Planning

I have come across many blogs in the past few months which talk about meal planning. That's crazy!, is what I thought. After all, doesn't it just depend on what's in your fridge and what you feel like? Isn't anyone spontaneous anymore? This has been my way of thinking/living for the past 5yrs or so.

More often than not, I will be standing in front of my fridge, rummaging through my pantry, late late late in the evening, stressing about what to make for dinner. Often times just to discover I don't have the ingredients to make what I want to make, sometimes I can sub an item, other times I can't. Then in turn I get impatient with Noah, all because I am in a hurry to whip something up for dinner. When he wants to help, I have to say no... because I am in a hurry.

Soooo.... for the first time ever, I planned a menu for most of February. This first week has gone extremely well! (Except I goofed for tonight, forgot to defrost chicken) So much more relaxed! Noah can help, I can better plan/budget the grocery list, and sometimes, I can even get started earlier in the day while Bella is napping. Instead of just cooking some spaghetti and heating up sauce, now I can make sure we have veggies in our sauce, include a nice salad and delicious cheese toast. All it took was a little organization!

Here is what's on the menu:
2/5-2/9... still working on weekend planning
M-Chili, Salad, Bread
T-Spaghetti, Salad, Cheese Bread
W-Pork Chop, Roasted Cauliflower, Mashed Potatoes, Salad
R- Minestrone Soup
F-Roasted Chicken, Greek Potatoes, Salad

2/12-2/16
M-Bean burritos
T-Homemade Pizza, Salad
W-Spaghetti w/ garlic, parsley & anchovies, Salad
R-Shepherd Pie, Salad
F-Stuffed Cabbage

The rest of Feb. is mostly planned too, minus the weekends.
This is a great start...for me anyhow, who never ever ever plans!