Menu Plan Monday

Ever since I started using our picture-frame-turned-dry-erase-calendar to plan our meals, life has been so much easier! Well...not really, but it is a lot easier to say "look at the board" when my husband asks what's for dinner. And it's definitely less stressful to plan ahead for crazy days by cooking extra a day or two before. Plus, with my post-partum memory (or lack thereof), I love getting it all figured out in a moment of clarity.

In addition to putting the contents of our meal, I also write the total prep-and-cooking time required, to avoid realizing at 4:30 that the meat had to be thawed the day before. We're still perfecting our system, but for now, red marker means actual cooking, purple means leftovers/easy/eat out, and black means activity/event.

I plan lunches too, simply because I don't want any leftovers to go to waste in the back of the fridge. If it's on the board, we eat it. My week really should start on Thursday, since we grocery shop every Wednesday, but oh well. One of these days I'm going to start planning two weeks at a time, just so I can fill in the entire darn thing (yes, I'm a C like that). Most of my recipes are saved on Delicious, which is the most awesome bookmarking site ever.

SUNDAY
L ~ leftover (LO) Tuna & White Bean Salad with Pita Chips (this time made with pinto & navy mix and double tuna; best with garbanzos and single tuna) WIC-friendly!
D ~ crockpot (CP) Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole with canned green veggies (needs extra seasoning, like garlic powder and more salt; I used a large onion FAIL and should've left the lid off a little at the end so the rice would be less mushy FAIL; this was, however, my first time using foil in my 6qt crock to make a 4qt recipe WIN)
MONDAY
L ~ Clean Out the Fridge (ended up being baby spinach and LO turkey grilled cheese with LO acorn squash)
D ~ LO Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole with LO sweet potatoes
TUESDAY
L ~ ???
D ~ wheat spaghetti with frozen veggies in the sauce and frozen meatballs (LO from my Open House) with baby spinach salad and LO wheat rolls
WEDNESDAY
L ~ $7 McDonald's Day!
D ~ Papa Murphy's Pizza Day!
THURSDAY
L ~ Asbury College Cafeteria with Aunt Amie
D ~ Spaghetti Frittata (made with LO spaghetti and meatballs) with baby spinach salad
FRIDAY (pancake day!)
L ~ LO pizza
D ~ earned dinner with Steamrollers Club
SATURDAY
L ~ ???
D ~ scrambled eggs with bacon, fruit, and mini bagels
SUNDAY (sausage with LO pancake day!)
L ~ eat at in-laws
D ~ super-easy CP barbecue chicken with canned green veggies and boxed mashed potatoes