Category: Menus

  1. Sunday, March 7

    Week 163 Menu

    This has been a bad winter for clementines/cuties/mandarins (whatever you want to call ‘em!) for the Maynard family. Bag after bag have been dry and yucky. Until now. We are on bag #2 this week and they are so juicy and sweet. And I’m so happy! It’s the little things, right?

    mandarins web

    No more excuses…our apartment is almost totally in order and it’s time to start cooking again. I sure hope I can get back in the groove!

    MONDAY:
    - Kitchen Sink Quesadillas

    TUESDAY:
    - Paninis

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Chicken & Broccoli Penne

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Eat out

    SATURDAY:
    - Aaron & Lindsay’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Extravaganza

    SUNDAY:
    - Asian Spinach Salad

    People, why didn’t anyone tell me I was crazy? Last week I had two Wednesdays on our menu. Wow, moving must have made me more tired than I thought! Well, this week there are only 7 days instead of 8, so planning your menu should be a cinch! ;) Can’t wait to see your menus!


  2. Sunday, February 28

    Week 162 Menu

    I can’t find my camera cord…so no picture today. Bummer. I even have some great shots of my messy, tiny kitchen and itsy-bitsy oven so you could all feel bad for me. It’s a happy day, though…my cookie sheets just barely fit in the oven. Yippee!

    We have had such an amazing show of support from friends this past week – not living near any family, we really needed it. If you were one of the people who fed us, packed and/or moved our stuff, or took care of our daughters…THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

    MONDAY:
    - Eat at friends’ home

    TUESDAY:
    - Paninis

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Pancakes

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Spaghetti

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers (um, yeah, I realize we may not have leftovers from the previous meals…whatever)

    FRIDAY:
    - Eat out

    SATURDAY:
    - I think a soup of some sort…that’s about all my brain can handle right now.

    SUNDAY:
    - Something GOOD. A real home cooked meal. Any suggestions?

    Time to post your menu for the week! I think by next week I’ll be back in cooking business, so I’ll certainly use your menus for inspiration!


  3. Sunday, February 21

    Week 161 Menu

    This is my life for the next week.

    boxes web

    Which is why my menu is pretty much absent of any real cooking. We move on Saturday (staying in the same town, for the curious minds out there). I have a LOT of packing to get done before then…plus our regular day-to-day life to attend to. But it will be FUN FUN FUN! (How’s that for a positive affirmation?)

    MONDAY:
    - Pancakes

    TUESDAY:
    - Sandwiches

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Spaghetti

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers (um, yeah, I realize we may not have leftovers from the previous meals…whatever)

    FRIDAY:
    - Eat out

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - I have no idea. I’m hoping our new place has a Jetsons-type kitchen that does the cooking.

    PLEASE share your menus! You need to inspire one another! My boring, busy life is encroaching on my weekly menus…hopefully in a week or two we’ll be back to normal! As always, thank you for sharing your menus every week. I love seeing them!


  4. Sunday, February 14

    Week 160 Menu

    Happy Valentine’s Day! Cate sends her love. So does Anna.

    hearts from the girls web

    We are moving in two weeks (just across town, but a pain nonetheless). I have started packing. The house is a mess. On top of moving I have training for a new job, my regular job, my food photo job…oh, and being the best mom and wife ever. When it rains it pours, huh? Bottom line…we are going with EASY, effortless food. I don’t even care if it’s good!

    MONDAY:
    - Spaghetti

    TUESDAY:
    - Hot Dogs…and salad, to make it healthy ;)

    WEDNESDAY:
    Oriental Chicken Salad

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Pancakes

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Barbecue with our neighbors

    Seriously, the next few weeks we REALLY need your menus to inspire one another, since my menus will be less than exciting. Bring it on! Share your menus!


  5. Sunday, February 7

    Week 159 Menu

    Wall-E wishes you a Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Seriously, doesn’t this cheesy bread look like Wall-E? We were pretty excited about it yesterday when I accidentally created this adorably cute snack for Cate.

    Wall-E Cheese Bread web

    MONDAY:
    - Leek & Potato Soup

    TUESDAY:
    - Enchiladas

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Oriental Chicken Salad

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Breakfast for dinner (probably waffles)

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Chicken Piccata

    I know you’re all busy partying…but you still gotta eat this week! Plan a menu in between commercials (oh, is that when the game is on?) and please share it with us. Can’t wait to see what you have planned!


