Sunday, July 12, 2015

Easy Meal Planning.

Cool title, right?

Meal planning has a terrible reputation - and rightfully so. Luckily my wonderful Mother-in- Law sat Jared down before we got married and told him to help me plan meals. Thank Heaven for Mother-in-Laws, right? So, every Thursday for the past year and a half, Jared and I have sat down to plan meals and make a shopping list together (we go shopping on Saturday morning, and don't want to plan meals on Friday night, so we do it on Thursday). Thanks largely in part to pinterest, we have about 160 meals in our repertoire. I still want to add 20 or so meals to our list (so that we only eat each meal twice a year). Keep in mind that I'm not an expert - I've only been doing this for a year and a half. And things will probably change when we have kids and more experience, haha. But for now, this has turned into a beautiful thing!

[[ All the meals I have will be posted at the bottom of this, so just scroll down if you need some fresh dinner ideas. ]]  


 After we gathered and organized all of our recipes, I made this little jar. The strips of paper are color coded according to where the recipes came from (family recipes, easy recipes, Pinterest recipes, and cook books).

Now, all we do is draw out 5 recipes (and find 2 new ones), and clip them to this cute little menu we got from our wedding. It has clothes pins glued to a chalkboard back ground. You could do the same thing with magnets or tape. 

That's it! So easy, right?! Meal planning is finally a piece of cake. Maybe I'll share some yummy recipes on here... and maybe not.

Here are my meals!
(The ( ) indicate where the recipe is located, and the ones categorized at the bottom are all from Pinterest (tried and true!) Here is a link to my Pinterest board where you can find all of those recipes if you want any of them.)
Creamy Corn Chowder (Our Best Bites 97)
French dip sandwiches (Our Best Bites 134)
Poppy seed chicken (Slagowski book)
Chicken enchiladas (Slagowski book) 
Wingers chicken (Slagowski Book) 
Monterey Chicken (Slagowski Book)
Sloppy joes
Corn bread waffles & Chili
Chili cheese dogs
Pizza benders
Alfredo (mom)
Kalua pork (mom)
Chicken Crescents (mom)
Chicken Chimichangas (Secret Recipes)
Cheesy Potato soup (Slagowski Book)
Arby’s ham Sandwiches (Slagowski Book)
Haluski (Secret Recipes)
Lasagna (Slagowski Book)
Chicken salad sandwiches (Slagowski Book)
Enchiladas (Mom) Caramelized Green Beans (Best Bites (188)
Honey glazed chicken (Best Bites 119)
Smoky Bean Soup & Panini (Best Bites 101)
Spinach and Feta Pasta (Best Bites 172)
Broccoli & Cheese soup (secret recipes 99)
Chicken cordon Bleu (Best Bites 112)  
Meatball subs
Tacos
Mexican chicken manicotti (secret recipes 150)
Beef Stew (call mom)
Hobo Dinners
Spinach-Chicken Stromboli (Best Bites)
Nachos
Chili & cornbread
Biscuits & gravy
Hamburgers
Spaghetti Carbonara
Orange Chicken
Fried Rice
Chicken Parmesan (Mom)
Turkey Steaks
Spaghetti & Meatballs (Best bites)
Pineapple bacon burgers (Best bites)
Teriyaki Chicken Salad (Best bites)
Fire Island Ziti (Slag book)
Navajo Tacos
Sloppy Joes
Crepes (Slagowski book)
Taco Salad
Fajitas
Angel hair pasta (Slagowski book)
Mac & Cheese/corndogs
Frozen Pizza
Baked Potato Bar
Pierogi (frozen)
Biscuits and gravy

Beef
Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta 
Biscuit Beef Pockets  
Cheeseburger Wraps
Stuffed Cheeseburger French Bread
Stuffed French Bread

Chicken
Bacon & Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken 
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Basil Cream Chicken 
BBQ Chicken Calzone
BBQ Chicken Cornbread Pie
BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
Broccoli Chicken Casserole 
Chicken Bacon Broccoli & Rice
Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescents
Chicken Parm Casserole
Chicken Piccata
Crispy Cheddar Chicken
Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken
Fiesta Lime Chicken
Green Chile Chicken & Rice
Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich (CP)
Honey Chipotle Chicken Wings (CP)
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
Monterey Jack Chicken & Rice
Orange Chicken
Oven Fried Chicken
Southwest Chicken Wraps
Sweet & Sour Chicken w/Wontons
Teriyaki Chicken w/Vegetables

Kielbasa
Andouille Sausage Pasta Skillet
Creamy Cajun Pasta
Kielbasa Potato Hash
Light Pasta Sausage Bake
Potato Kielbasa Skillet
Oven Roasted Sausage Potato & Peppers
Sausage Pepper Pasta Skillet
Smoked Sausage & Zucchini Skillet
Spicy Sausage Alfredo Bake
Spicy Sausage Pasta 
Zesty Potato Sausage 

Meatballs
Coke Jalapeno Meatballs
Crescent Wrapped Meatballs
Meatball Parm 
Meatball Sub Bubble up Bake
Upside down Meatball Casserole

Mexican
Baked Chicken Chimichangas
Chicken Avocado Burritos
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Chili Lime Enchilada Tacos 
Chicken & Black Bean Quesadillas
Chicken Taquitos
Colorado Chili Burritos 
Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos
Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
Crockpot Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos
Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos
Enchilada Stuffed Shells
Grilled Chicken Tacos w/Avocado Salsa
Jalapeño & Macaroni Stuffed Peppers
Lime Chicken Tacos
Manicotti
Mexican Burgers
Mexican Chicken Skillet w/ Corn Bread
Mexican Pizza
Oven Fried Chimichangas  
Oven Tacos
Restaurant Style Chicken Tacos
Taco Casserole 
Taco Sandwiches 

Miscellaneous
Bacon & Corn Griddle Cakes
Biscuits & Gravy Casserole
BLT Fried Egg Sandwiches
Ham & Cheddar Waffles
Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers
Saucy Hot Dogs

Pasta
Baked Ravioli 
Baked Spaghetti 
Butternut Squash Pasta
Chili Mac
Pasta w/Tomato Cream Sauce 
Pesto Ravioli 
Pizza Sausage Pasta Skillet
Pizza Spaghetti Bake
Tomato Alfredo Ravioli

Pizza/bread
Bubble Pizza
Corn & Bacon Pizza 
Pepperoni Pizza Braid
Pizza Panini
Stromboli

Potatoes
Loaded Potato Quiche
Baked Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Tacos

Sloppy Joes
Beefy Bean Sloppy Joes 
Enchilada Sloppy Joes
Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes 
Pizza Sloppy Joes 

Soups
Bacon & Baked Potato Soup 
Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Creamy Cheesy White Chicken Chili
Crockpot Chicken Lime Avocado & Cilantro Soup
Crockpot Chicken Parmesan Soup
Crockpot Chicken Fajita Soup
Crockpot Enchilada Soup
Crockpot Tortilla Soup
Enchilada Soup