this is our happily ever after

meal plan

So a couple of weeks ago I blogged about trying to get a handle on meal planning and meal follow through.  I'm good at planning and not so good on follow through.  A big part of this was that I was expecting too much of myself.  The past 2 weeks I worked from one meal plan and was almost entirely successful!  The key:  Keeping It Simple!  Cook, chop, shred extra for later in the week. 

Here's the meal plan for the next 2 weeks.  I hope to document some of  the recipes and then blog about them. 

Mon (yesterday)--BBQ Chicken Salad (leftover chicken from Sun) with greens, tomatoes, grilled corn, black beans and tortilla strips served with BBQ Ranch dressing (BBQ sauce mixed with Ranch)

Tues--Caprese Panini with Italian Vegetable Salad

Wed--Chicken Spaghetti (make 2 pans and freeze one) Steamed Brocolli and Cauliflower

Thurs--BLAT's (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, and Tomato) with fruit salad

Fri--Grilled Salmon with Grilled Veggies and Quinoa

Sat--DATE NIGHT!!! 

Sun--Falafel with Cucumber Yogurt Salad and Chopped Greek Salad

Mon--Sour Cream Noodle Bake (make 2 pans and freeze one) Steamed Veggies

Tues--Spinach, Feta, and Mushroom Quiche with Fruit Salad (eat leftovers for breakfast)

Wed--Corn and Crab Chowder

Thurs--Tacos

Fri--Leftovers

Sat--OUT

Sun--Spicy Dr.Pepper Shredded Pork Sandwiches with Slaw and sweet potato fries (freeze leftovers)

Mon--Shredded Pork Soft Tacos with Mango Salsa

 

a new journey in meal planning and prep

I've really been struggling the past few weeks with getting healthy dinners on the table at a reasonable hour.  You see, I now have a one year old...a very precious, adorable, full of life, and very active one year old.  He isn't as content to jump in his jumperoo for 30 minutes or walk on his walker for more than 15 minutes, or do much of anything that contains him for very long.  This is a new stage for all of us.  It's perfectly normal and I'm learning that I need to make some adjustments.  During a long conversation with my friend and mother of 4, Jessica, she helped me devise a plan to help me keep my sanity during meal time.  I need to prep dinner during naptime.  I need to keep my meals simple.  I need to cook in advance so that I can have stuff already done for later in the week.  I need to let go of my desire to try more than one or two new recipes a week.  I can totally take this advice from Jessica because, like me, she's a foodie.  She has just as many cookbooks as I do.  She strives to put healthy meals on the table for her family of 6 each night as she juggles afterschool activies, homework, bathtimes, and bedtime.  This has worked for her, so I'm going to give it a shot. 

Instead of planning meals a week at a time, I'm going to plan 2 weeks at a time.  I'm going to base my meal plans off of what I have in my pantry and freezer.  I'm going to devise a cook once, eat twice plan of action for a couple of meals a week.  I'm also going to begin planning my lunches, because I've been eating the most random things and not being intentional at all. 

I'm hoping this plan will eliminate stress and guilt, that it will help out our grocery budget, and it will free up time to play with Karsten and work on other projects. 

Here's my meal plan for the next two weeks.  I'll be starting my weeks of meal planning on Sunday because this is often when I'll attempt to get the bulk of my meal prep done for the next week.  Wish me luck and I promise to share my wins and losses here!  If you have any super, healthy, delicious and EASY recipes please leave a comment and share them.  I'm thinking about hosting a recipe contest and giving away a cookbook.  Stay tuned! 

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meal plan for April 22--May 6

**(v) means vegetarian

4/22--Baked Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans

4/23--Leftovers from Sunday **freeze any remaining ham and ham bone**

4/24 (v)--Taco Salad with black beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, tortilla strips, and salsa ranch

 4/25 (v)--Cream of Broccoli Cheese Soup (cook extra broccoli for tomorrow)

4/26--Prosciutto wrapped Chicken with Provolone, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli (cook an extra chicken breast for Sunday)

4/ 27--Chili with Fritos

4/28--Angela at Kelly's---Chili for Brian

4/29--Chicken Panini with Pesto and Fresh Mozzerella

4/30--Pepper Steak with Rice

5/1--Leftover Pepper Steak

5/2 (v)--Mexican Vegetable Soup

5/3--Leftover Soup--Angela out

5/4--Italian Chopped Salad with crispy pancetta, fresh mozzerella, tomatoes, basil, garbonzo beans and garlic cheese bread

5/6--Out to dinner after church

5/7--BBQ Chicken and Grilled Vegetables

meal plan monday

Monday--Grillin Out---brauts, sausage, and veggies with leftover Greek Orzo Salad

Tuesday--Taco Night with ground beef, pinto beans, guacamole and the fixins

Wednesday--BBQ Short Ribs (I'm going to do them in the crock pot), Mashed Potatoes, Cole Slaw with Tri Color Bell Peppers

Thursday--Pasta with Pesto, Tomatoes, and Pinenuts

Friday--???

