Monday Motivation (Dinner Mealplans)

   Since my week was off a little bit and I skipped Fridays meal and made it Saturday I have leftovers and will eat them tonight and plan the rest of the week after that.

  I also have some leftover veggies bought for last week that I will use this week to avoid  wasting anything.  You will see meat this week as I am not a vegetarian but, do enjoy eating meatless meals sometimes.

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: meatless
http://www.wildernesswife.com/slow-cooker-zucchini-italiano-casserole-recipe/

Wednesday: Soup
https://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/cheddar-potato-soup/

Thursday: chicken
http://www.5dollardinners.com/chicken-and-spinach-enchiladas-5-dinner-challenge/

Friday: leftovers

  There's my week!  Some chicken, a crockpot meal, soup and leftovers!  Have a good week everyone. Take time off from the kitchen at least one day.  What's your favorite quick and easy meal?

Motivation Monday (Meal plan)

  When your a parent a family has to eat.  Gone are the days of a bowl of cereal or pizza every night.  I do plan meals because it makes the busy nights easier.  My recipes are a combination of recipes new and old as well as simple meals.

Last night we picked up a Rotisserie Chicken marked down for $3.  Mashed potatoes were whipped up as well as a side of corn!

2/12 Monday
Spaghetti and meatballs. I gave some leftover frozen meatballs that I will be using and combine tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes for the spaghetti sauce with a side of garlic bread.

2/13 Tuesday
Bajio Chicken from the crockpot.  This recipe is my favorite from
sixsistersstuff.

2/14 Wednesday
Sausage and more pasta. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/245920/smoked-sausage-and-tortellini-skillet/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%2018


2/15 Thursday
Salmon is always appreciated here!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21176/baked-dijon-salmon/with side of quinoa and some veggie.

2/16 Friday
The kitchen is closed. Every man women and child for themselves. Leftovers are served.

  What are you having for the rest of the week?  Do you meal plan?

Weekly Meal 9/11-9/15

  Taking it easy this week.  Minimal recipes to share with you and actually only one is new to me.  Cheating with some meatballs that I received as a gift but, that's OK too.

Monday:
Crock pot
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/2011/08/slow-cooker-bajio-chicken/

Tuesday:
Meatless
http://pinchofyum.com/garlic-butter-shrimp-quinoa

Wednesday:
Hotdogs, potato salad and baked beans

Thursday:
Spaghetti and meatballs (frozen from Omahasteaks.)

Friday:
Leftovers or everyone fend for themselves!

  Happy eating everyone.  As always feel free to share your favorite dish or what your eating this week!

Meal plan 8/7-8/11

  It's that time again to organize what's for dinner!  I don't create recipes for me it's just easier to research recipes and raid the pantry.  Each week I try to make a meatless meal sometimes it turns into 2 days and that just a coincidence.  I might not even he 100% of the ingredients but I make the meal anyways.  A crockpot meal once a week is a nice break and of course so are leftovers!   Sliding in a new recipe is always fun to spice up the palette too!

8/7 Soup and leftover salad:
chicken-and-rice-soup.

8/8 Pasta:
tortellini-and-kielbasa.

8/9 Chicken:
Baked chicken with brown-sugar-barbecue-sauce.

8/10 Crockpot:
vegetarian-chili-with-sweet-potatoes.

8/11 Leftovers

There it is everyone! 2 days this week with chicken, 1 meatless and all new recipes! The slow cooker thrown in for convenience and soup also for an easy night! Happy eating! What's your dinner plans?

It's time to eat! Meal plan 7/31- 8/4

  A girls got to eat and a mom has to feed her family.  I know it's easy to fly through the week when you have a plan but, it's not easy to make the plan!  Plus it's soo frustrating when you have picky eaters that veto everything but I just push through.

  Tonight's meal was a winner because you can never eat enough breakfast.

Breakfast is the one meal I hear the least amount of complaints about so if we ate breakfast twice a day everyone would officially eat in my house.

Here's the rest of my line up for the week!

7/31 Pasta

Chicken-broccoli-pasta-skillet-casserole

8/1 Meatless 

Falafel

8/2 Crockpot

Baked-potato-soup

8/3 Salmon

Grilled-salmon-with-honey-soy-marinade

8/4 Leftovers 

  What are your dinner plans for the week? I'm always looking for something new.  This week 3 of these recipes are new!

Mealplan 10/31-11/3

It's a new week and time to eat!  Last week our favorite meal was

 Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta.

I have two days this week that I would like to specifically plan around.  Halloween I want something quick and easy to get our dinner done so we can get out and about and Wednesday as well.

I did miss last week's Thursday meal as Chinese take out replaced that meal so that will be carried over as well. 

10/31  Sausage 

Spaghetti 

11/1 Chicken

http://bowl-me-over.com/chicken-fried-rice/

11/2 Breakfast

http://goldilockskitchen.com/2016/08/corned-beef-hash-huevos-rancheros.html?pp=0

11/3  Crockpot 

http://eatathomecooks.com/2012/03/slow-cooked-brown-sugar-chicken-and-sweet-potatoes-4-ingredients/?m

Two new recipes, and 1 crockpot meal.  You can never go wrong with a crockpot meal!  What at your dinner plans for the week?

