboro bento, rice, pineapple
Almond butter and nutella roll-ups, oranges
Chicken stir-fry, rice, grapes
Kids choice

Supper
Turkey burgers, sweet potatoes, salad
Bouf Bourguignon soup, noodles, garlic bread
Salmon, rice, green beans
Baked chicken, herb roasted potatoes, salad
Frozen pizza, salad
Leftovers/Steak, baked squash, corn
Chili, toppings, nacho bar (GO PACKERS!)

Menu Monday January 24th

It is going to be an interesting week food wise. I have the hubby home all week, which makes an apple and piece of cheese lunches not really an option. I have two extra kids home today and tomorrow since a water main at their school broke, which means pb n j is an option. I have not lost any weight in three weeks, which means whatever I have been doing is not an option...
So, what are my options? Go with the flow! Yup, not much in the way of grocery shopping, just eating what we have on hand, and stretching my brain to use it the most creatively.

Breakfast
Pumpkin muffins, milk, oranges
Waffles
Oatmeal with pears and blueberries
Egg sandwiches
Cereal and bananas
Pancakes
Caramel pecan rolls, eggs, fruit

Lunch
Ranch turkey wrap, tomatoes, blue chips
Ham and cheese panini, tomato soup
Leftover whatever
Grilled chicken, rice, squash
Noodle and boiled egg bento
Spaghetti and lettuce salad (big guys out of town)

Supper
Beef tips and homemade mac-n-cheese
Steak, squash, lettuce salad
Chicken noodle soup, soft pretzels
Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries pineapple
Pizza movie night
Kids choice or chili
Roast beef, potatoes, green beans

Menu Monday January 17

Snow and more snow have been on the agenda, in addition to swimming and more swimming... Doesn't sound like a sentence I ever thought I would be saying, but here I am running swimmer, wrestler, academic clubber, another swimmer, another swimmer.... you know how it goes. Somehow I find myself under the delusion that we are going to be a one sport family. Right. Reality calls, and so does the need for another menu.

Breakfast
Egg sandwiches, oranges
Oatmeal
Cereal, bananas
Smoothies and muffins
Blueberry pear oatmeal
PB and apple toast
Brunch

Lunch
Ham and pear salads, tortillas
Leftover Reuben and kiwi
Turkey sandwiches, oranges
Chef salad, apples
Rosemary Chicken and potato salad
Leftover salad
Tomato melts with fruit

Supper
Reuben Sandwiches, oranges
Baked fish, green beans, rice
Spaghetti and salad
Turkey Burgers with coleslaw
Mexican Pitas
Salmon with green beans and rice
Steak, coleslaw or salad, sweet potato

Menu Monday January 3rd

Happy New Year! Welcome to the start of a beautiful new year with all of it's freshness and resolutions. Here is our first menu for 2011.

Breakfast
Muffins with yogurt
Egg sandwiches with bacon
Oatmeal
Cereal with bananas
Pancakes
Pecan sweet rolls and fruit
Baked eggs with sausage and fruit

Lunch
Potstickers with soba noodles, edamame and oranges
Turkey soboro, rice, green beans and apples
Sandwiches, carrot sticks and spread cheese
Cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Soba bento, crab and cabbage salad, broccoli
Turkey soup with homemade bread
Leftovers

Supper
Spaghetti with sauce, garlic bread
Baked chicken, oven fries, veggie sticks
Chicken potpie, cottage cheese
Turkey, sweet potatoes, salad, fruit
Hot wings/ pizza
Salmon, brown rice, salad
Who knows?

Menu Monday December 28th

Vacation was cold but awesome to see the ocean and my in-laws! We are on CHRISTmas break, so here is the menu with everyone home from school.

Breakfast
Cereal and cinnamon toast
Omelets
Oatmeal with bananas
Biscuits and gravy
Chocolate chip pancakes
Breakfast cake
Brunch

Lunch
Spaghetti and toast
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Grilled pb and j, carrots and celery
Mac and cheese and green beans
Mini burgers, rice and peas
Pizza Bake

Supper
Leftovers
Runza sandwiches and potato soup
Beef pot roast, baked sweet potatoes cottage cheese
Grilled chicken, brown rice, mango peach salsa
Philly cheese subs, chips, assorted veggie and appetizer trays
Turkey, stuffing, green beans, cranberries
Salmon, twice baked potatoes, salad

Menu Monday December 6th-9th

Yup, you read it right, I am only cooking for 3 1/2 days. We are getting ready to go on vacation and that means for Mom too. My husband's family went to Mexico last year, and because of his work, we couldn't go. So, when they got back and immediately started planning on going this year, we started saving up our pennies, and we are on a plane on Friday morning with all four kids! Very exciting...

