Category: Weekly Intros

  1. Sunday, May 20

    Sick of Lunch

    Hello everyone! Hope all your meal planning is going well! I think I may actually be able to cook a few of my items on the menu this week – yippee! This medicine I’m on has been a lifesaver.


    The most annoying part of morning sickness is that you can never let yourself get hungry or you’ll get sick, but you absolutely don’t feel like eating ANYTHING. So all you do is think about food, which you would rather not do. So fun. My current quandary is lunch. Technically I’m not supposed to eat lunch meats (risk of listeria), tuna (high mercury) or peanut butter (I have a medium peanut allergy so not supposed to eat them when pregnant). Okay, so without those three options tell me, what am I supposed to have for lunch?!?! As if thinking of things to eat wasn’t hard enough. Bagels and cream cheese have been the lunch favorite lately, although I think I might get SICK of it soon. Not to mention I’m eating enough cream cheese to keep the cream cheese industry in business, which may be good for their pockets but probably not for my love handles.

    (ps – please post your comments and menus… for some reason comments were disabled today, but they’re back!)

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:23 pm   10 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  2. Sunday, May 13

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and grandmothers and great ladies out there! I’ve had a GREAT day…haven’t cooked a thing! :) Thanks to Nate and Cate for a wonderful breakfast in bed AND yummy dinner. We’re heading out for a walk, so I’ll post the song of the week tomorrow. Hope you all have had a great day!


    (Cate made this stunning Fruit Loop necklace for me at church today, but she refuses to let me near it…apparently it’s not for me, even though it says “Happy Mothers Day”?!? So far she’s the only one who has gotten to wear it. She looks cuter in it anyway.)

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 7:29 pm   4 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  3. Sunday, April 15

    Week 12 Craziness!!

    This week is gonna be CRAZY. Cate and I are driving 751.04 miles alone together. (See title of post.) As luck would have it, both sets of our East Coast parents will be in Utah visiting the same week, and my brother is supposedly graduating from college, so time to hit the road! Thankfully my dad will be with us on the drive back, so only 1-way of total, absolute, sheer craziness.

    Anyway, between work, packing, exercise, drinking my daily amount of water, trying to be a good mom and volunteering from 5-10pm the day before I leave…I’m going for EASY meals this week (enter Trader Joe’s…so sorry to the TJ-less people out there!). No meals at the end of the week since Cate and I will be movin’ on down, movin’ on down the road. And no worries – I’ll still be posting on the trip!

    Here are our empty road trip goodie bags…what yummy things will find their way inside by Friday? And when is Trader Joe’s going to start paying me?

    This week’s Song of the Week may cause me to lose some credibility, at least with staunch Republicans and country music haters. Oh well – I gotta be honest about what I’m listening to while I cook! Drumroll…“Silent House” by the Dixie Chicks. I’m not a huge country person, but I have always liked the Chicks…and I bought this BEFORE they won all those Grammys (that may have been a little overboard)…despite all that, I really do like this album – there are some good songs on here. The harmonies on this song are very pretty.

    POST YOUR MENUS! Post anoymously if for some reason you don’t think it’s good enough (which is silly). We all want to know what you’re eating! :) Also, since I’m not full of real menu ideas the next two weeks, peruse past weeks’ menus for inspiration!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:51 pm   3 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  4. Sunday, April 8

    Happy Easter!

    Happy Easter and Happy Spring to everyone! The Easter Bunny visited Cate…oh what fun! I was talking to my friend Ruth yesterday and she shared her family Easter tradition with me…eating Mediterranean-type food for Easter dinner. What a fun and thoughtful way to celebrate Easter!


    The Song of the Week is “Spring” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It’s hard to decide, but I think it is probably my favorite of Vivaldi’s seasons. And perfect for today!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:00 am   4 Comments
    Categories: music

  5. Sunday, April 1

    Happy 10 Week Anniversary!

    So, if you know me at all you know it is pretty amazing that I have stuck with this blog for 10 weeks… little did I know when I started that I would love doing it so much! It’s really improved my overall cooking experience (and, therefore, life in general) and I hope it’s helped some of you as well! I’m going to just keep plugging away and hopefully you won’t get sick of me. Please keep visiting, sharing the site with friends and sharing your great menus. And if you haven’t posted yet – please do! All menus welcome – simple, complex, easy, gourmet, yummy, yucky, whatever!


