It's time for Menu Plan Monday again, brought to you by Org Junkie!
This week is mildly crazy for me because I'm speaking in Waterloo tonight, which is 3 and a bit hours from where I live. And the weather isn't supposed to be great, so I may have to sleep over. So no dinner tonight.
We have meetings on Tuesday & Thursday, and I'm having kids over Friday and Saturday. So I think I'm just going to make some easy crockpot recipes for dinner most nights. Some stews and some chicken over rice. My favourite chicken is really easy: just mix a tin of cream of chicken or mushroom or broccoli soup with a package of onion soup mix. It's really yummy.
The meals I care about more are lunches.
I'm getting seriously sick of sandwiches. So I want to write about what else you can make for lunch. The deal is it can't be expensive and it has to be easy to make.
We homeschool, so I try to have a hot lunch everyday (even with the sandwiches we eat soup). But sometimes I just don't know what to make.
So here are some thoughts:
Hummus & Pitas. I just love hummus. Have you ever made it? It's not hard. Just mix:
one tin chick peas 2 tbsp tahini (it's sesame seed paste and you can find it in the health food section) 3 cloves garlic 1 tbsp lemon juice olive oil (just pour it in little by little)
But you really need the right kind of mixer. I use one of those Procter Silex handheld blender thingies, and it's awesome. This stuff doesn't work well in a traditional blender. It will just stick to the sides.
Anyway, I love hummus, and so does my 11-year-old. The other kids don't, but at least it's something different for me.
Homemade Soup. I do this one a lot, too! Just save all your leftover chicken and beef in small containers in the freezer. Then buy some stock, or make it, and throw everything together. I add macaroni or shell pasta, some peas and carrots and corn, or any leftover veggies in the fridge, and voila! It's quite good, too.
And any time I make soup I cut up a ton of fresh vegetables with some dip. I buy dip mixes that make dip very easily, and the kids love it, so they'll eat a lot of it.
Macaroni and Cheese. The homemade kind, I mean. Make a white sauce with flour & milk, and then add grated cheese. Add garlic powder and a bit of mustard powder, and then mix it with some cooked macaroni. I'd eat it just like that, but my oldest daughter likes it baked so you can put breadcrumbs on top. I like it runnier so I prefer it right out of the pan. But it doesn't take that long, and it's much more nutritious than Kraft Dinner!
Salads. I'm starting to eat them for lunch, though the kids won't! But if you sprinkle sunflower seeds or chick peas on a green salad, you give it some protein and then you can call it a balanced lunch.
What do you do for lunches? I'd just like some other suggestions, because sometimes I get really bored!
Thanks for dropping by! Do stay and look around a bit. I have a great giveaway going on now, and some posts on marriage & motherhood!
We used to have leftovers for lunch every day, but a few months ago I switched to cooking every other night and using leftovers for dinner instead. Jon wanted to cut back on his lunches, so he just has a peanut butter sandwich with some fruit. I usually have a homemade salad of romaine lettuce with sundried tomatoes, craisins, cheese and chopped up chicken with a light dressing. I buy a package of chicken strips from the deli every two weeks and cut them into serving sizes and freeze each bag until needed.
Other options:
Cheese and crackers with fruit
Toasted bagel spread with peanut butter (lived on this in college)
Cook a "lunch" casserole at the beginning of the week (change up the fruit/veggie on the side if you don't want to get bored)
I had no idea hummus was that easy to make!! I'm picking up some tahini next time I'm at the store with the international section--I know they have it. Thanks for the recipe. I love hummus and pita wedges.
Other favorites for me are tuna sandwiches, grilled cheese with tomato *summer only* and scrambled eggs.
Love your ideas! I love hummus too but I'm the only one who likes it in our house, so I often make a spread with black beans, salsa and feta instead - very tasty and the rest of the family eats it.
I love salads and fruit or veggies for lunch, and maybe a bit of cottage cheese for good measure.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
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Yum! I agree that lunches are hard. I like your idea of making hummus. I don't know that my kids would eat it, but I'd enjoy it!