Menu Plan Monday: August 30

This is the week we are really starting our schooltime in earnest.  We had a fun summer - a longer summer vacation than we've ever had before - but now it's time to get back on track.  Other activities are starting up too, though, so it's another week of mostly quick and easy foods.

I start off the week with a meeting at church over the dinner hour, so I'm leaving my little family with some frozen orange chicken from Trader Joe's, rice in the cooker, and frozen egg rolls from Aldi.  Healthful, huh?  They will love it.

On Tuesday soccer practice starts at 6, which is about when Dad gets home, but somehow we'll manage Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes which I just discovered on Simply Recipes.  It sounds wonderful.

Wednesday should be a "normal" day with everyone home for dinner.  I'm planning on Santa Fe Chicken, which I found at Semicolon (of Saturday Review of Books fame), and tortillas.

On Thursday we'll have our weekly meatless dish, which will be some sort of pasta.  My basil plants are huge and fading a little, so I'll probably use that along with some garlic and olive oil.

Friday is field trip day, so we'll do burgers and hot dogs on the grill when we get home.  Potato salad or cole slaw, whichever seems easier that morning before we take off.

Yesterday at a picnic we had some fantastic grilled chicken that had been brined.  I've been reading about brining for years but have never done it; I think I'll try it with some thighs I've got in the freezer.  Maybe a couscous salad with this.

Still thinking about Sunday - it's a week away, after all - but I have a couple of beef roasts in the freezer so I could do that, or I might just go for ease and have bean (black or refried) bean burritos. No poultry!  We are having lots of poultry this week!  A local store had thighs and drumsticks 75 cents a pound which is a really good price around here. But they're all pretty different dishes so I don't think anyone will get too upset.

Visit Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie for lots of menu ideas.  Post your own!  Every mother/cook I know is always looking for new ideas.  Does anyone ever reach a point of saying "I don't need any more recipes?"