THE PETERSENS

After three fairly horrible, no-good days with the stomach flu, I am finally on the mend!  I don’t feel quite myself yet, but baby steps are good steps.  Yes, I am thankful.  My to-do list is longer than ever now, but that is okay because at least I know what to feed my family this week.  Whew!  I hate the feeling of stepping into my kitchen at 5 PM wondering, “What am I going to feed my family tonight?”  Stresses me out to the max.  So, here’s what the Petersens are eating this week!  There are some repeats from last week because the meals didn’t actually get made due to my being sick.

MONDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Diced Peaches, Brown Sugar and Cream
Lunch: Tuna Sandwiches with Goldfish and Craisins
Dinner: Brown Bag Burritos, Homemade Salsa, Toppings and Sour Cream

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Cereal and Fruity Yogurt Smoothies
Lunch: Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas with friends
Dinner: Chicken and Squash Casserole with Brown Rice and Garden Salad

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Bread with Peanut Butter
Lunch: @ a friend’s house
Dinner: @ Community Group

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Banana Bread and Cinnamon Applesauce
Lunch: @ a friend’s house
Dinner: Chicken Nuggets, Baked French Fries and Green Beans

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, Goldfish and Bananas
Dinner: Cajun Baked Catfish, Herbed Roasted Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

SATURDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Raisins and Cinnamon
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: EATING OUT

SUNDAY
Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits and Fresh Fruit
Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Baby Carrots
Dinner: Mexican Pizza with Fresh Salsa, Black Bean and Corn Salad; Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream (we are having people over for dinner!)

I had so many great intentions and ideas of blogging a post before my next menu plan rolled around…and it just never happened!  Seems like I am always adjusting to something new in our lives and this past week it has been 1.) homeschooling 1st grade with my oldest and 2.) caring for my teething 6-month-old.  Besides that, we have had a GREAT Labor Day weekend!  It consisted of much yard work, planting our fall garden, a run to Sam’s Club, time with my dear husband, watching my kids play in their little pool, feeding Isaac baby food for the first time and watching Season 3 episodes of 24.  We rarely get such relaxing weekends together as a family, so I am thankful.  Now we are gearing up for an eventful week, so the food on the menu this week is going to be quite simple.  ; )

MONDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Raisins
Lunch: Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas with Bananas
Dinner: Hot Dogs @ Sam’s Club and Grapes

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Green Smoothies
Dinner: Cambodian Stew of Chicken, Eggs and Collard Greens with Jasmine White Rice

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Cereal Bars and Bananas
Lunch: Cheesy Baked Potatoes, Garden Salad and Cinnamon Applesauce
Dinner: @ Community Group

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey
Lunch:  Spinach and Mushroom Quiche (from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook) with Grapes
Dinner:  Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing with Green Beans

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Cereal with Milk
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches with Cucumber Sticks
Dinner: Broccoli Alfredo with Garden Salad and Homemade Croutons and Garlic Bread

SATURDAY
Breakfast: FREE BREAKFAST @ Chick-Fil-A
Lunch: Mushroom Quesadillas with Salsa
Dinner:  BBQ Chicken Pizza and Baby Carrots

Friends and faithful blog followers (like, the 2 that exist in the whole world…haha!), I am finally going to start posting my weekly meal plans again.  I think it will be helpful for me to blog again and exercise my brain and writing skills.

This past year has been fairly intense with purchasing a house, moving, a difficult pregnancy, having a newborn, my husband changing his job multiple times, etc.  I would be lying if I said it hasn’t been hard, but I would also be lying if I said my life is not full. Full of God’s goodness and His good gifts, full of daily reminders that God is near me and is faithful to keep His promises, full of love from a husband who would lay his life down for me in a heartbeat, full of sweet hugs and sticky kisses from 3 little boys, full of awesome friends who never fail to remind me to treasure Jesus more than anything on this earth…my life is full and overflowing with innumberable blessings. But, many of these blessings keep me fairly busy and life is always on the go.

So I will try my best to blog more often than I have been.  You can encourage me to keep blogging by posting comments (hint, hint).  I love getting comments on my blog…it is my almost-equivalent, Internet joy of receiving a handwritten letter or card in the postmail.

Okay, now I will actually post the meal plan.  You will find some familiar recipes, but also many new ones.  With increased prices in meats, we have been cutting back on those particular proteins to stay within our monthly grocery budget.  I have also tried to do much more cooking and baking from scratch as we are trying to steer away from fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.  In addition, it ends up being cheaper.  That is a win-win in my book.  If you have any yummy, to-die-for, vegetarian recipes, please do share!

MONDAY
Breakfast: Banana Slices with Peanut Butter and Raisins; Dry Cereal
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches with Baby Carrots
Dinner: Salmon-Broccoli Bake (new recipe with some revisions) with Garden Salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Honey and Craisins
Lunch: Black Bean, Cheese and Scallion Tacos with Fresh Fruit
Dinner: Eggplant (from our first garden ever!) Parmesan (new recipe with slight revisions) with Angel Hair Pasta and Italian Cheese Bread

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Diced Peaches with Homemade Vanilla Yogurt (favorite recipe!) and Honey
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Homemade Strawberry Jam (another favorite recipe with some revisions) Sandwiches
Dinner: @ Community Group

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Homemade Blueberry-Zucchini Bread (revised as well) and Unsweetened, Cinnamon Applesauce
Lunch: Tuna Melts and Cucumber Sticks
Dinner: Bean Pie with Single, Homemade Pie Crust with Green Beans

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Lunch: @ Chubby’s Tacos (thank you, Groupon!) in Durham with my husband
Dinner: Chicken, Ginger and Onion Stirfry with Brown Rice

SATURDAY
Breakfast: Cinnamon-Raisin French Toast and Fruit Smoothies
Lunch: Deli Sandwiches with Baby Carrots
Dinner: Quinoa and Black Beans (brand-new recipe) with Fresh Toppings

SUNDAY
Breakfast: Cereal and Fresh Fruit
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Leftovers