I am such a list maker. If I don’t have a list of things that need done (or need cooking), I will forget that I was supposed to accomplish anything at all. I’ve even been known to make lists of my lists, when life get especially busy.
Last week, we introduced printable Display Menus to the Weekly Meal Plan Service. The Display Menus are meant to be printed and posted on the fridge or near your calendar. I keep mine on the fridge, like you see in the photo above. I love having it handy to consult each day.
I don’t make the meals in the order they are listed. Instead, I try to match up the best meals for the best days. Meaning, if I have time to fix dinner in the morning, but not in the evening then a slow cooker meal is a good choice. Or if I know that we’ll all be getting in a different times, I can plan for that too. With soccer season started back up, the dinner schedule gets a little crazy sometimes.
Here’s how it worked for us this week.
Sunday, after church we had 10 Minute French Dip Sandwiches. Really quick and easy, but we got home from church very late and we were all starving! I had bought a bag of potato chips (Mike Sells brand and if you live near Cincinnati you know how good they are!). We plowed through almost the whole bag of chips waiting for lunch to be ready. If you’re looking for more after church meals, check out this post.
Monday, I made South of the Border Skillet.
On Tuesday, we had several soccer practices to juggle in different parts of town. I prepped Tilapia, Tomato and Artichoke Heart Salad and broccoli then drove across town for soccer. I left instructions for Jim, so he could pop the fish in the oven before the rest of us got home. I swapped side dishes for this meal too, since the artichoke salad was to be served with a different meal. It’s just a guideline though. Make it work for you.
Wednesday night, the boys left early for youth group and Jim got home late. We had Chipotle Lime Chicken Scampi on the grill, but we ate it in shifts. It was gorgeous outside that day and I was able to grill enough chicken for this meal and to stock some away in the freezer. Our grill could use some work though, since only two of the burners would light.
Thursday is our long day. I’m always thankful if I get dinner in the crockpot that morning. This week, I was super organized. I had browned out the hamburger when I came in from the grocery on Saturday, then froze it. That made stirring a big pot of Taco Soup together easy. I did that job on Wednesday night and we had Taco Soup on Thursday and again on Saturday evening.
This happened on Friday:
My boys got dressed up to go to the Spring formal. They learned to tie a bow tie, had dinner out with friends and danced a lot. Fun stuff!
Jim and I ended up taking our youngest daughter out to dinner. She chose Carino’s. Yum! We did a little shopping afterward. I debated on getting these shoes. I left the store without them, but I’m still pondering making the purchase.
They are super comfy. I texted that photo to my sister and she wasn’t too sure about them. My niece said they look “old lady-ish”. Of course, my niece is 13, so everything looks old lady-ish to her. What do you think? Buy them or not?
That was our week in a nutshell. Probably more than you ever wanted to know. Hopefully, it gives you a look into how I use the Weekly Meal Plans for my family and gives you ideas for your family.
Here’s a sneak peek at the menus for this week. If you want the complete grocery list, side dishes, cooking tips and all delivered to your inbox, check out the Weekly Meal Plans page.
Traditional Plan
- Chipotle Lime Chicken Scampi
- 10 Minute French Dip Sandwiches
- Tilapia with veggies baked in foil packets
- Hamburger Stroganoff
- South of the Border Skillet
- Taco Soup
- Easy Apple Crumb Cake
All Slow Cooker Plan
- Crockpot Cantonese Sweet and Sour Beef
- Sunday Chicken Dinner with mashed cauliflower
- Tilapia with veggies baked in foil packets
- Chicken and Gravy over Rice
- Beef Stew
- Beef Philly Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker
- Easy Apple Crumb Cake
