Last half of October 2018 Meal Plan

October 18: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
October 19: Bacon Cheddar Soup
October 20: Out at Campground--taking ground beef and lettuce
October 21: Silver Dollar City
October 22: Big Mac Bites
October 23: Shrimp & Sausage Skillet
October 24: Sandwiches/Leftovers
October 25: Grilled Chicken Salad (just a regular salad with some grilled chicken)
October 26: Pan-seared Pork Chops (season with favorite seasoning and cook on stovetop)
October 27: Spaghetti
October 28: Mississippi Chicken Thighs
October 29: Low-Carb Zuppa Toscana Soup
October 30: Grilled Chicken Tacos
October 31: Fast Food

I've been trying to eat healthier so almost all of these are low-carb.  I know that my kids probably won't like some of these, but I'm trying to broaden their taste buds while I get healthy.  Let me know if you try some of these!

January 2018 Meal Plan

Jan  1: Whatever you want
Jan  2: Creamy Chicken Soup (will use frozen egg noodles next time)
Jan  3: Fast food
Jan  4: Sausage and Egg Grilled Cheese
Jan  5: Chili Dogs
Jan  6: Leftovers
Jan  7: Eat Out
Jan  8: Baked Potatoes
Jan  9: Poppyseed Chicken
Jan 10: Fast food before Awana
Jan 11: Beef Stew
Jan 12: Fajita Nachos
Jan 13: Leftovers
Jan 14: Roast
Jan 15: Chicken Marsala
Jan 16: Sloppy Joes
Jan 17: Fast food before Awana
Jan 18: Chicken and Dumplings
Jan 19: Stroganoff
Jan 20: Meatloaf
Jan 21: Eat Out
Jan 22: Oven Fried Chicken
Jan 23: Tacos/Burritos
Jan 24: Fast food before Awana
Jan 25: Baked Ravioli
Jan 26: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Jan 27: Mommy/Daddy Date Night
Jan 28: Slow Cooker Chicken
Jan 29: Pork Chops
Jan 30: Shepherd's Pie
Jan 31: Souper Bowl @ Awana, taking Creamy Chicken and Noodles

November 2017 Meal Plan

Nov  1: Sandwiches
Nov  2: Pizza
Nov  3: Anything
Nov  4: Sloppy Joes
Nov  5: Eat Out
Nov  6: Chicken and Noodles
Nov  7: Tacos/Burritos
Nov  8: Sandwiches
Nov  9: Pork Chops
Nov 10: Poppyseed Chicken
Nov 11: Baked Potato Soup
Nov 12: Chicken Quesadillas
Nov 13: Cube Steak
Nov 14: Spinach Artichoke Chicken
Nov 15: Guy--Chick-Fil-A, Girls--CiCi's
Nov 16: Cheeseburger Soup
Nov 17: Turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls
Nov 18: Stroganoff
Nov 19: Eat Out
Nov 20: Chicken Tenders
Nov 21: Church Thanksgiving Meal
Nov 22-Nov 26: Central Arkansas
Nov 27: Shepherd's Pie
Nov 28: Breakfast
Nov 29: Fast Food before Awana
Nov 30: Sliders

October Meal Plan

Wow, it is October 1st and I actually have the menu plan for this blog up for the month.  October is a super busy month for us so I tried to keep all the meals easy.  

October   1: Out

October   2: Cheese stuffed chicken, twice baked potatoes, parmesan asparagus

October   3: Shepherd's Pie

October   4: Sandwiches or leftovers

October   5: Baked Potato bar

October   6: Chili

October   7: Family Birthday Party

October   8: Potato Soup

October   9: White beans and cornbread

October 10: Baked ravioli, green beans

October 11: Sandwiches or leftovers

October 12: Chicken marsala, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli

October 13: Isaiah's birthday party

October 14: Wedding to attend (dinner provided)

October 15: Roast, potatoes, carrots

October 16: Breakfast-biscuits and gravy, sausage, eggs

October 17: Slow cooker spinach artichoke chicken, mashed potatoes

October 18: Fast food before Awana

October 19-22: Camping

October 23: Chicken and dumplings

October 24: Stroganoff, toast, green beans

October 25: Sandwiches

October 26: Poppyseed chicken, mixed veggies

October 27: Pork chops, carrots, stuffing

October 28: Sloppy joes, chips

October 29: 5th Sunday Fellowship Meal-Chili, pecan pie bars

October 30: Tacos and Burritos

October 31: Sonic $0.50 corn dogs

Last half of September Meal Plan

I never got my meal plan done for September, so I finally sat down today and put together a plan for the remainder of the month.  Starting next week my daughter will have volleyball practices on Wednesdays and Fridays with games on Thursdays and Saturdays.  From now until the end of October those days will be really fast/really simple/crockpot meals.

