Here’s what I’ll be putting on the table this week. If you need more ideas, check out some past menu plans.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal with walnuts and berries
Potato and Swiss Chard Frittata with local eggs
Omelet with veggies
Homemade Greek Yogurt with walnuts and berries

LUNCH
Leftovers
Salad
Black Bean Quesadillas

DINNER
Make Ahead Frozen Meatballs
Ham and Bean Soup for the Crockpot
Minestrone Soup
Sausage, Chard, and Lemon Lasagna {from March 2011 Martha Stewart Living}
Taco Soup
Leftovers
Leftovers

SNACKS & TREATS
Kale Chips {My sister tells me these are delish!}
Homemade Greek Yogurt with local honey
Veggies and Avocado Aioli
Fruit and cheese
Walnuts
Popcorn

For more menu ideas, check out I’m an Organizing Junkie. Be sure to give Laura some comment love while you’re there!

Here’s what I’ll be putting on the table this week. If you need more ideas, check out some past menu plans.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal with walnuts and bananas
Baked Omelet Cups

LUNCH
Leftovers
Salad
Peanut Butter and Strawberry Sandwiches

DINNER
Apricot & Date Chicken
Crockpot Chicken, Black Bean & Chipotle Pepper Soup
Three Bean Soup with Peas
Crockpot Broccoli Beef
Spinach Quiche
Leftovers
Leftovers

SNACKS & TREATS
Homemade Larabars {Dates, dried cherries, walnuts ground in food processor and shaped into bars. Wrap in plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.}
Strawberry & Lemon Water
Yogurt
Fruit
Popcorn

For more menu ideas, check out I’m an Organizing Junkie. Be sure to give Laura some comment love while you’re there!

Before Christmas, I was able to try out the EasyLunchbox System from Kelly Lester. It’s a set of containers to help save you time while packing healthy lunches for the kiddos. I chose the olive cooler bag and a set of four containers, and I put them to use immediately. My dad has been doing some demo work on an old barn here at the farm. He was going to be working away from the house all day, but it’s important that he eats regularly since he’s a diabetic. I packed quite a few snacks for him in the insulated tote bag, including some homemade vegetable soup, water, cheese, mixed nuts, a banana, and some silverware/napkins.

Some of the features I like about the EasyLunchbox System are:

• The containers are much sturdier than typical food storage containers.
• The containers are stackable, so they don’t take up a lot of space.
• The set comes in pretty colors, but they aren’t so feminine that my husband would be embarrassed to carry them around.
• There are only 2 pieces and are easy to mix and match.
• They are safe for the dishwasher, freezer, and microwave. There isn’t any BPA, phthalates, lead, vinyl, or PVC, and it’s nice just throwing them in the dishwasher at the end of the day. That is HUGE to me! c-: You can also just wipe down the tote bag if needed.
• Since the system is reusable, you won’t have to keep buying baggies, etc.
• The container has 3 compartments, so you can separate the entree, fruits, and veggies, and watch portion sizes.

If you have been looking for a kid’s lunchbox, you can buy the EasyLunchbox containers in a 4-pack for $13.95. The lunch bag is $7.95 and comes in black, dark red, olive, purple, and aqua. You can read more here:

• Website – EasyLunchboxes.com
• EasyLunchboxes on Facebook
• EasyLunchboxes on Twitter

Or you can enter to win a set below! Thanks to Kelly, one Frugal Femina reader will win a container set and lunch bag in your choice of color. Click on the graphic below to enter.

This giveaway closes at 11 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 5, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified via e-mail. This giveaway is offered to US & Canadian residents only. Please do not enter this giveaway if you have won or received free product from EasyLunchboxes within the past 3 months.

Full Disclosure: EasyLunchboxes.com gave me a container set and cooler bag valued at $21.90 in order to facilitate this review, plus one set to give away to a Frugal Femina reader. See my Disclosure Policy.

If you live near a Williams-Sonoma, you can take advantage of their free hour-long classes each month. They just released the February calendar of events, and they have lots of good demonstrations planned, including:

• Pasta Tools
• Stress-Free Dinners
• How to Knead Dough
• Cooking Dried Beans
• What is Caramelizing?

and lots more!

Plus, if you attend one of their technique classes, you can get a 10% discount on same-day purchases in the store. You can find a local store here.

One of my goals this year is to can something once a month. I try to can a few things in the summer, like green beans, peaches, apples, etc. It is so nice to open up a jar of peaches at this time of year! We are fortunate to have a farmer’s market at the bottom of our hill, plus a local apple orchard, peach orchard, pumpkin patch, local honey, and our neighbor sells free-range eggs that are so, so good. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to can something during other months, too!

