Sunday, August 17, 2008

Menu Planning Monday (well, Sunday night)

I've been hit early by no sleep nights--I still have three months of pregnancy before middle of the night feedings, and insomnia has hit hard. I've been waking up between 2 and 4 am, starving; I eat something (cereal or toast with something), but then I can't go back to sleep. That plus "back to school" stuff this week makes it imperative I actually plan what we eat this week--else we'll have a week like last week (hello Mexican restaurant, Pizza Hut and Steak & Shake!) The good news is we did a freezer food exchange, so the freezer is well stocked! I've also lost my daytimer (a very bad week for that), so I'll include what's up each day:

Monday (Harmony dance at 3:30; tea for women faculty, 3:30-5)
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches, grapes, milk, monster cookies
Dinner: Salad, Bean and rice enchiladas (thanks Jen!), cucumbers from the garden

Tuesday (kids to dr at 3, reception for new faculty 5-7)
Lunch: Pancakes, yogurt, peaches
Dinner: Adults will eat at the reception, I don't know what we're doing with the kids yet!

Wednesday (lunch meeting, 2 pm meeting, opening picnic at the President's)
Lunch: Hot dog, mac & cheese, carrots, apple slices
Dinner: Kids at the Little Greenhouse; whatever they serve :)

Thursday (training all morning, grad school reunion dinner, Patrick out of town)
Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, juice
Dinner: Kids at picnic with church friends???

Friday (grad school reunion, may have friends down for dinner, prep for garage sale)
Lunch: Clean out the fridge :)
Dinner: New favorite Italian sausage dish (see below), bread, salad, Cherries Jubiliee

Saturday(garage sale, students moving into apt upstairs, meet my freshman advisees)
Lunch: sandwiches, fruit, chips
Dinner: OUT!

Sunday (teach Kid's church, 15 freshmen advisees over for dinner)
Lunch: Either pack a picnic or out with friends
Dinner: Cumin lime pork tenderloin, salad, corn, stuffing, brownie sundaes

OK, I just realized how RIDICULOUS this week is. But I don't know what can go--all the school events are required, and the garage sale is to get rid of the stuff from the last set of tenants (so it needs to go before this set moves in!). I don't like weeks like this, with multiple evening events where kids aren't welcome--luckily those are a rarity. Advice and prayers are welcome, especially for sleep!

Italian Sausage Bake (variation on last Sunday's USA today recipe)
1.5 lbs italian sausage (or turkey sausage), cut into 1 inch slices
3 cups cherry tomatoes (ours are going crazy!)
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 red pepper (from our garden!)
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tsp thyme
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
2 cans white beans (I'm blanking on their names)

Toss all ingredients except beans in a roasting pan. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Stir and add beans and 1/4 c of the liquid from the beans. Roast 15 more minutes.

2 comments:

Jen said...

Okay, it's about 2:30 AM so we're on basically the same schedule! This feels isnsulting today, though, as I have to be up at 5:30 and we didn't get to bed until 10:30! THe little mister wanted about 1/4 gallon of apple juice and I'm resisting the urge to eat anything...heartburn sets in when I eat and them try to sleep!
I will pray for your busy week! I guess maybe it's better to have all the non-kid friendly stuff going on in one week than spread out through the semester????
I'll check with Charlie, but maybe you could drop the kids here Tuesday after their doc appts?
As for the garage sale...I'll e-mail you about that...

Kim said...

I am tired for you! Hopefully next week is less chaotic.