Menu Planning Monday

Spring has sprung and I am ready for a fresh start. I haven't been menu planning and it has made things truly hectic. I am talking a trip to the store everyday around 3 o'clock(when I pick up my daughter from school). I have not been the least bit motivated to consider what we were having for dinner. Well, I'm truly exhausted from my lack of planning and looking forward to knowing what's for dinner each night this coming week.

We did have one week that was somewhat successful because of a program that I saw on Food Network. I like Robin Miller and her prep ahead for the week strategies. She prepared a menu using a porkloin roast. These 3 recipes, which I made using a 4.5 lb roast, were all a hit with my family. I know that a lot of you probably have several porkloins in your freezers. They were on sale at Safeway/Randalls last week for $.99 a pound. This Pork Out menu will take care of 3 nights for your family if you want to use up a porkloin this week. The lettuce wraps were a huge hit with everyone. Here are the links:

Pork Roast with Cumin-Spiked Mixed Berry Sauce and Roasted Parsnips (this recipe is equally delicious using carrots instead of parsnips which are sometimes pricey)

Radicchio Cups with Pork and Seasoned Rice (we used butter lettuce instead of radicchio to make the wraps)

Chili-Seared Pork with Pineapple Salsa

Here is the link for the prep ahead Game Plan.

Now for a look at some of the recipes we will be making this week:

Monday - Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook) with a side of spanish rice and sliced pears (the link recipe uses flour tortillas and the cookbook recipe uses corn tortillas)

Tuesday - Teriyaki Sloppy Joes (from Everyday Rachael Ray magazine) asian coleslaw and fruit

Wednesday - Creamy Shrimp and Poblanos and salad

Thursday - Oriental Chicken Kabobs over rice with grilled pineapple

Friday - Santa Fe Turkey Rotini and salad

Saturday - Dinner Out after Church

Sunday - Roasted Chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables

I tried to include a little variety in this weeks menu. While I was searching through my cookbooks, I kept selecting mexican inspired recipes. A lot of those recipes will appear over the next couple of weeks. A whole week of mexican food would probably get me kicked out of the kitchen, therefore I mixed up this weeks menu to keep everyone happy.

For more menu ideas, go to Menu Plan Monday.

I will post some of the recipes from this weeks menu tomorrow and later this week.

What are you craving this week?

Please leave a comment, I love hearing from everyone.