The meal plan - Week One

When school started, I knew that I needed to develop a way to make sure that we actually ate at home most nights of the week. With Brad's work schedule making him late sometimes, it can be hard for me to be motivated to cook. And then, when baseball and soccer started... well, cereal or carryout looks so appealing! So, we started a meal plan. When I say 'meal plan' it brings me back to my college days... but this is better, I think :)

So, here's what I'm doing. Each of us listed our 3 favorite meals. Brad listed Taco Soup, Soup/Salad/Grilled Cheese, and Hamburgers/Hot Dogs/French Fries. Bennett listed Chicken/White Shells noodles, Cheese Ravioli/Rolls/Green Beans/Fruit, and Lean Cuisine Pizzas/Cherries/Grapes. My choices are Spaghetti, Breakfast for Dinner, and Chicken Burritos.

My goal was to make 6 weeks worth of dinners - 4 dinners per week. I know, I know. Only 4 dinners each week?? Don't judge :) Each of us would get one of our 'picks' each week and we'd rotate in a new recipe. Each of us rates each new recipe with a vote of two thumbs up, one thumb up, or no thumbs up. Any recipe with more than 4 'thumbs' overall will continue in the rotation... I know that sounds simple, but it has been a huge motivator for Bennett to try new things. He loves to vote! (and he's so sweet - I've had to tell him that it's ok to tell me if he doesn't like it - he doesn't want to hurt my feelings :)

We've done this for 6 weeks now, and it's worked great! We've already found recipes that we love, and those that we aren't going to try again. So, here's Week One (with recipes if you'd like to cook along)

Monday - Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
(This is our new recipe for the week... I'll tell you how many thumbs we give it!)
Check out the recipe I'm using here.



Tuesday - Taco Soup
-1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
-1 package taco seasoning
-1 package ranch seasoning
-1 large can diced tomatoes
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 can kidney beans
-1 can northern beans
-1 can corn (recipe calls for 2 cans, but we like less)
-sometimes I add another can of beans

Mix all ingredients together (including the liquid of the corn and all the beans except for the black beans, as noted above) and simmer for a while. Sometimes I put it in the crockpot on low for the afternoon. Serve with cheese and sour cream. We also like corn bread or saltines. Brad likes to add a little hot sauce to his.

This recipe makes a lot. So, I take the leftovers and freeze it in individual servings. You'll see the leftovers in another week's plan :)

Wednesday - Wednesday night dinner at church :)


Thursday - Lean Cuisine pizzas, cherries, and grapes (and applesauce!)


Friday - Eat out after soccer practice


Saturday - Crustless Quiche, Fruit, Muffins or Biscuits
Crustless Quiche - I halved this recipe and it worked great! Below is the whole recipe.
- 1 cup green onions sliced (I leave this out - no onions around here!)
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes (1 medium)
- 12 slices bacon (I substitute ham)
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
- 12 eggs (I use 1/2 egg beaters)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (I use light)
- 1 c shredded cheddar cheese (I use light)
- 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese (I use light)

Preheat oven to 325 (for my oven, I needed 350). Reserve 2 Tbl each onions and tomatoes; set aside ( skipped this step). Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, reserve 1 TBL drippings in skillet. (I didn't do this because I used ham. So, I used a little olive oil for the next step) Add mushrooms to skillet; cook and stir 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Chop bacon (or ham). Add to mushrooms along with onions and tomatoes; mix well. (I cooked the tomatoes and mushrooms for just a little bit longer to make the tomatoes a little less firm).

Beat eggs and sour cream with wire whisk until blended. Pour into greased 13x9 baking dish (since I halved the recipe, an 8x8 worked great). Top with bacon mixture and cheeses.

Bake 30 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with reserved onions and tomatoes (I skipped this step). Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Bennett gave this only 1 thumb, but Brad and I loved it. Not sure why Bennett didn't love it - I left the mushrooms out of his portion, and he loves all the other ingredients. I'm going to try him on it again to see!

What are you cooking this week??