Mwah-ha-ha! I have a secret formula!
Planning is the key ingredient to good meals all week long.
This formula is my guide for weekly menu planning.
2 fish/seafood
1 vegetarian
1 chicken
1 pasta
1 soup
1 beef or pork
This week:
Sunday - Pork Ribs and potatoes
Monday - Smoked Salmon Tortellini & Aspargus Alfredo
Tuesday - Shrimp & Vegetable Stirfry with pork gyoza (trader joes) and rice
Wednesday - Lentil Vegetable Soup + Cheese Quesadillas
Thursday - Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs, Salad
Friday - Bean & Cheese Burritos Wet w/Steamed Veggies
Saturday - Chicken + Root Vegetables
A lot of overlap. My soup this week could also be my vegetarian meal; the smoked salmon tortellini could be my pasta but I counted it as a fish.
Sunday and Monday my kids loved each meal, asparagus included. Tuesday, my youngest ate the gyoza and rice but wouldn't touch the stirfry. Everyone else loved the stirfry...including all of its 9 veggies! Even the photo looks delicious! Tonight, I pureed the lentil soup on a recommendation from a friend and the kids loved it! 7 vegetables! Woo! I usually make cornbread with lentil soup but I was pressed for time and quesadillas a quick fix for the kids who dipped their quesadillas in their soup! Whatever works! I accomodate my kids with each meal. I don't force my kids to clear their plates but they are required to try everything. I think it is important that they experience food beyond "kid food".
Using my formula, I prefer to plan a month at a time. I don't have a fancy meal calendar, I grab a blank sheet of paper, write the days of the week on top, make a calendar grid and start filling it in. If I get the idea from a magazine or cookbook, I list the source and page number. I start with whatever I have in the freezer or on hand, then I make my grocery list. This way I don't over buy, things don't sit on the shelf or in the freezer for months on end and I manage to my food budget.
I make most everything homemade, from scratch. That isn't to say my freezer isn't full of corn dogs, pizza rolls, pizzas, dinosaur chicken and other things delicious that fill in when it's date night or girls night out and dad is in charge.
Plan ahead and make the food you love. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Funky Chicken & Alligator Tongues: An Introduction
Crappuccino is the phrase of the moment in our house.
Crappuccino is the word my boys have invented to sidestep reprimand for saying "crap" which has been banned due to overuse.
Our family is "normal" - as normal goes. A family of 6 in North Orange County, California. A hard working mom and dad, an awesome 16-year old girl and three rambunctious boys ages 10, 7 and 5.
Feeding this brood is always a challenge. My husband and I agree, we want to have the best, healthiest food as least expensive as possible. The Fantastic Four want all the junk, if it is seen on TV the better, no matter the cost.
Luckily and thankfully, I love to cook. I love to read cookbooks, magazines about food and ponder recipes. I am not one to sugar coat anything in my life, let alone disguise food to get my kids to eat it. However, I have recently come to appreciate my mother's wisdom - another mother of 4 - who taught me that by simply renaming the obvious, the original option sounds pretty good. For example - it doesn't matter what you say you are making for dinner, the kids will complain. "Again?" "Yuck!" "I'm not eating!" are all expected responses. My mother, in response to our negative reaction to pork chops, "AGAIN?!", said, oh, my mistake, we're having alligator tongues. WHAT!?!?!? Well, she said, we could have alligator tongues or pork chops - what will it be? Hands down, pork chops. I relived this moment with my children recently and they, though intrigued by alligator tongues voted for pork chops.
Roast chicken has become funky chicken for the same reason. Funky chicken is waaaaay more fun than another bird from the oven.
Tonight I told the kids we were having barbecue ribs, baked potatoes and steamed broccoli. Nothing short of delicious. In the midst of the cheers (yes, we cheer for our favorite meals) our oldest son added - may we have cheese and bacon for the potatoes too? Variation is the spice of life. Yes son, we may.
With that, welcome to my blog - Funky Chicken & Alligator Tongues.
Though I work full time between two jobs, I serve up a homecooked meal every night, with the hope that we will all enjoy the meal together. With our crazy schedules this doesn't always happen but most nights it works.
A lot of friends have asked for my recipes, what's for dinner and wonder what I could possibly cook all the time. I'm a planner. A chronic planner. My dinner menu is planned weeks, if not a month, in advance. I know what to buy, I know what I'm cooking and the family knows what will be on the table come dinner time. I am flexible and if it's 85+degrees outside, I will switch the menu around so we're grilling and not turning on the oven.
This blog is to share my planning, my recipes and the fun my family has at the dinner table.
Crappuccino won't be on the menu, I promise.
Crappuccino is the word my boys have invented to sidestep reprimand for saying "crap" which has been banned due to overuse.
Our family is "normal" - as normal goes. A family of 6 in North Orange County, California. A hard working mom and dad, an awesome 16-year old girl and three rambunctious boys ages 10, 7 and 5.
Feeding this brood is always a challenge. My husband and I agree, we want to have the best, healthiest food as least expensive as possible. The Fantastic Four want all the junk, if it is seen on TV the better, no matter the cost.
Luckily and thankfully, I love to cook. I love to read cookbooks, magazines about food and ponder recipes. I am not one to sugar coat anything in my life, let alone disguise food to get my kids to eat it. However, I have recently come to appreciate my mother's wisdom - another mother of 4 - who taught me that by simply renaming the obvious, the original option sounds pretty good. For example - it doesn't matter what you say you are making for dinner, the kids will complain. "Again?" "Yuck!" "I'm not eating!" are all expected responses. My mother, in response to our negative reaction to pork chops, "AGAIN?!", said, oh, my mistake, we're having alligator tongues. WHAT!?!?!? Well, she said, we could have alligator tongues or pork chops - what will it be? Hands down, pork chops. I relived this moment with my children recently and they, though intrigued by alligator tongues voted for pork chops.
Roast chicken has become funky chicken for the same reason. Funky chicken is waaaaay more fun than another bird from the oven.
Tonight I told the kids we were having barbecue ribs, baked potatoes and steamed broccoli. Nothing short of delicious. In the midst of the cheers (yes, we cheer for our favorite meals) our oldest son added - may we have cheese and bacon for the potatoes too? Variation is the spice of life. Yes son, we may.
With that, welcome to my blog - Funky Chicken & Alligator Tongues.
Though I work full time between two jobs, I serve up a homecooked meal every night, with the hope that we will all enjoy the meal together. With our crazy schedules this doesn't always happen but most nights it works.
A lot of friends have asked for my recipes, what's for dinner and wonder what I could possibly cook all the time. I'm a planner. A chronic planner. My dinner menu is planned weeks, if not a month, in advance. I know what to buy, I know what I'm cooking and the family knows what will be on the table come dinner time. I am flexible and if it's 85+degrees outside, I will switch the menu around so we're grilling and not turning on the oven.
This blog is to share my planning, my recipes and the fun my family has at the dinner table.
Crappuccino won't be on the menu, I promise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)