    I’ve been swamped with work lately. It was getting to be a drag and a bit stressful. Then I read this post on Anna Maria Horner’s blog – I stopped and took notice. I mean, what could be better than this “office” that I’ve got? I get to be home with my daughter and work when I want to in the comfort of my home, a place where I love being. Moral of the story: be grateful for the simple and beautiful things in your life.

    Song of the Week: “Crooked Teeth” by Death Cab for Cutie. I really like a lot of their other songs, but this is an especially good “kitchen soundtrack” type of song. :)

    Happy Anniversary!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:00 pm   4 Comments
    Categories: musings

  6. Sunday, March 25

    Week 9: Bonjour, it’s cheat week

    I’m a cheater this week… 3 of my dinners come from the last 2 weeks’ menus. SO SORRY! The last two weeks have been kind of crazy, and we were invited to dinner one night. I already have the ingredients, so gotta cook the food! At least I have more pictures this week to make up for my lack of new ideas. :) So tonight we’re having crepes. I bought some brie and a baguette last night to go with it. Oh, and we’re only going to speak French tonight. Just kidding.


    Song of the Week: I’ve been wanting to do an Incubus song for weeks now. Even as I type I still can’t decide which one. I like their music a lot, but I REALLY love the lead singer’s voice. Okay, I’m going to choose now: “Dig” it is. This is probably the most “hard-core” band in the “Song of the Week” list so far, but this song isn’t hard-core at all, I promise. I’ll keep the other 2 Incubus faves in my back pocket for another week.

    Have a great week!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:45 am   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  7. Week 9: Bonjour, it’s cheat week

    I’m a cheater this week… 3 of my dinners come from the last 2 weeks’ menus. SO SORRY! The last two weeks have been kind of crazy, and we were invited to dinner one night. I already have the ingredients, so gotta cook the food! At least I have more pictures this week to make up for my lack of new ideas. :) So tonight we’re having crepes. I bought some brie and a baguette last night to go with it. Oh, and we’re only going to speak French tonight. Just kidding.


    Song of the Week: I’ve been wanting to do an Incubus song for weeks now. Even as I type I still can’t decide which one. I like their music a lot, but I REALLY love the lead singer’s voice. Okay, I’m going to choose now: “Dig” it is. This is probably the most “hard-core” band in the “Song of the Week” list so far, but this song isn’t hard-core at all, I promise. I’ll keep the other 2 Incubus faves in my back pocket for another week.

    Have a great week!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:45 am   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  8. Sunday, March 18

    Week 8 and doin’ great!

    Sorry for the silly rhyme. Couldn’t resist. My mom and sis are here right now, which is great, and we had our St. Patrick’s dinner last night, which was also great. Think I can use the word great again? That would be great.


    CALL FOR A RECIPE: I want to make Corn Chowder this week. Anyone have a recipe they love? Please post!

    Song of the Week: “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Susan Tedeschi. If you haven’t heard Susan, you need to ASAP. This song is a Bob Dylan cover that just plain rules. She is from the same part of Massachusetts as my in-laws, so we all love her. But it helps that she is a dang good musician. Her voice is amazing, and I love ALL of her albums. She is definitely one of my favorite artists (I’m still bitter over her loss to Christina Aguilera for the Best New Artist Grammy in 2000).

    Thanks to everyone posting menus and ideas – this will sound cheesy, but it really does inspire me when I plan each week. So, thank you! Keep it coming!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:22 am   10 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  9. Week 8 and doin’ great!

    Sorry for the silly rhyme. Couldn’t resist. My mom and sis are here right now, which is great, and we had our St. Patrick’s dinner last night, which was also great. Think I can use the word great again? That would be great.


    CALL FOR A RECIPE: I want to make Corn Chowder this week. Anyone have a recipe they love? Please post!

    Song of the Week: “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Susan Tedeschi. If you haven’t heard Susan, you need to ASAP. This song is a Bob Dylan cover that just plain rules. She is from the same part of Massachusetts as my in-laws, so we all love her. But it helps that she is a dang good musician. Her voice is amazing, and I love ALL of her albums. She is definitely one of my favorite artists (I’m still bitter over her loss to Christina Aguilera for the Best New Artist Grammy in 2000).

