Weekly Meal Planning

First of all, I hope all of you had very happy holidays with your loved ones. We certainly did!

I know I said I wasn't going to plan any meals for the immediate future, but I haven't cooked anything of substance for the past three weeks or so, and the truth is that I miss being in the kitchen. Don't get your expectations too high, though -- the meals I am planning to make this week are quick and low-maintenance, but they are all new. I've seen so many good recipes lately in cookbooks and online that I just had to get some of these in before the new baby comes! (No baking this week, though, because I can't even believe I'm saying this, but I have eaten so many sweets over the past few days that I am just DONE with sweet stuff for the time being. Mark this day in the record books, because you will probably never hear me say that again.)

Monday: Dinner out for my mother-in-law's birthday

Tuesday: Open-faced hamburger cheesesteaks

Wednesday: Chicken and cheese crescent chimichangas

Thursday: No big celebration for us this year -- just a quiet night at home enjoying toasted ravioli with red pepper sauce.

Friday: We'll be having a big traditional New Year's dinner of pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes with Joe's family in the afternoon, so we probably won't even be hungry for dinner.

Saturday: Creamy chicken pesto pasta casserole (from Betty Crocker 2010 Annual Recipes)

Sunday: Buffalo chicken enchiladas with creamy ranch sauce

Weekend Breakfast: Carrot cake pancakes (the first of about a million recipes I want to make out of the new issue of Cooking Light), bacon