Menu Plan for October Birthday Get-together

We have 3 family members with birthdays in the first 4 days of October, and I am hosting a family get-together to celebrate this Saturday! Here's what I'm planning to serve:

• Basil Pesto and hummus with crackers and grapes (appetizer)
• Lemon Chicken with Carrot Orzo (with whole wheat pasta)
• Green Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
• Fresh Cut up Fruit
• Rolls (store-bought)
• Mini Sour Cream Pound Cake Cupcakes
• Wine, Italian soda, Coffee

Strategy

This Week: make pesto and freeze, make dressing and refrigerate, grocery shop

The Day Before: Cut chicken breasts, bake and frost cupcakes, make green salad, cut fruit for fruit salad

The Day of: Cook Chicken and Carrot Orzo beforehand, and keep warm in chafing dishes. I'll triple the chicken recipe and double the orzo recipe as we are expecting 13-15 people total. Set up extra table, serve meal buffet-style.

I'm hoping that by keeping the menu simple and doing as much as possible before the get-together we'll have a relaxing gathering!

Menu Plan Monday: August 29th 2011

Potato Kale Frittata with Sweet Potato Biscuits

I started planning meals a bit early for this week as we were expecting some potential inclement weather, which put our access to electricity at risk. Gotta love above-ground power lines! Fortunately the weather in our area was less damaging than expected, and we made it through the weekend without a single power flicker.

Still, in anticipation of having to prepare meals without power, I anticipated being limited to using the stovetop, which is gas and can be lit with a match when the power is out, or the outdoor grill when it isn't raining. It also helps that we're celebrating my daughter's birthday this week and already planned to go out to dinner several times as part of our birthday outings.

• Monday: Eggplant Stew (using eggplant from the garden) over whole wheat couscous, Peach Blueberry Crisp
• Tuesday: Dinner Out
• Wednesday: Dinner Out
• Thursday: Minestrone and Grilled Cheese
• Friday: Make Your Own Pizza, salad, fruit
• Saturday: Lemon Chicken with Carrot Orzo and steamed broccoli
• Sunday: Family Get-together--bring Whole Wheat Couscous with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
• Monday: Burgers on the grill, baked beans, salt and pepper potatoes, broccoli salad (Farewell to Summer!)

Find more meal planning inspiration at orgjunkie.com!

Menu Plan Tuesday: August 16th, 2011

I'm still trying to recover from the 2 parties in one day... they were successful, but I was completely worn out. I wish I could bottle kids' energy for my personal use!

As a result of the festivities as well as a produce box I ordered from a local company, I have numerous perishables to blend into my menu this week, including kale, eggplant, zucchini, watermelon, raspberries, peaches, cantalope, lettuce, tomatoes (large and cherry-size), grapes, broccoli, shredded cheese, sliced cucumbers, a red bell pepper, and leftover (uncooked) mini burgers and hotdogs  with buns.

• Monday: Spaghetti with turkey meatballs, whole wheat pasta and broccoli (steamed the fresh broccoli left over from the vegetable platter from the party).
• Tuesday: Potato Kale Quiche (using the kale and the leftover shredded cheese) with sweet potato biscuits (sweet potato from the freezer) and fresh watermelon/cantalope.
• Wednesday: Bacon wrapped pork chops (sliding from last week), whole wheat couscous with zucchini and cherry tomatoes (using fresh produce) and more watermelon/cantalope.
• Thursday: Hot Dogs (from the freezer) in whole wheat buns, fresh vegetables (cucumbers, bell pepper, carrot) with dip, potato chips, watermelon (there's a lot!)
• Friday: Baked Chicken Tenders (chicken from freezer) with Fried Eggplant (using same  breading as on chicken--delicious!) steamed vegetables, and whatever fruit we need to finish eating.
• Saturday: Soy Glazed Salmon (from the freezer) with soba noodles and steamed vegetables
• Sunday: Leftovers
• Monday: Mini Burgers (from the freezer) with Salt and Pepper potatoes and steamed vegetables

With this plan, I don't need to go to the store at all!

I have frozen the mini burgers, hotdogs, buns for each, grapes, raspberries and peaches (for a crisp), as well as a large amount of boneless skinless chicken breasts that I need to cut up before freezing (see tips here). As for the lettuce and larger tomatoes, I will salads for lunch with a side of protein.

Find more meal planning inspiration at orgjunkie.com!

2 Birthday Parties in 1 Day: Menu Plan

We'll celebrate the kids' birthdays this Saturday in one day-long event that includes both family and friends. My menu plan is as follows:

• Mini Hamburgers (served with lettuce, fresh tomato from the garden, and condiments)
• Hotdogs on buns (with condiments)
• Bean and Cheese Quesadillas (served with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa)
• Watermelon slices
• Cantelope slices
• Vegetable Platter with dip and hummus
• Pretzels, Chips
• Mini Sour Cream Poundcake Cupcakes

Four important things about this menu:

It's all small-size. The burgers are mini, the hotdogs will be cut in half before serving, and the quesadillas will be cut into quarters. I find that kids are too excited to eat much at parties, and this reduces the amount of food wasted. Grownups appreciate the small size portions, too! I set out dessert-sized plates rather than larger-sized ones--this is the one event all year where I use paper plates.

It's all finger food. I can serve up this meal... and no one needs silverware for anything on the menu!

It's portable. If any kids need to leave before we get around to singing 'Happy Birthday', I can send them home with a cupcake as we won't have a cake waiting to be sliced.

It's almost identical to last year. Why reinvent the wheel? I know my kids like these foods, and I know that I can easily serve them up on the day of the party. We eat these things all the time, but friends and family (hopefully) won't be tired of the same menu. One thing that is different is that I am switching to mini cupcakes rather that cupcakes baked in ice cream cones. I'm hoping that the mini cupcakes will be a bit less labor intensive... and less likely to start shrinking and falling over...

Was it the humidity? The extra moist cake mix? Both???? Either way, I'm pretty sure I won't have this problem with my homemade mini cupcakes!

To make things easier on the big day, I'll be preparing things little by little all week:

• Monday: Assemble Bean and Cheese Quesadillas. I'll aim to make around 16-20, freeze them, and then make as many as are needed for the party. We can keep the remaining quesadillas frozen and use them for future meals.

• Tuesday: Assemble Mini Hamburgers and freeze. This will be labor intensive, but worth it! I'll make 4 dozen, bake them the day of the party, then pop them into buns and add small cheese slices to half.

• Wednesday: Make cupcake frosting and refrigerate.
• Thursday: Shopping day: purchase melons, fresh vegetables, and breads.
• Friday: Slice melons, arrange vegetable tray and lettuce/tomato condiment plate, and bake/frost cupcakes.

• Saturday: Bake quesadillas and burgers in oven. Boil hotdogs on stovetop. (I'm not going to fuss the with grill, and kids don't like grill marks on their hotdogs anyway!) Assemble with buns. Serve buffet-style with fruit, vegetables, chips/pretzels, and condiments.