Menu Plan Monday, St Patrick's Day

Menu Plan Monday with Laura at Org Junkie

Upcoming week: 

Monday: Creamy Balsamic Chicken with roasted vegetables

Tonight we have our friends Hanne and Drian coming over - they are joining us for dinner then helping us do stuff - Hanne is helping me prep Lifegroup Dinner & dessert and Drian is helping Paul around the house. One of the best joys in life is having awesome awesome friends who also help you! So much win.

Tuesday: Pierogie Lasagna for Lifegroup

Lifegroup discipleship group week - so we'll be eating then splitting into groups right away. We're having Pierogie Lasagna - I've been wanting to try this for ages and I'm curious if it remotely tastes like the Perogies of my childhood. My cousins John and Jonathan will be there, so they'll help me determine. 

Wednesday: Balsamic Roast with potatoes and carrots, served with roasted vegetables.

My parents are coming over for dinner - and I wanted to make something that is easy and is hearty - a crockpot roast recipe fits that bill perfectly!

Thursday: Crockpot Italian Chicken

Thursday night we have plans at a friends house for dinner, so I'll have dinner in the crockpot for our house. I'll come home and pull it together for them, then we'll head out for our dinner. 

Friday: Green Beans, Chicken and Potatoes with Cranberry Bliss Bars
Friday we don't have any plans (yet) and I've been wanting to try a copy cat Cranberry Bliss Bar recipe, so a night in is perfect!

Saturday: THE Mac and Cheese
We're having a big games night with friends - we'll make some random appies from the pantry/freezer but the main dish will be this super popular Mac and Cheese - I made it for these same friends at our Christmas party and it was super popular. 

Sunday: Thai Chicken Coconut Soup: Option A or Option B
Sunday Paul preaches, then we have transformations, then a lifegroup leaders meeting with an hour in between....so I'll put a crockpot soup on in the morning and we'll wolf it down between transformations and the LG leaders meeting. Phew...crockpots always win on Sundays. 

In Review:

Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Bubble Up with steamed broccoli

This tasted so so so good. Everyone loved it at dinner, and it made for great leftovers. We had a great time eating in the kitchen at the smaller table chatting with Duncan and Lyndsay and then rushed out to make soup with our friends Tom, Chenny, TC and Irene. We whipped up some potato, leek, bacon soup and some chili to give to my friend Laura who gives soup to disadvantaged or homeless youth twice a week. It was a fun night, and productive.

Tuesday: Melt in your mouth Chicken with vegetables

I prepped this Monday night and then Paul put it in the oven for me. The chicken was good and the roasted vegetables were awesome! We had small groups that night - I'm doing a book study with two girls and Paul's meeting up with some guys for mens group...though instead of going to his mens group Paul ended up having to stay home to fix some plumbing issues under our sink. Fun times. 

I was back riding my bike starting Tuesday after a month without! I'm hoping to keep my riding streak up, and can happily report that I rode all week!

Wednesday: Long Boy Cheeseburgers Beef Tacos with Mexi Rice

The buns I'd grabbed out of the freezer to use were freezer burned and we were out of ground beef, so instead I grabbed some stewing beef and fried it up with taco seasoning and made soft tacos with Mexi Rice. Tasty. I did some housework and went to bed on time. Much needed night at home. 

Thursday: Homemade Chicken Wings and Fries

Thursday night I had some girlfriends over to eat good food and watch survivor - I made Chicken Wings and Fries, something you often see on the show during reward challenges, and others contributed to the meal as well. 

We are doing a voting sort of game, so we brought our wine wagers and made our decisions. Then we stayed up to watch Grey's Anatomy since it was a new one. It was one of those very relaxing, but super fun, sort of nights. I'm thankful for friends - especially new groups of friends like these ladies! Charlotte x2, Laura, Whitney & Margot, you are all pretty awesome!

Friday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, roasted carrots and broccoli with slivers of onions, Lasagna Alfredo Rollups, and steamed Asparagus. 

Friday is my day off. I met up with my great friend Lindsay at 10am for coffee at 49th Parallel, we talked and had the best time. I did not have the best scone. Not best at all. Then I picked up my sister in law Katie on the way home and we had lunch together at my place and had a great 3 hour hang out. After she left I picked Paul up, dropped him at home and headed out for errands. I picked up my sewing machine from the repair shop, swung by Costco for Groceries, swung by the flower warehouse for flowers (makes the house feel so good) and lastly ran into Superstore for the last of my groceries. I ran into a friend, Diana, from church and felt so happy to run into someone I liked. Plus it was sunny and the whole drive home I blasted Macklemore and felt free. 

Since we were supposed to be away, we didn't have any plans for the weekend. We took a moment to think, who do we really miss and not get to see enough of? So we invited Paul's Dad and Step-mom over for dinner - boy was it a nice time! Once I realized they were coming over I knew I wanted to make something nice - I had about 3 hours to kill so I pulled together a meal I'm pretty proud of. Plus I bought fresh fruit at Costco and mixed some lemon curd in with whipping cream and had a tasty fresh dessert. 

Saturday: YOYO

Saturday we had no plans....so we stayed in bed until 2pm!!!!!! Then we got up and headed out to grab some Taco's at Sal y Limon, drive in the rain and spontaneously ended up in Coquitlam at a friends house (thanks Nick and Laura) for a games night with them and our friends the McCarthy's. Love it. 

Taco's: one Pollo Asado and one Carne Asada with Horchata to drink

Coffee's at Matchstick Coffee

Sunday: Chicken Flautas with mexi-rice

Sunday we were up at 10am to have Dim Sum with our friends Tom & Chenny and TC. Oh man the food was good!!!!! Lots of great conversation, and great food. Perfect morning. 

I had a meat mixture in the crockpot the day before: frozen chicken breats (2), 1 can of plain beer, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of diced green chillies, 2 cups of chopped spinach and garlic salt, onion salt and taco seasoning; 8 hours on low. When it was cooked I drained the liquid and put the rest in the mixer to shred the chicken. Then I added a cup of mixed cheeses (Monterrey Jack and Cheddar) and 8oz of cream cheese. Once mixed I put it in the fridge until time to deal with. Sunday I put small corn tortilla shells in the oven for 10 minutes until soft. Then I rolled each tortilla with of the mixture, topped with some shredded cheese and laid each roll seam down in a baking pan. After I had filled the pan I sprayed their tops with pam spray and then baked for about half an hour at 450, or until crispy. I put some cheesy queso sauce on top and Mmmmmm. Big hit! Even the Mexican we had over for dinner loved it (thanks for the props Ana!). 

We had church, then Transformations, then spontaneous dinner with Ana and Josh and lastly I spent the evening making St. Patrick's Day treats - mint chocolate dipped oreos. So good. 

My coworkers loved them! They may not look perfect but they taste great!