The contest has ended. If you are interested in signing up for the Stolen Moments Menu Planning service, I have a discount code available here.
I am so excited to guest host Menu Plan Monday for my friend Laura. Laura’s site was one of the first blogs I read when I started writing The Happy Housewife. Her Menu Plan Monday meme motivated me to plan and publish my menus each week. Having a menu plan and sticking to it is one of the easiest ways to save money on your monthly food bill.
To show my appreciation for all the menu planners out there, who have motivated me and held me accountable over the past months, I thought it would be fun to have a menu planning giveaway. If you struggle with menu planning or just want a break for a while because of a busy season, I’ve got a great solution for you.
Kate from Cooking During Stolen Moments recently launched a menu planning service, Stolen Moments Menu Planning. This service is different from other menu planning options out there because it is fully personalized to your family’s size, likes, dislikes, cooking styles and budget. Kate takes your answers from a brief survey to create unique menu plans tailored just for your family. Each plan includes the menu, recipes and a corresponding grocery list. You can choose to have your plans delivered monthly or weekly. You can also subscribe to either the basic plan for dinner only or the complete plan which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. For more information, check out the Stolen Moments Menu Planning site and order page. I have seen first hand Kate hard at work creating menus for families and I can assure you this is a valuable service for anyone who struggles with what to make for dinner.
Kate has offered to give one of my readers a 6 month subscription to the basic menu planning service. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. The giveaway ends Thursday, August 6, Cora time. You don’t not have to link up with a menu plan to enter, just leave a comment.
Menu Plan Week of August 2nd
I am not sure about you but it is hot around here! The temperatures are rising and in an effort to keep our electric bill reasonable I am trying to use the oven as little as possible. Thankfully we have a grill, griddle, and a crock pot to get us through this hot and humid summer.
Breakfast:
Whole wheat pancakes (recipe below), Homemade English muffins, Oatmeal, Eggs and toast, Blender better whole wheat waffles
Lunch:
Sandwiches, Fruit, Veggies, Yogurt, Cheese and crackers, Smoothies
Dinner:
Cuban Chicken Salad – This delicious dish is perfect for summer and takes about 20 minutes to prepare from start to finish.
Salad:
- 2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 can back beans
- 1 cup frozen corn (cooked)
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 1 small red pepper, sliced thin
Grill chicken until thoroughly cooked, slice into strips. Chop lettuce and divide on to four plates. Heat black beans and corn and spoon on top of the lettuce. Add sliced pepper and onion. Top with sliced chicken.
Dressing:
- 2 TBS lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 1/2 teas sugar
- 1 teas minced garlic
- 1/2 teas chili powder
- 1/2 teas salt
- 1/2 teas pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour over prepared salad.
For a fun twist add blue corn chips. For those who are not a fan of cilantro this salad also tastes great topped with salsa or ranch dressing.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Legs: Dark meat chicken is a great way to add meat to a meal without adding to your grocery budget.
served with tossed salad, fresh steamed broccoli, and seasonal fruit
- 2/3 cup dry unsweetened lemonade mix
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing
- 3 pounds chicken legs
Remove skin from the chicken legs. Mix together marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken legs all day in the fridge. Grill chicken legs on low heat until thoroughly cooked. The chicken legs usually take about 45 minutes to an hour on the grill.
Simple Crock Pot Pork Roast: Buy a cheaper cut of meat to save money. I purchase boneless, but that is my preference.
served with fresh pineapple, macaroni and cheese, and tossed salad
- 1 cup worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
Spray crock pot with nonstick spray. Place pork roast in crock pot. Add worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Cook on low for 8 hours. Turn pork roast occasionally. For those of your with acute observation skills, yes, I do put my crock pot outside in the summer months to keep the house cooler.
Pizza on the Grill: Let’s just say I am no Bobby Flay when it comes to grilling. I tried pizza on the grill last summer and failed horribly. My family loves pizza and during the cooler months it is a staple on Friday nights. I am going to attempt to grill pizza again this week, with hopefully some better results.
