Meal Planning Made Simple: Week Seven
Barbecue Chicken Pizza | Pasta with Garlic Scape Pesto and Fresh Peas | Grilled Goat Cheese and Pesto Pizza | Sesame Beef Stir Fry | Chicken & Cream Cheese Taquitos
When I agreed to take on the role of main chef in our house I brought some rules along with me. They were enacted purely to give me room to grow in an area I was unfamiliar with and intimidated by. Fearful is probably a better description. I had never cooked before and married a hobby chef. No joke, Matthew is really talented
BEHIND THE SCENES
Some of you have asked if I have stuck with my meal plan for every single dinner since I started this journey. The answer is a loud and bold NO WAY! I'm not being deceitful here, or at least that wasn't my intent. Some weeks we go out of town and aren't home on a Friday or Monday. Other weeks Matthew works late or is traveling. Some times we get lucky and my parents watch the kids so we can sneak out for date night. Some nights we're tired or don't feel like cleaning up the kitchen so we order take out still. Yes, this happens. But you see I only provide five meals a week on my plan and obviously we eat seven nights a week. So typically each of the five meals I planned for do get consumed each week they just float around a bit more.
So why not just post two meals some weeks and seven on other weeks? Because I like consistency and I know some of y'all might like to grab a week (even if it's an old post) and follow it too. Some weeks I might do the same thing and recycle a week's menu that we really liked. Also this forces me to seek out new recipes and not just cook the same old Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
Have you made anything that's been altered or got a veto? Yes! The goat cheese orzo from week one wasn't that good. I love cheese but the taste was too strong. I've tweaked a few others but pretty much stick to the recipes. I'm not good at straying too far from the line yet.
I also have a few rules I enacted.
1. No special requests. I get to pick the menu. Period.
2. We both get veto power. If Matthew doesn't like something or suggests a change I listen. I'm not a tyrant.
3. The kids don't get a vote. Period. We offer Wells and Tagg their own bowls (as allergy requirements allow) or bites of anything we eat but they're never required to try anything. At this age, waiting until 6:00 or later to eat isn't appropriate for them. We want them to learn to listen to their tummies and eat when and what they like. Of course, I provide those choices or else Wells would eat nothing but cheese sticks and donuts.
4. I'm only making things that Matthew hasn't already mastered. For example, he makes amazing shrimp and grits so on that night, he has to cook them. I'm not interested in a competition or comparison. Not yet anyway.
5. I reserve the right to change my mind. I grocery shop on Monday morning so all the ingredients are available all week long and I get to decide what I'm making each night. So if I'm not feeling enchiladas on the designated night, I might make tacos instead. Or maybe I'll just switch meals altogether and make BBQ Chicken Pizza on Monday instead of Friday.