This week brings my FORTIETH BIRTHDAY. 40. Wow. It’s also Owen’s 7th birthday! We started celebrating this weekend and the celebrations continue this week. So basically I’m a mess in the meal planning department. But I figure you only turn 40 once, seems like a good excuse to slack off for a week! So, my menu is kind of lame…but I’m at least getting this post published so you guys can share your menus. I’m not even bothering with my usual menu graphic because my menu is straight up useless. As a 40th birthday menu should be! 😉

MONDAY:
– Leftovers from eating at Liberty Public Market

TUESDAY:
– I am taking Owen to Disneyland to celebrate our special day!
– No clue what Nate and the girls will eat. 😉

WEDNESDAY:
– It’s Owen’s family year (no friend party), he has requested PF Chang’s (i.e. dumplings) for his special family dinner

THURSDAY:
– No clue

FRIDAY:
– No clue

SATURDAY:
– No clue

SUNDAY:
– No clue

HA! The laziest menu I’ve ever written! I’m so proud!

For real, we REALLY need you all to post your menus this week. Please provide us with much needed inspiration! Have a great week!

How is it the start of another week already? Was about to make lunch and realized I needed to get my menu act together, so here we are.

MONDAY:
– Chili

TUESDAY:
– Pork Carnitas Tacos

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Kebabs
– Rice and Roasted Vegetables

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Rachel Sandwiches

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night (It’s my 40th Birthday Celebration that night!)

SUNDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and Carrots

Your turn! Share those menus, simple or fancy, it’s all helpful! Have a great week!

Happy Monday! I’m finally sitting down to get this week’s plan together. I’m really loving being back into a regular routine, and it’s the first year my kids are all in school all day…which is decidedly bittersweet, but I am loving all the time to get my work done.

MONDAY:
– Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
– Mashed Potatoes + Another Side Veggie

TUESDAY:
– Leftovers (Pot Roast or Chicken Kai Pa Lo)

WEDNESDAY:
– Hamburgers
– Corn on the cob and fresh fruit

THURSDAY:
– Jerkish Chicken
– Salad and Rice

FRIDAY:
– Pancakes (Anna cooking!)

SATURDAY:
– English Muffin Pizzas (Cate cooking!)

SUNDAY:
– Eat out night

I love that as the school year is getting into gear more menus are appearing each week…keep it coming! Your meal plans are incredibly helpful for the rest of us. Thank you for sharing and have a great week!

Hello meal planning friends! I’ve been a bit remiss at meal planning the last week or so. The start of school and then a camping trip to the very remote yet very magical Coon Creek Cabin campground basically threw life into high gear. We are now home, showered, unpacked and ready to get back into the normal school-year routine!

MONDAY:
– Whatever-you-can-find-in-the-kitchen-the-parents-are-too-tired-from-camping Night

TUESDAY:
– Rice and bean burritos
– Chips and guacamole

WEDNESDAY:
– Homemade Hamburgers

THURSDAY:
– Chicken Kai Pa Lo

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
– Mashed Potatoes + Another Side Veggie

Phew. Menu plan done! Just hoping back-to-school nights don’t totally throw me off! Please post your own weekly meal plans in the comments below! They are so helpful to me and so many others week after week. Thank you!

It’s the last full week of summer for our little family. I can’t believe it! Thank you to those of you who shared your menus last week. They were incredibly helpful as I planned and I stole ideas from each of you for my menu this week!

MONDAY:
– Salmon
– Rice & Side Vegetable

TUESDAY:
– Layered Tortilla Bake Casserole (first time trying this, thanks for the idea, So Hungry!)

WEDNESDAY:
– Stir Fry Chicken and Veggies with Rice

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Chicken Tenders
– Side vegetable or salad

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Breakfast for Dinner – Frittatas
– Roasted Potatoes

Thank you once again for posting your menus each week, they are so helpful for me (and so many others) when we sit down to plan dinner! As usual, please share your weekly meal plan below!

Greetings from Cape Cod!

It’s Cape week. We planned our menu as an extended family and I am sharing it below. When we got here Saturday we had Sweet Tomatoes pizza, as per tradition. I limited myself to one slice (since I’m not eating much wheat or any dairy lately)…and it was worth every bite. Man, that pizza is good.

