Menu Planning Monday

Dear sweet girls,

You amaze me more each day with your funniness and smartness. L, you have been so sick and so miserable. I hope this clears up soon. You are such a fun girl when not feverish, coughing, and tired. Your curiosity is immense, evidenced by how quickly and easily you grab everything you shouldn't.

J, your silliness is really showing through. You are talking more and more and you clearly enjoy getting attention from The Da! and I. You make such funny faces and moves with your skinny body. Just today, for instance, you head banged on the front stoop, to no music, and looked back to make sure we were watching.

I'm not as organized this week for our meals, mainly because my head is still spinning from sickgirl interupting my sleep, my breaks, my sanity breathers, and all that. Plus, waiting until mid-week to go shopping again. Not that we haven't had to go to the store. The Da went twice yesterday. But, that was his fault, not ours.

Like always, we will have a variety of fresh fruit, cereal, scrambled eggs and pancakes or toast for breakfast. Lunch will have to be peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese or chicken salad. Dinner will be Florentine meatballs or pasta with tuna, until I get to the store. I hope you will bless me with eating well this week.

So, this week, here's what's hot:

Monday: Beef BBQ in slow cooker served on rolls with salad
Tuesday: Turkey florentine meatballs served with pasta
Wednesday: Garden salad topped with Chicken and Ken's rocking Raspberry Walnut Vin
Thursday: Pasta with tuna and peas
Friday: Blackberry Balsamic Chicken (for us) and Chicken Tenders (for you)

Blackberry Balsamic Chicken

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/3 cup seedless blackberry preserves
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over med. high heat until hot. Add onion and sauté until translucent.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme over the chicken. Add chicken to skillet and saute 6 min on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Reduce heat to med. low. Add preserves, vinegar, and salt and pepper, stirring constantly until preserves melt. Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.

Sweet Juicy Chicken Strips
Original found by: djmastermum


Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup of your choice of jam
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter butter
Instructions
Cut breasts into strips. Heat Jam, and then roll chickenstrips in the jam. Roll chicken caoted in Jam in bread crumbs. Put chicken and butter in a baking dish and cook for 30 mins in a preheated oven at 180 C or 350 F oven until golden. (Makes 5)