How many times have you found yourself in a recipe rut? Making the same old reliable dinners over and over again. I know I have. It is great for budget purposes, however if you’ve got an adventurous palate it’s a recipe for eventual boredom, but I have found that we do set up a rhythm of what we eat each week.
Sunday evenings, we stick to a Hunger Games approach, the odds are in your favor finding something to eat. Whether it will be leftovers or cooking up a quick meal for two, since our boys attend Youth group that evening and get fed there. On Tuesdays, we try and keep it related to Tacos or a Mexican inspired dish. My oldest works on Thursdays, so we know we can have fish since he isn’t big on certain types of fish. Pizza and Wings are our Friday night staple, mainly because we get wings for life from ButcherBox, my bread machine makes it super easy to whip up a batch of pizza dough and we’ll have cold pizza leftovers for two hungry teens on Saturday mornings when they emerge from their rooms.
When meal planning for the week ahead, I look at what is in the freezers, on the pantry shelves and if there’s any produce that needs to be used up. From there, I formulate a rough plan. This January, I’m attempting to buy just what we need (no extras) from the grocery store. Pretty much limiting myself to shopping for milk/dairy items, eggs and fresh produce. I spent a whopping $26.33 this week on milk, creamer, a bag of onions, some Mexican cheese blend, cream cheese and lemonade. It was nice, knowing that I don’t have to buy any meat since our freezer is full of hormone free meat from Butcherbox. I have absolutely loved this company during the pandemic and even more with the uncertainty of in stock food items at our local grocers. I know that I do pay more, but the quality of meat that I’m feeding my family is a close to what I would grow and butcher myself, if we raised our own meat. This is a fantastic option for anyone looking for quality meat that arrives on your doorstep. I’ll leave a link down at the end of the post for anyone interested in saving money off their order and giving this certified B corp a try.
Back to our meal plan for this week…
Sunday, we were eating the remaining squares of a Chicken Spaghetti recipe out of volume 1 of Magnolia Table. I hate the emphasis of the word spaghetti in the recipe since there is zero red sauce. I don’t know why it bothers me so much, but it does. It’s more of a chicken macaroni and cheese with veggies that you happened to use spaghetti noodles in. Regardless of the name, it was delicious paired with a garden salad and a half batch homemade crescent rolls that I froze earlier the week before. I especially liked the fact there was zero cream of whatever in that particular recipe. If you have Magnolia Table, Vol. 1, the recipe can be found on page 213.
On Monday the 17th, we honored the memory of Betty White, by having hotdogs, chips and Redvines. Super simple, but I also made Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash for a healthier option and to enjoy for lunch the next day.
Tuesday, I tried a new-ish recipe. I believe I’ve had it before, but it’s been years. This Crescent Roll Taco Pizza might be an old Pampered Chef recipe or a variation on one, but it’s a break from homemade crunch wraps and Gluten Free Taco Pasta Salad, that I make at least twice a month. It went over fairly well with the teenagers as long as the vegetable components stayed away from their meat, cheese and flaky crust. I ended up eating the leftover toppings on a bed of lettuce for a low carb lunch and tossed the crescent roll crust away. Wednesday evening, I made a Parmesan Chicken Crusted Chicken served alongside a cauliflower bake and steamed green beans. Tonight we’re having a Sheet Pan Supper consisting of Apple Gouda Sausages, Peppers, Onions and Polenta using a base recipe I found off the WW site.
Friday we’ll having our traditional Pizza Friday Night. I’ll fix a low carb pizza casserole with a garden salad and Saturday, I’ll make Pulled Pork Gyros with Naan, which is super simple and comes together in no time.
I’m doing a good job of keeping us out of a recipe rut, but still keeping those easy meals a few nights a week, so we can enjoy more time together as a family. What does your weekly meal plan look like? I’d love to hear about it below!
If you’re interested in trying ButcherBox, here’s a referral link for a New Year Bundle of 7+ pounds of meat and $30 off. http://rwrd.io/hgvovz0?c
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