Meal Planning 101

We like to enjoy traditional family dinners. Traditional in the 21st century that is. You know - chaotic: music in the form of my 4 year old giggling at the top of his lungs while continuous pretending to "accidentally" burp and make other eloquent noises while simultaneously having to pee every 3 minutes... fortunately though, the chaos is minimized to at the table and not in preparation. My secret: meal planning. Today I am sharing a little bit on how I do it. I will come back to this post and continue to add different meal plans for the week so be sure to bookmark or pin this page... more simple weekly meal plans and plenty of recipes to come!! 

The How:

•  Schedule it. For me, that's Sunday. Sunday is our reset day for the week. It's time to re-group, get re-organized and re-prioritize.

• Current stock in house. How can I use up items that may otherwise spoil this week? --- side note: this is a great way to discover new recipes. The acid in over-ripen tomatoes makes an excellent base for a this pasta dish!  

• What can be batched up on the weekend to stock the freezer and make use for future meals? I survive by batching up recipes and taking advantage or "freezer to oven" or "freezer to crockpot cooking"... stay tuned as I feature more of these recipes on this blog. 

• How can I add variety in meals while using the same ingredients? --- I find this is most easily accomplishment by cooking "international cuisine" and rotating the theme, or simply alternative the main between chicken one day and pork the next. We also try to avoid two pasta dinners back-to-back.

The Why:

• Saves time. Front one-two hours and take advantage of batch cooking to have dinners for a month organized over a short period of time. The daily meal prep during the week then becomes 1-2 minutes as opposed to 30-40minutes. Who has 30-40 minutes during the week to spend in the kitchen?! Between work and the kids, their activities and the remote possibility of 15 minutes for myself, I can certainly make better use of that time than in the kitchen during the week. // The greatest timer saver though might actually be with the dishes...

• Saves money. No need to eat out. A single meal eating out as a family of 4 is easily $40. $40 can make 5 dinners in our house (depending on the ingredients). I will get a post together about eating on a budget as I get asked about this a lot in our real life. We keep our family food budget to $500 including pull ups and cleaning products and always get asked how. Stay tuned and I'll let you in on our secrets. :)

• Minimizes/eliminates waste. This goes slightly hand-in-hand with saving money but also, I hate the feeling of not making use of all products and food spoiling when there are so many people that go without in the world. This cuts into my ethics and morals... "waste not" is a philosophy we live by. 

• Less stress. I like some structure and removing the uncertainly of "what's for dinner" support this aspects of my personality and that has a trickle-effect onto the all members of the family. 

• More variety. Meal planning guarantees we don't have the same thing back-to-back which is lovely for your taste and fueling your body appropriately.

Sample meal plan:

Note: as I get the recipes listed below posted, I will be sure to link back so please stay tuned!

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Quesadillas & Spanish Rice	Spaetzle, Schnitzel & Veggies	Spaghetti & Meatballs	Chicken Corn Chowder	Chicken, Bacon Pasta	Toasted Chicken andwiches & Salad	Stroganoff & Veggies

What is on your menu this week? Comment below! Until next time... xo

_____________________________________________________

Interested in learning more about our family? We're on You Tube, too! Watch the video below to hear why we started this journey; stay tuned for updates and join us on our adventure! 

If you are interested in really helping out this small You Tuber gain a little traction, please let our playlist run and enjoy a few laughs along the way! 

5 Minute Meal: Chicken Quesidillas

If you're looking for a quick and easy meal that can be made in under 5 minutes, you've found it! These CHICKEN QUESADILLAS are absolutely delicious and fool proof... my 4 year old makes them, too!

Gather your ingredients:

Shredded Chicken
Graded Cheese
Diced Peppers
Tortilla Shells
Sour Cream (optional)

Method:

1. Warm a pan on the stove (medium heat)
2. Fold the tortilla is half to give you "the mid-line". Place a thin layer of cheese, chicken; peppers; a little more cheese.
3. Fold the tortilla over (half moon shape). Place in microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Place from microwave to pan for 1 minute; flip for another 30 seconds.
5. Section into quarters with a pizza slicer & enjoy!

You can serve with a basic garden salad for some fresh crispiness or a side of cucumbers.  The quesadilla is surprisingly filling.

Kid-friendly and even quicker, my 7 year old is a fan of the plain cheese quesadillas made solely in the microwave. Add some cheese to a tortilla, heat for 45 seconds and voila! Your meal is set.

Are you interested in more 5 minute meals? Comment below!

Helpful hints:

• Keep shredded chicken in your freezer. Place 8 frozen chicken breasts into a crockpot with 1 cup chicken broth, let cook on low for 8 hours or overnight. Shred. After cool, portion out into Ziploc freezer bags so it's ready whenever you need it.
•  Do the same with cheese. We buy cheese in bulk from Costco and use an electric grater to grate en mass. Portion out for future recipes and it's all set when you need it. 
• These can also be frozen prior to any heat if you want to batch up a ton and have them on hand straight from the freezer. To freeze, simply wrap in saran wrap tightly and then layer in an airtight container for the freezer.

Until next time... have a wonderful day! xo

_____________________________________________________

Interested in learning more about our family? We're on You Tube, too! Watch the video below to hear why we started this journey; stay tuned for updates and join us on our adventure! 

