Menu Plan for May 26-June 1, 2019

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  I hope you all have a safe, fun holiday while we remember and honor those who served our country.

Here in Indy, we are hoping the weather cooperates with the Indy 500.  This morning it looks good, just hoping the rain holds off until this evening!  We have gone to the race several times, but this year we will listen to it on the radio.  There is nothing like the opening ceremony, it just makes me tear up every year.  I still miss Jim Nabors and Florence Henderson!  Nobody could sing Back Home Again in Indiana like Jim Nabors!

School is out here, and it looks like a busy summer for grandma.  I am watching grandkids for several weeks while parents take some much needed vacation time.  The grandkids are in so many activities, they didn't want to go on vacation but wanted to stay here!  I find that hard to imagine!  But that's okay with me, I will get to spend some grandma time with them!

I totally forgot about Memorial Day when I was making the menu for this week!  Gheesh!  So tomorrow we are grilling out hamburgers and sausages, with potato salad and chips. Nothing fancy, everyone is busy getting ready for trips.  So that will throw my menu off a day, but I will catch up next week.  It will just show up on next week's menu, because I already grocery shopped.

Here is the menu for this week:
If you would like a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe links and notes are below.

Sunday:
Fruit Salad - I think I will always eat fruit salad for breakfast!  I have lost 9 pounds so far, and I love this light but filling breakfast!  I take whatever fruits I have, slice and dice and make a HUGE bowl of it, and eat a bowl for breakfast.  This week it is apples, bananas, clementines, peaches, nectarines, pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries.

Gluten Free Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is from Low Carb with Jennifer - a new recipe for me but it sounds delicious!

Amish Peanut Butter Pie is from The Baking ChocolaTess - I am using a gluten free pie crust

Monday:
Creamy Pea Salad is from The Recipe Critic - love this salad!

Tuesday:
Gluten Free Lasagna is from Gluten Free On A Shoestring - I am cutting a few corners and using jarred spaghetti sauce

Wednesday:
Easy Shepherd's Pie is from Cincy Shopper - to make this gluten free, I am subbing cornstarch for the flour - use 1 tbsp of cornstarch instead of the flour

Pina Colada Fruit Salad is from Taste of Home - so fresh-tasting and summery!

Thursday:
Chicken Fried Rice is from The Cookin Chicks - this is one of my favorites and I could eat it every day!

Apple Pie is from Betty Crocker - I am not making this gluten free, because I don't want to be tempted!  I will just have the ala mode part!

Saturday:
Baked Beans are from The Chunky Chef - these are delicious!

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad is from Genius Kitchen - my family loves this salad!

Gluten Free Almond Flour Brownies are from King Arthur - I have a ton of almond flour and am trying to use it up!

That's it for this week!  I hope you have a wonderful week, and that you find a recipe or two - or even a meal plan - that you like here!

Menu Plan for May 19-25, 2019

Another school year coming to a close this week!  I can't believe it!  Next school year, I will be the grandma of a senior, a sophomore, and a third grader!  It seems like last week that I was going to the senior-to-be's kindergarten graduation!

I guess the saying is true - life comes at you fast!  I think next year will be a whirlwind!

This week's menu plan has quite a variety of foods, except of course for breakfast.  I am continuing on with my fruit salads for breakfast, which is just so good for me!  It holds me well until lunchtime, and I find that I even forget to eat lunch some days until I look at the clock and see it is past 1:00!!  I wish I would have started this sooner!  Last week I weighed in, and have lost 6 pounds.  That motivated me to keep trying!  I have a couple autoimmune disorders, and losing weight just does not happen easily for me.  It will take me forever to lose more, but I feel so much better it is totally worth it!

We are breaking out the grill for summer, so I have a couple meals that are from the grill.  I also chose a main dish salad to lighten up dinner on those hot days.  I don't like to heat up the kitchen in the summer, so I choose a lot of meals from the grill, as well as salads.

Here is the menu for this week:
If you would like a printable menu, please click HERE.
Recipe notes and links are below.

Sunday:
Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli is from Table for Two - I will not have an egg roll, because I have yet to find gluten free egg rolls!

Gluten Free New York Cheesecake is from Genius Kitchen - basically it is a New York Cheesecake without the crust

Monday:
Crockpot Swedish Meatballs are from The Country Cook - I love these and could eat them every day!  I use gluten free cream of mushroom soup and gluten free French onion soup.

Gluten Free Peach Blueberry Crisp is from Build Your Bite - new recipe for me!

Tuesday:
Crockpot Pork Loin with Gravy is from Recipes That Crock - easy and delicious, I use gluten free brown gravy mix and gluten free cream of mushroom soup.  I also throw in a couple shakes of balsamic vinegar.

Wednesday:
Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings is from Mama Knows Gluten Free - my favorite gluten free cooking site!  I love this meal!

Thursday:
Sloppy Joes are from The Chunky Chef - easy and delicious!

Friday:
Ham and Cheese Chopped Salad is from The Salty Marshmallow - keeps the kitchen cool!

Saturday:
Brown Sugar and Bacon Baked Beans are from the Chunky Chef - delicious with Italian Sausages from the grill

Another week, another menu!  I hope you find an idea or a meal plan here that you like!  Have an awesome week!

Menu Plan for May 12-18, 2019

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there!  I am thinking of my own mom today, so many treasured memories of her!  I thank God for her!  I am one lucky lady to have had such wonderful, loving parents, and I don't forget it for a minute.

I hope you all have a wonderful day today.  We are going out to lunch today, and then attending our granddaughters' final symphony concert for the season this evening.  It is always fantastic, and a great way to spend Mother's Day!

