12/30/19 Weekly Meal Plan!

It’s the last meal plan for 2019! I’ve got lots of good stuff planned recipe-wise this week. I’m doing my best to use up a lot of the stuff we’ve got in the freezer and pantry.

I’ve got a bunch of bananas that are REEEEALLLY ripe, they will be turned into banana bread today.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. We’ve got a bunch of stuff in the freezer, as I’ve been portioning out 2-3 adult-sized entree portions from several meals a week and freezing them for later meals.

• Monday:  Pork Chili, and cornbread
• Tuesday:  NYE and I’m not sure what we’re doing, but I’ll have fresh veggies, fruit, hummus, and other snackies.
• Wednesday:  Chef Salad (greens, hardboiled eggs, cheese, peppers, carrots, celery, snap peas)
• Thursday: Quinoa Veggie Bowls
• Friday:    Date Night (I think we’re going out)
• Saturday:  Pizza & Fruit Salad
• Sunday:  Breakfast for dinner (savory waffles with poached eggs)

One of the kid’s recent favorite lunches is “Plate of Snacks”. I use the sectioned plastic plates (like old school cafeteria trays), and fill each section with a snack from the corresponding food group. This tray has goldfish crackers in the protein section (the 4-year-old insisted because there was fish on the section).

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

11/4/19 Weekly Meal Plan

The littlest kiddo and I went grocery shopping on Friday, and man did we stock up! I went over budget by about $10 again this week, but we picked up some pantry staples that we had run out of. They will last at least a month, so I’m not too concerned.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. I did a little meal prep over the weekend, chopped and bagged veggies soups and chili, and made cookies for the kids.

• Monday: Breakfast for dinner: Egg scramble with bacon, cheese, and veggies, hot cocoa
• Tuesday: Leftover chicken tetrazzini, I made a huge batch last week.
• Wednesday: Vegetable ravioli soup (recipe this week)
• Thursday:  Taco-dillas (Quesadillas made with taco fixings), beans & rice
• Friday: Vegetarian chili (I made a double batch last week and frozen part of it).
• Saturday: I’ve got two events on Saturday, so I’m going to grab pizzas on the way home.
• Sunday:   Leftover-palooza.

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

10/28/19 Weekly Meal Plan

The littlest kiddo and I went grocery shopping on Friday, and man did we stock up! I went over budget by about $10, but I was able to pick up a lot of stuff that will last us a few weeks, and stuff for both kiddos school/preschool Halloween parties. This week I’m re-organizing the freezer.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. I did a little meal prep over the weekend, chopped and bagged veggies soups and chili, and made cookies for the kids.

• Monday: Breakfast for dinner: Breakfast sandwiches on bagels, strawberries, hot cocoa
• Tuesday: Crockpot chili (vegetarian), protein biscuits made with Kodiak Baking mix recipes forthcoming!!
• Wednesday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, soup, goldfish crackers, strawberries
• Thursday:  Halloween- Pizza night!
• Friday: Skillet casserole, probably chicken tetrazzini
• Saturday: Quesadillas, Mexican Caesar Salad
• Sunday:   Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

10/14/19 Weekly Meal Plan

I won a $25 Grocery Outlet Gift card on Friday, so I used it to pick up some snacks and goodies for school lunches this week. Thanks to my frugal buddy Brooke from Crying Out Loud, we’ll be eating a lot of eggs this week (3 dozen eggs- woo hoo!). We hit up the Harvest Festival over the weekend, and we picked up some seasoning kits from Whatcha’ Got Cookin’ that we’ll be using this week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. I did a lot of prep for the coming week over the weekend. I cut up the produce, bagged it for meals, made up some smoothie kits, and cut up cantaloupe to have this week. Thanks to some frugal shopping over the weekend, I’ve only spent half the grocery budget for the week. I will probably use it all.

• Monday: Happy Meals on the way home from weekly group autism therapy for the kids. Grilled Cheese and Chicken and Rice Soup for the grown-ups. Soup is in the freezer from a previous batch.
• Tuesday:  Fritatta with so many eggs (and veggies too)
• Wednesday: Welcome Home Chicken in the crock pot (with seasoning kit from Whatcha got Cookin)
• Thursday:  We’ve got respite, so it’ll be something early and light, probably what I like to call a “meal of snacks”- it’s all kind of different things on a cafeteria tray.  Previous Meal of Snacks include: Chicken Nuggets, goldfish crackers, cut up fruit, hardboiled eggs, glasses of milk, and cookies.
• Friday:   Date Night!
• Saturday:  Pizza Night
• Sunday:   Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

Recipe: Not Your Average Taco Salad

My Taco Salad is a little different than most, there is no big, greasy, deep-fried shell. Instead, I use tortilla chips as a garnish. This was one of the first recipes I concocted after we committed healthy eating about 10 years ago. It’s very filling and has tons of veggies.

