Manic Monday Menu

I'm hoping this will be a permanent feature of my blog, since I'm trying to make it a permanent feature of our home. As soon as we got back from our honeymoon in Ireland I decided I wanted to start planning out meals for the week so it would be easier to cook and to shop. I've been doing this for about 7 weeks and it has saved us so much time...and money too! By making a menu first then making out my shopping list, I can make sure I get everything I need for the week and any stock up things. Monday is our usually our shopping day, although the past two weeks it's been Tuesday so I can stop at the Normal Farmer's Market. David (my husband) and I usually like to shop together. Although it's not a date, it is still great bonding time...for us...I realize this isn't always the case. :)
I found what has to be the coolest shopping list and menu planner for the fridge. These "What to Eat" & "All out of" paper pads came from Anthropologie in St. Louis, where we were this weekend, but I think the Garlic Press in Normal might carry them too. You can order them online from knockknockstuff.com, but as much as I like the pads, I cannot say I condone some of their other products. So I'm going to check with Garlic Press about carrying them if they don't already. Best of all, they match my kitchen! They are just too fun!

OK, so, onto our menu for this week:

Monday- Gnocchi w/ zucchini; romaine lettuce salad, peaches
Tuesday-Paninis w/ pesto; vegetarian baked beans; sweet corn
Wednesday- French toast; oven roasted new potatoes (from our garden!); peaches
Thursday- Lentil-barley burgers; organic onion & garlic oven fries; sweet corn
Friday- Eggplant, zucchini, pepper stuffed shells; romaine salad; garlic bread

*I've left out Saturday & Sunday because we usually are off somewhere or I don't cook as much. If I will be cooking on one of the days, I'll add it for some ideas.

You'll notice that the menu this week is heavy with sweet corn, zucchini & peaches. I'm trying to cook as seasonal as I can. This week I'm using what we have in abundance right now.

Every week I'll try to post one of the supper recipes, but not all of them. I hope that this will give you some inspiration and if you want some of the other recipes, I would be happy to supply them. Just shoot me an email or contact me on FB.

Happy Monday & Happy Cooking!
e