First order of business – Elizabeth M., check your email, you won the Shining Light dolls + book giveaway! Christmas shopping done, amiright?
Next: meal planning. I’m horrible at it. I’m not a terrible cook at this point, nearly 6 years into marriage, but I’m still not awesome at defrosting stuff more than one hour before I plan to serve it, and I’ve yet to be able to stick to a meal plan for more than a couple weeks. Oh gosh, fine, days.
I’m hoping maybe it’s an accountability issue? And so maybe if I put it up here I’ll stick to it. So without further ado or any cute graphics or Pinable images, here it is: our meals for the week of November 8th
1. Steak, roasted potatoes and broccoli. (I buy sirloin? Top round? Some not terrible cut at Costco), and I butcher them down further, so from a $28 pack of 4 ginormous steaks I get 6 little steaks for grilling, 2-3 ziplock bags of steak strips for stir fries/fajitas, and one ziplock bag of cubed steak for the Pioneer Woman’s Sunday Night Stew, which will actually change your life. We probably eat beef 1-2 times per week, on average.
2. Coconut veggie curry with basmati rice. Coconut milk + chicken stock + fresh ginger + sautéed veggies served over super delicious basmati rice = crowd pleaser, and for cheap.
3. Chicken fajitas in the oven with black beans and cilantro lime rice on the side. Chop fajita veggies and 1-2 chicken breasts, toss with cumin, garlic, salt and pepper (and some cayenne because I’m crazy) and bake at 375 for 30 min or so. Instant fajitas. Cilantro lime rice is regular old basmati or jasmine rice with salt, lime juice and cilantro mixed in after cooking. Muy delicioso.
4. Veggie chili in the crock pot with pumpkin bread. Tomatoes, black beans, a bag of whatever frozen veggies, tomato paste + 1 cup of water and whatever seasonings I’m feeling like. Cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, toss in the crock pot and let it cook on slow for 6 hours or so.
5. Sesame chicken + fried rice. I like Martha’s recipe, plus some rice that I cook and then fry with one egg, some soy sauce, and a handful of frozen peas and a clove of garlic. Mmm, mmm good.
6. Breakfast for dinner. Daddy is gone one night this week and I’m gone one night this week, so some lucky stiff is going to get the scrambled egg and frozen waffle rotation. Dream a little dream.
7. Leftovers/whatever. Because leftovers. Whatever.
I like the numerical system because the rebel in me just can’t commit to “taco Monday,” because what if I don’t feel like tacos on Monday???? Oh the horror. This way I have a week of meals (with ingredients already on hand <— crucial) to choose from, and I feel “free” because I’m not boxed in by no stinking schedules.
I’m wild.
Anyway, what are you guys cooking this week? And do you hate cooking? Do you love it? Is the kitchen your happy place or your number one daily opportunity for grace?
Spill.
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