9/16: Sausage Rotel Dip (we've had a lazy day and just went easy)
9/17: Leftovers
9/18: Calzones and breadsticks
9/19: Shake-n-bake pork chops, carrots, stuffing
9/20: Chick-fil-a school fundraiser
9/21: Orange chicken and fried rice
9/22: BBQ meatballs and mashed potatoes
9/23: Helping friends move
9/24: Out
9/25: Potato Soup
9/26: Turkey breast, green beans, sweet potatoes
9/27: Grab a sandwich or fast food before Awana
9/28: Spaghetti, green beans
9/29: Roast hot dogs and s'mores
9/30: Smoked pork butt, potato salad, baked beans

August Meal Plan

I've had a crazy busy summer and wasn't home for a good portion of it.  Therefore, meal plans were not made.  School starts soon, so I'm back at making my meal plans.  A lot of these are new recipes I'm trying; each new recipe will have a star next to it.  Enjoy!

August  1: Shrimp Boil Foil Packets* (Next time I will use 1/2 the amount of Old Bay in the recipe)

August  2: Chicken Marsala*

August  3: Smoked Sausage & Veggies (I add squash and zucchini to this recipe)

August  4: Baked Ravioli

August  5: Hot Dogs & Nachos

August  6: Eat Out

August  7: Shake & Bake Chicken Legs

August  8: Grilled Pork Chops

August  9: Grilled Chicken Tacos and Cheese Quesadillas

August 10: Awana Kick-Off Block Party (Hot Dogs & Chips provided)

August 11: Chicken Spaghetti

August 12: Taco Salad

August 13: Grilled Burgers

August 14: Fajitas

August 15: Poppyseed Chicken

August 16: Sloppy Joes

August 17: Shepherd's Pie

August 18: Grilled Chicken Drumsticks*

August 19: Broccoli Beef Kebabs*

August 20: Eat Out

August 21: Grilled Pork Loin* (I will use olive oil instead of grapeseed oil)

August 22: Brats & Hot Dogs

August 23: Awana begins (Pizza provided)

August 24: Stroganoff

August 25: Pancakes, bacon, eggs

August 26: Lemon Basil Grilled Pork Chops*

August 27: Salisbury Steak

August 28: Shrimp Boil Foil Packets (it was so good tonight that I want it again soon!)

August 29: New York Strip & Ribeye Steaks (I found some marked down today, so we get some yummy steak!)

August 30: Grilled Cheese

August 31: Stuffed Zucchini (I used cream cheese instead of marscapone)

April Meal Plan

April  1: Hot Dogs and Nachos

April  2: Out

April  3: Homemade Pizzas

April  4: Italian Chicken, herb roasted potatoes

April  5: Grabbing fast food before Awana

April  6: Pork Chops, stuffing, carrots

April  7: Countdown to Disney (Robin Hood & Fox and the Hound) Little John chicken nuggets, Robin Hood's rolls, Friar Tuck's Tots, Copper's chocolate cobbler, Todd's (ice) Cream

April  8: BLTs

April  9: Pulled pork, cole slaw

April 10: Poppyseed chicken, mixed veggies

April 11: Grilled steak & shrimp, squash and zucchini

April 12: Grilled cheese

April 13: Ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls

April 14: Countdown to Disney (Little Mermaid & Beauty and the Beast) Ursuala Dogs, Ariel's Shells and Cheese, Lumiere's Grey Stuff, Beast's Rose Petals (strawberries)

April 15: Sloppy Joes, chips

April 16: Easter Sunday

April 17: Almond crusted salmon, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes

April 18: Tacos

April 19: Sandwiches

April 20: Stroganoff, green beans, toast

April 21: Countdown to Disney (Aladdin & Lion King) Prince Ali's kabobs w/ Sultan Sauce, Aladdin's stolen bread, Abu's stolen apples, Timon & Pumba's bugs in dirt, Nala's zebra cakes

April 22: Brats & Hot Dogs, potato salad

April 23: Out

April 24: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread

April 25: Roasted smoked sausage & veggies

April 26: Leftovers

April 27: Taco ring

April 28: Countdown to Disney (Pocahontas & Toy Story) Buffalo in a blanket, Meeko's corn, Alien cupcakes, Woody's ice cream round-up

April 29: Sunday Ham Sandwiches, chips

April 30: 5th Sunday Fellowship Meal-Spinach Artichoke Turkey Casserole, Banana Pudding

March Meal Plan

Not off to such a great start this year for blogging.  February brought a lot of sickness to our house so my meal plan got altered and repeated and given up on several times.  I never even posted what I originally intended for the month.
March has flown by too quickly and here I am just a few days before the end of the month finally putting in our plan.

March  1: Grab fast food before Awana
March  2: Taco Ring (huge hit with kids, need to make more next time)
March  3: Countdown to Disney Movie Night (Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland), Pirate Pizza, White Rabbit Carrots, Caterpillar Donuts, Captain Hook's Treasure (popcorn & M & M's)
March  4: We ate out
March  5: Out
March  6: Breakfast
March  7: Shake-n-Bake chicken
March  8: Sandwiches
March  9: Chicken and pineapple skewers
March 10: Countdown to Disney (Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty), Spaghetti,fresh farm salad, fairy dust popcorn,  birthday cake
March 11: Sliders--didn't do this, did leftovers or something
March 12: Stuff in a Bowl fundraiser at church
March 13: Roast
March 14: Pork Chops
March 15: Awana Grand Prix--hot dogs there
March 16: Leftovers
March 17: Countdown to Disney, (101 Dalmatians & Jungle Book) Dog Bones (crescent wrapped hot dogs), Cruella's cole slaw, King Louie's monkey bread, Baloo's gummy bears
March 18: Burgers
March 19: Out
March 20: Taco Salad
March 21: Roasted Hot Dogs and S'mores
March 22: Pork Chops
March 23: Sandwiches
March 24: Countdown to Disney (Mary Poppins), Bert's Fish and Chips, Mary POPpins corn, Spoonful of sugar pops
March 25: Sliders
March 26: Shepherd's pie
March 27: Baked Ravioli
March 28: Pancakes, bacon, eggs
March 29: Sandwiches
March 30: Hot Dogs & Nachos
March 31: KB's Birthday party

January Meal Plan

I did meal plan in November and December, I just never got it posted.  Here's to trying to post each month this year.

January 1:   Ham, mashed potatoes
January 2:   Steak, salad
January 3;   Venison Fajitas
January 4:   Chili
January 5:   Sloppy Joes
January 6:   Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
January 7:   Beef Stew, homemade bread
January 8:   Eat out after church
January 9:   Roasted Chicken, smashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese
January 10: Shake-n-Bake Pork Chops, stovetop stuffing, carrots
January 11: Spaghetti
January 12: Chicken and Dumplings
January 13: Shepherd's Pie
January 14: Pork loin, roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus
January 15: Chicken in Crockpot
January 16: Steak Fingers and gravy, mashed potatoes
January 17: Stir Fry
January 18: Sunday Ham Sandwiches
January 19: Potato Soup
January 20: Poppyseed Chicken (I leave out the cheese), mixed veggies
January 21: Slow Country Boil
January 22: Out after church
January 23: Tacos
January 24: Burgers, baked beans, salad
January 25: Sandwiches
January 26: Pulled pork, coleslaw
January 27: Enchiladas
January 28: Sausage and veggies (I also add yellow squash and zucchini)
January 29: Baked Ravioli, brownies (We have our 5th Sunday Fellowship at church)
January 30: Chicken tenders, green beans
January 31: Happy Birthday to me, dinner at Market Place

Meal Plan for September 19-September 31

It's been a while since I've done my menu planning.  I'm back at it now.  We are trying a couple new recipes this month, I will notate them with an asterisk.  Most meals have a link to the recipe.

September 19: Chicken Spaghetti

September 20: Taco Salad

September 21: Awana--Sandwiches

September 22: Monterrey Chicken

September 23: Stuffed Zucchini*

September 24: Leftovers

September 25: Potato Soup

September 26: Breakfast Casserole

September 27: Grilled Chicken Tacos*

September 28: Awana--Sandwiches

September 29: Chicken & Dumplings

September 30: In Missouri

April Menu Plan

April  1: Eat out
April  2: Pizza
April  3: Chili lunch at church
April  4: Taco Salad
April  5: Pork Chops, roasted green beans
April  6: Awana
April  7: Poppyseed chicken, mixed veggies
April  8: Hamburgers & Hot dogs, baked beans
April  9: Grilled Steak & Shrimp, squash & zucchini
April 10: Eating Out
April 11: Turkey Breast, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli
April 12: Stir fry with "fried" rice
April 13: Awana
April 14: Chicken strips, corn, roasted potatoes
April 15: Baked ravioli, green beans, garlic bread
April 16: Pork loin, broccoli, baked potato
April 17: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, carrots
April 18: Chicken fajitas
April 19: Shepherd's pie
April 20: Awana
April 21: Grilled steak kebabs, grilled veggies
April 22: Monterrey chicken, salad, roasted sweet potato (Happy Birthday, Manda!)
April 23: Baseball night (nachos & hot dogs)
April 24: Eat Out
April 25: Taco Bar
April 26: BBQ Nachos
April 27: Awana
April 28: Baked potato bar
April 29: Roast, potatoes, carrots
April 30: Stroganoff, green beans, toast

March's Menu

I did not really plan a menu in February and our budget really took a hit.  I can very easily stay in budget when I meal plan.

March  1: No meal plan made up yet, so we ate at Whataburger
March  2: Awana
March  3: Fried Chicken strips, crushed potatoes, broccoli and cheese
March  4: Stroganoff, salad, toast
March  5: Daddy/Daughter Dance & Date, Mother/Son Chick-fil-A
March  6: Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken
March  7: Pork chops, stuffing, carrots
March  8: Baked Ravioli, salad, garlic bread
March  9: Awana
March 10: Smoked Sausage & Veggie Bake
March 11: Breakfast--Sausage, pancakes, eggs
March 12: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, veggie (?)
March 13: Eat Out
March 14: Shepherd's Pie
March 15: Birthday Party
March 16: Awana
March 17: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread
March 18: Tacos/Burritos, pick up cheese dip from Mexican Restaurant
March 19-23: Spring Break Trip
March 24: Sandwiches, chips, veggies
March 25: SDC
March 26: Ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans
March 27: Easter Sunday
March 28: Karlee picks for her birthday
March 29: Pulled Pork, cole slaw, potato salad
March 30: Awana
March 31: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs, leftover slaw & potato salad

November Meal Plan

We are entering the busy holidays season.  I hope to be able to keep up and get meals planned even during this time.   The meal plan for November has been finished and I hope to have December's done before November is over.  A good portion of this month's menu is a repeat from last month, I have been fighting junk for over 3 weeks and never really felt like cooking so we had a lot of nights of PB&J or macaroni.

11/01: Eat Out
11/02: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread
11/03: Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, carrots
11/04: Awana
11/05-11/08: Out of town for my sister's wedding
11/09: Chili, homemade bread
11/10: Poppyseed chicken, mixed veggies
11/11: Awana
11/12: Chicken & Dumplings
11/13: Shepherd's Pie
11/14: SDC
11/15: Stroganoff, green beans, toast
11/16: Potato soup, homemade bread
11/17: Cornflake baked chicken, broccoli & cheese, roasted potatoes
11/18: Awana
11/19: Pork chops, stuffing, carrots
11/20: Monterrey Chicken, salad, rolls
11/21: Baked ravioli, green beans, garlic bread
11/22: Eat Out
11/23: Cheesy Veggie Chowder, homemade bread
11/24: Church Thanksgiving Meal (taking Banana Pudding & Sweet Potatoes)
11/25: Breakfast
11/26: Thanksgiving (sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, rolls)
11/27: Crockpot Beef & Noodles
11/28: Texas Toast Pizza
11/29: Taco Soup, cornbread
11/30: Pork loin, broccoli & cheese

Last Half of September and all of October Plans

So, I filled out my menu and then forgot to come post it here.  Sorry!  Here is what was on the menu.  Most of what was planned for October has yet to be eaten.  We've had a very crazy busy month and a round of sickness.  Hopefully we'll get back on track this week, and I will try to post November's menu later in the week.
09/14: Stroganoff, green beans
09/15: Fried Chicken, crushed potatoes
09/16: Awana
09/17: Ham, roasted sweet potatoes, bread
09/18: Grilled cheese, tomato or veggie soup
09/19: SDC
09/20: Roast, carrots, potatoes
09/21: Pork loin, broccoli & cheese
09/22: Baked Ravioli (I add ground beef to my sauce), green beans, garlic bread
09/23: Awana
09/24: White beans with ham, cornbread
09/25: Chicken enchiladas, white queso
09/26: Family member's birthday party
09/27: Beef & broccoli, rice
09/28: Taco Soup
09/29: Pork chops, carrots, stuffing
09/30: Awana
10/01: Chili
10/02: Summer Sausage & Veggie Bake (I add squash & zucchini)
10/03: Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes
10/04: Eat Out after church
10/05: Chicken & Dumplings
10/06: Lasagna, salad, bread
10/07: Awana
10/08: Irish Stew
10/09: Poppyseed chicken, mixed veggies
10/10: Zaiah's bday party
10/11: ?
10/12: Cheesy Veggie Chowder
10/13: Zaiah's choice for his bday
10/14: Awana
10/15: Grilled cheese & tomato or veggie soup
10/16: Shepherd's Pie
10/17: SDC
10/18: Out
10/19: Potato Soup
10/20: Cornflake baked chicken, roasted potatoes & carrots
10/21: Awana
10/22: Meatballs, green beans
10/23: Breakfast for dinner
10/24: Monterrey Chicken
10/25: Leftovers
10/26: Spaghetti
10/27: Steak & Potato Soup
10/28: Awana
10/29: French Onion Crockpot Chicken, broccoli & cheese
10/30: Pork chops, carrots, stuffing
10/31: Halloween, $0.50 corndogs @ Sonic

Change it Up

Like I stated before, I don't always stick to the menu.  However, when I do change it up I make sure that I have the ingredients at home already.  Last night while scrolling through Facebook I saw that a couple of people had shared a recipe for chocolate gravy and biscuits.  The kids and I love chocolate gravy (Adam thinks it's too sweet for a breakfast food).  After seeing it posted a few times, I began craving it.  Therefore, tonight's dinner has changed.  Actually this week has changed a couple times now.  We were scheduled to have poppy seed chicken on Tuesday, but I had to have some emergency tests ran on Tuesday and everything got thrown off.  We all just ate whatever we could find for dinner, and we had the poppy seed chicken last night.  Tonight was then supposed to be Texas toast pizzas and now it is being changed to breakfast for dinner.  We will have biscuits, gravy, chocolate gravy, bacon, ham, eggs, and maybe hash browns.

I just wanted to show y'all that just because I make a menu does not, by any means, mean that I have each meal on the exact date that I put it.  Everything is flexible!

Planning Ahead

A couple days before I made my menu I decided that I would take a couple of the meals, double them while I make the dish and then freeze one of them. This way I will slowly build a supply and then have something ready for those crazy nights. This time I will be doubling the poppyseed chicken and the chicken enchiladas. For the poppyseed chicken I will leave off the crackers. When I make freezer meals I put them in disposable aluminum pans, cover with plastic wrap and then cover again with foil. I also will write the name of the dish and the instructions to finish it on the foil. This is for nights when I won't be home or I am sick and I turn dinner over to my husband. That should say 1 stick of butter for 2 sleeves of crackers.

Meal Plan August 17-September 2

Here is the plan for the next couple weeks:

8/17: Brats, hot dogs, potato salad
8/18: Poppyseed Chicken, mixed vegetables (I don't really use a recipe for this, but this is close)
8/19: Texas Toast Pizza
8/20: Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes
8/21: Burritos & Tacos, chips & salsa
8/22: Pork loin, roasted potatoes, green beans
8/23: Out for lunch
8/24: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots (as the blog suggests, I use 1/2 the amount of brown sugar)
8/25: Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans
8/26: AWANA (pizza provided)
8/27: Pork chops, stuffing, carrots
8/28: Stroganoff, green beans, toast
8/29: Chicken enchiladas
8/30: Casual Sunday at church, taking Brats & Hot Dogs to grill, potato salad, brownies
8/31: White Beans with ham, cornbread
9/1: Baked ravioli, salad, garlic toast
9/2: AWANA (sandwiches or fast food)

If you have any questions about anything I've listed, comment and I'll try to let you know!

Welcome

Meal planning is something that is a must for our family.  If I don't plan what we will eat during each pay period then we will either eat out WAY too much or go over budget on groceries because of all the running into the store I have to do for each meal.
There have been a few times that people have asked me what is on the menu when they know that I have been working on my menu.  Therefore, this blog will serve as a place to put all of my meals so that others can see what we eat as well as a place that I can go to to find what I had planned.  When I post the menu I will include a link to the recipe if that recipe is available online.  Most will be because I do not really enjoy to cook and I do not have my mother's skills of just throwing ingredients together to make an amazing dish.  Look out later today for our menu for the last half of August into the first week of September.  You will notice dates next to meals, but I am very flexible and will change things around if I decide that doesn't sound good for that night or if something comes up and I don't have the time for the dish I originally had planned.