Salmon Cake Sandwiches: This is a favorite summer time meal. I usually have some whole wheat rolls in the freezer, but since I am all out I will probably buy some potato rolls at the store.
served with watermelon, chips, and corn
- Two cans boneless, skinless salmon, drained
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (you can use low fat)
- 4 teasp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teasp black pepper
- 1 teasp salt
I beat the eggs first, then take all the ingredients and mix together in a bowl. You might need to adjust the amount of bread crumbs a little to make sure you can form the patties.
Form the mixture into eight patties (similar to hamburgers)
On medium heat coat a frying pan with vegetable oil, then melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan.
Fry your salmon patties for about 4 minutes on each side until they are a beautiful golden color.
Set on a paper towel to blot any extra oil.
Serve on a bun with your choice of toppings. We like lettuce and mayo at our house.
Whole Wheat Pancakes
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk ( I use powdered and add water)
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat (fresh ground soft white) flour
Mix dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients and mix. Cook on a hot (350 degrees) buttered griddle for about 3 minutes on each side.
Time to link up your menu plans for the week. To participate please follow Laura’s guidelines below:
- Link to your individual MPM post instead of to your home page.
- When adding your name to MckLinky please make sure to include some spaces. Here is an example of the right way: The Happy Housewife (Turn off the Oven), and this is an example of the way not to do it: The Happy Housewife(Turnofftheoven)
- Please feel free to let us know if you are new to MPM (so we can be sure to visit and welcome you) by putting “I’m new” or “first one” in brackets after your name in MckLinky.
- Please mention MPM in your post and link back to my weekly MPM post hosted this week at The Happy Housewife. I reserve the right to delete those links that don’t adhere to this.
- Please do not host your own MPM at your site. Thanks!
Thanks for hosting this week and for offering the giveaway. I’d love to win!
Thanks for hosting! I have just been telling my husband that I don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep it up- so this give away would be a perfect break on one of my responsibilities! Thanks so much!
Fun to see you hosting this week! Your salad looks wonderful, and I love recipes that don’t heat up the kitchen this time of year. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for hosting and also for the photos and recipes! I can’t wait to hear about the pizza on the grill, sure does sound interesting!!1 Thanks for having a give-a-way and what a great service to offer!! I know when I first started menu planning I was so overwhelmed! I love it now!
Anything that makes my life easier!
What a great giveaway. Especially seeing as I will be trying to get into the swing of menu planning again after a 1 1/2 month vacation.
Thanks for hosting and thank U for the great recipes. The cuban salad and the salmon cakes sounds like great ones to try.
Thanks for hosting this weeks MPM!! You rock!!
Wow! That Cuban Chicken salad looks awesome! Thanks for posting!
well…this is my first week back to menu planning monday in 2 years…what fun that it is being guest-hosted with a giveaway!
I’ve been working outside the home…and just haven’t been nearly as motivated to cook & plan meals as I was when I was doing this meme every week…so I’m back!
thanks for hosting…
blessings, mamabright
Gosh a great weeks menu. I can see that I will have to pad out my weekly blog post. Love your menu
Thanks for hosting and offering such a great give away!
This would be such a help!
thanks for hosting!
Your salad looks spectacular. Thanks for hosting and offering the giveaway.
Yumm that salad (and the dressing) look so good. What a fabulous giveaway, can’t wait to see who wins!
Wow, what an awesome thing for Kate to offer!!
I’m new here, but love this concept! Your recipes look great, and I’d love the opportunity to try out the meal planning service!
I wrestle with menu planning myself, but then, I’m just beginning. I fight with getting it done at last minute, or with fitting the meal I have planned in the time I allotted for it.
Kate has an awesome idea! Thanks for the great link and giveaway.
I can’t wait to try the Cuban chicken and pork roast. They both sound yummy!
I think I’m going to have to give your salmon recipe a go, as we’ve yet to find one we all like! Thanks!
Wonderful menu and recipes! Thanks for hosting
thanks for hosting this week! Laura’s blog was one of the first I started reading too
your cuban chicken salad looks tasty.
Thanks for the opportunity to win some peace of mind. I struggle w/menu planning and so I’ve just given up! Trying to make it work for me. Thanks again.