  6. Sunday, January 31

    Week 158 Menu…and Happy Birthday, Blog!

    Happy 3rd Birthday, This Week for Dinner! In honor of your big day, I’m going to bake a special treat full of butter, chocolate and macadamia nuts. That seems the best way to celebrate, don’t you think?

    macadamia nuts1 web

    Really? Three years? Where does the time go? Thanks to all of you who read and contribute to this here blog. You keep it alive and fresh and I couldn’t do it without you and you and you and YOU!

    MONDAY:
    - Corn Chowder (I’ll be using Adrianne’s mom’s recipe at the top)

    TUESDAY:
    - Baked potato night (I’m craving baked potatoes for some reason)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Enchiladas

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Leek & Potato Soup

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Super Bowl! We’re having friends over…I’ll plan the menu later this week!

    If you’re still trying trying to find the perfect birthday gift for This Week for Dinner, I have a great idea. Share your menu! Let’s see how many we can get up here…the blog will love it! ;)


  7. Sunday, January 24

    Week 157 Menu

    I finally organized the Recipes pages!!! {cheers erupt from the masses} It was quite a jumbly mess, kind of like my real recipe box (see below)…but after some hard work, the online version is finally more navigable. I still have recipes to add, and I have even grander recipe visions to implement this year…but until then, at least you can find recipes much more easily.

    recipe box web

    MONDAY:
    - Homemade pizza…toppings tbd

    TUESDAY:
    - Corn Chowder (I’ll be using Adrianne’s mom’s recipe at the top)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Kitchen-Sink Quesadillas

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Tacos

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Minestrone Soup

    Okey dokey, pokeys. Time to get your weekly menus up here! Post away! And have a wonderful week!


  8. Sunday, January 17

    Week 156 Menu

    Good morning! I’m up with the birds, eating oatmeal with my sweet Cate and actually getting my menu done well before 10 pm. I think it’s going to be a good day. Well, except for the 6 loads of unfolded clean laundry leering at me.

    oatmeal sunday breakfast web

    Yeah, yeah…I have a couple duplicates from last week’s menu. We ended up taking an impromptu trip to Monterey for two days, so we ate out a little more than planned. Which is always a fun thing!

    MONDAY:
    - Homemade pizza…toppings tbd

    TUESDAY:
    - Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta (thank you to renee for the link!)
    - Salad & Bread

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Maple glazed chicken (one of Cate’s wonderful preschool teachers slipped me this recipe last week and it looks divine…I will definitely share the recipe after I get some good photos!)
    - Rice & Veggie

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Waffles (recipe is about half-way down the page; try using 1/2 white flour, 1/2 white whole wheat flour…it comes out great!)
    - Smoothies (anyone have a vegetable suggestion for secretly slipping into a fruit smoothie?)

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Lentil Soup

    Your turn! Please share your menu for the week! Big, small, short, tall…we love ‘em all! (Perhaps I should ditch this blogging thing and become a poet?)


  9. Sunday, January 10

    Week 155 Menu

    I started a 10-week photography gig this past week for a big food company. Fun, huh? Yesterday while I was shooting one of the recipes, Cate was putting together a lovely dish of her own. She was telling me that she had just started a new job where she needs to cook and take pictures. Oh, and since we are both earning more money, we can now sit in the front of the airplane. It was so sweet…and funny. Here is her creation, Townhouse Crackers with red grapes, poultry seasoning and black pepper.

    cate's creation web

    Now that I’ve made my new years resolution public, I have to stick with it! Nearly all of my recipes this week are meatless, or use leftover meat from another meal. So far so good! Eating out is going to be interesting. Nate picked up some burritos for lunch yesterday and we split one veggie and one carnitas between us. That’s already 50% less meat then we normally we would have eaten at the same lunch. I’m feeling good about it. Slow and steady.

    MONDAY:
    - Turkey Pot Pie
    - Salad & Bread

    TUESDAY:
    - Tortellini Pesto Soup & Bread (thanks to Sarah for emailing me the recipe! I’ll share it when I get a good picture)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta (thank you to renee for the link!)
    - Salad & Bread

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Nachos Supreme with guacamole

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Homemade pizza…toppings tbd

    Please share your menus for the week! As always, plain and fancy are welcome.  And please don’t feel pressure to do vegetarian meals…if you’re eating meat, I still want to know about it! Like I said, we’re not cutting meat completely, so I still want the ideas, meat free or not!  Have a happy week!


