Meal Plan Monday - Feb 11

A nasty bout of bronchitis this week really messed with our meal plans and threw me off my game.  Hopefully we are back on track this week as I am feeling a bit better.   

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie, Rice Krispy Treats

Tuesday - All- American Fritatta, Fruit

Wednesday - Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Thursday - Roasted Red Pepper Ravioli, Italian Salad, Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Friday - Subway - Nanny's treat

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu, Whiskey Carrots,  Rice Pilaf

For more menu ideas and recipes visit I'm An Organized Junkie. 

A Dinner Party and A Pantry Challenge

Only a crazy person would host a dinner party at the end of a month long pantry challenge.   Well, I guess I must be crazy.  I hosted a dinner party on Friday night for 6 adults and 2 children and I only purchased one single item.  I purchased a jar of marshmallow creme for marshmallow frosting for the cupcakes.  I could have used a vanilla buttercream, but REALLY wanted to try the marshmallow frosting.  While it wasn't a gourmet dinner, it was a wonderful meal. 

On the Menu -

Italian Chicken Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
Iced Sweet Tea

I also spent a great deal of time on Friday cleaning out the pantry and several cabinets.  We had 15, yes that's right 15 boxes of crackers in our pantry, mostly left from holiday parties.  Some had just one or two sleeeves of crackers in them, so I did some consolidating and got that number down to 10 boxes.  Ridiculous!   I'll be making lots of dips and cheeseballs in the next few weeks to get rid of some of these before they go stale.

Linking to Good Cheap Eats

Meal Plan Monday - Feb. 4

I didn't write a meal plan last week for the first time in a REALLY long time.  We just kind of winged it, which usually doesn't work that well for us, BUT as we were in the last week of our Pantry Challenge, it turned out OK.  I have been in the mindset of use what we have now since Jan. 1st, so I just went to the refrigerator, freezer and pantry and used what we had on hand.  While it wasn't the most exciting week of dinners we have ever had (lots of sandwiches), everyone was fed and no one complained.  As our Pantry Challenge has now come to a close, we are looking forward to some great, new meals.

Saturday - Cajun Roasted Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Roasted Green Beans
Sunday - Shrimp with Remoulade, Crab Cakes, Sweet Potato Fries, l/o Roasted Green Beans, Rice Krispy Treats, Soft Brown Sugar Cookies
Monday - Too many things going on tonight -- picking up Zaxby's
Tuesday - Lasagna Soup
Wednesday - Leftovers - Lasagna Soup or Pork Tenderloin and Mashed Potatoes or Zaxbys Chicken Fingers
Thursday - All-American Fritatta (with l/o italian sausage from Tuesday), Fruit Salad
Friday - Subway Sandwiches - Nanny's treat

As you can see, I'm sticking true to the lessons of the pantry challenge -- using what we have.  In the past I would have let 2 pieces of Italian Sausage languish away in the back of the refrigerator until it was too scary to eat.  Instead, it will become a second meal by throwing it into a fritatta.  Same for the pork.  My family is not into leftovers so much, but if I can turn them into something different it a whole 'nother story.

For more menu ideas, visit I'm An Organized Junkie.