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

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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! 

Crockpot Recipe: Chicken Corn Chowder

You know those days??? Well, I can tell today is definitely going to be one of them. I used to be impressively organized with meals: everything prepped on the Sunday and meals set for the week. Then, schedules changed. The boys' activities started up and we were racing in all directions and I ended up with a fridge full of food that no one was around to eat.

I have committed to setting a few minutes aside to write this post - day number 9 since the challenge began... I found the time and made it a priority so I can re-group and re-strategize with meal planning. I can do it. Thinking on the menu tonight, a version of a crockpot chicken chowder. Scroll down for the super easy and comforting recipe.

To make Chicken Corn Chowder:

1. Diced: potatoes, carrots, onions into the crockpot
2. Pour chicken stock over
3. Set and forget for 8 hours on low
4. When I get home from work I will through it in the Blentec; once blended toss it back in the crockpot
5. Add: cooked diced or shredded chicken and corn
6. Cover and let cook for another 20 min or so
7. Toss a little bacon and/or chedder cheese on top

Simple, comfort food with ingredients all on hand. Yay!! What are you having for dinner tonight?