    Thanks to everyone posting menus and ideas – this will sound cheesy, but it really does inspire me when I plan each week. So, thank you! Keep it coming!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:22 am   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  10. Sunday, March 11

    Week 7: Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! That means GREEN FOOD in the Maynard house, a tradition I’ve inherited from my mother-in-law, Pat. Of course, I can’t go all green or all Irish for that matter… corned beef sandwiches with swiss cheese comprise the main dish (instead of corned beef hash). All of the supporting characters will be tinted with the traditional Irish color… green mashed potatoes? green jello? The possibilities are endless. Here’s Cate 2 years ago… sorry it’s not a picture of green food, but this picture should brighten anyone’s St. Paddy’s Day!

    Song of the Week: “Heal Over” by KT Tunstall. You may be sick of her two songs that you hear all the time… but I have to say I quite like her album. “Heal Over” is near the end and I think it may be my favorite song on there. Definitely check it out. Speaking of which, you should really be checking out ALL of the songs of the week… they are all DANG GOOD and you’re missing out if you aren’t ;) plus you want to be as cool as me, right? Just kidding… but honestly, take a trip to iTunes or my store and check them out!

    Keep a look out for more frequent posts! I’ll be doing regular features from now on. If you have ideas or contributions for the features, feel free to email weeklydinners@gmail.com!

    Homework assignment #1: Please post your menus! If you already are, you rule! If you aren’t – share! Don’t worry if it isn’t fancy, either. It’s all about sharing and stealing ideas. Homework assignment #2: Pass the blog on to others! Some of you are doing an AWESOME job at that and I thank you!!! :)

    Erin go bragh!!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:07 pm   2 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  11. Week 7: Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! That means GREEN FOOD in the Maynard house, a tradition I’ve inherited from my mother-in-law, Pat. Of course, I can’t go all green or all Irish for that matter… corned beef sandwiches with swiss cheese comprise the main dish (instead of corned beef hash). All of the supporting characters will be tinted with the traditional Irish color… green mashed potatoes? green jello? The possibilities are endless. Here’s Cate 2 years ago… sorry it’s not a picture of green food, but this picture should brighten anyone’s St. Paddy’s Day!

    Song of the Week: “Heal Over” by KT Tunstall. You may be sick of her two songs that you hear all the time… but I have to say I quite like her album. “Heal Over” is near the end and I think it may be my favorite song on there. Definitely check it out. Speaking of which, you should really be checking out ALL of the songs of the week… they are all DANG GOOD and you’re missing out if you aren’t ;) plus you want to be as cool as me, right? Just kidding… but honestly, take a trip to iTunes or my store and check them out!

    Keep a look out for more frequent posts! I’ll be doing regular features from now on. If you have ideas or contributions for the features, feel free to email weeklydinners@gmail.com!

    Homework assignment #1: Please post your menus! If you already are, you rule! If you aren’t – share! Don’t worry if it isn’t fancy, either. It’s all about sharing and stealing ideas. Homework assignment #2: Pass the blog on to others! Some of you are doing an AWESOME job at that and I thank you!!! :)

    Erin go bragh!!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:07 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  12. Sunday, March 4

    Week 6: Good Morning!

    This morning was “Big Pancake Day” and my first attempt at a smiling pancake for Cate. Cate loved it and called it the Funny Pancake Face. Here he is wishing you all a good morning!


    The Margherita Pizza last week was my favorite. I crushed some fresh garlic in the olive oil that I spread on the pizza, and sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese over the whole thing. Salt and pepper the whole crust, esp the edges, salted the cheese a lot too. Lucky for me it all cooked just right – the cheese didn’t overcook by the time the crust was done. YUM! And, yes, you can see from the picture I don’t use a pizza stone… I know, not cool, but it still comes out great so whatever. :)


    The Song of the Week is “Warning Sign” by Coldplay.When Coldplay first hit the scene I thought I didn’t like them, but now I realize I love them. This particular song I recently rediscovered on The Last Kisssoundtrack, the recent Zach Braff movie that I hear wasn’t so good, but the soundtrack is. Maybe not as spectacular as the Garden State soundtrack, but it can hold its own.

    Enough rambling… on to the menu! Have a great week!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 2:42 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  13. Sunday, February 25

    Week 5: Cate Be Jahmin’

    Another week has FLOWN by and it’s time to plan meals already… goodness! More menus are popping up on the posts – it’s so great! I’m definitely dabbling in all your ideas. Thank you to all who have shared – keep it coming! :)


    Yesterday we ate at Wahoo’s in La Jolla (fast food Mexican place). They are famous for fish tacos, which I ordered. If you’ve never had a fish taco, you should. Especially in San Diego – there are some good ones in this town. The best I’ve had so far is an appetizer at “George’s” in La Jolla. A bit pricier, but sooooooooooo good.

