Meal Plans on Monday

Are you stuck in a meal planning rut? Do you make the same two things for dinner each week OR, since you kids you might just make sandwiches or cereal or - Lord help my baby weight - order a pizza. Tell me I'm not the only one....

After perusing pinterest and a few other foodie sites yesterday, I decided it might be fun to start sharing my meal planning efforts here on the blog. I read a quote recently that says if you fail to plan, you're planning to fail - so let's make a plan together! Maybe you'd do the same and leave a link in the comments so that we can all get inspired by your meal plans too? I have three littles, so it can get a little bit complicated, but I also get huge joy out of cooking a homemade and semi-healthy dinner for my family. So the efforts will start here. 

Monday // 

{L} Toasted Cibatta Sandwiches This was suggested by Jen Hatmaker in one of Jamie Ivey's Happy Hour podcasts. On grocery store day she basically makes a sandwich bar for dinner. I usually do it for dinner, but today it's lunch. It always makes enough that I get to pack a "slice" in the kids' lunches on Tuesday. Win Win. 

{D} Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas + Salad + Chips and Homemade Salsa This makes enough to feed our family twice, especially if the hubby isn't home. So I usually make two pans and freeze one - or if I'm taking a meal to another family like I am this week, I use the extra pan for that.

Tuesday // 

{B} Cinnamon Rolls + Bacon It's Brady's birthday!

{L} Salad for me, Leftover sandwiches for kiddos

{D} Fine Arts Showcase + Birthday Dinner Out Woot!

Wednesday //

{L} Leftover Chicken Enchiladas for me + Charlotte 

{D} Fish Tacos with Rainbow Red Cabbage + Mango Slaw from Practical Paleo Cookbook Similar Slaw recipe here     I use organic frozen fish from Kroger and bake it in the oven or fry it in the skillet in a bit of olive oil and season it up with chili powder, salt and pepper

Thursday //

{L} Salad for me with leftover fish

{D} Ham & Cheese Gnocchi + Chopped Salad This is not at all semi-healthy but I've been wanting to try it forever and I think my kids would love it. Besides, food makes me seriously happy when it's cheesy, hot and yummy.

Friday // 

{B} Cinnamon Roll Ups + Fresh Fruit Cinnamon roll ups are one of the kiddos favorites for breakfast. Crescent rolls sprinkled with cinnamon + sugar and then rolled up and baked. Easy as pie.

{L} Leftovers from dinner + Salad 

{D} Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon + Creamy Polenta Jeff got me Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and it was my very favorite present. I haven't even cooked out of it much yet because, again - with the kids. I'm so looking forward to welcoming my hubby home from work with a meal that fills the house up with an amazing smell!

Saturday // 

{B} Bacon + Egg Quiche

{L} Leftovers

{D} Out

Sunday // 

{L} BBQ Chicken in the Crockpot - Make your own meal I love BBQ Chicken in the crockpot. I stick frozen chicken breasts {or tenders or thighs or whatever I have} in the crockpot on top of some sliced onions. Then I pour in a bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce + call it a day. The kids and I can eat off of this all week if we want. We make pizza, tacos, sandwiches, wraps, you name it. Nachos are some of my favorite things to make with this shredded BBQ Chicken. It's easy to stick in the crockpot before church. 

{D} Make your own Pizza. I like this recipe for dough - if I feel like making the dough. If not, I'll buy a boboli crust or frozen crust from Central Market. This week, I hope to bring back the chicken alfredo pizza that Jeff and I rocked weekly last year. 

So you might be saying "Wait, I thought her word for the year was c l e a n ..... and these meals aren't necessarily clean." Well... you're right. However, my goal toward clean this month is simply to make meals more than buy meals.... you feel me? More on my goals toward clean tomorrow. 

I hope that you find some meal inspiration here on the Little Branches Blog!! What are you planning this week?

*** if breakfast isn't listed, it is not because we won't be eating breakfast that day - so please don't call CPS. It's because we will just be pulling out something from our rotation of pop tarts, yogurt + granola, cereal or waffles. How do you like that for "clean"?

Snow {ICE} Days are for ___________________.

Ice Snow days are for Lego building, lemonade mixing, bread baking, fireplace hovering, littles cuddling, tent making, cookie eating, tea sipping, book reading, movie watching, bath taking and the like. Can we have another one please?

gigi's plain jane king ranch chicken. {a recipe}.

last week i posted over on my instagram that i'm getting my freezer ready for the baby's arrival. i'm ready to WANT to want to eat again. everything tastes off right now due to this yucky metallic taste in my mouth and not very much room left in my belly. i feel newly pregnant again with the nausea and exhaustion only with a HUUUUGE belly and spots on my face. 

it's fabulous.

either way, life goes on. 

i was at the grocery store monday and the checker asked me how much longer i have. i told her i was about three weeks away and she promptly told me i needed to go home and lay down. 

that would be awesome. 

but i have three other mouths to feed, soccer practice to get to, a business to run {and stock up} and a house to maintain. 

all blessings. 

but it doesn't stop when you're pregnant, does it? some days i wish i were to be put on mandatory bedrest. then i would HAVE to stop and rest and everyone else would just have to figure it out. 

but then i feel guilty for those thoughts because i feel incredibly blessed with my healthy children, hubby, my job, my church and my community. it's just a season, i continue to tell myself. it's just a season. 

