Hello friends! Welcome to my new series for Mondays. As I mentioned in this post, I struggle with menu planning. I enjoy cooking, but the planning is always what gets me at 4:30 in the afternoon when I’m trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. Then I end up hating the cooking. This year I’m trying to hold myself accountable and so Menu Mondays came to mind. What better way to try to plan ahead and hopefully help my friends out in the cyber world as well.
I’ve learned that for our family making out a rigid menu doesn’t work very well for us, but having menus for about 5 nights a week planned out gives me the planning I need with flexibility in case we decide to eat out with friends one night. We usually eat at our church on Wednesday nights and once a week, usually on Sunday, we cook breakfast for supper.
My thought process with this is to decide each morning which menu to cook that night. Hopefully this will also spur me to find and try new recipes. Does anyone else find it really easy to get into a rut with your cooking?
Menu #1 – Apple Jelly & Garlic Crock Pot Pork Roast (recipe below), lima beans, potatoes.
Menu #2 – Chicken Noodle Soup (found here – I buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery to save time), rolls
Menu #3 – Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole (kiddo’s favorite), Rice, Broccoli
Menu #4 – Oven Fried Pork Chops (I’ll share this recipe soon), Yellow Rice, Sweet Peas
Menu #5 – Steaks, Chopped Apple Salad w/ Toasted Walnuts & Pomegranate Vinagrette, Roasted New Potatoes
I’m also planning on making some hummus on Tuesday for a girls night our Sunday School class is having here at my house.
Apple Jelly & Garlic Crockpot Pork Roast
1 boneless whole pork loin roast
1 jar (12 oz) apple jelly
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 – 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 – 1 1/2 tsp pepper
Cut roast in half. (I browned mine in a pan before placing in crock pot and it was much moister than when I did not.) Combine jelly, water & garlic in a bowl. Pour over roast. Sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
So what new recipes have you tried lately? Is the planning aspect of dinner as difficult for you as it is for me?