    Cate was really feeling the music this week while we cooked dinner – it was like Dance Party USA around here. The Song of the Week is one that Cate danced like crazy to…King Without A Crown by Matisyahu. I know this is his song that everyone knows and I should pick something more unknown, but it’s just so good and Cate loved it. If you haven’t heard of Matisyahu, he is an orthodox jewish rapper/reggae dude. He’s great!

    I’m planning a few “special edition” posts… one on Snacks (inspired by Isa!) and one on Lunch ideas. If you have any ideas you’d like to share, please email me at weeklydinners@gmail.com – no deadline yet. I’ll post a reminder when I get closer to publishing.

    Have a great week and happy planning!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:16 pm   1 Comment
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  14. Week 5: Cate Be Jahmin’

    Another week has FLOWN by and it’s time to plan meals already… goodness! More menus are popping up on the posts – it’s so great! I’m definitely dabbling in all your ideas. Thank you to all who have shared – keep it coming! :)


    Yesterday we ate at Wahoo’s in La Jolla (fast food Mexican place). They are famous for fish tacos, which I ordered. If you’ve never had a fish taco, you should. Especially in San Diego – there are some good ones in this town. The best I’ve had so far is an appetizer at “George’s” in La Jolla. A bit pricier, but sooooooooooo good.

    Cate was really feeling the music this week while we cooked dinner – it was like Dance Party USA around here. The Song of the Week is one that Cate danced like crazy to…King Without A Crown by Matisyahu. I know this is his song that everyone knows and I should pick something more unknown, but it’s just so good and Cate loved it. If you haven’t heard of Matisyahu, he is an orthodox jewish rapper/reggae dude. He’s great!

    I’m planning a few “special edition” posts… one on Snacks (inspired by Isa!) and one on Lunch ideas. If you have any ideas you’d like to share, please email me at weeklydinners@gmail.com – no deadline yet. I’ll post a reminder when I get closer to publishing.

    Have a great week and happy planning!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:16 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  15. Sunday, February 18

    Week 4: Yum…

    Last week’s caprese salad was delicious. My friend Adrianne was saying that she and her mom add pasta to make it a pasta caprese salad (serve cold or warm – she said cold is better). That sounds awesome… something to try one day for sure!

    Song of the Week: Let Go by Frou Frou. I’m sure other songs from the Garden State soundtrack will pop up… I just don’t get sick of that CD. I really enjoyed this song this week… and it always reminds me of the last scene of that movie – the song was perfect.

    Thanks to Emily and Margo for posting their menus last week!! You’ll see I did some stealing, and will continue to do so!

    Everyone else – please post your menus! You don’t need to worry about recipes if you don’t have time… just put up a quick post with your meals for each night. If you don’t start sharing menus, I’ll be forced to post fake menus associated with your names… for instance, I hear Adrianne is doing corn dogs every night this week… and we all thought she was such a good cook.

    Quick Note: I’ve split up the recipes into 3 categories. Also, if I’ve posted a recipe for an item on the Repertoire, it will link to the Recipes page. Hopefully this is all helpful!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:01 pm   9 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  16. Sunday, February 11

    Week 3 and we’re on a roll…

    Happy Week 3! Don’t forget to check the “Recipes” page for new additions!

    by Ben Harper,

    Song of the Week: “Picture Of Jesus” by Ben Harper. I love Ben, it’s no secret. And this song is so beautiful. Features Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and who doesn’t love a little Ladysmith thrown into a song? The other day I was playing a song with LBM & Sarah McLachlan for Nate, who replied, “You know, if you like this song, you may want to check out an album called Graceland. Don’t know if you’ve heard of it.” Ha ha, real funny.