Breakfast
Oatmeal and yogurt smoothie
Cranberry muffins and yogurt smoothie
PB toast and yogurt
Pancakes with yogurt topping

Lunch
Udon noodles and pork potstickers
Subway style sandwiches
TBD Bento
Roll-up sandwich, chips, banana or school lunch

Supper
Chicken fried steak, smashed potatoes, green beans
Lasagna
Clean out the fridge leftovers or frozen whatever...
Chili's Restaurant in Minneapolis, MN

Bento #10 Frogs

From Bento

From Bento

Bento #9 Three little monsters

What's for lunch Wednesday

This was a stay at home day, so I could spend a bit more time on my three little monster's bentos. They had a ham sandwich, veggies, a satsuma and my first tamagoyaki. The kids didn't care much for this particular recipe, too sweet, so I will try again, a bit more savory.

Don't forget to check out some more bento love at Heather's site, Ohayo Bento. She is having an awesome giveaway that would make anyone's heart patter, bento nut or not!

Thankful for Bento Love!

"Are you still doing that bento thing?"

That was the question from my girlfriend this week when I talked to her. Uhhhhhhh? How do you answer that one without totally talking your friends ear off about food and packing lunches... You can't, lol. She is used to that by now.

I think.

For those of you who don't know, bento is a form of lunch packing from Japan. It is a way for mothers to make food look more fun for kids, kids to show off their lunches and in turn, show off their moms... What kid wouldn't want eyeballs looking at them when they open their lunchbox? Other benefits are, more veggies snuck into their bodies, because they are more fun to eat, and portion control for adults. Boxes come in sizes ranging from 250 ml to 900 ml. If you pack them according to the recommended protein/starch/veggie ratio, you end up with approximately that many calories in the box. My younger kids use a 350-550 ml box, my older boy and hubby an 800 ml box. There are sites out there with information on how to choose the right size box for you. If you are really wanting to be amazed, just image google the word bento...but I digress...on to the good stuff!

I am so excited! Heather over at Ohayo Bento is having an awesome give-away on some really cute and practical bento items. I just got my first box from her, and boy were my kids excited. Even my 12 year old, who doesn't get excited about anything except extra time on the computer, was excited. I can't wait to post a photo of the new box packed full of #3's lunch. He has declared that it is his turn to get the new box and he doesn't care that it has bunnies on it, they are cool!

I also got some new bands (you never know if they are going to come home) some picks shaped like fruit and a bear shaped rice mold. Like Christmas I'm tellin ya!
If you are a bento nut, or if you have no idea what bento is, you should visit Heather at Ohayo Bento. Her boxes are beautifully done, and quite an inspiration for those of us just starting out.

I am so thankful I can stay home and do things like this. After you visit Heather at Ohayo Bento, be sure to go see what others are thankful for!

Menu Monday November 22

It is food week here at our house. Thanksgiving means our refrigerator is full, and so is the pantry as we always get together with several other families during this time. Tuesday we are meeting with our neighbors after all our kids go to bed, Thursday we have our annual "Oh ya, you can't go home for Thanksgiving because you work for a hospital, too" dinner, and Friday our other friend's families invite us to the shack party (it's a WI hunting thing). Needless to say, we have a busy week ahead of us, but my kinda busy, FOOD!

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Banana pancakes with pb
John Wayne (slap some bacon on a biscuit)
Pumpkin pancakes with whipped cream
Egg sandwiches
Kids choice
Apple cream waffles
Banana bread muffins and smoothies

Lunch
Chicken pot pie and fruit
Lunch at school (cheese fries)
Egg salad or pb, apples
Turkey, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, salad, pumpkin and pecan pie, rolls
Chili, rice, corn chips and pickles
Lasagna and salad
Brunch
Meatballs, rice, fruit

Supper
Potato soup and sandwiches
Hamballs, rice, green beans
Spareribs, roasted veggies, cornbread
Turkey Leftovers!
Pizza and Shack Party (buffet style, bringing chicken wings)
Leftover surprise or salmon
Pot roast with root veggies
Tuscan chicken panini and butternut squash-chipotle bisque

Bento #8 Meatballs

Italian meatballs with ketchup, tomatoes, grapes, rice and a satsuma

Menu Monday November 15th

Ok, so I spoke too soon about the beautiful weather, but even at 35 degrees, the frost that is following the light snow we had is beautiful. It is not a blizzard, and we have heat and food in our house. I guess there is nothing to complain about!