SUNDAY:
– 7-Layer Mexican Dip,
– Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

MONDAY:
– Seafood Sam’s (another Maynard Cape tradition)

TUESDAY:
– Jane: Lentil Rice Bowls with Lime-Tahini Dressing

WEDNESDAY:
– Jessica: BBQ Night (Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Potato Salad, etc.)

THURSDAY:
– Jake & Mary: TBD, something vegetarian!

FRIDAY:
– Eat out night and/or eat up the leftovers!

SATURDAY:
– Cousin Sara’s Wedding in Maine!

It’s going to be a fun and delicious week! As usual we would love to see your menu for the week, please share in the comments!

These kitchen sink orzo bowls are delicious and a new favorite go-to dinner option in our house, super flexible and you can use whatever ingredients you have lying about…you know, everything but the kitchen sink!

Last week when I went to the farmer’s market I had no idea what I was going to be making for dinner that night (despite having a meal plan ready…yeah, sometimes I don’t follow it, I’m only human). I decided to see what vegetables I could find at the market and go from there. Then I came home, rummaged through the cabinets and fridge and discovered a package of whole wheat orzo. The result of all this searching and finding is today’s recipe, kitchen sink orzo bowls.

This is a very flexible recipe. Pretty much the only ingredient you have to have is orzo! Olive oil, onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper are also pretty necessary, too, but beyond that you can throw all kinds of yummy veggies and even chicken or fish with success. As a result of all this flexibility, I don’t have any measurements for you on this recipe. I’ll describe the technique and the approximate amounts of ingredients I used and then I encourage you to take this recipe and make it your own. And your own version will probably even change depending on the season or what is in your fridge on a particular day.

The final result is a very homey, tasty dish, reminiscent of a classic casserole but much healthier. If you’re craving risotto but don’t feel like cooking risotto, this is a great alternative, providing a similar texture and flavor without the long cooking process. Enjoy!

Kitchen Sink Orzo Bowls

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Whole wheat orzo pasta (Definitely go whole wheat here! It's more nutritious and tastes the same! My favorite brand is Delallo Organic.)
• Olive oil, a few tablespoons
• Onion, about ¼-1/2 of an onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
• Cherry Tomatoes, halved, above one pint (you could also chop appx. 2 whole tomatoes)
• Fresh vegetables, whatever you have lying around (I used 2 fresh summer squash)
• Cooked chicken, chopped or shredded depending on your preference (About 1-2 chicken breasts' or a few thighs' worth of meat, I like the chicken to be grilled)
• Dry white wine, ¼-1/2 cup or so (optional)
• White balsamic vinegar, a few tablespoons (optional)
• Pasta water, reserve 2-3 cups
• Salt and Pepper
• Spices and herbs if you like: parsley, oregano, basil are all good options (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare orzo pasta as directed on the package. Drain, reserving 2-3 cups of the pasta water, and then set aside both the water and the orzo. I used about ¾ of a package of Delallo Whole Wheat Orzo to feed our family of 5 with some leftovers.
2. In a deep, 12-inch skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook a few minutes until translucent.
3. Add fresh garlic and cook, stirring, about 30-60 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium low and let mixture cook for 5-10 minutes to really get the tomatoes to cook down.
4. If using wine, add it now and cook about 5 minutes. Add vegetables and cook a few minutes until the veggies are al dente. (If you are using vegetables like carrots that take longer to cook, steam them ahead of time and just heat through at this point in the recipe.) If you aren't using wine and need a little more fluid in the pan, just add another swig or two of olive oil.
5. Add the orzo to the pan. Add the white balsamic vinegar and then start adding pasta water about ½ cup at a time until you get a nice, creamy consistency. Salt and pepper to taste, adding herbs and spices if you choose. I simply used salt and pepper and it tasted great!

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• Southwestern Salmon Orzo Salad
• Pat’s Orzo Salad
• Simple Cream Sauce for Pasta

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Cuisinart 12-Inch Skillet with Glass Lid
• Cuisinart 4-Quart Saucepan
• OXO Silicone Spatula
• Wusthof Classic Chef’s Knife
• Olive Oil Cruet
• Delallo Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta

Sorry about last week…we were, quite frankly, having too much fun over Memorial Day weekend and I blew it on the meal planning front! We had a strange week, too, so there wasn’t much cooking happening anyway. But we’re back in business this week.