Saturday--Angela out of town....Brian and Karsten--Beer and Pizza, well at least one of them will likely have beer and pizza!

Sunday--Carry Out

 

meal plan monday + photos of Farmer's Market bounty

I didn't make a meal plan last week because I knew Brian would be working late nearly every night.  Although this kept me from needing to cook each night, I, in turn, ate horribly...and so did Brian.  The next 5 weeks will mean later work nights for him, but unless I want to buy new pants and feel just plain yuck I need to continue to cook...or at least prepare a well balanced dinner each night.  This also helps in having leftovers for lunch. 

Here's the run down for this week:

Monday--Lemon Marinated Grilled Chicken, Green Salad with Sorrell (bought at Farmer's Market), carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, red cabbage with homemade Green Goddess dressing (recipe coming soon), Roasted New Potatoes

Tuesday--White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup, Roasted Tomato Bruschetta

Wednesday--BBQ Short Ribs in Slow Cooker, Mashed Potatoes, Cabbage Salad with Tri Colored Bell Peppers

Thursday--Mom's Homemade Mac and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli

Friday--Leftovers or Carryout

Saturday--(lunch) Chicken Salad on Croissants, Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Avacado, Roasted Corn, and Grape Tomatoes, Roasted Beets in Orange Vinaigrette, Orzo Salad  (dinner) Leftovers

Sunday--(lunch) Leftovers (dinner) Grilled Something

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On Saturday morning, Karsten and I went to the Bayou City Farmer's Market.  Seriously, there is no other way I would rather start my Saturday.  I LOVE farmer's markets.  I think it goes back to the days of going to Fournie Farms as a child.  My Mom went to one or another farmers market every week, sometimes twice a week and only used the grocery store to fill in where needed.  Pike Place Market in Seattle is my mecca...I couldn't get enough of it and have decided that the next time we visit Seattle I am renting a house or condo where I have a kitchen.  I nearly cried at the thought that I couldn't fully enjoy the bounty that this market had to offer. 

The beauty of the Bayou City Farmer's Market is that everything is grown locally and much of it is organic.  I'm currently reading a book (which I will blog about very soon) where the author spends a lot of time discussing how important it is to support our local businesses; as in local farmers, local artisans, mom and pop shops, local restaurants....not huge stores like Target (gasp...sigh...sniff).  No, it's not possible to shop entirely local, but it got me thinking about how I could support locally owned business. 

When going to the Farmer's Market I also try to pick up one thing I've never had before.  I think this is such a fantastic way to get kids interested in eating well.  Karsten will surely be a frequent visitor of farmer's markets. 

I hope to go back in a few weekends and write an entire post about what they offer...but for now this is what I bought on Saturday

2 bouquets of fresh flowers and herbs for $5 each...they are happily sitting in mason jars on my kitchen counter now.

Orange and Red Beets, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Cucumbers, Cabbage

Purple and Orange Baby Carrots, Fresh Peas

Carrots...fresh from the ground!

Beets---love, love, love them

Sorrel--so this is my try something new item--it reminds me a bit of arugula with a lemony hint.  I'll be using it in salad tonight.

My challenge to you...google about farmer's markets in your area...and then go to support your local businesses.

meal plan monday

I had this post ready to go last night, but after being up during the night with a sick baby and tending to him today the meal plan was modified

Monday--Fend for Yourself Night

Tuesday--Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables (one of my favorite) served with a Green Salad

Wednesday--Turkey Wraps, Chips, and Raw Vegetables with Homemade Dill Dip

Thursday--Spinach and Cheese Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce, sauteed spiniach

Friday--Pizza and Salad

Saturday--Chicken Club Sandwiches

Sunday--Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread

meal plan monday

You may see a few things that were on previous weeks...this probably means that they didn't get made that week and I still have the ingredients to use!  Nearly every week I have at least one meal on my plan that doesn't get made for whatever reason...we have leftovers to eat, I don't feel like cooking, or something comes up.

