Food for Friday! 3/12 – 3/25

Monday – BLT’s on homemade bread and homemade sweet potato fries (or bacon and eggs for the kids)
Tuesday – Craft Night -Leana’s Turn to cook – Hamburger Helper for the boys
Wednesday – Homemade pepperoni pizza
Thursday – Italian Chicken Bake with roasted potatoes, carrots and green beans and side salad
Friday –  Spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade meatballs
Saturday –  Skinny Chicken Parm over Angel Hair pasta
Sunday – Leftovers/FFY

Monday – Homemade chicken cordon bleu with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook – Mini Meatloaves for the boys
Wednesday – Turkey Burgers, homemade fries, and veggies
Thursday – Game Night – Coconut curry with rice and broccoli
Friday – Pork Chops, rice and mixed veggies
Saturday – Leftovers/FFY
Sunday – Leftovers/FFY

Food for Friday! 2/27 – 3/11

So, this is a couple days late…I was having some issues with my computer and wordpress not working well together on Friday when I was attempting to write this.  I figured I’d bang this out quick while waiting for my yeast to warm up so I can make the bread for tonight’s Craft Night meal.  lol

I’ve been on a homemade, from scratch kick lately since I’ve been cutting out the soy and artificial and natural flavors and trying to avoid most preservatives/additives if I can.  I’ve been making homemade bagels (it’s not as hard as it sounds!), fresh baked white bread, and I even made homemade meatballs and froze them for later meals!  I also discovered (for those of you who don’t want to or don’t have time to make your own breads at home) that our grocery store offers a brand of bread from The Heidelburg Baking Company that is soy free and free of all those additives and preservatives! (It says right on the package it should be refrigerated.)  They offer flax seed, multigrain, oat, cracked wheat and even a French Peasant bread!  At my Price Chopper, they run about $4.50 a loaf (roughly 2.99/lb).  I haven’t tried them, but it is available, which is nice!

Oh, I did find, in my grocery store travels, that there is a brand of brownie mix called No Pudge!  I tried the Original flavor, which is fat free (bonus) and contains nothing but good stuff..no additives or preservatives!  There are other flavors, but check the ingredients!  You just add 2/3 of cup of yogurt (I used 1/2 of a cup of Stonyfield’s No Fat French Vanilla (6oz container) and an egg white since I didn’t have enough yogurt – this is an alternate direction on the box.)  I’m sure you could probably use some strawberry yogurt and a little vanilla to make different flavors.

And, since I’m a chocolate lover and avoiding the soy lecithin in chocolate has been tough, I’ve been searching high and low for something chocolate without all the extra crap.  I stumbled over a brand of chocolate bars in the organic section from a  co-op company called Equal Exchange.  I’ve only tried their dark chocolate with a hint of hazelnuts and OMG!  It’s so good and doesn’t bother my tummy!  ❤  Love!  Plus, I get to eat 8 squares at a time for a serving and that gives me 3 servings per bar!  It is expensive, but I’m finding that the safe foods and the additive free ones are.  I just have to suck up the cost if I want to be happy!  lol

Monday – Rotisserie Chicken, oven roasted potatoes and fresh broccoli
Tuesday – Craft Night – My turn to cook – BLT’s on homemade white bread
Wednesday – Tacos – with homemade seasoning
Thursday – Chicken pot pie with leftover chicken
Friday – Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and veggies
Saturday –  FFY/Leftovers
Sunday – Baked Ziti

Monday – Double batch of Chili
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home
Wednesday – Frito pie made with leftover chili
Thursday – Homemade vegetable soup
Friday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce and homemade meatballs
Saturday –  FFY/Leftovers
Sunday – FFY/Leftovers

Food for Friday! 2/13 – 2/26

Making a soy free menu is getting a little easier now that I know what ingredients I can use and what I can’t.  I did find that either Rachel Ray or Emeril (can’t remember which, but it was one of the 2) makes a soy free stock, so I can still make beef stew or chicken soup.  I use a lot of bullion, so cutting that out was going to to pretty tough.

I’ve been eating a lot of homemade pumpernickel bread.  While it’s not a dinner item, it’s good for breakfast or a snack drizzled with a little honey or even smeared with my beloved chocolate peanut butter (Dark Chocolate Dreams by Peanut Butter and Co.)  YUM!

Monday – Baked Fried Chicken, veggies and oven roasted potatoes
Tuesday – Craft Night – My turn to cook – Pizza roll-up or cheeseburger roll-up (I’ll decide once I find out if I can have the velveeta…I’m thinking not…lol)
Wednesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce, homemade meatballs, and homemade Italian bread
Thursday – Biryani
Friday – Homemade hamburgers, homemade buns, homemade fries/sweet potato fries and veggies
Saturday – Cordon bleu (ham and swiss stuffed chicken breasts breaded with panko), mashed or baked potatoes, veggies
Sunday – Pasta, broccoli and homemade cheese sauce

Monday – Ginger-Orange Glazed Cornish Game Hens, broccoli and white rice.
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Beef Stew (subbing out the broth for soy free stock)
Thursday – Game Night –  Pork Ragu
Friday –  Ham steaks and eggs
Saturday – Shepherd’s pie made with the beef stew
Sunday – Pork chops,  rice and veggies

Food for Friday! 1/30 – 2/12

Trying to make a menu this time around has been pretty tough.  Trying to find soy free alternatives has been pretty tough, but I’ve got a good start.  I’ve found I’ll be making my own bread, hamburger buns, taco seasoning, french fries, and chicken nuggets.