  10. Sunday, January 3

    Week 154 Menu

    Happy New Year!  I think I’m going to start this year with a tray of fresh baked cookies. I just can’t help myself. Good thing I didn’t make any “no more cookies” resolutions.

    fresh baked cookies web

    This week I’ll have a few resolution-themed posts as well as another delectable Swedish recipe. We’re starting the new year off right!

    MONDAY:
    - Chicken salad sandwiches
    - Guacamole and chips

    TUESDAY:
    - Pasta Primavera (recipe to come)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - A dinner salad of some sort…I’m going to browse the Croutons menu again, the BBQ chicken salad I copied from them was great!

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Breakfast for dinner (either waffles or a fritata)

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Shepherd’s Pie

    Okay, folks. Vacation is OVER. Get your menu plans together and please share! Remember, ALL menus are welcome, fancy or plain!


  11. Sunday, December 27

    Week 153 Menu

    Why does this peppermint bark from Trader Joe’s have to be so good? Darn you, Santa, for tempting me with such delicious stocking stuffers.

    peppermint bark2 web

    I am SO not ready to return to real life. After a few days of being a complete vegetable I’ve forgotten how to be productive. In fact, planning this menu is HARD work. ;)

    MONDAY:
    - BBQ Chicken Salad (a restaurant called Croutons in San Diego has a really good BBQ chicken salad, I’m just going to download their menu and copy it)

    TUESDAY:
    - Homemade pizza

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Pasta Primavera

    THURSDAY:
    - New Year’s Eve! Party at friends’ home

    FRIDAY:
    - Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Shepherd’s Pie

    I know many of you are probably also in vegetable mode like me…but if you have a menu for the week, please share! (Thank goodness I had your menus to browse from last week as I was completely out of ideas today!)


  12. Sunday, December 20

    Week 152 Post

    Boring menu post this week. No picture. No cute stories. Just a bunch of sick people in the Maynard house. But that’s not going to stop me from getting a menu up on Sunday! Here goes…and here’s hoping we’re all pictures of health by Christmas Eve.

    MONDAY:
    - Annual chili party at a friend’s home…if we’re not sick, that is! If we’re sick, I think I’ll just make chili anyways!

    TUESDAY:
    - Bistro chicken (I ended up not making it yet, but love it and can’t wait to have it this week! chicken breasts browned in a skillet, remove & cook 1/2 c chopped onions 5 min, add 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, italian seasoning, 1 can of Campbell’s french onion soup, cook that together to reduce liquid 5 min, pour sauce over chicken in a casserole dish, add swiss cheese on top & bake for 20 min! I love this recipe – thanks to Jen Schulte! I like to serve with garlic mashed potatoes)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Leftovers, hopefully

    THURSDAY:
    - Chinese Take-out (a Maynard Christmas Eve tradition)

    FRIDAY:
    - Swedish meatballs

    SATURDAY:
    - Leftovers (hopefully)

    SUNDAY:
    - Green Noodles (didn’t make this last week, either. basically I went to the grocery store with a very incomplete grocery list…I hope to plan better this week!)

    Can’t wait to see your menus for this week! Love seeing what people do over holidays…and what you eat the rest of the holiday week…perhaps lots of takeout? ;)


  13. Sunday, December 13

    Week 151 Menu

    At first glance, this gingerbread head may seem a tiny bit on the morbid side. But it’s actually cute. Cate received a gingerbread man cookie from a friend at school. She couldn’t wait to get home to eat it. After a few minutes of munching, she brought the head to me and told me she didn’t want to eat it. When I asked why, she simply replied, “I like him.” Apparently she didn’t like him enough to save his body, but I still thought it was pretty sweet.

    gingerbread head 2 web

    Now begins the craziest two weeks of my year…both of my daughters’ birthdays are this week (only one day apart!), which just so happens to coincide with the already busiest time of year.  Needless to say, we have a lot going on. I need to try to keep it VERY simple and realistic. Wish me luck.

    MONDAY:
    - Paninis (I think this has been on my menu for a month!)

