Meal Plan 11/1-11/7

Last week we enjoyed chicken parmigiana, pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary focaccia, ground beef tacos, prosciutto pizza, and chocolate raspberry ice cream. A couple of meals did not get cooked due to leftovers and Halloween!


Monday: spaghetti with Marinara sauce, green salad, homemade wheat bread
Tuesday: chicken breast with bacon and boursin (from My Kitchen in the Rockies)
Wednesday: picadillo with white rice
Thursday: pork chops with herbed rice 
Friday: prosciutto pizza made with homemade dough
Saturday: chicken paella
Sunday: leftovers


Desserts: mamey ice cream, chocolate chip cookies

I reserve the right to make deletions and substitutions due to laziness!


If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 10/25-10/31

If you love caffeine and haven't entered my giveaway yet, you still have time. I am giving away a stovetop espresso maker and Cuban coffee. Enter until 11 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 27, 2010.

Last week, we ate our meals out of order. We enjoyed ribeyes with a tomato, basil, and fresh mozarella salad; salami pizza; picadillo with white rice; shells stuffed with ricotta and ground beef; and homemade rosemary focaccia. We loved the focaccia recipe and will be making it again this week. I also finished the Tiramisu ice cream I was hoarding in the freezer. Must make more of that soon.


I didn't get around to making the chicken parmesan or the tacos; therefore they will be carried over to this week.

Monday: Chicken parmesan, spaghetti, green salad

Tuesday: Ground beef tacos with all the fixings and homemade flour tortillas

Wednesday: Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes

Thursday: Pork tenderloin

Friday: prosciutto pizza made with homemade frozen dough and green salad

Saturday: TBD 

Sunday: Chicken breast with bacon and boursin recipe from My Kitchen in the Rockies 

Desserts: chocolate raspberry ice cream and individual cherry cobblers

I reserve the right to make deletions and substitutions due to laziness!

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 10/18-10/24

Betty Crapper is happy she stuck with last week's meal plan Monday through Friday. Due to weekend outings, dinner Saturday and Sunday went off the plan. Saturday we ate leftovers and Sunday I made picadillo with white rice. Picadillo is my go-to meal when I'm in a rush and have no clue what to make. 


Last week I made the following yummy desserts: cherry cobbler, vanilla ice cream (new recipe to me), and Tiramisu ice cream. I took pictures of the vanilla ice cream and the Tiramisu ice cream. Look for those posts soon.


Monday: leftover picadillo
Tuesday: beef manicotti
Wednesday: chicken tacos
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: ribeyes on the grill
Sunday: chicken parmesan


Dessert: We are still working through the Tiramisu ice cream and the Vanilla ice cream. I will probably make more cherry cobbler. I make individual portions with frozen cherries. Why did Betty Crapper make two ice cream's last week? She doesn't like to share her Tiramisu ice cream!


I reserve the right to make deletions and substitutions due to laziness!

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

***Look for an upcoming giveaway post once I hit 100 public Google Friend Connect followers! The items are near and dear to my heart and I can not live without them.

Meal Plan 10/11-10/17

Due to unforeseen (*positive) circumstances, two meals were not made last week. We ate out  on Saturday and Sunday. Peach chicken and mini meat loaves will be carried over to this week. Nothing new was made for dinner. For dessert, I am ecstatic with the coffee ice cream I made; so rich and creamy. Next time, and there will most definitely be a next time, I'll take pictures and post the recipe. 

Monday: mini-meat loaves with mashed potatoes

Tuesday: peach chicken with brown rice

Wednesday: pasta with sun-dried tomatoes

Thursday: homemade pizza

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: beef manicotti with salad and rosemary focaccia

Sunday: french onion soup and salad

Desserts: cherry cobbler and Tiramisu ice cream

I reserve the right to make deletions and substitutions due to laziness!

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

* Look out world. Our baby girl now has her first pair of shoes. She wore them on Sunday and we tried them out at the zoo. Every animal is a "cat!"

Meal Plan 10/4-10/10

How is it that a two week vacation completely derailed my meal planning routine? I have been back home for over three weeks and have yet to plan a menu. Did Betty Crapper get used to room service and dining out?


No time like the present time to jump back on the bandwagon. I'm tired of eating takeout and spaghetti due to lack of planning.


Monday: salad and prosciutto sandwich
Tuesday: salad, spaghetti & meatballs, rosemary focaccia
Wednesday: chicken paella
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: homemade pizza with salami
Saturday: mini meatloaves
Sunday: peach chicken


Dessert: homemade coffee ice cream


If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 8/23-8/29

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 8/16-8/22)


Last week I made everything on the meal plan, except Saturday's burgers. Everything was fantastic. I tried three new recipes (pasta with sun dried tomatoes, chicken tabbouleh, and meatballs) and can't wait to make them again. Look for upcoming recipe posts for the pasta and tabbouleh.


Meal Plan 8/23-8/29


We are going out of town on Saturday and need to use up leftovers. It is going to be a light cooking week. 


Monday: leftover chicken piccata
Tuesday: pizza with dough from freezer
Wednesday: spaghetti with meatballs from freezer
Thursday: picadillo with white rice
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: San Francisco ??
Sunday: San Francisco ??

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.


I have procrastinated with the vacation planning. We will be gone two weeks. The week in San Francisco is booked since the husband has a conference. Any suggestions for how to fill up my days while my husband is occupied? I will have a 12 month old with me and we are staying in the Union Square area.


I have not yet booked the second week of the vacation. I am leaning toward a relaxing short stay near Big Sur somewhere, a return trip to Yosemite, and back to San Francisco for the last couple days to explore Muir Woods. 


Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Meal Plan 8/16-8/22

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Last week we were out of town Thursday to Sunday visiting family in Orlando. Betty Crapper's kitchen was mostly closed. On Monday I made chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas and salsa. The rest of the week home was spent emptying the refrigerator and eating leftovers.

Meal Plan

Monday: fusili pasta with sun dried tomatoes

Tuesday: ground beef tacos with homemade flour tortillas, salsa, and guacamole

Wednesday: chicken tabbouleh

Thursday: spaghetti with meatballs

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: grilled burgers with homemade buns

Sunday: chicken piccata

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!

Baking/Sweets Wish List

• chocolate cupcakes
• lemon granita
• white bread

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 8/9-8/15

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 8/2-8/8)

Last week Betty Crapper didn't cook as much as I would have liked. I managed to make marinara sauce for spaghetti, pepperoni pizza from dough in my freezer, and picadillo. We never got to the chicken fajitas or the penne pasta from the freezer because we ate out at Outback Steakhouse and Five Guys Burgers. We also ordered pizza from one of my favorite local Italian restaurants Mama Mia's when family descended on the house on Sunday.

Meal Plan 8/9-8/15

There will not be much cooking at Betty Crapper's house this week and that's a good thing. We are driving up to Orlando for a long weekend to meet family driving down from North Carolina. We've rented a house with a grill and a pool. I am positive we will over indulge. 

Monday: Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday: leftovers

Wednesday: penne pasta from freezer

Thursday: on the road

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: on the road

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 8/2-8/8

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 7/26-8/1)

Life intervened and many meals did not get made last week. Betty Crapper was lazy busy reading some good books and enjoying the beach. There's still a few more books to go in the series and a few more beach days left this summer. What is a girl to do? What would you do?

Monday, I made Ellie Krieger's four cheese penne pasta and half is sitting in my freezer right now. Tuesday and Thursday were spent at the beach. After a long day having fun, Betty Crapper did not cook. Tuesday, we ate leftover pasta and Thursday we had air. That's right, air. Betty Crapper did not cook! Wednesday, I'm so glad I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana. It was delicious and will be made again. Friday, I met my husband for lunch and ate such a huge meal there's no way we could eat dinner. That's two days in a row of no cooking. Saturday, my wonderful husband made ham fried rice. If you are keeping score, that's four days of no cooking last week. Woo Hoo!!!! Sunday, I made peach chicken. 

Meal Plan 8/2-8/8

Monday: ate at Outback Steakhouse

Tuesday: spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce and salad (baby greens, grape tomatoes, & homemade croutons)

Wednesday: pepperoni pizza (dough from freezer)

Thursday: picadillo with white rice

Friday: chicken fajitas

Saturday: four cheese penne pasta from freezer

Sunday: TBD

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 7/26-8/1

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 7/19-7/25)


Monday, I made balsamic chicken with white rice. The leftovers were eaten on Wednesday. Tuesday, we ate ground beef tacos with homemade flour tortillas and tomato salsa. I was going to make guacamole, but when I cut into the avocados they were spoiled. Betty Crapper should have refrigerated them when they were ready a few days before. Lesson learned. Thursday and Sunday, we had spaghetti and salad. Betty Crapper will never, ever tire of spaghetti. She has tired of pizza. Last week I ate more pizza than I did as a freshman in college many years ago. I had pizza for lunch Tuesday, dinner Friday, dinner Saturday, lunch Sunday. NO MORE PIZZA (at least in the next week). Only Friday's pizza was homemade. Unfortunately I never made the peach chicken and it will be carried over to this week.


Meal Plan 7/26-8/1


Monday: four cheese baked penne
Tuesday: peach chicken with white rice
Wednesday: ham fried rice
Thursday: chicken parmesan
Friday: mini meat loaves with buttermilk mashed potatoes
Saturday: grilled pork tenderloin
Sunday: TBD


Baking/Sweets Wish List


Last week we finished eating the Tiramisu cake and I made lemon sorbet and raspberry granita (look for upcoming post). I still have a good amount in the freezer. If I have time I may make chocolate chip cookies.


I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!


If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. 

Have a fantastic week and thank you for stopping by!

Meal Plan 7/19-7/25

Previous Week (Meal Plan 7/12-7/18)


Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Last Sunday I made focaccia dough for the first time and baked it on Monday to go with our spaghetti dinner. The rosemary focaccia was delicious and will be made again.


Tuesday, we ate picadillo with brown rice and roasted potato wedges. The plate looked very brown and sad, so we decided to add a splash of color to our meal and opened an amazing bottle of wine. 


Wednesday, I was supposed to make balsamic chicken; however someone in the house (not Betty Crapper) was craving fast food fried chicken. Betty Crapper said no way. I compromised and breaded the chicken. A little olive oil and butter in the skillet and we had some delicious cutlets a few minutes later. 


On Thursday, I had planned on leftovers. Betty Crapper ate spaghetti. Have I told you how I can eat spaghetti every single day?


Friday, Betty Crapper made pepperoni pizza on her new baking stone. What happened to her old one? hmmmmm

oops. Betty Crapper struck again! I swear I set it, very gently, in the sink to rinse. Do you think it was revenge? 

Friday, I also made a very moist and delicious apple cake. Look for an upcoming post.

Saturday, we ate churrasco with chimichurri sauce and roasted potatoes. The steak was great; however next time I won't add so much garlic to the chimichurri sauce. I also baked and assembled a tiramisu cake. Because I procrastinated, we were not able to indulge until Sunday. Look for an upcoming tiramisu cake post.

On Sunday, we went to my in laws for dinner. They grilled steaks, chicken, and vegetable skewers. We also ate salad, rice, and roasted sweet potatoes. For dessert we had a very yummy tiramisu cake! It's amazing I didn't roll out of there. Betty Crapper is still stuffed.

Meal Plan 7/19-7/25


Monday: balsamic chicken with white rice
Tuesday: ground beef tacos
Wednesday: leftovers 
Thursday: homemade pizza and salad
Friday: spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce
Saturday: peach chicken
Sunday: TBD


Baking/Sweets Wish List
(all homemade of course)

• lemon sorbet
• raspberry granita

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Meal Plan 7/12-7/18

Previous Week (Meal Plan 7/5-7/11)

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out; some good, some not so good.

On Monday, the eight ears of corn taking up space in my kitchen were evicted and I made fresh corn soup with roasted corn guacamole. The soup was exceptionally spicy, and excellent as usual. Dessert was lemon sorbet.

Tuesday's ground beef tacos did not disappoint. We really love this meal.

Wednesday, Betty Crapper was supposed to make chicken paella; however I felt like pizza instead. I should have stuck with the meal plan. Betty Crapper waved her magic wand and ruined the pizza. I assembled it perfectly, with three cheeses (fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and parmigiano-reggiano). It just wasn't meant to be. As I attempted to transfer the pizza from the peel to the stone, disaster struck. The pizza folded over onto the hot stone. Betty Crapper almost cried and ate it anyway.

On Thursday, Betty Crapper decided to reheat a homemade waffle for dinner. The pizza disaster was too recent too cook. Waffles are great with vanilla ice cream.

Friday afternoon I made banana bread with bananas far past their prime. The baking loaves smelled so good, I ate half a loaf for dinner.

The chicken paella finally got made on Saturday. It was delicious both Saturday and Sunday. Look for an upcoming chicken paella post. Spaghetti and focaccia will wait until Monday.

Meal Plan 7/12-7/18

Monday: spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce and rosemary focaccia

Tuesday: picadillo with brown rice

Wednesday: balsamic chicken with brown rice

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: pepperoni pizza

Saturday: churrasco with roasted potato wedges

Sunday: TBD

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness.

Baking/Sweets Wish List

(all homemade of course)

• apple cake on Monday
• Tiramisu cake

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Meal Plan 7/5-7/11

Previous Week (Meal Plan 6/28-7/4)

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Monday, I was supposed to make shredded chicken tacos. I was pressed for time and made chicken fajitas instead. It would have taken too long to shred chicken and take pics. It was nearing sleepy time for the baby. Betty Crapper was racing the clock and almost didn't make it. Oh the sacrifices Betty Crapper has to make when she procrastinates!

On Tuesday, we ate pepperoni pizza. Will I ever tire of homemade pizza? If you haven't made homemade pizza dough, what are you waiting for? It freezes really well.

Wednesday was a busy day for me and I was out and about running errands. It was way too hot and I was not up to cooking soup. We ate salad and bread instead.

Thursday, I made SnoWhite' three cheese ziti. Her recipe is fantastic and I highly recommend you try it. We will definitely have that on the menu again.

On Friday we ate chicken with warm tomato corn salad and white rice. Look for the recipe in an upcoming post.

Saturday and Sunday we did not cook and ate takeout and some leftovers. Oh well, better luck next week.

Meal Plan 7/5-7/11

Monday: fresh corn soup with roasted corn guacamole 

Tuesday: ground beef tacos

Wednesday: chicken paella and homemade whole wheat bread

Thursday: homemade pizza, toppings TBD

Friday: leftover chicken paella

Saturday: spaghetti and meatballs with rosemary focaccia

Sunday: TBD

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!

Baking/Sweets Wish List

(all homemade of course)

• apple cake
• chocolate chip cookies

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Meal Plan 6/28-7/4

Previous Week (Meal Plan 6/21-6/27)

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Monday we had grilled ribeyes, vegetable skewers, and roasted garlic potato wedges. Hubby put a coffee spice rub on the steaks and grilled them medium. The grilled vegetables turned out great. Monday's meal would have been perfection without the super salty potato wedges. I halved my recipe and forgot to halve the salt and garlic. Oops, Betty Crapper struck again!

On Tuesday I used my thawed frozen pizza dough and made a pizza topped with marinara sauce, salami, red onions, green peppers, mushrooms, kalamata olives, and fresh mozarella cheese. I loved the combination of toppings. 

Tuesday I also made mamey ice cream for the first time. My father in law picked up his ice cream before I had a chance to take a picture. He tells me it was excellent and there's none left. I'll be making it again this coming weekend for my mother.

Wednesday I deviated from the meal plan and made picadillo. There was enough to have leftovers for lunch on Friday.

On Thursday, I met my husband for lunch and over ate: definitely not conducive to cooking dinner. That evening I had a small bagel with cream cheese and let my husband fend for himself. I believe he had cereal.

Friday's planned meal was also a bust. We ate spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce. Later that evening I made a cucumber salad to take to the beach. I found the recipe over at Use Real Butter. 

On Saturday I ate the Thai cucumber salad at the beach. The salad was delicious and perfect for the hot day. I will definitely make it again. 

Have I told you how much my ten month old loves the water? Lots and lots and lots! We followed up the beach with a dip in the pool at my sister's condo. The baby kicked and splashed and laughed. I believe she loved the pool more than the beach.

There was definitely no time to cook dinner on Saturday, so I picked up food from Outback on the way home.

Sunday, was a busy day in the kitchen. I made pizza dough for my freezer, chocolate cake to satisfy my chocolate cravings, and balsamic chicken over brown rice for dinner. 

Meal Plan 6/28-7/4

Monday: shredded chicken tacos with salsa, guacamole, and homemade flour tortillas

Tuesday: pepperoni pizza

Wednesday: fresh corn soup with roasted corn guacamole

Thursday: chicken with warm tomato corn salad and homemade bread

Friday: three cheese ziti inspired by SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Saturday:TBD, beach bound! dinner will likely be take out or leftovers.

Sunday:TBD, Fourth of July! 

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness.

Baking/Sweets Wish List

(all homemade of course)

• mamey ice cream
• apple cake

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.