MONDAY:
– Taco Salad

TUESDAY:
– BBQ Grilled Chicken
– Baked Beans and Salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Lentil Rice Bowls with Lime-Tahini Dressing

THURSDAY:
– Chopped Salad with Chicken

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Stir Fry

Seriously, your menus from last time were a huge help for me as I planned today. As always, thank you for sharing your menus with us week after week…including this week! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got cooking, please share below!

Since yesterday was Mother’s Day I took it upon myself to perform no household duties, including planning the weekly dinner menu. Sadly Mother’s Day only lasts 24 hours and we still need dinner this week. Back to real life!

MONDAY:
– Chicken Tortilla Soup

TUESDAY:
– Red Beans and Rice (trying a new recipe, will let you know how it goes!)

WEDNESDAY:
– Hamburgers

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Stir Fry

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Steak
– Roasted Potatoes + Another Side Vegetable (whatever I find at the farmer’s market)

You know the drill – share your menus in the comments! They are a huge help to us all, thank you!

So. I’ve been making pot roast in a slow cooker for ages. The recipe is simple, reliable and delicious. I didn’t think anything could ever replace that recipe. And then, this week, I tried making pot roast in my Instant Pot, using the pressure cooker settings. Whoah, boy, pressure cooker pot roast just replaced slow cooker pot roast. Quite frankly I’m stunned by this upset. But I’m happy about it just the same.

I bought an Instant Pot I think three years ago and, until last month, had used it only once. I tried cooking basic chicken using the pressure cooker function and it worked, well, fine. It didn’t blow me out of the water, and so the Instant Pot got pushed to the back of the cabinet. And then my friend Christine mentioned a few weeks ago how she loves making brown rice in the pressure cooker. So I dug it out and started experimenting.

As of today I am so-so on brown rice (I just haven’t perfected that process yet) and in love with making beans in the pressure cooker (I’ll share that recipe another day, it took some tweaking but I finally have it where I like it). And then I decided to try pot roast. HUGE SUCCESS. It tasted the same as my slow cooker pot roast and, top to bottom, took about 2 hours instead of the usual 8-9 hours.

I will say this – I can totally see instances where cooking the pot roast for 8 hours will be more convenient based on my schedule for a particular day. But what is so glorious is now I have two options, 2 hours or 8 hours, with equally delicious results. Hooray for pressure cooker pot roast!

I took my inspiration for this pot roast from my friend Barbara from Pressure Cooking Today. She is my pressure cooker guru. You need to bookmark her site pronto if you have a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. You’re welcome. (Click here for Barbara’s pot roast recipe, which has a few more ingredients than my version below.)

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

120 mins

Total time

2 hours 15 mins

 

Simple, easy and delicious! Instructions below are based on using an Instant Pot.

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 chuck, chuck-eye, or round roast (around 4 pounds)
• 1-2 tablespoons canola, vegetable or olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ½ of an onion, chopped
• 2 cups beef broth or stock

Instructions

1. Sprinkle roast evenly with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Select the "Browning" setting on the Instant Pot. Add oil to Instant Pot and let heat up. Once hot, brown the roast on both sides, a few minutes per side until you start to get beautiful browned spots. Set roast aside.
3. Add onions to the Instant Pot and cook until softened and translucent. Stir regularly.
4. Add broth to Instant Pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Let onions simmer in the broth about 3 minutes or so.
5. Add roast and change Instant Pot setting to High pressure. Make sure the pressure release handle is on "Sealing." Set the timer for 90 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes for the pot to build pressure and for the 90-minute countdown to begin.
6. When the 90 minutes is over, turn off the pressure cooker and let it sit for 15 minutes, letting pressure release naturally. At the 15-minute mark, using a hot pad and being careful not to touch the steam, turn the pressure release handle to "Venting" to release the rest of the pressure. Once it stops steaming, remove the lid.
7. Let roast rest for 10-15 minutes. Use juices for gravy, straining the juice first to remove the "stuff" left behind in the juices. Make gravy using white roux (click here for recipe and instructions). You can also use a slurry made from ½ cup flour whisked with 1 cup cold water to thicken the gravy if you forgot to make the roux.

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OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

• White Roux / How to Make Perfect Gravy
• Mashed Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast

EQUIPMENT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Instant Pot 7-in-1
• OXO Silicone Spatula