    TUESDAY:
    - Bistro chicken (chicken breasts browned in a skillet, remove & cook 1/2 c chopped onions 5 min, add 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, italian seasoning, 1 can of Campbell’s french onion soup, cook that together to reduce liquid 5 min, pour sauce over chicken in a casserole dish, add swiss cheese on top & bake for 20 min! I love this recipe – thanks to Jen Schulte! I like to serve with garlic mashed potatoes)

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Easy Apricot Chicken

    THURSDAY:
    - Eat out

    FRIDAY:
    - Leftovers

    SATURDAY:
    - No idea…eat out or leftovers

    SUNDAY:
    - Green Noodles

    Can’t wait to see what you are having for dinner this week. Remember, I don’t care how fancy or UN-fancy your menus is, I like to see all of them!

    And Happy Hanukkah to all of our Jewish friends! :)   Cate has been educating us about Hanukkah a lot lately, including singing “O Hanukkah, O Hanukkah, Come Light the Menorah” while Christmas tree shopping and making a star of David Christmas tree ornament at a church Christmas party. We’ve loved every minute of it!


  14. Sunday, December 6

    Week 150 Menu

    Oh my goodness. The site has been down for TWO DAYS. I have gotten a menu up every Sunday since I started the blog, even when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. I thought this would be my first miss…but with 6 minutes to spare on this Sunday night the site is back. My menu will go up! YIPPEEEE!!!!

    chowder2 web

    The reason it took two days for me to figure out the site was down was because we took a weekend trip to Monterey (that’s right, I didn’t go on the computer for TWO WHOLE DAYS). It was such a fun weekend! Today for lunch we discovered Vivolo’s Chowder House. The clam chowder was SO delicious. Here are the reasons why. 1) It was thick, but not too thick. 2) I didn’t notice potatoes (yes, that’s a good thing). 3) The clams were oh so good, and I only crunched 2 or 3 grains of sand, which is the perfect amount…enough that you know the clams are fresh, but not so much you break a tooth.

    On to the menu that almost wasn’t!

    MONDAY:
    - Paninis (no we haven’t eaten paninis for 4 weeks in a row…we just haven’t had them yet!)

    TUESDAY:
    - Broccoli Cheese Soup

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Creamy Enchiladas

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Hamburgers

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Dinner at friends’ house

    Please share your lovely menus…now matter how lovely or un-lovely you think they are! :)

    PS – I’m going to extend the Cake Wrecks giveaway 24 hours due to the site being down. So you still have a chance to enter by clicking here and posting a comment!


  15. Sunday, November 29

    Week 149 Menu…and an Ode to the Frozen Turkey

    I have to begin my post tonight with Ode to the Frozen Turkey, by Yours Truly.

    frozen turkey web

    How I love you, Frozen Turkey. Your ability to arrive in my kitchen pre-brined is unparalleled. Your little poppy-out-thingy informing me of the exact moment that you are perfectly cooked is a gift. You always come out just how you’re supposed to. You rule, Frozen Turkey. Okay, that Ode is BAD. But seriously, the BEST turkeys I’ve cooked have always been pre-brined and frozen, with the little poppy-outy-thingy. I’ve tried all kinds of turkey techniques. The dummy-proof frozen turkey is my favorite. This was one tasty bird, let me tell you.

    I actually just finished cooking our second Thanksgiving Feast for the week. I simply wanted more leftovers…and an excuse to make more Sweet Potato Souffle, by far my favorite dish from our menu (thanks for sharing the recipe, Mindy!).  Enough Thanksgiving chatter…on to the menu with leftovers galore!

    MONDAY:
    - Leftovers

    TUESDAY:
    - Leftovers

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Paninis

    THURSDAY:
    - Pasta of some sort

    FRIDAY:
    - Leftovers

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - I’m actually going to consult with Cate on this…but she’s in bed, so I’ll fill in the plan later on.

    I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  And now that the holiday is over…get back in the groove and get your menus up here!

    PS…I’ve got a REALLY fun giveaway lined up for tomorrow…don’t miss it!


  16. Sunday, November 22

    Thanksgiving Prep: The Menu 2009

    I finally have a Thanksgiving menu plan put together (with the help of my friends who we’ll be eating with). Can’t wait to see what you will all be eating this Thursday as well!

    turkey in a bag web

    This is a picture of our turkey from last year. We cooked the turkey in an oiled paper bag and it came out nicely. Click here to read more about this technique.

    Here’s our menu for this year. We’re going to be eating with two families on Thursday and are dividing the cooking tasks, so I don’t have to do it all this year. Yea!
    - Turkey & Gravy
    - Mashed potatoes
    - Stuffing
    - Cranberry sauce
    - Cranberry slush
    - Broccoli casserole
    - Sweet Potato souffle
    - Green salad
    - Rolls
    - Desserts: pumpkin pie, apple cranberry pie and something chocolate

    Please share your Thanksgiving menu!