Monday – Bug’s 7th birthday – as per his request – Tacos – I’ll be making my own seasoning.  Found I have shells that are soy free (Old El Passo).
Tuesday – Craft Night – Leana’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday -pizza (homemade crust)
Thursday – Rotisserie chicken with brown rice and broccoli
Friday – Homemade hamburgers, homemade buns, homemade fries and veggies
Saturday –  Bug’s birthday party day.  After the party I’ll make Chicken over salad with homemade dressing or wraps for the boys.
Sunday –  Cube steak in tomato sauce, rice and veggies

Monday – Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn – Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Homemade chicken nuggets (using cornflakes), homemade fries and veggies
Thursday – Game Night – Chili and Frito’s Scoops (Clear Value (Price Chopper) chili seasoning packets and Frito’s Scoops are soy free)
Friday – Bacon and eggs (hopefully the bacon is soy free – won’t know til I’m at the store)
Saturday – Frito Pie using leftover chili and Fritos
Sunday -Leftovers/FFY

Food for Friday! 1/16 – 1/29

I think my grocery bill is gonna be super high this week.  I have nothing in my freezer since we used everything we could out of it so it could be thawed out…there’s still lots of stuff in there like breads and and it has yet to be thawed…better get on that tonight so it’s ice free before I go shopping tomorrow.  Thankfully, it below freezing outside, so we are putting what’s left in a couple boxes on the front porch and turning the freezer off for a while.  Hope it doesn’t take too long…but there is a ton of ice in there.

Monday – Macaroni and Cheese with ham
Tuesday – Craft Night – my turn to cook – BBQ pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, and fries or chips.
Wednesday – Homemade pizza – pepperoni and sausage
Thursday – Halupke (Cabbage) Casserole
Friday – Chicken Paprika
Saturday –  Fish sticks, fries and veggies
Sunday –  FFY/LO

Monday – Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and cheddar herb biscuits
Tuesday – Craft Night – Leana’s turn – meatloaf with mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies for the boys at home
Wednesday -Breakfast for dinner – breakfast sausages, eggs and toast
Thursday – Game Night – Spaghetti with meatballs (homemade sauce)
Friday – Chili and tortilla chips
Saturday – Chicken Curry with rice and broccoli
Sunday – Frito Pie

Food for Friday! 11/21-12/4

Monday – Steak, carrots, rice
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose’s turn to cook (probably Hamburger Helper for home)
Wednesday – Bacon and French Toast
Thursday – Chili with tortilla chips
Friday – Friendly’s for dinner followed by Lights in the Park
Saturday – Tacos
Sunday – Christmas Dinner – Rotisserie Chicken, Rosemary Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes & gravy, Crescent Rolls and homemade cranberry sauce

Monday – Chicken Soup
Tuesday – Craft Night – my turn to cook – Barber’s Chicken Cordon Bleu, Fries and veggies
Wednesday – Mini Calzones
Thursday – Game Night – Chicken Alfredo
Friday – Sausage, biscuits and gravy
Saturday – Fend for yourself/leftovers
Sunday – Fend for yourself/leftovers

Food for Friday! 12/5-12/18

Since I didn’t get to make all the menu items from my last 2 weeks for various reasons (mostly cause we had a ton of leftovers!), I’m reusing those ideas for this 2 week period…I’m hoping for a non-expensive week at the store this time around.  Most of the items on my grocery list this week seem to be staple items like soy sauce, peanut butter, flour and personal care items…not much in the way of fresh meat (since I have a lot in the freezer that needs to be used so we can defrost it.)

Monday – Spanish Rice and tortilla chips
Tuesday – Craft Night – my turn to cook – Subs
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Bacon and French Toast
Friday – Chicken Alfredo
Saturday – Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Sunday – Fish Fillets, french Fries and veggies

Monday – Steak, scalloped potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – Craft Night – Rose or Leana’s turn to cook (leftovers or Hamburger Helper for the boys at home.
Wednesday – Cheeseburger Roll-up
Thursday – Game Night – homemade macaroni and cheese with ham
Friday – Pork chops, rice and veggies
Saturday – Dinner with family for an early Christmas
Sunday – Dinner with family for an early Christmas

Food For Friday 4/12- 4/25

There doesn’t seem to be much on sale that I want/need this week, so I’m attempting to use up some meat that I’ve got frozen in the freezer.  Plus, the next 2 weeks seem to be super busy around dinner time and I’m trying to come up with easy meals that can be prepped in advance or will be super fast to cook after Tae Kwon Do class (Bug has 4 Tae Kwon Do classes over the next 2 weeks (M&W) and they cut into my dinner prep) and picking up Darling Hubby from work.

