Menu Plan Monday - March 30, 2020

We're gearing up to a crazy month. Crazy in that our kids are out of school until the 24th and we are moving...sometime. We thought it was going to be the end of the month, but now it may be in the middle of the month. But who really knows. I have a plan in place for the whole month which is the only thing I know how to do at this point and has been harder to do with limits on what you can buy and products being unavailable. I'm doing my best to go out once a week for groceries for just what I need. I've cut down breakfast recipes to one per week and desserts are cookies for now.

Monday - Linguini Carbonara
Tuesday - Better Than Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
Wednesday - Italian Vegetable Soup
Thursday - Baked Bruschetta Chicken
Friday - Burgers with Thyme Caramelized Onions
Weekend - Copycat McDonald's Pancakes // Ultimate Bangers & Mash // The Best M&M Cookies

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

Chocolate Mousse Brownies

These rich dark chocolate brownies are topped with the most decadent mousse ever!

I am picky with homemade brownies and cannot figure out if I like dense or cakey brownies, but I do know that I like a center brownie - no edges for me. I was intrigued by these brownies because of the mousse topping. What better way to enjoy a dark chocolate brownie than MOUSSE ON TOP?! The brownies and the mousse both have a little espresso powder in them which really brings out the chocolate flavors. The mousse is so fluffy and delectable

Cheesy Gnocchi Skillet

A great one pot sausage meal ready in under 30 minutes without complicated ingredients!

I feel strange posting recipes as normal, but I have been cooking as normally as I can while the shelves are picked clean. I've made some changes here and there on the fly, but have been pretty lucky to find what I need - because I planned for the whole month in the end of February not knowing what would happen in a few short weeks.

For us, food is starting to be better kept in stock but when it was more scarce, sausage was more available than any other protein. I couldn't tell you if there's gnocchi. We have barely had diced tomatoes - but you could go fresh. This recipe would be great if you can find those ingredients or make some slight modifications. If you can't, save it for later :) I know I have eyed some things I probably won't be able to make in the near future and have been saving them to my pin boards.

I hope that you readers are doing well and you and your loved ones are in good health. My hope is that with all the stay home orders going out this past week that this will be over soon and we can go forward with more insight on how to better prepare ourselves and prevent the mess that has ensued.

Pork Chops with Creamy Pan Gravy

Sometimes the most simple recipes yield the most amazing results, as is the case with these beautiful pan cooked pork chops and homemade pan gravy.

I cannot express how excited I am to finally get this recipe up on the blog. It makes it so much easier for me when I'm meal planning to find recipes for specific proteins or themes when it's on my blog. I have a board for main dishes on Pinterest but those are ones I haven't made yet and finding ones I have made can be a challenge because my Tested Out board is over 1000 pins and sometimes searching doesn't always have the most accurate results. This pork chop recipe is probably my all-time favorite tied with the pork chops with pickle juice gravy recipe I posted recently (and will link at the end of this post). It's crazy to me because I don't like gravy and now all these gravy recipes are my favorites. I love the simplicity of this recipe so very much. The original poster shared these with mashed potatoes - which makes sense because the gravy can go on those too. But I chose to do roasted potatoes because I don't eat gravy on my potatoes. Even if I like gravy now.

Menu Plan Monday - March 23, 2020

We're having a good mix of old foods and new foods. I'm hoping to finally get around to making the PB&J Muffins that have been on my meal plan for what feels like at least a whole year.

Monday - Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
Tuesday - Cheesesteak Quesadillas
Wednesday - Chicken Parmesan Soup
Thursday - Steak Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Friday - Asparagus, Bacon, and Herbed Cheese Pizza
Weekend - PB&J Muffins // Tender Roast and Veggies with Gravy // Churro Bars

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!