One of my co-workers told a story about a child who knew what she would be having for dinner days in advance. I quickly expressed my disdain for said child's parent.Not because the parent is evil, but because I am jealous of the skills it would take to master such a feat. I allowed this idea to consume me for a couple of days. I have done meal prep for the week in the past, but this does not usually include cooked foods. I usually prep veggies, season meats or make the baked egg cups for breakfast. Generally, I do not like to prepare food in advance. I am not a huge fan of the microwave and I prefer fresh cooked foods for dinner.I will eat leftovers and warm them in the microwave if they are available. I just don't want to if I don't have to. It's just my preference.
On Sunday, I happened upon an inspirational recipe site called
Budget Bytes. There were so many recipes that were quick and easy and CHEAP!!! I decided that I would plan meals for the week. I printed out four recipes from the website. The fifth recipe was one of my own and the other days I left open to leftovers or tomfoolery.
On Sunday, we decided on a Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot from the website. The littlest Joe was able to follow this recipe while I made homemade buttermilk biscuits. She used a little too much pepper but the pasta was awesome. We used fresh spinach and frozen artichokes. We also sprinkled the pasta with Mozzarella cheese when it was done. The biscuits were ugly as sin but quite tasty. I was impressed. The Joes were impressed. So impressed that they asked for biscuits the next night as well!
On Monday, we had a crustless Spinach and Feta Quiche. Again, from Budget Bytes...The recipe calls for mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. We had a mushroom-less quiche. With biscuits. Again.
On Tuesday, I was a super lazy momma. I used one of my free days and ordered carryout for the kiddos.
Wednesday is usually the busiest day of our week. Big Joe had football practice and then band practice until 9PM. The littlest Joe has private Saxophone lessons in the evening. I have running around to do in the midst of all this. I got up early this morning to prepare White bean soup from the Budget Bytes website. I had to alter this recipe quite a bit. I cooked the navy beans in chicken stock, with 2 smoked turkey tails, carrots, parsley root (I thought they were parsnips), onion, garlic and seasonings. I used soul seasoning, salt and pepper. This soup was sooo tasty. And there was so much of it. Definitely enough for leftovers!!!
Thursday was Halloween and despite the fact my children are big, huge humans, they were going trick or treating. The Littlest Joe was an 80's valley girl and the Biggest Joe was just creepy... Since they were given Chipotle gift cards for Sweetest Day by their adoring mom, they wanted to use them to get the 3 dollar Boo-rito and I obliged. I mean, helping to sort the candy and taking the yearly candy tax (they each give me candy for my sugar addiction) is hard work. Who could cook after that? Probably the aforementioned perfect mom...
Friday was the last football game of the season. When I got home, The Littlest Joe had left to hang out with a friend before the game and the Biggest Joe was still at school getting ready for the big game. I mixed some leftover white bean soup with rice and had leftovers for dinner. (I will have to try a less offensive bean next time).
Saturday was pork stir fry. This is my own little recipe. Cut up a pork tenderloin. Sauteed pea pods, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, onion and garlic. Added soy sauce and seasoning, of course. Yum-tastic!! This was served over rice. Which magically cooks itself in the rice cooker as the meat and veggies are being cooked.
I chose recipes that were manageable. I shopped in advance. I did not commit to cooking a specific meal on a specific day. The Joes helped in the decision making process. I was open to failure. Every one will not like everything. There is always an alternative choice. Its usually PBJ...I think this week in meal planning was a huge success. Now to plan for next week...
