Menu Plan 5/2/11: What do we drink?

Each week, I post my menu plan and tell you what we'll be eating for dinner.  But, what do we drink with dinner?

Most of the time, we drink water.  No bottled water or fancy filtration system; we drink water from the tap, stored in a pitcher that we got years and years ago from a friend who was moving cross-country and was getting rid of his kitchen stuff.  I like to fill it up at night and let any gases in the water escape - this makes for a better-tasting water.

But on the rare occasions we're not drinking water, the drink of choice is lemonade: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup lemon juice (a nearby small grocery chain sells 32 oz bottles of lemon juice for 99¢ - or sometimes 79¢ on sale), and 7 cups of water.  Mix in a pitcher and refrigerate.

Another favorite drink is iced tea: Boil 2 quarts of water in the teapot.  Pour into the iced tea pitcher and add 8 decaffeinated tea bags (bought often in good deals at, believe it or not, CVS).  Steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags and add 3/4 cup sugar.  Cool in the fridge.

My kids also drink milk and apple juice, and when we're having breakfast for dinner, my husband and I will have coffee.

So now that you know what we're drinking, here's what we'll be eating this week:

Monday - chicken with green mango salsa (recipe forthcoming) over brown rice

Tuesday - tilapia fillets over salad, breadsticks

Wednesday - mushroom pizza on whole wheat pizza dough, fruit

Thursday -  Clean Out the Crisper Pasta and Vegetables, salad

Friday - roasted turkey, kasha varnishkes, salad, challah

Saturday - grilled cheese with tomato soup, veggie sticks

Sunday - takeout!  I hate fighting the crowds in restaurants on Mother's Day.

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Check out Menu Plan Monday for more menu plans!