Menu Planning: September 21-25

Hello!!!!!!! Oh my, it has been crazy long since I have been on over here. No different reasons than all the other times I popped on in. Just busy!
Chickadee is in third grade this year, complete mix of emotions on that one.
Lil Man is being homeschooled in Preschool by muah.
Mini Man is picking up a little of that homeshcooling but is pretty busy being a toddler and doing his own thing.
Mr. Hubster has been way busy lately, we don't see much of him right now. We have big house plans in the near-ish future we need to bust our behinds for.
As for me, I am busy with the kiddos, taking care of a few extra here and there before and after school and then the normal stay at home mama stuff like cleaning, cooking and making sure all the kids are still in one piece at the end of the day.

So part of this whole looking to have a house thing I have started meal planning. First, I like to plan. Second, we need to try and save money. So there is all the reasoning we need.

This week I planned for us to gobble up......

Monday- Fruit salad

There is no real recipe here. I take all Three Amigos with me when I go shopping on Sunday and they help to pick out some fruit they would like in their fruit salad. We have had watermelon,cantaloupe, berries of all kinds, apples, grapes, bananas, oranges and even grapefruit. I will chop all of this up and they get to 'build' their salad. I usually add a little drizzle of agave nectar on top

Tuesday- Kielbasa with cabbage and potatoes (site here)

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1 whole kielbasa (I had a bogo coupon and will save the other sausage for next week)

-1 yellow onion, sliced (I chopped otherwise my kids will pick it out)

-1/2 head of green cabbage (I bought a small one and used all of it)

-1/2 lb new potatoes, halved (I used red potatoes)

-I added garden fresh rainbow carrots

-12 oz beer (I chose a nice stout and enjoyed sipping the rest while finishing up the cooking)

-salt and pepper

-3 tbsp brown mustard (I snagged the spicy version and just eyeballed it)

1. In a large Dutch-oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

2. Add kielbasa and sear until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.

3. Add onions and cabbage and cook 3-4 minutes.

4. Add potatoes, carrots, kielbasa and season with salt and pepper.

5. Fill pot 3/4 way up with beer and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mustard. Serve with crusty bread. (

Everyone loved this. It also left us with 2 lunches for Mr. Hubster to take to work. Definitely will make this again and maybe try it with a different beer.

Wednesday- Yogurt bar with berries and granola

We stock up on those little yogurt cups of all flavors, our store has them priced at 10/$4. I purchase the low fat variety.

Each Amigo gets to choose his or her flavor, scoop in their desired amount of granola and we like to use any type of berries, grapes, apples and bananas. The kids really enjoy making their own meals. I do have a rule of at least 2 fruits but if they want more they can.

Thursday- Hamburger soup (site here)

-2-1/2 lb ground chuck (I had 1 lb hamburger and 1 lb chorizo on hand)

-1 whole large onion, diced

-2 stalks celery, diced

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 can whole tomatoes (I prefer diced Italian seasoned and snag the store brand)

-3 c beef broth, plus more as needed (I bought 1 store brand carton and had 1 can on hand)

-1 whole orange bell pepper, seeded and diced (recipe calls for 1-green, 1-red and 1-yellow, a little too much for me)

-5 carrots, sliced

-5 red potatoes, cut into chunks

-5 tbsp tomato paste

-salt and pepper to taste

-2 tsp dried parsley flakes

-1/2 tsp dried oregano

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste

1.In a large pot, over medium-high heat, brown the meat with the onion, celery and garlic. Remove from the pot and drain.

2. In the pot add the rest of the ingredients including the drained meat, stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover the pot and simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but not mushy.

I prefer a thicker soup while Mr. Hubster prefers it to have more broth. You could always add either more broth or water towards the end to make it how you like your soup.

I topped mine with a spoon of sour cream and ate up with crusty bread.

The Three Amigos approve this recipe.

Friday- Chocolate chip pancakes

I purchase the store brand mix and add a sprinkling of brown sugar and a bunch of chocolate chips, also store brand.

These are always a hit. Put movie night with it and the whole bunch were pretty happy.