Weekly Menu/Meal Planning/Prepping Ahead

One of the goals I have set for myself in 2014 to get back in the habit of meal-planning. Meal-planning keeps me from making tacos and chicken nuggets every night of the week. Not that my kids would complain if I did that.
I shopped with a friend this morning and have two solid weeks of meals planned out. So today, Saturday, I spent a good amount of time in my kitchen prepping as many of those meals as I can, just to make life that much simpler.
This was a hard-core undertaking, one that I hadn't tried before. I don't know how often I can commit to this, but I predict that Future Keely will thank me for the work I did today.

Here's what's on the menu and what I took care of ahead of time:

Lasagna with Meatballs, Garlic Knots --I'll share this recipe soon!
Completely assembled lasagna. Waiting to be baked. 

Chicken Nuggets with Rice and Green Beans

Nacho Spuds
Cooked and seasoned beef. Grated cheese. Washed lettuce.

Macaroni and Cheese
Boiled pasta after I cooked the lasagna noodles; used the same water. Grated cheese.
Mac and Cheese is easy to make in advance and freeze for later, but I was worn out by the time I got here. :)

Beans and Cornbread

Buttermilk Waffles with Eggs and Bacon
Mixed waffle dry ingredients together; stored in the fridge in a jar. Cooked 1 pound bacon in the oven. 

Parmesan Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Pounded chicken flat before I stuck it in the freezer to fix another day. Made homemade breadcrumbs. 

Chicken Pot Pie
Made crust. Roasted chicken breasts at 375 until cooked through. 

Chicken Soup with Homemade Noodles
Roasted chicken breasts. The noodles are time-consuming, so I might just make this next weekend. 

Steak Stir-fry
Thinly sliced steak before freezing.

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Pasta Carbonara

Weekly Menu- Cold Weather Edition

The temperatures are dropping fast here in Oklahoma, which is the perfect opportunity to stay in and spend some extra time in the kitchen. Here's what I've got planned for the frosty days ahead:

Beef Minestrone- made it yesterday and will be eating it again today. Soup is always better the next day, right?!

Go-to Beef Stew- obviously. It's the best!

Shredded Beef Taquitos- because the stew meat was on sale, I stocked up!

Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles- a bit more time-consuming, but that's the idea when it's too cold to do anything else, right?

To accompany these great soups:
Garlic Knots
Honey Cornbread Muffins

For cozy breakfast:
Sweet Potato Spice Muffins with Perfect Hot Chocolate

And finally, just because:
Chocolate Mint Cookies

Stay warm and safe, Okies!

Weekly Menu

Beef and bean taquitos

Chicken with herb sauce, roasted potatoes

Parmesan Chicken, pasta with tomato cream sauce- I chopped up some fresh baby spinach and stirred it into the pasta.  Both boys balked when they saw it but devoured it anyway!  Score 1 for mommy!

Homemade Pizzas

Crispy Rosemary Chicken- I made this for company a couple of weeks ago and again for the family last week.  It's a keeper.  (Katherine- it's freezer friendly!)

Lemon Muffins

Spaghetti

Weekly Menu

Pizza with Pawpa

Waffles for dinner

NOT Hamburger Helper

Pork Loin Pitas with feta sauce and Garlic Fries

Guacamole Salad with brown rice (tacos for kids)

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tacos for ladies dinner

Fresh green beans, corn on the cob, and hash-brown waffles- I called this meal "let's use everything I got at the Farmer's Market before it goes bad." It was delightful.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Weekly Menu

Orange Chicken with brown rice

Spaghetti with meat sauce and olive oil bread sticks- bread sticks recipe found in Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook

Ranch-style Chicken with twice baked new potatoes- both from PW's new cookbook

Whole wheat buttermilk pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit- one of my favorite pancake recipes!

White chicken enchiladas with rice and beans- the enchiladas are also from PW's new cookbook (though the recipe on the website is a bit different than the one I used from the book), and the black beans are my new favorite (and only) way of making them! (Thanks, Kat!)

Penne with vodka sauce, roasted chicken- pasta recipe is from Joy of Cooking

Strawberry Shortcake Cake- I'll admit that the frosting was a bit over-the-top sweet for my liking, but otherwise a delicious cake.

Weekly Menu

We're trying out a few new things this week, including a gem or two from Pioneer Woman's new cookbook!

Brined Roast Turkey- with green beans and mashed potatoes. Leftovers for sandwiches?

