Week 376 Menu: In the swing of things

Hi everyone! We're starting our third week of school today. Actually, it's our first full week of school, with 5 days in a row. We're starting to get into the swing of things and into a good groove. My littlest started preschool last week and is loving it. It's good to have a little more structure in our days with just him and me at home.

I'm trying to get more things done early in the day, so I can make lego creations with this guy. He thinks I'm pretty cool when I can make something out of our giant mess of legos. It's a good test in patience for me to try to find all the pieces from lego sets that we bought years ago.

Anyway...this week we're full into our regular schedule of school, sports, church activities, teaching piano lessons, etc. Have I told you how much I LOVE early morning piano lessons? All three of my kids have their lessons before school and it is my favorite thing. And I love middle school sports since it's right after school. And I LOVE being able to carpool.

And one more thing that I love...when I actually menu plan. I have been not as regular at menu planning the last few months and my family has noticed. Things go a lot better when I make and plan and shop for dinner every night, or at least 5 nights a week. So, here's our plan for this week:

Monday: crockpot taco soup

Tuesday: try crockpot salsa verde honey lime chicken tacos

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: homemade pizza

Friday: try grilled chipotle maple chicken, simple orzo pilaf, garden salad

Saturday: Waikiki meatballs, rice/quinoa, stirfry veggies

Sunday: crockpot Italian chicken alfredo with noodles, one hour breadsticks, veggies

How about you? What you making for dinner this week? Feel free to share. I love it when you do! Happy Monday!

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Need more dinner inspiration, check out all #376 of my weekly menus here.

One Hour Rolls

These rolls are amazing! I've been making these rolls since 2001 when I was a newlywed and my sister-in-law shared the recipe with me. The rolls are light, fluffy, easy to make and they only take one hour! And delicious too! I've made these rolls more times than I can count, so I've perfected the art of making them. Here are some step-by-step instructions with pictures for you. Here's what you'll need. I buy pretty much all of the ingredients in this recipe at Sam's club, thus the huge containers. You need warm water, yeast, oil, sugar, salt, egg and flour. In the mixer bowl, add warm water (not hot), oil, sugar and yeast. Mix together. After ten or fifteen minutes the yeast mixture should be puffed up like this. Time to add the salt and beaten egg. Then mix in the flour. (I've used a mixture of half wheat and half white flour successfully.) Keep adding flour until the dough is manageable. It will be a little sticky, b

The Best French Bread I've Ever Made

This is the best french bread I've ever made. I got this recipe from my friend, Nikki, who gave us some of this bread as a thank you for my hubby helping them move a piano. I remember it being delicious and we gobbled it up fast. I was intimidated for some reason by the recipe and waited a few years before I made it. We needed some bread for to make some turkey, provolone, avocado sandwiches, so I made some of this bread and it was perfect! We sliced one loaf like they do at Subway. Then later I made normal shaped sandwiches with the rest of the bread. Delicious... light and fluffy and yummy! Update 2/22/12: This is still my favorite bread after making it for a year! It turns out perfect every time and it's gone in a flash! printable recipe French Bread recipe from my friend, Nikki Yield: 2 loaves Ingredients 2 c. warm water 1 pkg (or 1 heaping Tbsp.) yeast 1/4 c. granulated sugar 1 T. olive oil

Don't like your house to smell like food? I've got a kitchen tip for that!

I have a smallish, one story house and if I cook food that is kind of smelly, like onions, the smell tends to linger in every room. This is a pet peeve of mine and (also my husband's). Over the years I've found a few ways to cook smelly food without smelling up the kitchen. Use your garage! I use my garage quite often to cook things in. I open the window and it airs out, especially when you open the garage door. I'm sure my neighbors wonder what I'm cooking. I've used two different kitchen appliances in the garage: my crockpot and my food dehydrator. Crockpot - I did this very thing today since I'm simmering chicken, onions, carrots and celery to make chicken noodle soup tonight. I don't want my house to smell like onions all day, so I plugged it in on my husband's workbench. Food dehydrator - when I make jerky, I plug the food dehydrator in in the garage. I don't really want my house to smell like meat for hours

What is on your menu this week?

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