Menu Plan Monday - Nov. 15, 2010

I'll tell you what, menu planning becomes a lot easier when you have more free time. I was laid off last week Monday and have since found a lot more time for things like laundry, cleaning, cooking and planning. Yes, I've also been job hunting, but that's never fun, is it? Skip!

Here's what I've got in the works for this coming week. While I haven't nailed down which meal will make an appearance on which night, I'm pretty confident they'll each work their way in.

Meal #1: Egg rolls & rice. Or egg roll filling mixed with rice and baked into a casserole, I haven't decided yet. The filling is currently sitting on my counter (it was made this afternoon) and I'm still debating how to go about finishing things. No recipes used for the filling, just me throwing stuff in a wok. And tasting. And seasoning. And re-seasoning. Repeat.

Meal #2: Roasted kielbasa & potatoes. Some other veggie (canned, frozen or a green salad) will hopefully be remembered with this meal.

Meal #3: A quiche filled with turkey ham, cheese, sauteed mushrooms & green onions with a shredded potato crust. Never made a quiche before, let alone one with a shredded potato crust, but they're popping up everywhere and look easy and delish. We'll give it a try with ingredients I already have on hand.

Meal #4: I'm alone on Thursday nights, so one night has to be a freebie. I usually have leftovers, some type of easy sammy or breakfast for dinner. Yum.

Meal #5:Chicken breasts with a mustard caper pan sauce. This looks so good.

Meal #6: Marinated steak, baked potatoes & a veggie (salad perhaps). We have leftover steak from our fondue night last night with my sister, so we'll use it up sometime this week. Mmmmm, steak. I have a 'steak & chop' marinade in the fridge that'll most likely go on this.

Meal #7: Sunday is Tiny Tot #1's birthday party, and Buppy's family is coming up from VA. I've decided we'll do several different kinds of pizza: pepperoni for the kids, meat lovers (no ham!), and another specialty one (BBQ chicken or buffalo chicken or chicken Alfredo). I'm leaning towards the chicken Alfredo since I made it last week for my sister and I and it turned out fantastic! Plus, it's a healthier recipe, which is always a bonus. The party is mid-afternoon, so I doubt we'll need dinner later on. Now to figure out what sides to make to go along with the 'zas. Also, I'm excited because my sister brought me a bread maker, and I plan to try to make pizza dough using that instead of using store bought. Wish me luck!