Menu Monday

Brrrr!! It's downright cold outside!! I know for those of you north and east of Texas, who are buried in snow right now, this is no newsflash. In fact, some of you are without power, you are not even reading this right now. I'm so sorry! I'm praying you are keeping warm! This is a pic of my kids back in December when we went to see the "ICE!" exhibit. It was just starting to snow on us when we left, so I snapped this photo of them all bundled up. I posted this today for those of you who are freeeezing so you would know we are with you in spirit and praying you thaw out soon!

Well, we are in the thick of basketball season. While I am a major fan of climate controlled sports, I am not a fan of being out of the house multiple evenings per week. Eating dinner as a family, and eating home cooked food remains a priority for our family, but during certain seasons it gets challenging! I've had to plan and make more foods that are "portable" that we can eat on-the-run or in between games. I thought about this last week, as the five of us were sitting outside the gym in the hallway, eating our Whole Foods market healthy hot dogs and homemade dessert... at least we're eating together! It's a really fun time for all of us, but with two of them finishing up busy basketball seasons it's a nutty time. I'm hanging on until the middle of March!

I've been really trying to not only make sure we eat home-cooked food during this busy time, but also trying to make it as healthy as possible. I made several recipes out of Fix It and Enjoy It last week that turned out great. I encourage you to pick up that book. (I got mine at Wal Mart.) It has some easy and healthful recipes. The fact that I'm cooking out of it during this action-packed time in our schedule ought to tell you that it's not that hard! Last week I made Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies which everyone liked. I also made a wonderful fruit cobbler recipe for dessert one night (using whole wheat pastry flour and frozen fruit... really good). This weekend I made Pumkin and Ginger pancakes that were so good as well- using whole wheat pastry flour, yogurt, cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin. Perfect with a dusting of powdered sugar on top and served with homemade syrup. Great recipes!

So, here's my menu with 3 dinners "on the go" and two in the slow cooker, as we will be at various gyms this week finishing up our active and fun basketball season!

Monday: tuna salad "jellyroll" sandwiches, pita bread chips and fruit

Tuesday: Crock Pot Enchilada Casserole (from Cooking Light), spanish rice, baked apples

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Ye' Assa Wet (spicy fish- one of our family's favorites!), split peas, ayb (cottage cheese), injera bread

Thursday: Paula Deans's BBQ pork sandwiches (made in the crock pot), sweet potato fries, fruit

Friday: grilled chicken pita sandwiches, baked zucchini chips

To share your menu or to get some great ideas, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!