What’s Cookin’ Doc?

A while back, I wrote about my venture into meal planning. I’m happy to report that it’s going well for us. I create our menu for two weeks, then use the menu to lay out our grocery list. Todd likes the menu because he doesn’t have to decide what we’re eating for dinner. I like the menu because Temi’s able to sorta eat with us. Given that she hasn’t quite mastered how to feed herself without 1. Turning her plate/bowl upside down and 2. Using her hands as a fork or spoon, one of us still has to feed her. But she eats what we eat. :-)

Our last trip to Walmart was a personal feat thanks to the meal planning…we only went over budget $9. Lately we had been super overspending whenever we went grocery shopping. It was really bad. We had a habit of grabbing stuff that wasn’t on the list. Or grabbing stuff because we may want to cook it or we haven’t had it in a while. With the meal plan, we only buy ingredients that we are going to use in the next two weeks. I can really dig this.

In case you’re wondering, here’s what’s cookin’ for T3. I’m including next week’s since this week is almost over:
9/23-9/29
Soul Food Nite – Nothing because we were travelling
Italian Nite – Baked Spinach spaghetti casserole w/ Italian sausage; pan-fried pork chops
Remix Tuesday – We had leftover spaghetti casserole because it was enough, but normally I create something from any leftovers we have, adding a twist to it. Or we just wing it if there’s no leftovers.
Soup/Salad Nite – Chicken Soup
Mexican Nite – Burritos
Fried Goodness Nite – Beer battered fish
Pizza Nite – Try a local pizzeria

9/30-10/6
Soul Food Nite – Roast w/ potatoes, carrots, celery; spinach; sweet potato cornbread
Italian Nite – Mostaccioli w/ spinach; pan-fried chicken
Remix Tuesday –
Soup/Salad Nite – Chili
Mexican Nite – Chipotle burrito bowl
Fried Goodness Nite – Fried chicken; mac n cheese; salad
Pizza Nite – Try a local pizzeria

I’m super happy about my meal planning accomplishment. Cooking dinner has been a struggle for Todd and I the past year and I feel like I finally came up with a system that works for both of us. (Well mainly me since someone decided that cooking was my “thing”.) Knowing what’s for dinner and being able to unthaw any meat ahead of time (night before, morning of) has been a huge time saver and one less thing for me to worry about. One less thing on my ever-growing to-do list. It’s a small step, but it feels HUGE. Makes me feel proud. Like I’m doing something right.

Now if only I could create someone to load the dishwasher….oh wait I did….what’s the proper maturity and age for using your kids as dishwashers???


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