    If you’re looking for the usual weekly menus, please click here! (I put up two posts today…sorry if it’s confusing!)


  17. Week 148 Menu

    Today I’m venturing into the world of Indian cooking for the first time. I started gathering all the spices I will need for the two dishes I’m preparing. This isn’t even all of them! I have a feeling it will be a very flavorful and fragrant dinner.

    spices for indian food web

    MONDAY:
    - Leftovers (enchiladas & Indian food)

    TUESDAY:
    - Spaghetti

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Paninis

    THURSDAY:
    - THANKSGIVING!

    FRIDAY:
    - Leftovers

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - No idea…hopefully leftovers! :)

    I know, menu planning this week is kind of funny, but if you have a plan, please share it!  And if you have a Thanksgiving meal plan, please click over to this post and share. Thanks!


  18. Sunday, November 15

    Week 147 Menu

    Yesterday we drove to Muir Woods, a national monument consisting of a beautiful Redwood grove. It was really lovely. Here are a few forest treasures we discovered on our walk. The trip was very spontaneous and we ended up driving all the way to Point Reyes. Cate fell asleep during the drive…when she woke up, the first thing she said was “I could come here everyday.” I asked her why that was, to which she responded, “Because it’s just so beautiful.” Four-year-olds sure do get it sometimes, don’t they?

    muir woods web

    Why do I share all this with you? Because that spontaneous trip completely threw off my whole weekend, which is why menu is going up so late tonight! But no matter, here we are!

    I have to apologize…there are LOTS of carry-over items from last week’s plan. It was just one crazy week, so not a lot of cooking happened…and I was able to stretch a lot of leftovers. So, please share your menus to inspire one another!!

    MONDAY:
    - This steak that I don’t know the name of right now that you get a Stanford shopping center that I promise to write about (how’s that for a run-on sentence?)
    - Butternut squash mashed potatoes
    - Caesar salad

    TUESDAY:
    - Chicken and avocado paninis

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Enchiladas

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Gobi Matar Sabzi

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Grilled sausage, pepper & onion subs

    Oh man, that is almost exactly last week’s menu. SORRY! Time to share, time to share! Bring on the menus, folks!

    One more thing…be sure to enter the giveaway for The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook here. Please enter and get your husbands/wives/friends/anybody in on it too! My OCD side is REALLY wanting to break the 1000 comment mark…one more day, we can do it!


  19. Sunday, November 8

    Week 146 Menu

    This is what I’m craving today. Too bad I have to fly on a plane 6 hours to get it.

    cannoli craving web

    Another week, another menu! Where does the time go? I actually followed my entire menu last week, so no carry-overs. Thankfully I can just steal your ideas from last week!

    MONDAY:
    - Ravioli

    TUESDAY:
    - Chicken and avocado paninis

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Enchiladas

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Gobi Matar Sabzi

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Grilled sausage, pepper & onion subs

    Time to share your menu! All kinds of menus are welcome! And, you can tell us what you are GOING to be eating this coming week or what you ate last week! Thank you to everyone who posts – I love each and every one of your comments!

    Don’t forget to enter the Real Simple cookbook giveaway by clicking here and leaving a comment.

    Also, now that I’m in love with cayenne pepper, I need you to share your best spicy recipes! Click here to share!


  20. Sunday, November 1

    Week 145 Menu

    We had these bagels for breakfast yesterday morning…and they were divine. And you’ll have to come back this week to find out why they were so darn good.

    bagel pumpkin cream cheese web2

    Okay, the menu. Where do the weeks go? Is it really November already?

    Yes, there are several duplicates from last week. I actually never did my grocery shopping last week. CRAZY. This week is going to be different. {Hopefully}

    MONDAY:
    - Rotisserie Chicken (from Costco) with mashed potatoes and veggie

    TUESDAY:
    - Quiche
    - Veggie

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Bean tacos (a friend was telling me about a recipe that sounded great that I’m going to get from her!)

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Tortilla Soup (I think I just might be addicted to this recipe)

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Don’t know yet! Going to figure it out later…I think I’ll try a recipe in one of the many cookbooks I received recently. Need to do some book browsing!

    Time for YOUR menus! LOVE LOVE all the menus we’re getting each week, thank you!


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