More on meal planning

I wrote a few posts back ago on meal planning and how much it’s really helped my family out. I’ve been planning out meals now for three weeks and I’m finally finding myself using pins that I have pinned on Pinterest. Now, I would call that alone a success, since we all know that most of the projects or food ever, really gets done or tried out. And when they are – it’s pretty much fail status. Another positive, at least for me, is that we are eating more ‘real’ foods. Less unprocessed. It’s not a major goal we have to go completely whole foods, organic, non-gmo, gluten free etc etc etc. I mean, I do indulge in some Reese’s more often than I should. But – I want to use fresh foods, and I want to not use processed foods so much. And I’m referring to Betty Crocker boxed potatoes and Hamburger Helper meals. Don’t get me wrong, food is food. But I don’t want the boys eating foods that are that processed – and I really don’t see how it’s cheaper, at all.

I’ve noticed not only has meal planning saved me time, but it’s saved us some money and trips to the grocery store and it’s helped us come together and plan what we want for the week, not just last minute ‘this sounds good’ so I thought I would share what our dinners were last week, and what’s up on my menu for this week.

So last week – November 18^th – 24^th:

Monday: Teriyaki Chicken with Rice. I used a leftover bag we had in the freezer from extra’s I made a time before.

Tuesday: Cheesy Noodle Bake. This was my first try with this recipe, it’s definitely going into the rotation here but it did come out a little dry like other comments mentioned. I might try adding a can of cheese soup to it next time to help with this. Recipe

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday: Cowboy Casserole (Ground beef, seasoned like a burger, cooked. Topped with Baked Beans, and topped with cornbread – baked until the cornbread is done.

Friday: Chicken and Dumplings – recipe here. I added pepper and garlic to ours and it was pretty fantastic.

Saturday: My birthday dinner – My husband made this amazing chicken pesto pasta dish that won my heart over when we were dating. He kind of eye balls it. But its pasta, grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, peas, fresh grated Parmesan cheese and pesto.

Sunday: Papa John’s Pizza. (Our planned meal was slow cooker pork ribs, but they were forgotten in the freezer).

And this week: November 25^th – December 1^st.

Monday: Chicken Strips with Chili Peppered Fettuccine noodles and homemade Alfredo sauce.

Tuesday: Taco Pie

Wednesday: Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup (First try at this – recipe here)

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!!! Fried Turkey, Mashed potatoes, candied yams, broccoli casserole, corn, stuffing, Meme’s biscuits, and pies! YUM!

Friday: Either Leftovers OR Burgers

Saturday: Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf (Recipe here – first try)

Sunday: Lemon Rosemary Crockpot Chicken (First Try – Recipe here)

Breakfast: Eggs, Applesauce, Pancakes, Oatmeal, Banana’s, Blueberries

Snack Time: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, Graham Crackers, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I come up with our meals on most importantly on what we are in the mood for, I try to not repeat meals often because I get sick of them as does my husband and I’m sure the boys. Plus it’s nice to experiment to be honest and mix things up. Then I see what my local grocery store (Publix for me) has on sale with produce that week and what matches up to meats in the freezer.