Beef and Bean Burritos with brown rice and chips and salsa

Chicken Parmesan Rollatini

Greek Salad with pita chips and chicken nuggets

Chinese Chicken Salad with sesame noodles

Parmesan Chicken with brown rice and green beans

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Weekly Menu

Granola for granola bars

Sesame Noodles and Orange Chicken with brown rice

Bean Burritos- trying to combat that pesky "we never have anything for lunch" problem.

Not Hamburger Helper

Roasted Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes- recipe #7 (from Dinner at My Place) didn't turn out to be a meal any of us enjoyed thoroughly, so I'm not sure it's even worth its own post. The husband apparently doesn't enjoy lemony flavored things (besides dessert) and I'm just not a big fan of roasted chickens.

Spanish Rice

Chicken Pot Pie

Sliders and chips- the boys love mini-hamburgers!

Chicken Nuggets with brown rice and green beans- my new favorite version of homemade chicken nuggets get a quick bath in buttermilk (or greek yogurt mixed with milk), and a dredging in whole wheat panko breadcrumbs seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. They are amazing!

Weekly Menu

Whole wheat linguine tossed with fresh spinach and roasted kale chips- I imagine it goes without saying that I'm the only person in this house who ate this.

Breakfast for dinner- bacon, egg, and cheese on ciabatta

Roasted Tomato Soup with Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

Ranch Style Chicken with pasta and roasted carrots

Parmesan Chicken with rice and green beans

Pizzas- cheese and barbecue chicken

Chocolate Chip and Banana Muffins

Weekly Menu

Greek Salad with Pita Chips and Lemony Chicken Nuggets

Pork Loin Pitas with Feta Tzatziki and Garlic Fries- I've been adding greek yogurt, cucumber, and oregano to this feta sauce and it's AMAZING.

Parmesan Chicken with Brown Rice and Green Beans- N calls this dish "the chicken with the juice inside."

Pork Fried Rice

Sour Cream Noodle Bake with Bread- I had high hopes of this dish going over well with the picky eaters. It didn't. Apparently my oldest son is in this lovely stage of I-don't-like-anything-anymore. It's fun.

Pizza- I'm pretty sure no one will complain about Pizza night.

Spanish Rice

Weekly Menu

Breakfast for dinner: Caramelized French Toast with Cinnamon, fresh berries, scrambled eggs

Beef with Snow Peas and brown rice

Taco Night with rice, black beans, chips, guacamole, and salsa, margaritas

Asian Pork with snow peas and noodles- yum yum yum yum yum

Italian Sausage Meatball Heroes

Spanish Rice

Tomato, basil and mozzarella pizzas

Orange Chicken Stir-fry and Sesame Noodles

Lemon-sugar cookies- yum yum yum yum yum

Weekly Menu

Here's what we're aiming for, at least.

Waffles- a pregnant lady's favorite way to start the day- topped with peanut butter, blueberries, and maple syrup. Swoon.

Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes-a big batch for the freezer for fast breakfasts

Almost-Nutri-Grain Bars

Macaroni and Cheese (for lunch)

Macaroni and Beef (for freezer)

Grilled Skirt Steak in Lettuce Leaves with brown rice

Old-Fashioned Cheeseburgers with Oven Shoestring Fries

Red Beans and Rice with smoked sausage and cornbread

Tex-Mex Pork- this one is definitely a keeper. Quick, easy and delicious.

Beef and Bean Taquitos

Cheese Pizzas

Weekly Menu

Beef Stew- I could be obsessed with this stew.

Creamy Ranch Chicken with egg noodles and steamed carrots- one of those rare meals that everyone loves!

Crispy-Yogurt Chicken with green beans and mac and cheese

Taco Soup

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice- I'm making this meal ahead of time and stashing it in the freezer for another day.

Mustard Pork Chops with egg noodles and green beans

Waffles

Pizza

Granola Bars- these are currently cooling on the counter. I'm hoping they can replace the boy's favorite store-bought version. I made the granola first, then the bars.

Oatmeal Bread- absolutely delicious and worth making weekly! I can't find a link, so I'll share the recipe soon.

Orange-Cranberry Cake- for our church's Christmas dessert and program

Chocolate Chip Cookies- for N's school Christmas program

Weekly Menu

Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwiches with Mac and Cheese- I didn't make my own barbecue sauce this time. I was going to, but was gifted a bottle of sauce from our favorite barbecue place in Kansas City!

Chili Chicken Tacos with Rice and Beans- this is my go-to method for making beans. I add a pinch of sugar at the end, because that's what my great-grandma always did!

Nacho Spuds

Pot Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes- the only thing I changed with this recipe is searing the meat before placing in the slow-cooker. I think it makes a huge difference!

Beef Stew with Cornbread- I told you I was making it again soon!

Chicken Pot Pies- I need to share my recipe soon; it's a favorite of ours!

Weekly Menu

Chicken Schnitzel with Kale and Sweet Potato Chips

Korean-Style Pork Noodle Bowls- this got a big-thumbs up from everyone!

Chicken Chimichangas with Red Rice

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Beef Stew with Honey Cornbread Muffins- so good, I'm making it all again this week!

Buttermilk Whole-Wheat Chicken Nuggets with Cheesy Fries

Perfect Chili

Weekly Menu

Fiesta Chicken and Rice with Romaine Salad and Creamy Dressing- this dish is very similar to Spanish Rice, but with chicken. It was a delicious one-pot wonder that I'll share soon!

Taquitos- we feasted on these while we watched College Football.

Beef and Vegetable Stir-fry

Creamy Ranch Chicken with egg noodles and green beans

Roast Turkey with mashed potatoes and green beans- I got so many different meals out of this turkey!

Basil, Chili, and Garlic Pork with Brown Rice

Nacho Spuds- this dish makes a regular appearance in our house. It's fast, easy, and tasty.

Homemade Pizza Margherita and Barbecue Turkey Pizza

Weekly Menu

Here's one way I try to keep our grocery costs down while still trying new things on each week's menu: when planning your meals, try to choose things that use the same ingredients. I used the green beans in the stir-fry, the warm potato salad, and served them alongside the chicken cutlets. I bought a block of provolone cheese for the cheese steaks and topped the pizzas with the rest. Just a tip that's helped me out!

Parmesan Chicken and Spaghetti

Chicken Stir-fry

Homemade 3-cheese Pizzas

Chicken Cutlets with herb sauce and green beans

Jamie Oliver's Pan-fried Glazed Pork Chops with warm green bean and potato salad

Chili Chicken Tacos with rice and beans

Cheese steaks sandwiches with oven fries

Waffles with sausage and fresh fruit

Weekly Menu

Brined Slow-Cooked Turkey Breast with salad and baked potatoes- I've made this twice now and we love it! It's inexpensive (I found it on sale for .89 a pound last week!) and really easy and it makes great sandwiches the rest of the week.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with homemade fries- make THIS soon!

Chicken Tostada Salad

Mustard Pork Chops with egg noodles and roasted carrots

Chicken Schnitzel with salad and couscous- Nigella has yet to disappoint. We all loved this meal!

Yogurt Waffles with bacon- I can't find a link for this one.

Poppy Seed-Chicken Pitas

Weekly Menu

Cajun Chicken Alfredo with roasted asparagus- The husband and I both agreed that this was even better the next day!

Pulled-Pork Tacos with rice and beans

Homemade Pepperoni Pizzas with salad

Old-fashioned Cheeseburgers with garlic fries

Italian Pressed Sandwiches with chips

Comfort Meatballs with egg noodles and salad

Chicken with Balsamic Barbecue Sauce with green beans and mac and cheese

Weekly Menu

My husband gets a bit nervous when he goes grocery shopping with me. Seeing that number climb and climb as more and more items are scanned makes his heart race and his palms get a bit sweaty. So I knew that when we broke the $300 mark on our last big trip (emphasis on the word big - we were out of everything!) I had better make that last. And I did. We still have meat in the freezer as well as multiple lunches covered.
Here's some of what we had:

Chicken and Cashews in Lettuce Cups- though (whoops) I forgot to buy the lettuce, so we had this over brown rice with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Chicken Tortilla Soup- my mom's recipe. I'll share it soon. We had enough of this leftover to take to my folk's house for our traditional Christmas Eve Mexican feast.

Pepper Steak with mashed potatoes- I just use lots of cracked black pepper in place of the green peppercorns and leave out the cognac

Chicken nuggets and Mac and Cheese- only the best mac and cheese I've ever made!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Bean Burritos- with plenty more in the freezer

Pepperoni Pinwheels- a big hit with the picky 3 1/2 year old in my house!

Weekly Menu

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Parmesan Chicken and salad- an absolutely delicious go-to in our house.

Chipotle Chicken and Rice- mighty spicy!

Ravioli with Apples and Almonds- I had high hopes for this one, but pretty sure I won't make it again.

Homemade Pepperoni Pizzas- which garnered this charming review from the husband- "Of all the pizzas you've made over the years, these actually taste like...pizza!" Though I'll agree, they were the best of the pizzas I've made. The secret(s)? Real mozzarella cheese (no pre-shredded packaged stuff), and high, high heat- 525!!

Baked Beef and Bean Taquitos