Menu Planning

It’s Tuesday and as is the case of many Tuesdays I have the day off work. Among the many things I need or want to get done is planning a weekly menu, and doing the grocery shopping. I find this usually daunting. There are so many things to consider from time to meatless monday to what we still have on hand from last week and what we may be getting from our CSA on Thursday. And of course my picky kids. In fairness I know much more picky kids but one is under weight and we need to keep him eating and the other is a hollow athlete 11-year-old who gets stomach aches that sideline her and make her crabby if she doesn't eat enough.

I have many sources for ideas. Rachel ray publishes a weekly menu on her website as well as in her magazine. Women’s day publishes a Monthly Menu. and of course my large cook book collection and the food blogs I follow.
The good news is that this week I have no evenings to work. And the only thing we are getting from our CSA this month is fruit so I don’t have to consider that. But that 11-year-old is still swimming almost every night.

So here I sit with only the following:
Tonight will be a recipe from Rachel ray: “Chorizo Hash and Eggs” as published in her December/January 2010 magazine (Although to please the kids we are substituting bacon for chorizo)
From the November Woman’s Day November 2009 I am using the Friday 11/6 suggestion of Soup and ham and Cheese Quesadillas, for Wednesday
Thursday I will make meat loaf as the kids have been asking for it for a while. Probably from the Sneaky chef I am considering lentil bolognese from Meatless Monday for Monday but I am concerned that the timing might be off to get everyone fed on time. I wonder if it will work in a crock pot.

But I have been sitting her for almost 2 hours and I haven’t even considered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I also want to make some cookies this week. I picked up an copy of Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies from 2006 at work when a coworker was getting rid of it. (Did you think I would go 2 blogs with out mentioning cookies?)

I think I will make some tea and clean up a bit an come back to the menu planning.