Menu Plan Monday: The Lunch Challenge

Monday begins week two of my menu plan cooking challenge with Amanda at Better is Little — The Lunch Challenge!

Last week was our Breakfast Challenge (I wrote the summary of my Breakfast Challenge week here).  As a way to wrap up our Breakfast Challenge, we're also hosting a Mr. Linky where you can share your favorite breakfast recipes with us. Amanda and I would love to be able to add more breakfast recipes to our master menu plans, so we'd love for you to link up your favorites.

Lunch at the Five J's home is yet another YO-YO (You're On Your Own) meal. When we're homeschooling, my kids usually take their lunch breaks at different times, so YO-YO meals work out well. They usually fix themselves something like pizza, pasta, bean burritos, sandwiches, grilled cheese, quesadillas, or sometimes just a bowl of cereal.

Our schedule this week is quite a bit different from our homeschooling schedule. From 8:30 to Noon each day we'll be up at our church for Music Camp. Then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we're also going to be going swimming after Music Camp, but before my piano lessons in the late afternoon, so that means we won't have a lot of time for lunch.

I'm trying to plan lunches this week that can be on the table and ready to eat within minutes of our arriving home at lunchtime. Here's what's on the menu for lunches this week.

• M: Sweet & Sour Chicken and Rice (made in my slow cooker and rice cooker so it's ready when we get home).
• Tu: Jaden's Chicken Strips and Corn. These I'll have prepped and ready to pop in the oven, but they'll only take 30 minutes to bake. Since we won't be going swimming on Tuesday, we'll have a little extra time for lunch.
• W: Peanut Butter Balls and Apple Slices. This will be an eat-and-run day due to swimming, so these lend themselves well to eating and running.
• Th: Homeade Pizza "Lunchables" (wheat crackers, tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni). We'll be staying late at Music Camp, so the kids can bring this with them and eat at church. Afterward we're still going swimming, but I don't have lessons Thursday, so we're good on time.
• F: Deli Wraps (made with deli meats and cheeses).

I'll be posting updates each day about how my menue plan Lunch Challenge progress. You're also welcome to join Amanda and me in this challenge. Just focus on preparing a lunch each day this week. Then stop back by here next Monday and link up your lunch recipes. Even if you don't join us in our challenge, we encourage you to link up your recipes. We'd love to have some more recipes to choose from to add to our master menu plans at the end of June.

For hundreds more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.