In an effort to be a whole lot more organized this year, and because everyone is always posting what delicious food they make, here is what I have been serving my family for the past week. I also envision this being a detailed account of how I fail miserably at meal planning when life gets too busy. But hey, it’s real life. Speaking of real life, I am not and never will be a food blogger. If I ever were to post food pictures for you, I apologize in advance for how awful they are.
- Saturday: Saturdays tend to be our socializing day, and this weekend was no exception. The kids fended for themselves as Jim and I had plans with friends for dinner at a local steakhouse and drinks. Yes, in that order. We do live in Wisconsin after all.
- Sunday: I don’t know about you but there is something about Sundays that call for comfort food. Wisconsin weather has not decided whether to usher in spring completely or not, so the temperatures are still low enough to want a fire or at least wear a few cozy layers. This Sunday, in addition to wearing my favorite lounge wear, I longed for the delicious simplicity of scalloped potatoes and ham. It is one of those family recipes for which I need no directions or ingredient list, even though I’m sure one exists somewhere. It is not a fancy dish or even remotely pretty when you start mixing everything together, but it certainly makes you feel better about having to face the work week.
- Monday: I am always leery about using the slow cooker when no one is at home to monitor it. Thankfully, the kids were home today thanks to spring break, so they were on babysitting duty for tonight’s dinner of Sour Cream Pork Chops. We changed it up a bit by getting a pork loin and cutting it into large chunks. I served it over rice alongside a vegetable. So delicious.
- Tuesday: I had a nice dinner planned, but when I went to pull out some of the ingredients from the fridge, I decided it was eat-out-the-fridge night. Honestly, I couldn’t see the back of my fridge due to all the leftovers from the last few days. No one minded. In fact, Holly, Jim and I fought to get some of last night’s pork chops. So, I get a much cleaner fridge, and everyone got to revisit their favorite recent meal.
- Wednesday: Even though the weather was definitely not grilling weather, I had planned to make this Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken and serve it with my homemade macaroni and cheese, and that is what we did. The two dishes have absolutely nothing to do with each other and in fact tasted pretty awful when eaten together. But, I wanted macaroni and cheese but felt I needed to serve it with a protein to assuage my guilt at all of that cheesy goodness. Everyone was happy, so that is all that matters.
- Thursday: Jim had his farewell party tonight, and Connor was over at his friend’s house. That left just us girls for dinner. We took some of the leftover chicken from last night and combined it with some rice I had made earlier in the week to make impromptu burrito bowls. It was nothing fancy but it did the trick.
- Friday: Holly had a sleepover tonight with her bestie, and she chose make-your-own pizza for dinner tonight. We grabbed the dough, sauce, cheese and various other toppings at the grocery store and had the girls have fun. I also suggested chocolate-covered strawberries, so the girls had fun making those too. I think Holly had more chocolate on her than she did on the strawberries! It was a fun night.
Two weeks in a row, I am on a roll. It feels good to have meals planned for the family like this and stick to the plan. Plus, since I have it all written down in the menu binder along with the recipes, when the kids complain about being hungry, I can just point to the binder and tell them to get started. Hehehehe.
********************
What was for dinner at your house this week?