But then I read that Brandy {from The Prudent Homemaker} had canned clementines. I love them so much when they’re fresh, so I wasn’t sure how I would like the canned variety, but I had to try anyway. They’re in season right now, so I picked up several containers. I followed the recipe at PickYourOwn.org. That’s pretty much where I get all of my canning recipes, although I did just buy a new book with my Swag Bucks called Canning for a New Generation, and it has a few recipes that look interesting. I did not include grapefruit with the clementines. Brandy mentioned it wasn’t necessary, so I went with what I had.

I haven’t opened up any of the jars yet, but when I do, I may use them for dessert with the Cinnamon Syrup recipe I found from Martha Stewart:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 clementines, peeled and divided into pieces

~ Cook water, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.

~ Pour syrup over clementines, and let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Doesn’t that sound tasty?! Please let me know if you can during the winter months and share some of your favorites. I’m looking for ideas for February.

By the way, if you haven’t read The Prudent Homemaker yet, go take a look at her pantry and read her story. Brandy amazes me with her resourcefulness!

Here’s what I’ll be putting on the table this week. If you need more ideas, check out some past menu plans.

BREAKFASTS
Oatmeal with walnuts and bananas
Omelets with veggies

LUNCHES
Leftovers
Salad
Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

DINNERS
Slow Cooker Chili Chicken Tacos
Soy-Ginger Chicken
Turkey and White-Bean Chili
Chicken with Apples and Blue Cheese
Salmon Fillets with Raspberry Citrus Sauce
Tuna and White Bean Salad {Recipe from February Martha Stewart Living magazine}

SNACKS
Citrus Salad with Cashews and Mint {Grapefruit, Tangerine, Kiwi, Cashews, Mint, Sea Salt}
Chocolate-Nut Mix {Dark Chocolate, Cashews, Walnuts, Dried Blueberries}
Pita with Ricotta {Whole Wheat Pita, Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese, Dried Apricots, Toasted Almonds, Honey}

For more menu ideas, check out I’m an Organizing Junkie. Be sure to give Laura some comment love while you’re there!

I’ve mentioned a few times that one of my favorite recipes right now is this Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini, and Basil I found on the Williams-Sonoma website. When the folks at Mrs. Dash sent me their sodium-free seasonings to try, I modified the recipe a bit by replacing all of the salt with Mrs. Dash, plus I added in a little protein. It’s a great way to use up some zucchini, too!

When I was pregnant with Bradley, my blood pressure started creeping up at the end, so I have been very conscious of my blood pressure ever since. The Mrs. Dash seasonings make it easy to reduce the sodium in your diet. I have used them on fish, chicken, and steak, too. I especially like the Lemon Pepper blend on baked tilapia, but I am going to be experimenting with some of the recipes on their website to see if I find any new healthy favorites.

Here’s how to make Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini, and Black Beans.

INGREDIENTS

• Mrs. Dash, to taste {I used the Onion & Herb blend.}
• 1/2 lb. whole-wheat penne
• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 6 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 can of corn {I used the no salt/sugar added kind.}
• Black pepper, to taste
• 6 zucchini, cut into slices
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4 tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste {A way to use the Muir Glen you got on the cheap!}
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 ounces shredded cheese {I just used Colby, because that’s what I had.}

DIRECTIONS

~ Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Related Posts:
~ My Favorite Spaghetti Sauce Ever {Mom’s Recipe}
~ My Favorite Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
~ My Favorite Lentil Salad Ever
~ My Favorite Cornbread Sausage Dressing Ever

Full Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Mrs. Dash and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

If you don’t enjoy menu planning, you can get a great deal today on a menu-planning service. Today’s Eversave deal is $16 for six months of planned meals at RelishRelish.com ($35.70 value).

I tried out this service last year. Since menu planning is one of my very favorite things to do, I wouldn’t use a menu-planning service regularly. But I liked having access to some new recipes and seeing what kind of menu-planning services are available.

Here are some of the details:

Today’s Eversave is $16 for $32 worth of cookbooks for the kiddos from HandstandKids.com. That could provide lots of fun activities over Christmas break!

Here are some of the details:

Have you shared a Christmasy-related post on your blog? A recipe, craft, kid activity, etc? Link it up today at Cha-Ching on Shoestring.

I hope you have enjoyed our series this week to share inexpensive ideas to make Christmas beautiful. Here’s what we covered: