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 Menu 8/14-8/18

  Last week I made all my planned meals except for the vegetarian chili on Thursday.  I would normally carry over the meal into the next week but I'm missing a few important ingredients too so I'll put that back into the pile.

  This week I'm only making 3 meals because there are enough leftovers in the house to feed us for a couple days.

Monday 8/14
1 pot chili mac
http://damndelicious.net/2014/03/15/one-pot-chili-mac-cheese/

Tuesday 8/15
Meatless
http://www.marthastewart.com/313967/shrimp-with-couscous

Wednesday 8/16
Meatless
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9401/salmon-patties-i/

Thursday 8/17
Leftovers

Friday 8/18
Leftovers

  I'm looking forward to my short week.  Plus as long as we eat up the leftovers the weekly plan was a success.  If meals get thrown away because it's old or under appreciated it's definitely a sad waste.

  Any meal plans this week for you?  Any dinner out plans?

Meal plan 11/21-11/24

  Thanksgiving is almost here.  All I have to do is just get to that day.  Then I am home free with leftovers for a few days; well depending on how much I make.  When you have a large family sometimes leftovers are hard to come by.

11/21 Breakfast in bed (mommas got a migraine)
Eggs and toast

11/22 chili and cornbread

Chili:http://wholesomemommy.com/meal-solution-6-chili-night/

Cornbread: http://wholesomemommy.com/beyond-beans-cornbread/

11/23 Chicken
https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/easy-chicken-and-pasta/

11/24 Thanksgiving Feast
Turkey dinner with all the fixings!

11/25 leftovers

#nablopomo

Meal Plan 9/26 - 9/30

  I have found that a meal plan works for so many reasons in my home.

1.  I know at 0800 what I'm eating and what time to start cooking because I will also know how long it will take me.

2.  Saves me an excuse of eating out as I already have a plan.

3.  Helps clear out my pantry.

4.  I can easily gauge groceries we need for the week or ahead of time based on meals.

5.  It does save money both with minimal or at least planned shopping.


  I surf the Internet and find new recipes as well as use some recipes from my favorite bloggers and tried and true recipes I have on hand.  The meals will vary weekly from slow cooker, vegetarian, seafood or good old breakfast for dinner.  I may have a random night out and a leftover night but for the most part everything will be done at home!


9/26 Tuna Casserole
http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-remake-cheesy-mac-tuna-casserole/

9/27 Gnocchi Soup
http://therecipecritic.com/2016/09/creamy-chicken-gnocchi-soup-olive-garden-copycat/

9/28 Chili
http://mixandmatchmama.com/dinner-tonight-sweet-corn-chili/

9/29 Chicken
http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/05/chicken-lazone.html?m=1

9/30 Leftovers
It is every man and child for themselves!

  Ok there it is.  There are a couple things I still need to buy to make this work so we shall see how close I get this week.  After our grocery shopping I will plan for the month of  October.

Menu 10/19-10/23

  Another week another menu plan to stay focused.  I do base some menus based on appointments or activities arranged for the week.  It makes it easier in case I am running late.  I don't need to stop and think about what we are eating dinner I can just keep calm and cook on!  Just because I'm going to be home at 5 doesn't mean I should have made a crockpot meal.  There are quick meals I can whip together too.

  Last week I didn't follow my plan as we had a couple days of disfunction, extended dr appointments and spontaneous pizza nighs.  So those meals got rolled over to this week in order to use the fresh food an meat up.

10/19 Monday Corned beef and potatoes
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-old-world-corned-beef-and-vegetables/073fd3e5-e549-4ad4-b416-7333ba2c2095

10/20 Tuesday lasagna
http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/extra-easy-lasagna

10/21 Wednesday copycat Zuppa Tuscana soup need sausage!!!
http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-copy-cat-zuppa-tuscana-olive-garden-copy-cat/

10/22 Thursday (meatless meal)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/black-bean-burger/


10/23 Friday definitely  a leftover day!

  Next week will be new I promise.  After I am caught back up with what I pulled out of the freezer.  It's almost time to go grocery shopping! I love shopping no matter what kind it is.

Menu plan 10/12-10/16

  Last week worked out great with some feedback on the the overall concept of being organized and of how having a plan makes for a better week.  I am utilizing the crockpot again this week but the meals this week hold true to easy and quick.

10/12: Monday lasagna
http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/extra-easy-lasagna

10/13: Tuesday chicken lazone
http://www.plainchicken.com/2013/05/chicken-lazone.html?m=1

10/14: Wednesday copycat Zuppa Tuscana soup need sausage!!! I do have plans to eat out this day (with a food reviewers group) so this may be a leftover day.
http://wholesomemommy.com/real-food-copy-cat-zuppa-tuscana-olive-garden-copy-cat/

10/15: Thursday corned beef and potatoes
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-old-world-corned-beef-and-vegetables/073fd3e5-e549-4ad4-b416-7333ba2c2095

10/16: Friday hmm, let's just plan something again to see what happens.  This will help in case all food is consumed during the week that I already made.


  So I guess I may have two leftover days this week.  Thinking about it now in advance that doesn't sound like a bad deal at all.  We will see how that works out.

P.S. In keeping up with my bucketlist the lasagna would be a new recipe for me! (Cabbage in the crockpot will be too but I didn't know if that counted.  I would count it because I will follow the Recipe otherwise my meal would be considerably bland.)

Feeding the family equals a happy family!