If you are interested in really helping out this small You Tuber gain a little traction, please let our playlist run and enjoy a few laughs along the way! 

Recipe: Chicken, Bacon & Feta Pasta

I've already let you know the deal - I am a huge fan of easy and cost-effective recipes that are family-friendly. I function by choosing a base ingredient that is prepped in advance, can be used in multiple recipes and suits the freezer-to-stove top or freezer-to-oven style of cooking. I am also keen to batch up a single recipe so that I can then easily rotate through meals during the month. Not only is this more cost effective but it is significantly more effective on the clean up.... saving time and money- that's how I roll!

With my recipes, you'll find strict quantities are not always mentioned. The emphasis on EASY is just that --- most often I am just throwing the ingredients in and enjoying dinner 15 minutes later! Ratios might apply and I'll note those but I encourage you to enjoy a little taste as you go and alter occasionally. Find what works for you. Add in a strict "no kids in the kitchen when Momma is cooking routine" (we have specific times for kid-friendly cooking but this Momma needs some peace when prepping dinner after work).... this--- then gives me 10-20 minutes of relative tranquility. Self-care as a Momma needs to be infused into our daily living and this is one strategy I accomplish just that!

Back to the recipe! While doing a mass batch up of chicken, I talked about shredded chicken - here - I also batch up diced chicken. My preference is for thinly sliced chicken breast I let cool, portion the chicken out and freeze in Zilpoc freezer bags. Of course, opportunities for diced chicken recipes are nearly endless but here's a one-pot, 10 minute recipe I discovered when searching for recipes with slightly over-ripe tomatoes... Chicken, Bacon & Feta Pasta

One other note for batching up before we get started, diced onions! Another great ingredient to take 30 minutes one day to diced and portion out, freeze, and then make use of just as you need!

Great one-pot dish! Alternatives can included spaghetti squash instead of pasta noodles for a gluten-free option.

Chicken, Bacon & Feta Pasta

 Ingredients:
- Diced Chicken
- Diced Onions
- Garlic
- Spinach, optional - if frozen cubes, we just use 2; if fresh, 2-3 handfuls
- Diced (cooked) Bacon (we buy from Costco). 1/4 cup is sufficient
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced mushrooms, optional --- we love mushrooms!
- Feta - 1/4 cup is sufficient... really depends on your taste
- Parmesan
- Spaghetti noodles (spaghetti squash is a great gluten-free alternative)

Method:
1. Thaw your chicken
2. Boil water for spaghetti noodles
3. Sautee onions and garlic in a dash of olive oil
4. After 1 minute, add spinach
5. After 1 minute, add mushrooms
6. After 2 minutes, add tomatoes
7. Add bacon
8. Once water is boiling, cook noodles for 10 minutes; drain, rinse with warm water, and add to wok; toss current ingredients
9. Toss with feta
10. Add in Parmesan or serve and add the Parmesan at the table

Great as a one-pot dish or serve with garlic bread or salad.


Side note: I will also batch up the spaghetti noodles so make a spaghetti night that same week a little easier --- one less pot to wash!

Recipe: Chicken Quesidillas

Switching the tone after my last post and back to sharing another recipe. Is that how parenting works? --- one minute consoling a child, the next minute - getting dinner on the table, the next minute - reading stories, the next minute...

I let you know I am a huge fan of easy and cost-effective recipes that are family-friendly. Here is another great one!

I am keen to choose a base ingredient that is prepped in advance, can be used in multiple recipes and suits the freezer-to-stove top or freezer-to-oven style of cooking. I am also keen to batch up a single recipe so that I can then easily rotate through meals during the month. Not only is this more cost effective but it is significantly more effective on the clean up.... saving time and money sounds good to me; how about you?!

Shredded chicken offers just that! I throw chicken breasts in a crockpot overnight with a small amount of chicken stock... shred in the morning and divide out for a variety of different recipes. Today, let's talk about delicious chicken quesadillas!

Family-friendly chicken quesadilla

Ingredients:
- Shredded chicken
- Sour cream
- Grated cheese
- Tortillas shells
- Cumin

Method:
1. Mix shredded chicken with sour cream, dash of cumin (as needed for your taste) and small amount of grated cheese
2. Fold tortilla in half to give you "the line"
3. Spread approx 3 tbs of chicken mixture on half of the tortilla; top chicken mixture on tortilla with grate cheese
4. Fold tortilla over and wrap tightly with saran wrap. For good measure, I then groups and store all wrapped quesadillas in a Tupperware container.

Re-heat/Cook:
1. Unwrap portions; thaw/heat for 30 seconds; turn; heat for 30 seconds in microwave
2. Pan fry in a non-stick skillet

We serve with Spanish rice or a taco salad.

The cost breakdown on this (based on current Canadian dollars) - 20 quesadillas:
Chicken: $10
Tortilla Shells: $10
Grated Cheese: $5
Sourcream: $3.50
Cumin: $3.50

Keep in mind, you'll have sour cream and cumin for plenty of other recipes based on this grocery list (you may even have chicken left over as well!), $1.60/serving.

Until next time... have a wonderful day! xo