Eat at Home

This week has been a blur for me.  I’m not sure exactly why.  Maybe because Jim traveled out of town on two trips for work this week.  Or because it’s summer and we’ve fallen out of any kind of routine.

I did shop with a list last week and sort of followed it.  I really need to print out the Display Menus that come with the Weekly Meal Plans so I have the list of meals in my line of vision all week.  That really does help me when I do it (and not doing it is part of that “falling out of a routine” thing I mentioned).

I took my 10 year old grocery shopping with me last week and she decided we should have Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil for one meal.  It wasn’t on the list, but it’s an easy one to pick up ingredients for.  Unfortunately, the can of anchovies I picked up looked like someone took a hammer to the bottom of it.  I didn’t notice that until I started making the meal and I was afraid to use it for fear the can had air leaking into it.  Don’t you hate it when you get something home that’s damaged or already gone bad?

One goal I have this summer is to shop regularly at the farmer’s market.  I thought about joining a CSA, but decided it was going to be more expensive than I wanted.  And we would have to go pick up the food each week.  And there was no choice about what we got.  It just made more sense to shop the farmer’s market.

I’m trying to buy new things each week that we haven’t tried before.  I’d like to expand the number and type of veggies that we eat.  Here’s a photo of what I bought last weekend:

Two basil plants for the garden, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber, eggs, baby turnips and garlic scapes.  I also bought an herb seasoning packet for veggies that’s really good.  The cauliflower and baby turnips we ate raw with lunches.  The garlic scapes were the new item for the week.  I diced them and added them to some sauteed veggies that we had with eggs.  I also added them to the Mandarin Chicken and Rice Casserole I made later in the week.

On Monday, Jim was out of town.  The kids talked me into making Nachos.  It’s a quick and easy meal we all like.  And I almost always have all the ingredients for them.

Tuesday, I grilled chicken for dinner.  I usually grill a whole bag of frozen breasts or tenders.  That way, the extras can be frozen for later.  Having cooked meat in the freezer is the best short cut for cooking.

On Wednesday, my youngest son talked me into doing this:

We finished this room back in the Spring, but had never gotten around to painting it.  Isaac was good help.  We managed to get the first coat on before running out of paint.

For dinner, I tried a new side dish in the slow cooker.  It worked!  I’ll share soon.  We also had Mandarin Chicken Rice Casserole which I adapted for what I had on hand.  I used the grilled chicken from the night before.  The garlic scapes went in, instead of onion.  And I was out of soy sauce, but there was a smidgen of Mandarin sauce in the fridge, so I used that.  It turned out great!

Thursday night, Jim was gone again.  We had pancakes.

And Friday, we had an early Father’s Day celebration when Jim got back in town.  We grilled hamburgers for dinner.  Then made smores on the fire pit we gave to Jim.  He’s been wanting one for a long time, so I think we made him happy with this gift!

Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s meal plans.  When you join the Weekly Meal Plan list, you get the grocery list and printable recipes with side dishes included.  You can find out more about how to get them delivered to your inbox by clicking here.

Slow Cooker Plan

Traditional Plan

1. Lemon Pepper Tilapia with Veggies
   
2. BBQ Pepper Jack Chicken 
   
3. Mandarin Chicken Rice Bake
   
4. Chipped Beef Gravy over cornbread 
   
5. Green Chili Beef Enchiladas 
6. Chicken Gyros
   
7. Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting