menu plan monday: 08|08 to 14|08

I'm recycling a photo from a blog post from almost a year ago as my camera is dead and in need of repairs and therefore there have been no pictures of late. Not even of the sweet baby girl who joined our family in May. She's growing like a weed at nearly 11 weeks and the only recent-ish pictures I have of her are on my phone, for which I can't find my cord to connect it to the laptop.

I've spent three days on the Montreal River with views like this:

My boyfriend's sister turned 50 in June and this weekend was the only time we could get the family together to celebrate. The weather cooperated beautifully and while it was somewhat humid, there was a great breeze to go along with the gorgeous sun. Lots of food (way too much food!), friends, and family. BabyGirl was lavished with attention and it was good to see everyone, some of whom we don't get to see very often.

I think the plan may be to spend another day or two there again this week so for a second week in a row, the meal plan will be somewhat short. I'll also be recycling the salmon cakes recipe as it didn't get made last week. The Rice Cooker Macaroni and Cheese turned out well but needs a few modifications before I make it again.

I'm expecting to only have to make meals for four or five days of the week so our suppers shape up like this:

Monday: Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes, Cilantro Lime Rice (minus the cilantro), Special Cauliflower
Tuesday: Lemony Herbed Slow-Cooked Chicken, Quinoa and Rice with Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Sugar-Crusted Parsnips, brown rice
Thursday: Pork Chop and Rice Bake, veggie
Friday: hopefully not cooking
Saturday: hopefully not cooking
Sunday: tortellini with Yummy Marinara Sauce (made earlier in the week)

We also need to start planning my boyfriend's lunches at work. He works 12-hour shifts in sets of four (two days followed by two nights). We finally set up our budget at the beginning of August, we are trying to send him to work with lunch so he doesn't have to stop at the grocery store or fast food place to pick up eats in the middle of his shift. I'm hoping to have leftovers and also a few things made specifically for lunches. Some possibilities this week include:

• Brown Sugar Oat Muffins
• Yummy Marinara Sauce (to put over re-heated pasta noodles)
• Caesar salad (to use up romaine hearts)
• raw veggies and dip

As always, head over to visit Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie for this week's Menu Plan Monday contributions.