My love for cooking ebbs and wanes much like a pregnancy craving. There are weeks and even months when I love putting together meal plans for my family and delight in trying new recipes. There are other weeks when hearing the question, "What's for dinner?" is enough to push me toward a psychotic episode.
Much to my husband's delight, I have been in the former state of mind toward cooking since the new year. Below is my meal plan for this week. I still follow the rule of cooking 3-4 times /wk and making enough for leftovers. We eat out or get takeout once a week, usually on Saturday.
On my meal planner, I also note which evenings I plan to have after-dinner treats for my family - denoted with a (t). Treats are anything from fruit& whipped cream to hershey kisses to cupcakes. However, as a rule we don't eat treats every night. I use the freezer for all our candy and baked treats. For example, when I made valentines cupcakes a few weeks ago we each had one on Valentines Day and then I froze the rest. I do this with all homemade treats and chocolate. On a treat night, I can pick something from the freezer and thaw just enough for everyone to have a small serving. Right now my treat freezer section is empty so I may need to remedy that this weekend. :)
This plan has worked well for me since our hectic weekdays don't allow a plethora of time in the evening for meal prep and cooking. Below is my meal plan and some links to the recipes. Happy Cooking!
Sunday: chicken spinach pasta bake & Caesar salad
Monday: pork medallions & roasted vegetables (t)
Tuesday: grilled chicken tenderloins, mac & cheese, and green beans
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: leftovers (t)
Friday: leftovers (if any) & vegetable stuffed loaded baked potatoes
Saturday: Out (t)
http://www.savingmoneylivinglife.com/2010/06/chicken-spinach-pasta-bake.html
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/05/grilled-pork-medallions.html
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-vegetables-10000001842424/
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Brief Update
I want to apologize to my family who are probably a bit frustrated at my lack of posting lately. I have every intention of putting a little something up here from time to time, but finding a few minutes to do that has been tough lately. Here is a quick rundown of the goings on at our house.
My husband and I are playing musical chairs between all the committees we're chairing or members of between work and church right now. He and I were asked to chair the elder selection committee at church and he is in the throws of the usual hustle and bustle of things at his work. I am currently chairing 2 committees at work, one of which is a search committee for an open faculty position. Things picked up quick for this in January when we began reviewing applicants and bringing them in for interviews. On top of that, the residency committee, of which I am a member, is interviewing residents for the upcoming year. Therefore, in addition to 4 faculty interviews which last 2 days each, I have to interview potential residents several times over the next month. Needless to say, things are BUSY!
My oldest son is happily trekking through kindergarten. He is testing for a higher belt in karate next week. His primary hurdle is being a bit scared of sparring. Those of you who know my son probably understand that he is anything but aggressive and the thought of hitting a friend (no matter how padded they are with gear) goes against his gentlemanly, sensitive nature. However, he is determined to get to the next level so we will see. He is also signed up for spring t-ball.
My middle child read her first book this week. She was so proud of herself (and had two proud parents as well!). What made this such a milestone is that she has been reading words, sentences, and phrases for a while but hasn't had the desire to focus for the time needed to complete a whole book. She decided to read one of her brother's books that he had brought home from kindergarten (I think that had something to do with her motivation) last week, and she focused and read the whole thing!
My baby who is now almost 2 and a half (sniff, sniff) has become quite the chatter box and dancer. Unlike his brother, aggression comes naturally to our youngest and is often the source of his time-outs. His favorite evening activity is dancing to our just dance kids Wii game. Of course, since his mama also loves to dance, our evenings are a party! :)
Well, that's all the news from here. Oh, I've been easing back into running. It's slow going but that is okay. It is just such a joy to be able to run again!
My husband and I are playing musical chairs between all the committees we're chairing or members of between work and church right now. He and I were asked to chair the elder selection committee at church and he is in the throws of the usual hustle and bustle of things at his work. I am currently chairing 2 committees at work, one of which is a search committee for an open faculty position. Things picked up quick for this in January when we began reviewing applicants and bringing them in for interviews. On top of that, the residency committee, of which I am a member, is interviewing residents for the upcoming year. Therefore, in addition to 4 faculty interviews which last 2 days each, I have to interview potential residents several times over the next month. Needless to say, things are BUSY!
My oldest son is happily trekking through kindergarten. He is testing for a higher belt in karate next week. His primary hurdle is being a bit scared of sparring. Those of you who know my son probably understand that he is anything but aggressive and the thought of hitting a friend (no matter how padded they are with gear) goes against his gentlemanly, sensitive nature. However, he is determined to get to the next level so we will see. He is also signed up for spring t-ball.
My middle child read her first book this week. She was so proud of herself (and had two proud parents as well!). What made this such a milestone is that she has been reading words, sentences, and phrases for a while but hasn't had the desire to focus for the time needed to complete a whole book. She decided to read one of her brother's books that he had brought home from kindergarten (I think that had something to do with her motivation) last week, and she focused and read the whole thing!
My baby who is now almost 2 and a half (sniff, sniff) has become quite the chatter box and dancer. Unlike his brother, aggression comes naturally to our youngest and is often the source of his time-outs. His favorite evening activity is dancing to our just dance kids Wii game. Of course, since his mama also loves to dance, our evenings are a party! :)
Well, that's all the news from here. Oh, I've been easing back into running. It's slow going but that is okay. It is just such a joy to be able to run again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)