Menu Plan Monday: November 28, 2011

Monday: We have some potatoes to use up from the ten-pound bag T bought last week and there are still some fresh green beans in the veggie drawer, so I will be making Shepherd's Pie for dinner tonight. We have some salad in the refrigerator too.
Tuesday: Time for something completely different to wake up the taste buds! Sausage, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells with a salad and some garlic bread. (We'll actually use up some of the brown-and-serve rolls from Thanksgiving to make the garlic bread!)
Wednesday: Mid-week Advent services start tonight, so I need something quick and easy. (I originally had the stuffed shells here but then realized that wouldn't be a good plan with church starting at 6:30. Nowhere near enough time to prep, bake and eat that dish before church, and *no* chance I was waiting til I got home!) T will marinate some chicken breasts and then grill them to make grilled chicken sandwiches. Probably a quick, lazy noodle side dish and I'll be refueled and ready to head back out by 6:10.
Thursday: We decided to take a vacation day to play at WDW. The crowd should be a little lighter during the week and I am ready for some Disney after taking the last several weeks away from it after so much time there over Food & Wine Fest. I'm not sure what we'll have for dinner, but it will be somewhere in the parks.
Friday: T has been talking about making this soup he had at Olive Garden a while back. He finally found a recipe for it and the weather here is supposed to be "unseasonably cool" most of the week, so we'll be trying a new recipe. Hopefully, we'll use up the last of the rolls with some butter as well.
Saturday: We have some kielbasa in the freezer that's been shoved around for a while. Time to use it. We'll have some pierogies and sauerkraut with it. A good hearty meal.
Sunday: We'll have to see what leftovers are still kicking around from earlier in the week. If we've already cleaned them up, Sunday dinner will be a surprise!

Notes from last week's menu: I really have to say, the whole week, including Thanksgiving dinner, went perfectly. Any leftovers from earlier in the week were cleaned up for lunches--including the most enormous baked potatoes I have *ever* seen in my life, big enough for one potato to cover two meals! I tried three new recipes, all successfully and all keepers! The Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans were rather easy to assemble, but the best part of this dish is, believe it or not, *not* the bacon but the sauce! Also, at T's request, I made my first ever Classic Pumpkin Pie (I've made plenty of no-bake pies, but I've never actually baked one--in any flavor!--all on my own!) and it was really good! I guess a baked pumpkin pie is another one of those dishes to go on the "I hated it as a kid, but my tastes have expanded since then" list of surprises. The Leftover Turkey Pot Pie wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever made, but it was a great way to use up some leftovers from the meal and have it taste different enough.

The logo at the top will link you to more menu plans!