Oh, it would be delightful for someone else to plan my meals for me! Especially with teaching starting up again this week. Thanks for the constant insight and giveaways!
I think its a great plan to not use the oven. We aren’t either, but that just means we are eating more convenience foods or sandwiches. I figure eating tons of tomato sandwiches justified buying frozen chicken nuggets since I am pregnant.
I gotta know, is the roast very salty? It seems like it would be.
I’d love, love, love to win the menu planning service. It’s such a chore to get myself to do that and I’ve been meaning to for a loooooong time. This would give me the jumpstart I need! Thanks for offering this giveaway!
I have not been successful at menu planning yet, but I really want to! Your menu looks great! Yummy.
Thanks for hosting! I would love to enter the giveaway. Sounds like a great prize.
I just want to thanks for posting your meal plan. I have just started using a meal plan and last week I I was having a rough week, so right before I went to the grocery store, I jumped on your website to get my last couple of meals to complete my week. You saved me lots of time. Thank you so much.
We did pizza on the grill last week and it turned out great! I used my homemade whole wheat crust, rolled it out thin, and brushed it with a little olive oil so it wouldn’t stick to the grill. The key is to have medium to medium-low heat (we use charcoal so it’s not exact…). Then brush the other side with a little oil and flip after 2-3 minutes. We found it works better to go light on the toppings and then put the lid down for a minute or two for the toppings to melt. It’s great and the crust has so much more flavor! I’d encourage you to try it again–it was so much fun for us!
I love your site, and I would love to have someone else meal plan for me
. I do it every week, but it’s not my favorite thing to do.
Being a stay at home mom for the second time around, 2 daughters age 22 and age 7, I have been in need of inspiration. Thanks for hosting this week I have enjoyed your site.
Thanks for hosting MPM this week. Nice blog!
Thanks for hosting!! Your menu looks yummy and gave me some ideas for my planning!!
I love giveaways, what fun! I’ve been reading your blog for a couple months now and absolutely love it. It’s a great one!
I would love help with some menu planning.
Thanks for sharing your menu. What time’s dinner? The menu planning giveaway is great. Always looking for inspiration!!!!
This would be such a blessing to my busy household. We have 4 activities during the week and 2 on Saturday, and the church on Sunday. We are so busy and this would really help my family. Thanks!
cookiecutter72 at hotmail dot com
Sounds like a good plan for the week.
And I like the sounds of your giveaway too.
I totally forgot to comment though I added my link.
Here’s hoping I have a chance at the prize.
Thanks for hosting this week! I would love a chance to win the menu planning from Stolen Moments!
I like the idea of turning off the oven for a week. I almost did that this past week, but ended up having to bake cookies & brownies for a friend’s event. Thanks for the chance to win the planning from Cooking During Stolen Moments. Sounds great!
This is just what I need! I’ve been struggling to come up with good menus for the past couple weeks and our grocery budget is low, which makes it even harder!
The Cuban Chicken Salad was really yummy. I might try to get the rest of my family to eat it!
That is a wonderful give – away and I would love to win it.
Thank you so much for hosting this for Laura this week. I’m not sure about the Pizza on the Grill, fortunately we do not get that much hot weather up here that it becomes unbearable to utilize the oven.
I love your site! Thanks for sharing your menus!
I have been trying to menu plan. It is new to me so I guess it will take some time. I have noticed that it saves me a lot of money at the grocery store:) Always love to see all the menu plans and copy some of them. Thanks for the great recipes and pictures.
Great job hosting this week! Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
I am a menu plan junkie! I love to hop around and read menu plans and love to read Stolen Moments:) For pizza on the grill I make my dough (scratch that) your dough recipe a little bit stiffer just add more or less water/flour. I don’t try to get a perfect circle when I roll it out. Oblong works better when you lift if off the pan and onto the grill so it doesn’t fall out of shape onto itself. I roll it out on some olive oil as well and brush the pan I transfer it onto. I heat my gas grill on high until it about 400 degrees then turn all the way down to low. Grill on both sides with lid down. Put on toppings and put the lid down again. YUM!