5 Reasons to Meal Plan

  There are multiple reasons to meal plan.  It does require some organization but your in charge of that.  Whether you want to have a specific theme every Tuesday (Taco Tuesday) or every week you will have a meatless meal.

  Your plan is catered to your needs.  First look at the week ahead.  Do you have any late appointments and if so planning for something quick those nights will help. Frozen pizza or breakfast for dinner work just fine.

1.  It will save you money.  If you have that willpower to drive past that fast food restaurant at 530.

2.  It's healthier for you.   I can agree with this partially because it depends on what you make.  To me a Chipotle salad rates pretty high in the healthy department. Brown Sugar Pork Chops not so much.

3.  You have time.  It doesn't take hours if you don't want it too.  You can cook what you know and what you always do.  I like to torture myself with new recipes.

4.  You feel lifted as the stress of "What's for dinner?", is taken care of. When you get up to start your day you already have a plan for dinner time in the evening.  All day you can relax because you already know what dinner is going to be.  You have the food organized, defrosting or cooking in the crockpot.  You are as good as done with dinner.

5.  Learning is fun!  The more cooking you do; the more home cooking you do you learn different recipes, styles and techniques.  I have learned new chopping features on my food processor.  Tried Gnocchi (and love it)!  I have even almost perfected my roux skills!

  These are only a few reasons.  I am sure there are more reasons of why to meal plan but let's stick with the basics.  What intimidates you about meal plans?

Meal Plan 10/3-10/7

  Another week means another plan.  Last week went really well with an exception that I had leftovers for two days versus one.  So on Thursday and Friday we had leftovers.  Nothing wrong with that.  Tonight we used the chicken that I had pulled out for the Chicken Lazone meal on Friday to cook that meal.

  It was good nonetheless and because I didn't have to think about what to make or thaw the meat out the dinner was easy to pull together in less then an hour and everyone was satisfied with the meal.

  I did manage to pick up groceries last week to the tune of just under $200 and will make the rest of the meals for the month of October.  We will need to go back to the store for milk as I don't have room to keep gallons of it in my fridge for weeks at a time.  Other than that though we will survive and I will use up all the produce I bought instead of throw it away due to letting it get rotten. (that's more for of a goal for me)

10/3 Kielbasa
http://damndelicious.net/2014/07/12/parmesan-zucchini-corn/

10/4 BBQ Porkchops in the crockpot w/ mac & cheese
http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/brown-sugar-barbecue-sauce/

10/5  Breakfast for dinner!

10/6 Chicken
http://chelseadamon.com/easy-delicious-weeknight-baked-chicken-dinner/

10/7 Leftovers


  Wish me luck.  Using up some fresh zucchini this week, making my own bbq sauce for the porkchops and will make something special for that breakfast for dinner.  Monday and Thursday recipes are new to me so we will see how they taste!

Weekly Menu (March week 2)

  I will post 4 meals this week as we have a birthday in the house so therefore one day this week will probably be dinner out.  I did miss last Friday as that too was a night out.

This week includes two chicken meals, a soup and a meatless meal.

Soup:
http://www.cookingclassy.com/2015/06/summer-corn-chowder


Meatless:
http://www.health.com/health/m/recipe/0,,10000001173704,00.html

Crockpot:
http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/slow-cooker-teriyaki-chicken-quinoa-and-veggies/

Chicken:
http://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/blog/party-food/caprese-chicken-pasta-salad

  So there we have it.  Dinner for the week.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Weekly Menu March 1st

  Well the deal was to go grocery shopping this weekend but that didn't happen.  However I still have some food in the freezer and pantry that can sustain us for the week.  Imagine my disappointment.  I love to shop regardless what it's for and I had my whole month figured out and list made. Oh well its prepared for next week!

Chicken/Pasta
http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-pot-lightened-up-chicken-parmesan-alfredo/

Porkchops
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/parmesan-crusted-pork-chops-recipe.html

Sausage (crockpot)
http://www.simplecleanliving.com/slow-cooker-smoked-sausage-and-potato-soup/

Chicken
http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dishes/Garlic-and-Herb-Lemon-Chicken




*** Update*** We did get grocerieslast night but will continue with this week's plans.

Weekly Menu (week 2 Feb)

  The second week of February is here! Winter has been pretty mellow this year I hope to keep it that way.  I don't mind the occasional snow fall but in order for that to occur it has to be cold. I hate the cold.  So until it heats up I will just keep it hot in the kitchen.

  This week's menu:

Pasta: Fettuccine with spinach
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/214183/quick-alfredo-sauce/

Meatless: Mexican Dish
http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/2014/04/black-bean-and-veggie-quinoa-taco-bake/

Crockpot: Chicken
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/11843/irish-chicken-and-dumplings/

Soup:  Potato
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/perfect-potato-soup/

Vegetarian: Fajitas
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/16683/veggie-fajitas/

Happy eating everyone!