I was also directed to this great website, by one of my mommy friends.  It has a variety of meals that cost less than $5 each.  I’m sure our prices for things here in NY are higher than wherever the blog writer is from, but just having some new recipes is good.  I’m going to try out her beef stroganoff and mini calzones.

Monday – (TKD) Craft Night – Leana’s turn (Lasagna) – Brats and tots at home for the guys
Tuesday – Pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Wednesday – (TDK) Waffles and breakfast sausages
Thursday – Game Night – Dinner TBD – Turkey burgers
Friday – Tacos
Saturday – Chicken curry
Sunday –

Monday – (TDK) Craft Night – Rose’s turn – Hamburger Helper at home for the guys
Tuesday – Beef Stroganoff over noodles with broccoli
Wednesday -(TDK – last one!) Mini calzones <– using my go to crust recipe
Thursday – Rotisserie chicken breast, rice and veggies
Friday – Chicken Caesar Salad
Saturday –
Sunday – Baked fried chicken

Overdue Update and Food For Friday – 9/14-9/27

Wow!  I can’t beleive it’s September already…Where has the time gone?  I’ve been so busy with things that I’ve been neglecting my blog pretty severely and it’s time I get back into the swing of things.   Here’s e a quick update on what we’ve been up to lately…

Let’s see…gosh, I don’t even know where to start…At the beginning of August, Darling Hubby and I went on a mini vacation to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.  It was a lot of fun and a very memorable trip…I have tons of pictures that I wanted to share, but I haven’t really had much time or inclination to edit them.  We didn’t take Bug with us, as we wanted to get away just the 2 of us.  He stayed with his “Auntie Shannon” and they had a great time together.  They went swimming in her pool, went to Friendly’s for dinner and ice cream and even went bowling.  He talked about everything and her cats for weeks afterward.

On September 1st I officially became a big girl…I passed my road test and can officially drive the roads of NY.  Scary!  It was something that I should have done many, many years ago and just kept putting it off.  The sad thing was that we had to drive 2+ hours back to my home town where I should have taken the test to begin with…it seriously took less than 10 minutes for the test….then we had to drive 2+ hours back home…But, it’s done and I passed.  It was necessary for me to get it so I could drop Bug and Darling Hubby off at school and work and pick them up, too, since logistically, it would have been impossible for Darling Hubby to do it all.  Actually, it’s been rather fun driving around all alone in the car.  I get to pick my own music and I have freedom.  This morning I went to Walmart all by myself…it was just to buy dog food, which isn’t all that exciting, but I did it and I enjoyed it!  lol

On the 8th Bug started Pre-K.  So far he’s loving it and the first few days he cried cause he didn’t want to come home…I’m not sure if it was because he loved school that much or if it was because he loves their awesome playground!   In just the past couple days he’s come back with little school art projects…things I could never get him to do at home.  Maybe he just needed that extra peer pressure from the other kids doing the projects.  I’m thinking school is going to be really good for him and it warms my heart that he enjoys it so much.  I’m enjoying having quiet time at home, which allows me to get my cleaning done quickly and not have to worry about ignoring Bug while I scrub a toilet or something he can’t help me with.  It’s hard to take care of a house and a kid at the same time…something is going to get neglected.

As for me, I’ve been working on my crochet projects and recently decided to start working on Christmas presents.  I want to get a head start on everything this year so I don’t feel like I have to rush.  Right now I’m working on a blanket for a certain someone who may or may not read this blog, so I’m going to keep it a secret.  Once I finish this blanket, I’m going to start on something for my mom, who I know doesn’t read this blog.  I’m thinking of making her a snuggy…you know, one of those blankets with sleeves…essentially a reverse bathrobe.  I think it might be something useful for her…maybe I’ll even make one for my dad, too, in nice manly colors!

Monday – Craft night – my turn to cook –
Tuesday –  Pizza
Wednesday – Beef Stew
Thursday – Game Night – Dinner TBD
Friday – Cabbage Casserole
Saturday – Pan Fried Chicken
Sunday -Southwest burgers

Monday – Craft night – Leana’s turn to cook
Tuesday – Rotisserie Chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes
Wednesday – Homemade Chicken Soup
Thursday – Spaghaetti with homemade sauce
Friday – SPAM and eggs
Saturday – Fend
Sunday – Fend

Food For Friday – 8/31-9/13

Monday – Craft night – Rose’s turn to cook
Tuesday – Fast Food
Wednesday – Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice
Thursday – Game Night – Dinner TBD
Friday – Tacos
Saturday – Fend for yourself/Leftovers
Sunday -FFY/LO

Monday – Our 7th anniversary – Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Tuesday – Bug’s first day of school – Chicken Fingers and Fries
Wednesday – Pulled pork sandwiches (crockpot)
Thursday – Creamed chipped beef (made with hamburger) on toast (aka – SOS- shite on a shingle)
Friday – Chili
Saturday -FFY/LO
Sunday – FFY/LO