#TastyTuesday – Meal Planning, Part #1

This past couple of weeks has been a rough one for T & I. Not for us as a couple in marriage, but for eating! Between many activities and events for the boys as well as our own meetings and indecisions, we’ve not been successful planning meals and executing them. I’m embarrassed to admit that our meals have ranged from Subway to Hamburger Helper to steak & potatoes. We’ve been bad about getting meat out of the freezer ahead of time and planning our meal! So, I was dedicated to making a change this weekend.

I began by sitting down with my recipe box this past Friday and going through every category relating to supper.  I pulled out every recipe card and looked through the recipes and set aside the ones that I “thought” T would eat.  (Let me note here that when I first started dating T, he and the boys had about a 4 meal repertoire and stretching their palates has been a challenge, but we’ve come quite the distance).  I then handed all the cards to T for his approval or denial.  Much to my surprise, he only denied one of them!  I then used my smart phone to place all of the groceries needed on my grocery list!  (I use Grocery IQ every week when forming my list and getting groceries!  I warned T that the grocery bill would be a bit higher than normal, but we were planning roughly 7 meals.  T was excited about the prospect of having meals prepared (or at least the ingredients in the house too)!

So, what did we select?

• 3 Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake
• Chicken Lasagna
• White Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
• Taco Casserole (vague, I know)
• Cowboy Lasagna
• Smothered Chicken Breasts
• Marinated Sirloin Steaks

I began my prepping and cooking this past Sunday!  I decided to tackle the chicken dishes that required cooked chicken and pasta cooking, etc.  I mixed all these up and got them stuck in the freezer.  (During all of this I also had a double batch of chex mix baking…my only holiday baking this year!)

The following weeks will involved recipes for the majority of these!  I won’t claim these recipes as my own, but will admit that I don’t know where they originally came from with the exception of a couple!  So, we’ll see how effective our meal planning is and which ones we really like.  Tell me, do you meal plan?  What is a favorite supper for your family?