Sunday, July 3, 2011

Menu Plan Monday - Summer has come!

NOTE: July 6 Update... I decided to try something new - I changed the meal Tuesday (as I was not feeling what I planned) and thought it would be nice to post a "New Recipe Review" the day after it was tried. I will be labelling all "new" recipe selections so check back the day after the meal was scheduled for a review!

Ahhhh... I feel all zen and relaxed and refreshed. Our holidays were absolutely amazing! We ate like kings (thanks to my Dad and step-Mom for keeping our bellies filled and the dishes done), slept like giants, and made like sloths for seven incredible days. There wasn't a care in the world except wondering what snack to eat next.

That's not 100% true - I dug more dirt and piled rocks and sticks and pine needles that I've ever done in my life. I chased balls, named squirrels and explained that Jasper was not home to dinosaurs and had to give a brief geography lesson to my three year old on why we could not just drive to see the big T-Rex he climbed to the top of last year. I wrote and wrote and wrote (posts coming soon) and had time to think, reflect and appreciate nature at it's finest. I even had time for a little shopping in town with my Mom (who drove up for the day).

My husband was perfecting the art of photographing wildlife. Thankfully, the wildlife was unusually cooperative! Twelve black bears, many mountain goats, elk - mommies, babies and bucks and even a few deer posed for his camera. He even got some amazing shots of people cliff diving! Once he gets them processed, I'll post them in the coming weeks along with the posts I wrote (on paper, no less, while we were camping).

It's going to be a tough week - getting back into the groove of getting up at 6am but I feel positive and recharged - my holiday was just what I needed!

It's July here - the only month I've not seen snow in (well, I have - at higher elevations - but none has fallen on my grass during this month) - which means it's HOT. I like summer because I get to experiment with all kinds of new salads and sandwich combinations and foods that don't require me to turn on my oven! Well, except for today because we ran out of propane for the BBQ as I was toasting the garlic buns for dinner! Here is all our yummy salad and barbecue goodness for the coming week!

July 4 to July 10
Dinners

Monday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches with veggies & dip
Tuesday: Tortellini in Creamy Tomato Mushroom Sauce with Bread Sticks
Wednesday: Waldorf Tuna Sandwiches & Raspberry Salad
Thursday: BBQ Pork chops with Spinach Salad
Friday: Weeknight Lasagna Toss
Saturday: Hamburgers
Sunday: Chicken Burgers

Note: Underlined menu items have the recipes posted below.

Thanks for popping in and for more fabulous menu planning ideas, check out the Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Raspberry Salad
Lettuce - combination of leaf, head and red leaf lettuce
Craisins (optional)
Pine nuts
Raspberries
Snap peas
Baby carrots

Toss all ingredients together and use Kraft's Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing to dress to taste.

Spinach Salad
5 cups baby spinach, torn to bite size pieces
4 large white mushrooms, sliced
2 to 4 hard boiled eggs, diced
4 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Dressing
4 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Mix well - until sugar is dissolved

Mix salad ingredients well - tossing with 2 to 4 tsp of Olive Oil. Coat with dressing and toss again.

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