Menu Plan Monday - April 19

In an effort to become more organized... I'm going to attempt start weekly Menu Plan Monday. This should be a no brainer for me, given that once upon a time I was considered anal retentive regarding organization and tidiness... let's just say that having children + a giant Saint Bernard + in home daycare has changed my standards a bit. :)

I'm still planning freezer meals... hopefully I will have a full launch in early May.  Many of our meals are ones that I have chosen with advanced prep in mind.

All meals are served with Organic, Whole, Non-Homogenized Milk.  Raw is best!

Breakfast: 
Oatmeal, Mixed Berries (previously frozen)
Brown Rice with Cranberries & Almonds
Baked Oatmeal Squares & Raw Applesauce/slices
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Toast with Fruit Salad (Bread recipe link at end of post)
Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes & Berry Compote
Dry Cereal Day w/ Bananas (We keep select cereals on hand for now)
Eggs anyway day... usually a Saturday or Sunday treat. With Whole Wheat Toast & Fruit of choice

Lunch:
Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Organic Garden Salad, Organic Baby Carrots
Homemade Mac & Cheese Bake w/ Broccoli & Organic Garden Salad
Turkey Flatbread Sandwich, Tomatoes & Organic Garden Salad 
Black Beans w/ Rice & Shredded Cheese, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Carrot & Celery Sticks
Scrambled Eggs w/ Whole Wheat Toast, Fruit Salad & Organic Garden Salad
Cheese Quesadilla's, Veggie Sticks & Apple Slices
Tuna & Crackers, Organic Garden Salad & Fruit Salad

Dinner:
Beef Lasagna w/ Chopped Tomatoes and Sauce & Organic Garden Salad
Chicken Enchilada's with Kefir Sour Cream, Fresh Carrots & Broccoli (Tortilla Recipe Below)
Tilapia w/ Seasoned Brown Rice, Lightly Steamed Spinach & Organic Garden Salad
Shredded Wild Venison Sandwiches, Fruit Salad & Veggie Sticks
Black Bean Tacos, Avocado, Tomato, Kefir Sour Cream, Organic Garden Salad
Chicken and Rice Bake w/ Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup, Fruit Salad & Veggie Sticks
Shrimp Alfredo w/ Whole Wheat Bow Tie Pasta, Organic Garden Salad, Baked Apples

I will link to recipes as they are posted on one of my blogs or the site I get the recipe from!

My tortilla recipe
Whole Wheat Bread Recipe (non-soaked)

Valentine's on a Budget

We don't do a whole lot for VDay... it's been too commercialized. That said, we do try to make it fun for the kids and at least a bit special for the adults.

I usually give each of the children a small gift... this year, it's 12" stuffed bears that are holding the words, "I LOVE YOU". I got them on sale for $2.99 each.

For Hubs, I found a package of chocolate dipped potato chips... sounds gross, I know. Evidently he had some at a work party a while back and said they were surprisingly delicious.

The kids made their own valentine cards. This year we made recycled heart shaped crayons... you can read my article over at Eco Child's Play. Total cost... $8.00 (for 5 children's classroom cards).

We will stay at home on VDay... I am planning a love themed meal. We will set the table with the lace tablecloth, add some candles, and heart shaped place mats (cut from construction paper). We will be serving sparkling pink lemonade in wine glasses, heart shaped biscuits with mini turkey burgers tucked inside and heart shaped home cut baked fries.

My total cost for this VDay celebration (including classroom trading cards) for a family of 7...

$14.95 gifts
$4.99 Hubs Treat
$2.99 Sparkling pink lemonade
$8.00 heart shaped baking/crayon mold

We already have the nice table ware, linens, candles and plenty of art paper around for making decorations/place mats. $0

We eat dinner every day... so that's not an additional cost. I'll be making soaked whole wheat biscuits cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter we already own. Then I'll patty up 2 lbs of ground turkey that I purchased for $.99/lb. I'll add some heart shaped slices of cheese (don't worry, I'll save the scraps for Monday's daycare lunch). 3 lbs of potatoes will run about $.60. This definitely still fits into our normal dinner budget.

The kids will spend today writing love notes to each of their siblings, and if we are lucky, they will also write them to Mama and Daddy. I give them the guidelines of finding at least two things about each sibling to appreciate in the letters.

Since we are Oregonians tried and true, we also celebrate Oregon's Birthday, this year we celebrate 151 years of statehood. My family has been here since before Oregon was part of the United States, so we feel a special sense of connection and pride! So, our VDay dessert will be a Happy Birthday Oregon cake. This Birthday celebration opens up lots of learning opportunities which we use as a topic for discussion at dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday, Oregon!