at this point i think i'll feel like a million bucks when the baby arrives. despite the sleep deprivation i think i just might physically feel better! let's keep praying for that together, shall we? 

okay - so as i was saying - i'm getting my freezer ready. 

this is one of my go to meals - or should i say it used to be. i made it SOOOOO much that it kind of got retired but now i'm bringing it back. 

please note that this is NOT my recipe. it's my friend summer's. years ago we put together a 'friends and family' cookbook benefiting our church's pregnancy center and this was one of the recipes she contributed. it's awesome, easy and everyone loves it. {except my picky eater - but i don't really pay attention to what he likes and doesn't like today. it changes with the wind.}

gigi's plain jane king ranch chicken

**i doubled it and made one casserole for that night and one to freeze. to heat it up after freezing, bake at 325, covered for 45 - 50 minutes and then uncovered for 10-15 minutes until hot + bubbly. i like to sprinkle with extra cheddar at the end too if i have it.**

ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts, boiled + shredded {our kroger carries already shredded chicken breasts in the deli section and i like to keep that on hand for meals like this! that way i don't even have to boil the chicken!}

1 package taco seasoning

1 can cream of chicken soup {YES, i used cream of chicken. shoot me.}

1 package grated mexican cheese {8 oz} 

1 can rotel {i drain it so it's a thicker 'sauce'}

8 corn tortillas {you can also use tortilla chips if you find yourself in a bind!}

directions:

boil chicken and then cut or tear into small pieces. combine chicken, taco seasoning, cream of chicken, cheese and rotel. mix well. spray dish with pam. tear tortillas into small pieces and use them to cover the bottom of the dish. pour chicken mixture into the dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

enjoy with chips + salsa and a southwestern salad! 

you're welcome.

 

on eating.

did y'all know that my brother is a chef? 

like a real, classically trained at a REAL culinary school chef? 

yup. that's right. 

he's actually a bartender now in dallas at a restaurant called bolsa. it's a great place in the bishop arts district and they have awesome food. if you're in the area you should definitely give a try. 

anyway. back to my brother. 

a few months back i had mentioned to him that what i wanted for christmas was for him to come over, take me to the grocery store, look through my pantry, etc. and teach me the cooking basics. 

i'm really good at preparing elaborately planned meals from recipes. pioneer woman & paula deen are my favorites. real women know how to use butter, can i get an amen? 

but it's those tuesday night dinners that shauna niequist talks about in her book that i struggle with. the everyones-hungry-the-laundry-isn't-done-but-i-have-to-cook-something meals. the ones where everyone's had a long day {including YOU} and you just want to order a pizza but you know what would be best for you would be a yummy home cooked meal. 

you got me? 

and for Christmas, as my littles were handing out all of the presents,  c comes over with a small, flat tissue-wrapped package for me that said "from cam."

i knew what it was. 

as i opened it up, he had printed a sweet picture of us cooking together in destin right after i had b. he wrote a sweet note on the back offering to teach me the cooking basics for chrismtas. 

woohoo. 

and so, of no doing of my own, he came out here last monday and hung out all. day. long. 

it was so fun. 

he taught me how to properly chop an onion. 

how that if i chop all of my vegetables up right when i get them, i'm more likely to use them and through them into meals. {umm, he was right.}

to not be afraid to use fruit with vegetables. {brussel sprouts, tiny pieces of bacon and sliced green apples. 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. yum.}

that most things can be prepped ahead of time. throughout the day. 

that a rotisserie chicken is one of the most versatile things you could ever use. if you want to stretch your dollar that is definitely the way to go. 

and to not be afraid to fail. so what if it tastes awful. you just don't cook it the next time. 

for example, i tried spaghetti squash this week. cam & i made this sauce for the squash on monday and were going to use it tuesday. the sauce wasn't bad, but the squash was. 

don't get me wrong - it came apart just like it was supposed to. i honestly felt like i was experiencing the parting of the red sea when i took my fork to it. i could NOT believe that it comes apart like spaghetti noodles. i mean, seriously? God - You are amazing. the end. 

but i don't know if i just didn't cook it long enough or what, but the texture of the 'noodles' weren't great for me. or j. we both didn't LOVE it. 

i will try it again. one more time. maybe next week, but if it's yucky next time too, i'll probably be done. 

and that's okay. 

i grew up such a picky eater that i never even knew brussel sprouts could taste so good. because i refused to taste them. or cook them. or TRY them. so i'm branching out. try it with me!

he suggested this book for me. he said every restaurant has one. if you get stuck one tuesday night with random ingredients and don't want to go to the store, this book helps you put something together. 

one of my goals this year is to not consult recipes for weeknight dinners. now, i don't mean to use a recipe to base something off of or get ideas from, but don't use them to the T. but use what i like and go with my "gut". the problem is that my kids {and my hubby} don't necessarily have the same "gut" i do. 

but we're getting better. 

they're trying new things & i'm trying new things. 

like this recipe. 

 via

i made a version of this thursday night and i was SHOCKED at how good it was. i marinated my tomatos first, like you would in bruschetta... and i used my mandolin to cut the eggplant. but it was yummy. even my daughter who doesn't like tomatoes - went back for seconds. 

 

cam - thanks for spending your day with us. we LOVED it. {he's building angry birds legos with b above. little did he know when he bought it that it gets torn down with every blow.}

what are your go-to weekly night meals? do you enjoy putting things together on a whim? any successes??? any failures? :) come on... you know you have them. 

xoxo.