Here's this week's meal plan:

Monday--Chili Mac (last night I made PW's chili and kept some to use for chili mac tonight.  Basically I just cook about 8 oz of macaroni, stir in the chili, spread into a baking dish, top with cheese, and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.)

Tuesday--Black Bean Soup with Cornbread

Wednesday--Caprese Pasta

Thursday--Cheese Enciladas with Mexican Rice

Friday--Leftovers

Saturday--Pinto Beans and Guacamole Tacos

Sunday--Crock Pot Short Ribs, French Potato Salad

meal plan monday

Monday--Grilled Salmon, Steamed Broccoli, Jasmine Rice

Tuesday--We have never gone out on Valentine's Day. We always grill steaks and enjoy a nice dinner at home

• Grilled Steaks marinated in Andria's Steak Sauce,Sauteed Mushrooms, Baked Potatoes, Asparagus, Red Velvet Brownies

image from myrecipes.com

Wednesday--Black Bean Soup with Cornbread

Thursday--Caprese Pasta

Friday--Beef Tacos with the fixings (cook 2 lbs of ground beef and save half for chili on Sunday)

Saturday--Panko Parmesan Baked Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Vegetables

Sunday--Chili

meal plan monday

Monday--Baked Potato Soup and Ceasar Salad with Crusty Bread

Tuesday--Leftover Soup and Sandwiches (Mom and Angela to see Beth Moore live!!)

Wednesday-- PW Spicy Stewed Beef with Cheesy Grits

photo from PW

Thursday--Mom, Angela, and Karsten to New Braunfels---Brian: beer and pizza!

Friday--back from New Braunfels dinner is open: Eat out?  Date Night?  Sandwiches?

Saturday--Dinner at Tompkins make Flat Apple Pie to take for dessert

Sunday--Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Quinoa and Pine Nuts, steamed broccoli

meal plan monday

I've only planned and replanned this meal plan 3 times since yesterday.  Thought I had it all figured out only to realize this morning that I had, in my scattered mind, added another week to January.  As I turned the page in my planner I realized that it's this week that my Mom comes (yeah!!!) and this week that we're having dinner with 2 of our dearest friends, Mr. Ken and Danice (double yeah!!).  Realizing that all of this was happening this week brightened my Monday morning so so much!!!

So here's this week's meal plan

Monday--Sloppy Joes (I have the yummiest recipe for these that I hope to blog soon), Sweet Potato Fries, Red Peppers and hummus

Tuesday--BLT's with avocado, veggie chips, and pasta salad with veggies and beans

Wednesday--Tamale Casserole (going to combine a few recipes to figure out if I can create something I have in my head.  If it's good, I'll share the recipe!) Guacamole

Thursday--Caprese Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Green Salad

Friday--Double Date Night with the Oliver's; happy times :) 

Saturday--Party with Oliver's

Sunday--Superbowl...I'm sure we'll find somewhere to go and I'll take an appetizer and dessert. 

and because I must have a photo for every post...here's one from last week of Karsten eating like a big boy when we met Brian for lunch.  He's eating cooked carrots and black beans in this photo.  Food, as in feeding himself, will keep him occupied for at least an hour!

Meal Plan Monday

I spent the weekend with some of my sister's in Christ at a Women's Retreat.  It was wonderful and  I plan on blogging about it soon.  Needless to say...my meal plan this week is more of a meal throw it together and figure it out as I go....

This Mon-Wed, Brian and I are doing a 3 day version of the Daniel fast.  This is NOT something I thought I would ever do...like ever, but I felt like God was telling me to do it, to obey Him, and see what He would reveal to me.  Kelly and Ryan are doing this fast for 21 days...just a half day in to this 3 days and I have to say...WOW, that is a long time!!! So, this Mon--Wed there will be no pasta, no meat, no dairy, no bread and for this carb and dairy loving girl that's hard!  Lots of beans, nuts, quinoa, and smoothies with protein powder will give us the protein we need.

So far the toughest thing for me has been not having sweets or crackers and cheese! 

Monday--Roasted Vegetable Minestrone (no pasta or parmesan cheese)

Tueday--Black Bean and Corn Salad with Avacado served over Baked Potatoes

Wednesday--Quinoa Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Thursday--Beef Stroganoff  with Egg Noodles (yep, I'll be wanting some meat and pasta!) Broccoli

Friday--15 Bean Soup with Ham

Saturday--?????

Sunday--?????