Did I say I was busy last week?   You’ think I’d know better than to say something like that, because this week makes last week look like a vacation week.  My family would starve without a meal plan – not kidding.

As I type this, I’m making another pot of chili for next week and boiling eggs for grab and go breakfasts.  After grocery shopping I’ll work on tonight’s dinner!  There will be no testing of new recipes this week…

Burgers, chips, and a salad.  The guys can pull this off by themselves.

Beef Enchiladas and Mexican salad.  These enchiladas have turned out to be a surprise hit;  I still have chipotle peppers in the freezer from the original test.  The salad has a full serving of vegetables and a kick from the hot sauce which is added to the dressing.

Tortellini Casserole and tossed salad.   I’m willing to place money on the fact that they will scrap the recipe and just make the tortellini and pour sauce over the top!

Bulgogi, Pineapple Ambrosia, rice.  The favorite meal of the only child who will be home for dinner.  I’ve gone from taking a modest knob off of a ginger root to grabbing the whole thing.

Grilled Garlic Chicken, stuffed baked potatoes, steamed broccoli.   I’ll set the chicken to marinate in the morning, have one of the kids pop the potatoes in the toaster oven (a lifesaver on hot days!), and it will take about 20 minutes to get it all on the table.

Pork Roast with Caribbean Jerk Spices, garlic rice, potato asparagus leek salad, Mexican fruit salad.  For those of you playing along at home, yes, this was on last week’s menu.  It did not happen, and since we’re entertaining this weekend I just forwarded the meal. 

Wow…the end of May.  I hope you aren’t as busy as I am.  It seems like every moment between 4:30 and 9:30 is scheduled.  The grocery store is an interesting place after 10 pm…  We did a good job using all the food last week; there are no leftovers to speak of.  This week I’m making a big pot of chili for grazing purposes – as we all have things going.  Here’s the meal plan for this week:

Springfield Chili with corn chips and a salad.  This chili is the family favorite.  We like to scoop it up with the big corn chips, serve it over baked potatoes, and even fold it into omelets.

Grilled Turkey Sage Patties, salad, French bread and olive oil.  I like to really give the sage time to flavor the turkey – which is otherwise tasteless.  Don’t like to use the extra lean turkey for this – the patties get too dry. 

Simple Chicken Caesar Salad and fruit.  We’ve been here before.  I let chicken breasts marinate in bottled italian dressing then grill and serve over romaine lettuce with shaved parm and caesar dressing.  Absolutely no fuss.  It’s filling but not heavy.

Beef Stroganoff and steamed broccoli.  I haven’t made stroganoff in a long, long time and the boys have been asking for it.

Pork Roast with Caribbean Jerk Spices, ginger ale glazed carrots, rice, applesauce.  This will be Sunday dinner.  I’ll rub the spices into the meat early in the morning.  The leftovers make great sandwiches.

These 5 meals will be enough to keep us fed for the week.  I do as much prep work I can right after grocery shopping to make it easy during the week.

What are you planning?

Are you having a Memorial Day picnic?   With a little pre-planning you can make it fit in one cooler, mostly do-ahead, and completely GFCF. 

Maple Glazed Ham Steak – Most ham steaks are just think enough to cut into cubes and thread on wooden skewers.  It would be just fine to pack the skewers  in a large rectangular plastic container with the glaze (letting the flavor soak in!), then, during grilling, just brush on the glaze straight from the container.  The ham is cooked already – so there’s no danger.

Easy Baked Beans – I confess, I don’t always bake these, and nobody really notices.  Sometimes I just cook the onions and bacon, then turn everything into a crock pot.  Sometimes it all just gets cooked in one pot and then served…

Potato Asparagus Leek Salad – if you like asparagus and potato salad, this is  must try.  There are never any leftovers when I take it to a picinc. 

Pineapple Ambrosia – a quick toss together of pineapple, mandarin oranges, banana, coconut, and mini marshmallows.  The citrus fruit keeps the banana from browning.  If you’re making this more than a few hours in advance, toss in the marshmallows just before serving (unless you like them squishy).

What to drink?  Some fizzy water and a can of 100% juice concentrate – everyone can customize the fruitiness of of their drink.

Ok..maybe it was one big cooler – but you don’t have to carry it, right?

Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!