We spent the better part of our weekend nailing, cutting and gluing boards to our ceiling.  Although we only have a quarter complete we have worked the kinks out and it should be smooth sailing from here on in. 

Amazingly I managed to pull off a big meal for the extended family amidst the chaos of construction.  We did have a little mishap of hubby turning on the dusty mitre saw as I was mixing cornbread for the casserole which may have resulted in a little extra crunch.  Oh well! nobody complained and their all still standing.

Now on to the rest of the week.

Sunday – Wings and corned bread veggie bake

Monday – veggie soup and grilled cheese.  A few weeks ago I made two large batches of soup, chicken fricot and vegetable.  Although my hubby is not a soup kind of guy when accompanied by warm rolls or crusty bread it is a nice light alternative on a cold night.

Tuesday – Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday – Chicken parmesan, carrot sticks and dip

Thursday – leftovers

Friday – meatballs, tex mex rice and broccoli

Saturday – cabbage sloppy joes

If you are stuck on ideas for dinner check out Laura’s site for plenty of them.

What a difference a week can make.  This time last week I was feeling very overwhelmed, frustrated and desperately needed a break in the meal preparation department.  Since I felt somewhat obligated to actually feed my family despite wanting to go on strike and do nothing but toss frozen spuds on a plate smothered in ketchup…wait….. that was actually last night’s dinner.

Anyhoo, I have my mojo back and I plan to get back to my regularly scheduled program of cooking and maybe even cleaning…maybe.

Instead of scheduling specific meals on specific days I am going to list off what I am hoping to whip up for the family.  For some reason if I don’t feel like eating chicken, I can easily switch it up to pancakes and beans, no pressure.  On to the grub:

• Spaghetti and cheese bread.  I bought one of those large bags of multi grain rolls from Costco and stuck them in the freezer. Cut in two and smothered in garlic butter and cheese they are a quick and frugal alternative to homemade buns and purchased garlic bread
• BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes with sour cream and frozen skillet corn
• Potato soup and easy breadsticks
• homemade pizza and garlic fingers with donair sauce using the not so fattening version
• baked oatmeal and turkey bacon
• crock pot roast, mashed potatoes with green and yellow waxed beans.  I know there is a frozen apple crisp stashed somewhere in the depths of my freezer, hopefully I can unearth it for a quick and delicious dessert
• pancakes

I am planning to take it easy this month, preparing easy, quick and frugal meals that can be whipped up on a dime.  I am going to make it a point to use my often neglected crock pot.  If anyone has some favourite crock pot meals, I would love to hear about them.   I have a select few that I love and need to expand on this form of cooking.

For more meal ideas visit I’m and Organizing Junkie

With the big move nearly 4 weeks away, I have been desperately trying to clean out the freezer so I can thaw it out for easy transportation.

My big freezer cooking marathon happened nearly 6 weeks ago yet I am still able to open up the freezer and have a fully cooked meal on the table in no time.  Once a month shopping and cooking is definitely the system I am sticking with.  I recently did a guest post over at Virtually organized explaining my menu planning system and how this works for my family at this stage of our lives.

This is what I am feeding the family this week.

Monday – leftovers.  Since I have the day off from supper duty I decided to spend the day making several batches of sweets for the kids.  When I return from the gym I am going to immediately start baking and have high hopes of completing a batch of oatmeal and banana chocolate chip cookies as well banana bread.  I picked up three bags of darkened bananas on clearance that are ready for mashing

Tuesday – stir fry using the many frozen bags of veggies I found in the bottom of the freezer with small amounts remaining.

Wednesday - chicken casserole from the freezer with risotto

Thursday – freezer lasagna

Friday – hamburgers and onion roasted potatoes.  instead of unhealthy fries I simply chop up some large baking potatoes and coat with some olive oil and homemade onion soup mix.  I have even sprinkled some chili pepper on them for a little kick.

Saturday – sourdough pancakes

Sunday – cabbage sloppy joes.  I pick up shredded coleslaw packets when 50% off and simply fry them up with beef for a sweet and tangy sloppy joe dish.  This is also a great way to sneak in veggies to unsuspecting kids, grandfathers and hubbies that should know better.

That wraps up my week.  Normally Laura hosts this carnival but she is out of town this week and lucky for us Erin from $5 dinners is taking over.

Today’s theme for Works for me Wednesdays is the best of.  We were asked to share a tip from the past that that works especially well and immediately thought of this one

Getting out of the door in the morning is tough, getting out of the door in the morning with a homemade lunch is near impossible. We have been told time and time again to assemble our lunches the night before. Sounds simple right? Then why is it that we find ourselves reaching for the peanut butter and jam or resorting to take out? There is no denying that making your lunch the night before is still the optimal solution but the inevitable will happen and you will forget.

I set up what we call the Emergency lunch basket. This inexpensive plastic basket is located in my freezer and is constantly being added to. In the event we are running late and for some unknown reason forgot to prepare the lunch I can simply grab a frozen sandwich, snack and a piece of fruit in no time flat.

Here are some great ideas for keeping a lunch basket stocked:

Homemade granola bars

Rice Krispie treats

Small portions of chili or soup

Frozen turkey portions for sandwiches

Various muffins

The last roll from the previous night’s meal

Frozen grapes from that recent mega sale

Tiny portions of leftovers too small for a supper meal

Individual twice baked potatoes

Now don’t hold this against me but I am one of those crazy ladies who pockets those small packets of condiments that come with take out. A tiny portion of Becel can be spread on that last lonely roll or the tiny container of sour cream for a creamy topping on a baked potato.

Lunch need not be greasy burgers and fries. By using a little imagination and some pre-planning you can be rewarded with a healthy homemade and frugal dinner.

For more inspiring ideas visit We are that family

I spent a relaxing Thursday evening reviewing my recipe binder, favourites saved online and my collection of to try recipes from magazine clippings to come up with our menu for the month of March.

Thanks to my efforts in February, a great portion of our meals are freezer dishes I prepared in duplicate last month.  Although it was a great deal of work at the time I am going to reap those rewards this month.  I came up with a list of approximately 26 meals, leaving room for leftovers and other unexpected events for the remaining days.  This list is posted on my fridge in plain sight and meals are crossed off as each one is consumed.  The upside to this system: plenty of variety at the first of the month.  Downside? By month end it’s slim pickings in the Steven’s household but so far it’s working wonders for me at this stage of my life.

In addition to our meals I plan a half a dozen sweets and desserts to make over the course of the month.  Here is my lineup for March.

• banana chocolate chip cookies
• applesauce bread
• granola bars
• oatmeal cookies
• coffee cake

For more meal ideas visit Laura over at I’m an Organizing Junkie