Meal plan 11/16 - 11/20

  Here we are another week another starving tummy or 6?  Each week my goal is to share recipes with you of what we are eating for the week.  My recipes are NOT original rather just ones I have dug up and am going to cook for my family for the week.  Most of them will not be repeats but if the meal was a real success or super easy it may show up again.

  By sharing these meals with you it offers you a new idea of what you could make, shows you its easy (and hopefully quick) to make.  My meals also help you from surfing the net for your next meal.  I have done all the work for you except bought your groceries and cooked.

  Though out the week I post random teasers on instagram and twitter about the meal of the night.  I invite you to join me to catch a sneak peek even though you already know what the meal is.

  Each week will vary in ingredients, from cooking with the crock pot to meatless nights as well.  This week will be 2 crock pot meals and 1 meatless dinner.

11/16 Monday
Tacos!  Pretty self explanatory.  We will have hard shells and burritos, refried beans and all the fixings
Rice: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/33385/best-spanish-rice/

Beans: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222177/rush-hour-refried-beans/

11/17 Tuesday ***crockpot***
Corn and Potato Chowder with Ham
http://www.fivehearthome.com/2014/02/26/slow-cooker-corn-potato-chowder-with-ham/

11/18 Wednesday **meatless**
Salmon, couscous and spinach
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21176/baked-dijon-salmon/

11/19 Thursday chicken with pasta
http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/05/chicken-lazone.html?m=1

11/20 Friday Pulled pork and coleslaw
***crockpot***
http://www.recipechart.com/recipes/main-dish-recipes/carolina-style-slow-cooker-pulled-pork

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe.html


There you have it folks.  Another week down.  Happy eating!

Meal plan 11/2-11/6

   Ok so here I am trying to do my meal plan again!  One week was good the next week not so good.  We eat out on the weekend and depending on what we get it piles up and then that greatly influences my meals for the week.  Pizza and chinese! They will always be the culprit because of the quantity, lol.  We get 2 pizza's on a Friday and 5 or 6 containers of chinese on Saturday or Sunday.

Monday: Shepard's Pie
Ingredient:
ground meat (seasoned and browned)
Mashed potatoes (buttered and prepared)
Cream corn (can)
  After the meat and potatoes are done I layer my pan meat first, followed by corn then spread mashed potatoes on top.  I bake it for 20 minutes. (Sometimes I broil it a bit for some color on the top)

Tuesday: Gnocchi
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/236824/cheesy-baked-gnocchi/

Wednesday: chicken tortilla soup
http://www.fivehearthome.com/2014/10/14/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/

Thursday: Salmon
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21176/baked-dijon-salmon/

Ok, there we have it! Some meal I was supposed to have last week back up there for this week! We shall give it another go!

Weekly meal re-cap

  I can say my meals went fantastic this week.  I followed the plan each day.

Monday was corned beef and potatoes compliments of the crockpot.  Don't you love to set it and forget it.

 Tuesday was lasagna.  Even though I used cottage cheese and was going to add spinach it was a filling meal.

 Next up was copy cat Zuppa Tuscana soup.  My husband really enjoys this soup when we go to Olive Garden and actually honestly likes when make this one as well.

 Lastly, to end the week even though it was Thursday was our meatless meal.  It was black bean burgers.  No burger meal is complete without fries so I paired my burger with eggplant fries.  This was a big hit with my teen.  I was quite pleased with the results if this meal.

Friday the kitchen is open but it's a self serve deal.  All leftovers are fair game what little there were.  Of course pizza is always optional as well.

Did you see what my pumpkin consumption was for the week?  I made pumpkin cakes and pumpkin crepes in addition to a milkshake from Burger King and ice cream!

Stay tune for next week to see what's on the menu.  

Easy Chili from the Pot

  Yesterday I coordinated two meals for dinner.  I didn't prepare them both at the same time but I planned a day ahead.   While I was in the cupboard grabbing a can of tunafish and can of cream of mushroom soup I surveyed the cans for chili!

  Jumped on pinterest to see if I could easily dress up the tuna noodle casserole and decided no and just like always got distracted with everything else on pinterest and found myself looking up chili recipes.  Funny thing with chili and I is.  I swear I probably only make one kind several times (that's with corn) all the other times I make a new chili.  I saw one last night with chick peas; haven't tried that before.

So behold tonight's chili.  3 variety of beans and some spices in this chili.  Plus this was a meatless chili which I do alot.  Not because it saves money but you know what sometimes meat is just overrated.  Noone ever died from skipping a meat meal.

  The ingredients were thrown in the crock pot and you know the rest is history! Set it and forget it.  I was running around all day so I threw this in the crockpot at 2 on high to have it heat up and blend until 6.

  Proudly there were several trips to get more.  Maybe because they were not filled up due to the lack if meat or it was good.  I was pleased with it too.  I really need to break into making my own recipes so I can stand taller and prouder when my family likes the meals.  Likes the meals that I actually made up myself.

Proof is in the leftovers (although I did only use one can of each ingredient).  Funny how I am trying to grasp the concept of cooking more for my large family.  The two little ones don't count but on the flip side two individuals eat a lot.

Recipe credit goes to: http://lovelyolivia.tumblr.com/post/58916742376/so-now-that-im-24-days-away-in-theory-from