Menu Planning Monday!

Well, it's Monday again whether we like it or not.  I really had the most perfect weekend and I can't wait to give you more details & pictures than you can imagine, but that will have to wait until later.  Meanwhile, making the best of a work week when you have SO much to do at home is tough.  I'm not sure about you, but I have cleaning to do, clothes to wash, groceries to buy, crafts to complete, gifts to wrap, and I still have thank you notes to write from the wedding!  And don't get me started on Christmas shopping!  With so many tasks on my list, I have to take advantage of EVERY minute!  :)

One way to do this is to make a weekly menu guide.  I am very spontaneous in the kitchen, so I don't always stick to my plans, but I try!  And all in all, it does save me some time.  I usually only plan out a week in advance, but since next week is Thanksgiving (so crazy!) I will go ahead and plan through the 23rd since we will be spending that evening with his parents.  Keep your eye out for LINKS because this post is full of them!  :D   

Monday

One of my husband's favorite meals I make for him is Spicy Chicken Nuggets.  How jealous are you that my dear, sweet husband has such simple tastes?!  Before I left for work this morning, I took two large boneless skinless chicken breasts out of the freeze and put them in a Ziploc bag.  In the bag, I added about a tablespoon of water, a tablespoon of hotsauce, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder.  When I get home from work, I'll chop up the chicken into bite-size pieces.  I bread them House-Autry Medium-Hot Breader.  To make my nuggets a little spicier, I add paprika, cayenne pepper, Lowrey's seasoning salt, chili powder, and a dash of garlic to even out the flavor.  I fry them in a skillet full of canola oil and it takes about 15 minutes!  :)  Simple, quick, and my husband loves them!  

Tuesday

We will be eating out at a little Italian restaurant.  He will probably have a cal-zone and I will probably have chicken parmigiana.  I know you don't care, but this knocks out Italian food as an option for another night.  We usually eat Italian once a week, at least.  I'm slightly Italian.  :)  After we eat, I'm going to go to Wal-Mart to grocery shop for the rest of our week!  So it works out great :)

Wednesday

Wednesday night is church, but Mr. Robinson will be working late so we will probably miss it.  He is going to be having a rough time at work starting tomorrow (Thursday) through the rest of the year.  Poor baby.  I need to feed him something AMAZING tonight to give him strength to get through the rest of the week!  

I think I'll make "Taco Bake!"  Check out the full recipe here!  

Thursday

I want simple.  I'm thinking... corn dogs.  Or macaroni.  I don't really care.  I just don't want to cook.  I haven't even cooked a single thing and I'm exhausted from planning out this menu!  :) 

Friday

He would probably really appreciate hot dogs over a campfire tonight!  And I can even make homemade marshmallows!  After all, that is one of my goals that I must complete by New Years!  This recipe seems pretty straightforward and comes from a reliable source.  :)  It also has some excellent reviews!  

I do not have a candy thermometer so I'm ordering one off of Amazon right now & it will be here by Wednesday.  Even if it's not, it will be here by Friday fa sho!  :)    

Saturday

I will make homemade mini-pizzas and put them in the freezer to use at the Live Nativity our church is doing!    I also wanted to bake something to take to the LN, so today would be a great day to do that.  When I'm making the mini pizzas, I will also make extra dough so that we can have pizza tomorrow!    

Sunday

Customer Appreciation Day starts at Mr. Robinson's job.  He told me I could cook some baked goods for him to take to work for him, his coworkers, and their customers.  I want to make something CUTE because he says he brags about my mad cooking skills to his co-workers pretty constantly.  :)  A girl's gotta live up to her reputation, right?  At the same time...I don't want to make something too difficult.  :)  Here's what I've come up with...

Here is a recipe for Funfetti Cookies made from Funfetti cake mix.  I could make them really small and make "oreos" out of them, kind of!  That'd be cute!  :)    

As for our Sunday Dinner... we will eat pizza.  While the pizza is in the oven, I will begin preparing the Indian Food we will eat tomorrow!  :)   

Monday

Chicken Tikka.  I use a recipe from a  book at home, so I don't have a link for you.  Chicken Tikka is delicious.  Very seasoned.  It has to marinate overnight to be the best it can be!  Any recipe you find online will be good, I'm sure!  My favorite that I've made so far is Chicken Tikka Marsala!  Oh, how delicious!  But...hubbs didn't really care for it because of all the tomatoes.

Tuesday

I want to take a little something with us to Thanksgiving, so I will cook that tonight.  Since I'll be spending some time on this in the kitchen, I think tonight is a hot dogs & french fries kind of night!

Red Velvet Cupcakes topped with Brownie Cake Pops that look something like THIS once they are assembled!  The color scheme will be completely different, but you get the idea.  :)        

Wednesday

And we are off to spend Thanksgiving with my dear husband's family at the beach!  :)  No more cooking!