Meal Plan Week 2

meal plan, meal planning, food plan, menu, family menu

#thehollidaysmealplan2017 week 2

 

 

 

Meal plan week 2 is complete. Maybe you’ll see something on our menu that will spark inspiration for your dinner.

Have you been successful with meal planning? For many months, I’ve been meal planning and it gives me so much sanity. Maybe you’ve experienced what I wrote about in this post. Maybe not. Either way, meal planning does work! Here’s a snippet from my very first meal planning post…

“But overall, it does work. We eat out less, don’t overspend on food, and everybody is happy. My system is not perfect but it works.”

Meal planning can be as simple as a loose menu for the week. It can also be as detailed as a scheduled meal for breakfast/lunch/dinner, a grocery shopping list, and even meal prep for the week. My personal meal planning is a little mixture of all of that. Do what works for your schedule and stick to it!

I’ve mentioned before how my family is a little picky, some members more than others. So, I don’t try new recipes every week. But, I do try different twists on meals already loved by the family. Here is a “new” recipe that I’ll be trying this week – Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops. I like the idea of how Kristyn of Lil’ Luna used Italian breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese to make a mixture for the pork chops. Then she cooked them in the oven. We normally grill or pan fry pork chops, but baking in olive oil is a favorite of mine. Excited to try this simple twist to a family favorite!

parmesan-crusted-pork-chops-4

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The gumbo was made on Sunday since I had to be away from home Monday. That’s why this is called meal planning.

Look ahead at your family’s schedule and plan meals accordingly.

Gumbo is always best the day after so making it before a big workday worked best for this week. Yesterday, I had a glass of wine while dinner was heating up. Planning ahead for meals can give you more time with family and less frustration in the kitchen. I promise!

The chili recipe I like to use is Emeril’s Chili. I substitute the stew meat for ground beef or ground turkey. The cumin, oregano, chili powder and beef stock make this a really tasty recipe. Of course, the family likes cheese and corn chips for toppings. Sometimes, I’ll even top my chili with sour cream too. It takes about 45 minutes to prepare this chili and it’s a one pot meal. Yeah, for one pot meals!

Looking for more food and drink inspiration? Check out my Pinterest Food and Drink Board. 

What’s your biggest challenge with meal planning – budget, ideas, time? Let me know and I’ll be sure to address your challenges in future blog posts. 

-Crystal 

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