{December Meal Plan}

December is a fun month to plan because there are always so many parties and things to plan around, it gets my meal planning creative juices flowing.  I love holiday baking and all the fun holiday foods that we never seem to eat at any other time of the year.  Parties and special days are great for whipping up a tried and true recipe for a favorite dip or cookie to take along.  It's not always so good for my waistline, though!

I also had the chance to purchase a new kitchen gadget this month with the great Cyber Monday deals.  I got an Instant Pot through Amazon for a great deal.  I'm still learning this new gadget, but so far, I am liking it!  However, this post is about my menu plan for the month, not my new kitchen toy, so here is the plan:

Week 1:
1st (Thursday): Crock Pot Chicken (but instead of cooking it all day, I used my new Instant Pot and went from frozen to done in about 30 minutes).
2nd (Friday): Pizza (couples night, we had Papa Murphy's)
3rd (Saturday): Leftovers (and a new Mac and cheese recipe to test out the new toy)
4th (Sunday): Pot Roast

Week 2:
5th (Monday): Enchilada Casserole (I have had this in the freezer and I have a late meeting, so it's perfect for Jon to just throw in the oven and bake it til it's done!)
6th (Tuesday): Creamy Chicken Piccata (going to try it in the IP, because we also have a strings concert for the youngest)
7th (Wednesday): Spaghetti
8th (Thursday): Homemade Pizza
9th (Friday): Chili
10th (Saturday): Leftovers (also my big cookie baking day for a couple of fun events later in the month!)
11th (Sunday): Paninis

Week 3:
12th (Monday): Chicken teriyaki with rice
13th (Tuesday):  Beef Stew
14th (Wednesday):  ???  Still thinking about this one.  Possibly Ramnoodle and Kielbasa
15th (Thursday):  Beef Stroganoff
16th (Friday):  Potato Soup
17th (Saturday):  Leftovers  (I have a fun Christmas event this day, to which I'll also be taking my favorite artichoke dip.)
18th (Sunday):  Tacos

Week 4:
19th (Monday): Leftover Tacos
20th (Tuesday): Stromboli
21st (Wednesday):  ??? Gotta leave some room for fun during Winter Break.
22nd (Thursday): ??? 
23rd (Friday): Chicken with Angel Hair and Bearnaise sauce
24th (Saturday):  Christmas Eve: we are hosting a dinner at our church.  I'm supplying a roasted turkey.
25th (Sunday):  Christmas!!  We are traveling.

From here, the menu plan gets a little more open and free flowing.  We will be traveling for at least 3 days of the next week, which means little cooking for me (yay) but also eating out probably.  Once we get back, it will be enjoying the last few days of Winter break before we go back to school on January 3rd.  I may want to use that time to create culinary masterpieces (ha!) for my family, or I might want to use the time to enjoy being with my family.  Or maybe a combination of both.  Either way, it'll all come together.
Enjoy your December, and Merry Christmas!!

xo,
Becca

{Menu Monday}

Track season has begun, Spring is just around the corner, and March is a fun time at the Meek household.  This week, we have St. Patrick's day performances and track practices, Oula classes, and Daylight Savings.  It should be a good week, except for losing that one hour...

Here's the plan for the week:

Monday:  Jon cooks  :)

Tuesday:  Chicken on the grill with Pesto Penne (with sauteed portobello, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese), roasted sweet potatoes

Wednesday:  Spaghetti, caesar salad, garlic bread

Thursday:  Italian Wedding Soup (Jon's mom's recipe)

Friday:  "Tammy's Chicken," (chicken with a spicy paprika rub and mustard/tarragon sauce), roasted potatoes, pear gorgonzola salad

Saturday:  Leftover Day! (Set those clocks ahead before you go to bed!!)

Sunday:  Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, Cheesy veggies

Next week will be busier.  It's times like this when I am thankful that I took the time to make my plan earlier, because then it's done!  There are lots of ways to meal plan, and my approach works for me.  I've tried shopping and planning based on weekly sales, I've tried a basic monthly/weekly plan, I've tried theme nights (Meatless Monday, Chicken Wednesday, etc.), but this more low key approach is what works for me.  What have you tried with menu planning that has worked for you?  What have you tried that hasn't worked?  Meal planning is all about adaptation and finding a system that works for you!!

Have a great week!!

{Menu Monday... Or not.}

With my attempt to rejoin the blogosphere, one goal that I have made for myself is to begin posting my weekly menus again.  I enjoy menu posts, because I always get inspiration from reading those posts from other bloggers.  Today isn't Monday, but I'd like to post this week's menu anyway, so that anyone interested can see the whole month and follow my family's progress and see how we do in our goals to eat at home more frequently.  So, without further ado, here we go:

Monday: Jon cooks: Spaghetti {Jon and I made an agreement a few months ago that he would plan and cook for Mondays, to give me one day a week to relax.}

Tuesday:  Rahmnudeln, Polska Kielbasa, and Cabbage

Wednesday:  Lettuce Wraps

Thursday:  Grilled cheese and tomato soup + Salad for those of us who want some green

Friday:  Homemade pizza with all the fixins

Saturday: is usually leftover day, but we are doing a quick overnighter away and will eat with family

Sunday: We travel home this day, so lunch after church will be out with family, and then we will scavenge the leftovers in the fridge for dinner when we get home.

So there you have it!!  Enjoy!