Meal Planning

I've gotten tremendously lazy with meal planning & massive organization is needed.

The price of groceries is going up, foods are adding more fillers to extend the servings, and healthier fare is needed for our home.  We do have a couple of "boxed" foods that we like ~ Zatarains has a good Red Beans & Rice that we serve with either sausage or chicken Or mixed with ground beef becomes dirty rice...everyone likes it cooked any way & the leftovers are great for lunches the next day. (The Red beans mixture does not have MSG like some of their others) The other Zatarains we like it the Southern Steak Stroganoff..we make it with ground beef & serve with sour cream (otherwise its just a bit too peppery for us).  I know that I can find "from scratch" alternatives for these boxes, but it is nice to have these on hand for busy days/nights.

The other boxed "staple" is Annies Macaroni & Cheese ~ we usually do these for our "school" lunches.  This is one of Amy's favorites.  And the Annie's brand is organic.  We buy many boxes when the sale occurs at Kroger.

And once a week or so, Ramen Noodles make an appearance at lunchtime ~ totally bad for you, full of junk but super cheap and well liked. 

Here is the menu plan for this week, starting today....

Tuesday ~ Tossed Salad with Chicken

Wed. ~  Baked Pork Chops with rice, vegies

Thursday ~ Red Beans & Rice with sausage

Friday ~ Crockpot Pirate Stew

Sat. ~ Mashed Potatoes, *gravy, vegies

Sunday ~ Pinterest Crockpot Meal ~ Italian Chicken Alfredo, peas

* for the Sat. gravy, we make cream gravy and mix browned ground beef with it ~ its one of Gregs new favorites.

The Italian Chicken Alfredo called for dry italian dressing mix, so I went on a quest to find a mix to make and not buy the packets.  I found one on "Heavenly Homemakers"...

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon onion powder

2 teaspoon oregano

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

2 teaspoons sea salt

 1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried celery flakes

Mix thoroughly, store in an airtight container.

Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 1/4 cup vinegar, 2 teaspoons water and 1/2 cup olive oil to make the salad dressing.

Since my recipe calls for the dry mix, I will just use the 2 tablespoons.

I also found a recipe on http://www.cutest-baby-shower-ideas.com/ that I would like to share.

Recipe for Motherhood

1 Heart full of love

1 Head full of understanding

2 eyes in the back of your head

3 heaping cups of patience

1 gallon of generosity

1 barrel of laughter

Mix well,  Sprinkle with kindness, add plenty of faith. Heat with sunshine & spread generously over a lifetime for a plateful of joy.  Add a cup of warm memories!

Happy meal planning!

Now onto the grocery store with the organized shopping list!