There are all kinds of changes and modifications that can be made to accommodate any dietary concerns.

Not Your Average Taco Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat of your choice (Beef, chicken, turkey, or pork, or a mixture)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed (or you can use 1.5 cups of frozen corn)
• 1/4 cup water (or however much the packet tells you to use)
• 2 cups Tortilla chips (I like these flax seed Tortilla chips)
• 2 cups (per person) Salad greens of your choice

With the following ingredients, use as much as you’d like, I prep 1/2 cup-1 cup per person:

• Chopped tomatoes
• Chopped bell peppers (I usually use one red, one yellow, and one orange pepper for color/variety)
• Shredded carrots
• Cucumber slices
• Avocado slices or guacamole, whichever you prefer
• Shredded or crumbled cheese
• Black Olive Slices
• Jalapeno peppers Slices
• Sour Cream or plain Greek yogurt
• Salsa of your choice

Directions:

1. Brown meat, set aside.
2. Using any residual fat in the pan, and adding olive oil, cook onions until clear and soft.
3. Add meat back to pan, mix in taco seasoning and water. Cook as directed on the taco seasoning packet.
4. Add in both cans of beans and corn, cook until heated throughout.
5. To plate, on a dinner plate or a big bowl- arrange 2 cups greens, top with 1/4-1/2 cup meat/bean mixture, top with other veggies and 1/2 cup chips and cheese and a dollop of sour cream/sour cream.
6. If you NEED dressing, mix a little sour cream or plain Greek Yogurt with salsa or hot sauce and top your salad.

For a vegetarian taco salad- use soy/veggie crumbles instead of meat.

Family Favorite Recipe: Mountain Man Breakfast Casserole

This is a great old Boy Scout/backpacking recipe. We eat it when we go camping, cooked in a dutch oven. You can cook it at home in a baking dish in the oven if you aren’t out cooking in a field.

Ingredients

• 1 bag O’Brien Potatoes, approx 28 ounces- defrosted
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean) cooked, crumbled and patted to absorb the excess oil
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Sour Cream and Salsa (for a topping)

Directions

1. Mix the sausage,  1 cup of  the cheese, and potatoes in a bowl
2. Pour sausage/egg/cheese mixture into a 9×11 baking dish
3. Scramble eggs and milk and pour over sausage/egg/cheese mixture
4. Top the dish with the remaining 1 c. cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 20-35 minutes until the eggs have set and the dish is brown, bubbly and delicious.
6. Serve with Sour Cream and Salsa.
7. Serves 8-10 at home 4-6 when camping (fresh air makes you hungry).

If you have any leftovers, it’s great in a warmed tortilla the next morning as a burrito! I’ve also been informed that this is really good with avocado slices on top.

 

Modifications for special dietary concerns:

• You can make this vegetarian by using soy sausage crumbles.
• This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
• This recipe cannot be made vegan.

9/2/19 Weekly Meal Plan

IT’S SO FREAKING HOT!! It’s supposed to be in the mid-nineties all week, so I am planning on keeping the oven off and cooking on the stovetop only, and/or planning as many cod dishes as I can.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

• Monday: Rice-a-roni, black beans, fruit salad
• Tuesday:  Shashuksa (recipe will be posted tomorrow), homemade bread (a friend shared a loaf of homemade bread with me- It’s heaven),  fruit salad
• Wednesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, green salad
• Thursday: Protein shakes and Dave’s Killer Bagels
• Friday:  Date Night
• Saturday: Ordering pizza-it’s going to be too hot to cook!
• Sunday: Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

7/31/19- National Avocado Day Freebies!

Living in California, every day is avocado day! Everyone knows someone- a friend, neighbor, relative who has an avocado tree (or 4).

For everyone else, REJOICE!! Tomorrow, July 31st is National Avocado Day and here are a couple freebies and deals for you.

Head to Rubio’s tomorrow with this coupon, and score a free Guacamole and Chips with any order. We’ll be hitting up Rubio’s tomorrow. The kids received free kid’s meal coupons in their Summer Reading prize packs from the county library.

If you don’t have a Rubio’s nearby, grab your phone and pull up the Chipotle app! Tomorrow you can score free guacamole on any order placed via website or mobile app.

I’ll be donning my sweet ‘Cado socks and chowing down!

Talk Back: Are you looking forward to National Avocado Day?