    I’ve started baking with Cate. It is so fun! Last week we made cookies and she talked about it all week. Yesterday we made some muffins. We had so much fun and the result was quite tasty too – everybody wins! Nate says Cate’s a better baker than me… hmmmm…

    Okay, confession time… I’m carrying over TWO meals from last week because I forgot we had date night on Saturday, and I was too lazy to cook on Friday. But I’ll add a bonus recipe this week to make up… The BEST Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes EVER… a great Valentine’s Day treat. They are not hard to make and definite restaurant quality. Enjoy and Happy V-Day!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:51 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  17. Week 3 and we’re on a roll…

    Happy Week 3! Don’t forget to check the “Recipes” page for new additions!

    by Ben Harper,

    Song of the Week: “Picture Of Jesus” by Ben Harper. I love Ben, it’s no secret. And this song is so beautiful. Features Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and who doesn’t love a little Ladysmith thrown into a song? The other day I was playing a song with LBM & Sarah McLachlan for Nate, who replied, “You know, if you like this song, you may want to check out an album called Graceland. Don’t know if you’ve heard of it.” Ha ha, real funny.

    I’ve started baking with Cate. It is so fun! Last week we made cookies and she talked about it all week. Yesterday we made some muffins. We had so much fun and the result was quite tasty too – everybody wins! Nate says Cate’s a better baker than me… hmmmm…

    Okay, confession time… I’m carrying over TWO meals from last week because I forgot we had date night on Saturday, and I was too lazy to cook on Friday. But I’ll add a bonus recipe this week to make up… The BEST Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes EVER… a great Valentine’s Day treat. They are not hard to make and definite restaurant quality. Enjoy and Happy V-Day!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:51 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  18. Sunday, February 4

    Welcome to Week 2!

    This is a good sign… I’m actually getting my menu up on Sunday! Can’t wait to see what others are doing… I’m already stealing a meal idea from Margo on this week’s menu. :) Thanks to everyone who sent me excited and supportive emails about the blog… I think it’s going to be very helpful and lots of fun!

    There is a VERY interesting article on New York Times called “Unhappy Meals” by Michael Pollan. It’s LONG but great – I’ve been reading it in installments when I get a minute. Really makes you think about what “healthy” means. Go whole foods! (The foods, not the store.) You can’t access it anymore on the NYT site, so if you would like a copy of the article, email weeklydinners@gmail.com

    Last week I made a spinach salad with rio red grapefruit (peeled and pith removed by hand – the BEST way to eat grapefruit) and Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette. It was DELICIOUS. So simple, so good. I was loving it, then Nate mentioned on his own how good it was. Just thought I’d share!

    Now that I have a computer in my kitchen, iTunes is becoming a big part of cooking. I am LOVING having music playing while I cook. As I was listening and really enjoying some of the songs this week, I thought it would be fun to share those with you as well as my menus. So, here’s the “Song of the Week”…drumroll…“The Wind”, by Cat Stevens. It’s on the Rushmore soundtrack, which is quite quirky and has a few good oldies on there. “The Wind” is just good. Nuf said.

    Thank you to those that have posted and I look forward to more and more posts! Please pass the site on to others – the more the merrier!

    PS – I noticed that Trader Joe made a lot of appearances in my posts last week… sorry to those who don’t have a TJs nearby… I promise to try to rely less heavily on TJs, although it’s bound to creep in…

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:50 pm   No Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

  19. Wednesday, January 31

    Introducing… This Week for Dinner!

    “What’s for dinner?” How many times have I asked myself that question with absolutely no idea what the answer is? (Case in point… it is 4:10 pm right now and I still don’t know what we’re having tonight.) I don’t hate cooking, I hate thinking up what to cook! Solution: meal planning. When I DO actually plan a weekly menu, I cook a lot more, spend less money and am generally a happier person. This blog is an effort to keep myself planning and to get ideas from friends on their weekly menus!

    So, here’s the plan. I will post my dinner menu weekly, shooting for Sunday nights. I’ll try to post a few recipes as well, although this isn’t really a recipe site, more of a place to get ideas. Then, hopefully, friends who visit will post comments with THEIR menu for the week (and recipes if they want), providing ME (and everyone else) with some fresh ideas!

    Check the archive for my list of meals that I use when planning each week, as well as 3 old menus I put together years ago.

    DISCLAIMER: I’m not promising that my menus will be fancy. I like to cook nice dinners, but I also go for classics like sloppy joe and hot dogs from time to time, much to nate’s, and maybe even my own, dismay :)

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 7:03 pm   3 Comments
    Categories: Weekly Intros

Evo Speaking
Eat Less Meat
socialluxe generic 2010
Eat. Blog. Run
Pingg Affiliate