Meal Plan Monday!

[younglove316]

I actually have mine done this week! I'm trying to focus more on a meal plan and just shopping for that plus a few snacks to help with our budget. This is week 2 for us.

[younglove316]

M: Turkey stuffed peppers
T: Tacos
W: Apple spiced pork chops
Th: Chicken piccata
F: Southern baked mac & cheese
Sa: Chicken & dumplings
Su: Pasta

[penguin129]

Sept 5, 2016 5:41:20 GMT -5 younglove316 said:

I actually have mine done this week! I'm trying to focus more on a meal plan and just shopping for that plus a few snacks to help with our budget. This is week 2 for us.

This is what I try to do. I make the shopping list up for the meals I want to cook within the next week or 2 and then shop for those items. I don't assign a meal to a certain day because things always come up or I am just not in the mood for something on a certain day.

Yesterday- We ended up going to the beach so I bought hot dogs and snacks and H grilled on the beach.
Today- H will make BBQ chicken on the grill and I'll make corn

Rest of the week meals:
Tacos
Spaghetti
Leftovers
More chicken

* I need to go grocery shopping. We have a large amount of chicken because it kept going on sale B1G1 free. I have ground turkey and that's it. I want to pick up some hot dogs and maybe some other things to give us a variety. We don't eat pork so that is one less option. 

Any ideas on how to spruce up dinners?

[Deleted]

I always try to meal plan based on what I have in the freezer and pantry and fill in the gaps when I shop. I write a meal for everyday, but we don't stick to the day most of the time.

M: Spaghetti with Italian sausage
T: Meatloaf and scalloped potatoes
W: Chicken Parmesan
T: Chili Dogs (soccer night, need something with quick prep and cleanup)
F: Nachos
Sa: Burritos
Su: Cod (maybe fish tacos)

Some ideas for chicken penguin129 are chicken and rice, pulled bbq chicken, shredded mexican chicken for tacos, fajita chicken, etc.

[tkford216]

We have HelloFresh coming this week, so at some point we will be having Chipotle rubbed chicken salad with pico de guillo and avocado, burgers with pineapple and monterey cheese, and black bean cakes with corn, avocado, and arugula. Other than that, I'll probably make spaghetti at some point, and I have other chicken thawing with no plan in place yet.

I'm also making (not that anyone cares lol) turkey for the babe, peaches and strawberry, butternut squash, and carrot potato lentil mix. Because baby purees are kinda my new obsession.

[Deleted]

That's awesome tkford216! I thought about making my own purees when my kids were babies, but it ultimately ended up being too much work for us.

[tkford216]

penguin129 even if we do just normal chicken on the stove, we like to try out different sauces or marinades, and different veggie combos with various seasonings. It makes it feel fresh each time but no real extra work. A favorite of mine is dijon vin blanc.
www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Main+Dishes/Under+30+minutes/Chicken+with+Dijon+Vin+Blanc+Sauce/15726

Also a favorite of mine for a side is potato spinach salad. Cubed, baked potatoes and spinach, mix with a dressing of olive oil, sour cream, lemon, garlic, salt, pepper. So easy, so good. If you pair it with baked chicken with a mixture of parmesan and panko on top, it's even better.

Honestly, I love the recipes from HelloFresh. They are simple and easy. We are actually cancelling soon because we can't afford it, but I've been keeping it going (just pausing most weeks deliveries) to have access to the recipes. I could send you a code for some free boxes if you want to try it out and scour the recipe archive then cancel.

[penguin129]

Thanks ladies! I make it 3 ways usually, bbq, breaded (which H could live off of), and a caccitore. I've done a Hawaiian marinade before. I guess I can only eat chicken so many days out of the week. I'm having H grill 2 bags, so like 12 legs today, that way we'll have some ready later in the week.

[tkford216]

penguin129 I also like to buy pork tenderloin whenever it's on sale. I never used to eat it until we got some in the HelloFresh box but I love it, so good in various sauces. If you're looking for non-chicken ideas.

[penguin129]

Sept 5, 2016 11:18:54 GMT -5 tkford216 said:

penguin129 I also like to buy pork tenderloin whenever it's on sale. I never used to eat it until we got some in the HelloFresh box but I love it, so good in various sauces. If you're looking for non-chicken ideas.

We don't eat pork for religious reasons. I do turkey versions of most pork things. Turkey pepporroni, turkey bacon, etc.

[tkford216]

Sept 5, 2016 11:53:31 GMT -5 penguin129 said:

Sept 5, 2016 11:18:54 GMT -5 tkford216 said:

penguin129 I also like to buy pork tenderloin whenever it's on sale. I never used to eat it until we got some in the HelloFresh box but I love it, so good in various sauces. If you're looking for non-chicken ideas.

We don't eat pork for religious reasons. I do turkey versions of most pork things. Turkey pepporroni, turkey bacon, etc.

Ah ok. Nevermind then

[younglove316]

penguin129 some of my favorite chicken recipes are salsa chicken that we shred into tacos, I'll make BBQ chicken in the crock pot and then shred it and make nachos, grilled chicken, and I just recently found a chicken noodle casserole that was pretty good.

[cam]

I have a ton of different ways I make chicken, so even though we eat a ton of chicken, we never get sick of it.


Last night, we had leftover Chinese. For a laugh, this is how LO eats it:

Yes, he does actually eat the whole thing, so not sure why he starts like this. Kids are funny.

T: BLT salads
W: Jamaican jerk chicken, sides TBD
Th: teriyaki pork tenderloin, sides (aside from the onion already in the recipe) TBD
F: something with burger
Sa: tater tot casserole
Su: breakfast for dinner though specifics are TBD