Breakfast
Banana muffins, milk
Eggs and toast
Oatmeal
Vanilla Soothers and pb toast
Waffles
Carmel rolls
Brunch

Lunch
Soup and crackers (sick kid)
Meatballs, rice, grape tomatoes and satsumas
Turkey roll-ups, broccoli and cauliflower
Boiled eggs, veggie fried rice, carrots, kiwi
Chicken chunks, rice, grape tomatoes and cucumbers
Egg head sandwiches, chips

Supper
Buffalo chicken wraps with coleslaw, grapes
Salmon, sweet potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower
Creamed chicken on a biscuit
Chipotle cream shrimp, carrots, rice, salad
Frozen pizza (yay)
Egg rolls and veggies
Leftovers

Budget
No photos: Hmong Grocery-$10.26
Downtown Grocery-$23.93
Mexican Grocery-$2.69
Milk and eggs-$24.00 and a free squash
IGA- $52.00 and a free 14lb turkey!
Total:$112.88

Hubby Bento

Hubby's lunch. There are sliced carrots and zucchini under the pickles, and the orange thing is a peanut butter cup from Halloween. I even snuck a pick in there to make it a little kyaraben like these.

Menu Monday November 7-13

Someone remind me, it is November right? I do live in Wisconsin, not Puerto Vallarta, right? The weather here is gorgeous! We took advantage of it and played outside yesterday, everyone doing their favorite, or most necessary, activity before the snow comes on Saturday. What a blessing!

Breakfast
Whole grain waffles with choice of toppings
Breakfast biscuits and blueberry yogurt
Bacon and egg sandwiches
Pumpkin pancakes
Apple raisin oatmeal
Peanut butter toast with smoothies
Kids choice Saturday

Lunch
Beef stew, and no-need bread
Turkey and swiss sandwich, carrots and zucchini
Crab sushi and apples
Noodles with sauce, cheese cubes, broccoli
Boiled eggs, cream cheese and jelly rolls, tomatoes and cucumbers
Sandwich Monsters and apples
Burgers and tater rounds (dad cooks)

Supper
Chorizo frittata
Peppercorn burgers and chips
Cilantro tandoori chicken with pineapple salsa
Fish tacos, grapes, rice
Tuna or ham panini, tomato or onion soup
Baked chicken, rice, broccoli
Take-out pizza

My groceriesCrackers x 2, tea, O's, apples, sweet potatoes, tortillas, soap x 3, eggs, grapes and chips
$60.10

Noodle and dumpling sauce, mango, lime, ginger, chopsticks, baby bananas, onions, cilantro, soba noodles, gyoza wrappers, cabbage and a shredding knife
$28.35

Toilet paper x 3, rice, pasta, klenex, swiss, olives, dish tabs, babybel x 2, ham, muenster, crab, drumsticks, ground pork x 2, tomato soup, humus, yogurt, English muffins, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, bananas, grape tomatoes, dinner rolls, flatouts x 2, bagel thins, kaisers
$96.34
Not shown milk and eggs $21.00
Total for the week $205.79 Much steeper than normal, but I was out of nearly everything, and got a couple things that will extend into next week, so feel ok about that.

Bento #8

Bento #7 Ham Roll-Ups

These are ham and cheese rolls on Flat-Outs. The honey twists I got at the Hmong grocery and the red thing is a twizzler. Yes, occasionally they get candy....

Day at home

I get to stay home today.
I. Get. To. Stay. Home. Today.

I don't know what to be more grateful for, a busy healthy family on the go, or days when we are not doing anything except being at home, doing nothing more productive than making a mess. If I didn't stay home, I couldn't send things like this in my kids lunch boxes... (shameless segue)

Bento #5 Munchables

Or this...Bento #6 Noodle Flowers

Just makes me smile.
Go visit Laura at Heavenly Homemakers to see what everyone else is grateful for today.

Menu Monday Sept 26th - 2nd

What beautiful Fall weather we are having here, finally. Not that I am apposed to rain. I am rather fond of rain, the smell and the greenness that fallows. What I don't care for is when animals start gathering two by two, and the ark comes floating by.
Our basement decided to recreate the Great Flood and provide a very teachable moment for our children in the importance of plugging in a sump pump, and what to do in an emergency...All is well though, the waters have receded, and the mess is gone with little disaster. Our floating floor, that we put in the last time this happened, saved our laminate floor, and we seem to have a basement that will be fine. Hallelujah!

Breakfast
Brunch in town after church
Pumpkin bread and kefir smoothies
Waffles, peaches
Oatmeal
Yogurt and cinnamon toast
Oatmeal (cookie style)
Eggs and toast

Lunch
Junk at St. Michael's Harvest Fest
Ham rolls, crackers, veggies and dip, fruit cups
Turkey meatballs, soba noodles, broccoli with dip
Sushi, edamame, grapes
Grilled cheese, tomato soup, plums
sandwich roll-ups, bananas, fruit cups
Crostini, chicken wings, veggie tray
Leftovers

Supper
Chili, rice, pickles
BLT mac & cheese
Chicken and Noodles, cottage cheese
Beef stew, no need bread
Fish chowder, cheese scones
Pizza night
Skillet lasagna
Burgers and chips, dessert