Only 2 weeks of school left here for the grandkids!  It is chilly and rainy today, but it heats up into the 80's at the end of the week.  They are all so ready to be out for the summer!

This week, I am continuing my fruit salad breakfasts.  I absolutely love eating fruit in the morning, and I cannot imagine going back to a heavy breakfast.  It feels so good to start the day fresh and light! I think I have lost a few pounds, too, but I'm only weighing myself twice a month so we'll see!

The dinners this week are pretty easy, and I use gluten free ingredients as much as possible.  The desserts this week are not gluten free, and are mainly for sharing with the rest of the family.  They absolutely LOVE the Black Forest Poke Cake, and I haven't made it in awhile.  So they are getting some at the end of the week to kick off the last week of school!

Here is my menu plan for the week:
To get a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe links and notes are below.

Monday:
Spaghetti Sauce is from Taste of Home - it is one of our favorite spaghetti sauces.  I use gluten free spaghetti noodles for me, the rest of the family gets regular spaghetti.  It is a delicious sauce!

Tuesday:
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole is from Budget Savvy Diva - I will use gluten free bread crumbs and gluten free cream of mushroom soup

Pecan Cream Pie is from Together As Family

Wednesday:
Chicken Fried Rice is from Rachel Schultz on Homemaking - this is tried and true and delicious!

Pistachio Pudding Cake is from Taste of Home - my mom used to make this cake, and it is so good!  The icing is yummy!  Of course I can't eat it, but my family sure can!

Thursday:
JoJo Potatoes are from Mel's Kitchen Café - these are so yummy!

Carrot Raisin Salad is from 40 Aprons - a nice, fresh tasting salad!

Friday:
Meatloaf is from Yummy Healthy Easy - I use gluten free oats

Black Forest Poke Cake is from Served Up With Love - everyone loves this cake!  And it's so easy!

And that's a wrap for this week!  I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day, and a wonderful week ahead!  As always, I hope you can find a meal plan or a recipe or two that you want to try!  Thanks for visiting!

Menu Plan for Week of May 5-11, 2019

I love May, don't you?  Granted, it's still raining here in Indiana almost every day, but the sunny days we have in May...like today....oh, me oh, May!  Totally love it!  The smallest granddaughter was here most of the day, and she rode her scooter, and her bike, petted the horses that belong to the people behind us, ate an ice cream cone outside and got chocolate all over her face, sat with me on the swing for awhile, just the kinds of things I love about May.  Plus, (she's 8 years old) she played a Pokémon card game with her uncle and had a ball.  She loves Pokémon, and almost every time she sees him he pulls new packs of Pokémon cards out from somewhere and she goes crazy! He is taking her to see the movie Detective Pikachu when it comes out, and you would think they were going to the world premiere of Gone With The Wind.  Sweet times!

We had such a nice week last week, even though it was rainy and kind of chilly.  I have been sewing all kinds of things, but finally finishing up gifts for the granddaughter's (above) teacher and bus driver.  It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and whatever we do for the teacher we also do for the bus driver - because we love them both!  So Monday, a pot of beautiful geraniums for each.  For Tuesday, I made each one a quilted tote bag.  Still finishing the bus driver's, but the teacher's is finished.  I will post a picture later.  Wednesday gift cards to Starbucks, Thursday classroom supplies and note pads and mugs, and Friday a handwritten thank you card from the granddaughter.  A week of celebration to thank them (in a small way) for everything they do each day!
And then, the week ended with prom for the oldest granddaughter, and she looked gorgeous!  A pale lavender dress just looked beautiful on her, and her boyfriend had a white jacket with a pale lavender best and tie -- and he looked like he was made to dress up!  What a cute couple they made, and they had a ball!  Literally and figuratively!

This week, there are a few things going on.  We are going to the end of the year choir concert to see the boyfriend (above) perform.  Marching band practice begins for the high schoolers for next year's show, and I've got lots of housework to catch up on from all my sewing days this past week.  Last week's menu plan worked like a charm for me.  I love fruit for breakfast!  I make a huge bowl of fruit salad twice a week, and we eat fruit every morning.  I kind of switch my dinner and lunch, and am eating our main meal at about 1:00 for lunch, and a light meal for dinner.  It is working for me, and I am feeling great!  So we will continue that this week!

Here is this week's menu:
For a printable copy, please click HERE.
Recipe notes and links are below.

Sunday:
Fruit Salad - This week I am mixing together strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, apples, bananas, oranges, mandarin oranges, grapes, peaches, plums, and pears.

Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas are from My Kitchen Life - a new recipe to celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Monday:
Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast is from The Country Cook - tried and true

Gluten Free Brownie Cheesecake is from Lazy Gluten Free - a new recipe, I don't know why she calls her blog lazy because she has some awesome recipes on there!

Tuesday:
Gluten Free Sweet-Chicken is from My Gluten-Free Kitchen - yummy over rice!  and easy!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Pie is from Maebells - this sounds SO good!

Friday:
Cajun Halibut with Praline Sauce over Dirty Rice is from Everyday Annie - this is pretty fancy for me to make on a Friday night, but it sounds so good, and I think that it will come together quickly - planning to make the rice in the morning, so I just have to heat it up at dinner time.

Gluten Free Hershey's Brownies are from Hershey's - these are very very good!

Saturday:
Meatloaf is from The Country Cook - an excellent meatloaf and great on sandwiches the next day!

That's it for the coming week!  I sure hope you have a wonderful week, and that you can find a meal or two here that you can use for your family!  See you soon!