{Meal Plan~ August}

After a long hiatus, I'm back.
I've been asked to share a meal plan, so here we go.  Just a few words up front about my meal planning process:

First, I started by revamping my Master Meals list for the upcoming school year.  I get creative in the kitchen during the summer because I actually have time and energy to experiment in the kitchen and create tasty meals for my family (which I LOVE!).  In August, I always like to update the Master Meals list with additions from things we tried over the summer (and possibly since the previous August) that we want to make regular menu appearances.

Second, I take a look at what we might have going on each week.  For example, I know that on Mondays, I teach Oula at 6pm.  During the summer, this is no big deal, because we can just eat early, but during the school year, things change and we get busier, I work later, etc, so I usually try to plan an easy, quick meal, or a crock pot meal on those days.

Third, I usually only plan 4-5 dinners each week.  I know my family well enough to know that we often have days where we say, "Hey, *THIS* sounds super good tonight!" and we go with it.  You can already see from this picture and what I have below that meals got shifted around because of the movie night my kids planned. I also plan at least one leftover day during the week because we end up with a large amount of food sitting in the fridge if I don't. 

The last thing I do is take a look at what I have planned and upcoming for the next week to determine my grocery list.  If I need to do a Costco run, I will try to make sure I buy anything on my list that will keep (I don't usually buy produce at Costco) to get me through the month so that I don't have to make another trip.

All that said... Here is the menu plan for the rest of August (links to recipes included where sources are known):

Thursday 8/11:  Teen Movie night at our house, Papa Murphy's Pizza (starting out easy!!!)
Friday 8/12:  Chicken Penne  *New recipe, might be adding to the master list*
Saturday 8/13: Leftovers (if there's enough), Tacos if not
Sunday 8/14: Pork and asparagus Stir Fry
Monday 8/15: Panini sandwiches and salad
Tuesday 8/16: Chicken Enchiladas (chicken mixture prep in crockpot, then assemble and bake)
Wednesday 8/17: Leftover or Free day
Thursday 8/18: Red Thai Curry
Friday 8/19: Homemade Pizza
Saturday 8/20:
Sunday 8/21:  Both of these days are free days because of company in town, and I'm not sure of the plan at this point.  :)
Monday 8/22:  Chicken Tikka Masala (I usually use this recipe, but I'm trying this recipe to see how it is.)  I'll be back in my classroom this day making sure all is ready, and teaching Oula in the evening, so it's the crock pot to the rescue!
Tuesday 8/23:  Ginger Beef & Veggies *New recipe!!*
Wednesday 8/24: Staff Back to School BBQ... I'll probably bring a pasta salad.
Thursday 8/25: Baked Potato Soup (My youngest has been begging for this even though it's summertime!)
Friday 8/26: Creamy Chicken Picatta
Saturday 8/27: Leftover or Free day
Sunday 8/28: Burgers on the grill and roasted veggies
Monday 8/29: Leftover or free day... It's the last day of summer!!
Tuesday 8/30:  Beef stroganoff... First day of school
Wednesday 8/31:  Pork steak on the grill and grilled zucchini & onions

There you go!  I'll try to let you know how the new recipes turn out, and post September as soon as I get it done!!