My Menu Plan
Now that I have made it through a few hectic weeks of work and travel, the first routine thing I was excited to get back to was my menu planning. So I did it a little early this week and took care of everything yesterday (Friday) instead of Sunday. Here is a look at our menu for the week:
Friday dinner – homemade chicken pesto pizza on whole wheat crust *kids did not eat it, only because they needed to eat earlier*
Saturday lunch – takeout, probably Chipotle
Saturday dinner – Barefoot Contessa mustard-marinated flank steak with a side of roasted asparagus (inspired by my friend Brian who made the first batch of asparagus I have ever loved for us a few weeks ago). *kids won’t eat this, not huge steak fans*
Sunday lunch – Trader Joe’s soup with Gwyneth Paltrow’s garlic toast (baguette grilled until it’s slightly charred, rubbed with fresh garlic and drizzled with olive oil — so good and so simple)
Sunday dinner – Martha Stewart crisp skinned roast chicken with rosemary potatoes (shown above). I roasted my very first chicken a few weeks ago following this recipe and it was amazing and far less intimidating than I expected. *kids will eat this*
Monday lunch – leftover chicken sandwiches, of course
Monday dinner – pasta with chicken sausage and peppers *kids will eat this*
Tuesday lunch – leftover pasta
Tuesday dinner – Taco Tuesday *kids will eat this. kids live for this*
Wednesday lunch – slow-roasted tomato BLTs – to.die.for.
Wednesday dinner – broiled salmon with brown rice and broccolini sautéed in garlic and olive oil *Kai will eat this, Little D will sub the salmon for turkey meatballs*
Thursday lunch – I am in LA for meetings, my man will have something frozen from Trader Joe’s
Thursday dinner – takeout. I know when I am going to be too exhausted to cook and I embrace it.
Friday lunch – something frozen from Trader Joe’s
Friday dinner – homemade burgers with sweet potato fries *kids will eat this*
If you have any staple dishes or new finds you are loving in the kitchen, please share in the comments. Always looking to add to my arsenal 😉
*image above via Martha Stewart*
Thank you for sharing this, I really enjoy seeing another family’s meal plan and makes me better about doing ours. I think you would really like Lucinda Scala Quinn’s recipes, they are similar to Ina Garten, but a little…fussy? Her blog on Mad Hungry has tons of recipes, but her books are great too.
Ooh, I haven’t! Will definitely check it out, thanks mama.
I have to thank you, your blog has really inspired me to cook more…(and to purchase the It’s All Good cookbook and some Madewell sandles but that is another story 🙂 ) Have you tried the almond-miso sauce from the cookbook? The simplest most delicious thing I have ever made! I am obsessed!
Thanks, Lynette! Your comment made my day, a little dose of inspiration is exactly what I hope to offer. And no, I sadly haven’t cracked one recipe from the new book yet, but it’s sitting there, calling my name. And now the almond miso sauce is, too 😉
I really like some of your food options. I also really like that they aren’t super difficult to prepare. Perfect for the man and I since we are simple eaters.
Totally – simple is good. Makes eating at home much easier to maintain!
Love reading your meal plans – sooooo need inspiration when it comes to kids meals (well, all meals if I am honest!). My new kitchen/ meal find? Sweet Teriyaki sauce slung over sliced up chicken breasts and baked in the oven for 20 mins. Delicious and good enough for the whole family.
Love it. The truth is, I need some more inspiration for my kids’ meals as well, but most nights, if they eat what I put in front of them, I am happy. Baby steps and all… 😉