My Weekly Meal Plan

You know I'm not sure what it is but sometimes I will try to find anything to do besides sitting down and planning. Especially when it comes to meals. I have mostly overcome this and developed a good habit of menu planning.

But sometimes I just don't want to have to decided what the heck we are going to eat this week.  Then I stop and remember that even worse than meal planning is the 5:00pm....we are starving what's for dinner mayhem. It's no fun trying to decide what to eat when everyone is ornery and hungry.

I'm the type of person that finds it really easy to get off of my groove. Maybe that's why I tend to be such a homebody. Last week Ryan and I took a little time off and went on a nice little getaway to Zions. The weather was super and we had a lovely time. And although it was much needed and enjoyed I get all thrown off rhythm and I'm trying to remember where I was at before we left.

I only got a fraction of the projects done last week that I wanted to but most of them are kind of ongoing anyway. I really do need to tackle the kids chore lists and change them up and since it requires sitting down and planning (I know some people just love planning......I am not one of those people) so I keep putting it off. I know though that it will help. Sometimes the smallest changes can help to pull the kids out of the going through the motions mode.......at least that's what I call it. I'm sure you can guess or picture it....maybe it's just my kids that tend to get into this rut.

Alright I better stop procrastinating and just get this weeks menu planned!

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Orange Veggie Stir Fry

Tuesday:
Tacos

Wednesday:
Yummy Potatoes

Thursday:
Hawaiian Haystacks

Friday:
Best Burritos

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Sukiyaki

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taco Packets

This idea came from my Sister who had got the idea from here and adjusted it to fit her family's tastes. I got her recipe and adjusted it for us. I like it nice and taco flavory so don't skimp on the spices.

We have made these both in the oven and on campfire coals when out camping or picnicking. They cook up nice and are so easy to make. The kids like that they can put together their own and choose what goes in it.

I think the parchment paper is a must. It keeps them from burning if you are cooking them on coals. And well........well I've never really loved the idea of my food getting so nice and cozy with aluminum.....but that's just me.

Well here is the recipe and a nice little picture that will go great on your pinterest board. ;)

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taco Packets
(makes 6 to 8 taco packets)

coconut oil
3-4 sweet potatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
3 cups cooked black beans
2 cups brown rice, cooked
Cheezy Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Chili powder
Cumin
garlic, powdered or granulated
Taco Seasoning
other veggies sliced or chopped (we like mushrooms, green peppers, chilies) optional
3 cups spinach, chard or kale, sliced in ribbons (kale is my fav!)
Tomatoes and cilantro chopped, (optional, for garnish)
Ranch Dressing and/or Salsa (optional)

Place a sheet of tinfoil on your counter with a sheet of parchment paper on top of it. Blob a little coconut oil in the middle of the parchment paper.  Add a handful of sweet potatoes (I then like to sprinkle a little of the seasonings on the potatoes but you don't have to.) Then sprinkle on a little onion, add some black beans and a large scoop of the cooked brown rice.

Add a spoonful of Cheezy Sauce. Then season well with desired seasonings. (sprinkle liberally it makes it taste good unless your not into lots of spices) Top with optional veggies and sliced leafy green of choice. Fold up tight first in the parchment paper then in the tinfoil. Repeat making about 8 packets.

Bake packets in oven (preheated to 425 degrees) or on hot coals for 20-40 minutes or until sweet potatoes and soft and tender but not mushy. Open and top with tomatoes, cilantro, Ranch and/or Salsa if desired.

My Weekly Meal Plan

My house is officially purged for at least six months! I'm pretty excited about that I feel like things are so much more productive when we aren't contending with lots of clutter. I was worried that the basement would be a lot worse to tackle it seemed like such a mess all the time. But when I got down there.....it was mostly cardboard and Lego's.

I think we have simplified this enough that it was easy to just pickup. Charly did get rid of some of her extra doll stuff and we got rid of a lot of the cardboard (my kids love to create and build with cardboard boxes, my son Matt even made last years Halloween Costumes out of cardboard, see pictures below). I like it cause it pretty much costs nothing and they get lots of fun out of it and I feel like it is a very good constructive type of play.

The Lego's found their way back to the bin and all the Lego instruction booklets were thrown away (the excuse was they can find the instructions online but mostly they don't build from the instructions all that often I prefer them to invent their own creations.) So now I'm on to other projects now this week like updating our chores, working on ebooks, crochet (well actually I have been learning to knit), recipe perfecting and of course lots of reading!

As far as our menu goes like most every week it's really Simple. A lot of people say that they feel like the majority of my time must be spent in the kitchen to be able to eat the way we do but it really isn't. It's always there because.....well we have to eat but it's more of a background thing that although I think is important and is a huge part of our lifestyle it doesn't really manipulate a whole lot of our time.

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Taco Sundays

Tuesday:
No-Fuss Potato Soup

Wednesday:
Fettuccine Alfredo

Thursday:
Cauliflower and Curry Soup

Friday:
Stir Fry with Quinoa

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Roasted Veggies

Sweet Potato Soup

We have really been enjoying this soup this Winter and just sweet potatoes in general. Every time we have had it we all MMmmMmmmmm and say how good it is. So comforting, warm and filling. I think that sweet potatoes give you that extra boost of nutrients that is needed in the Winter time.

We seem happier and more content every time we make up a pot.  I have noticed that sometimes the soup is more orange then other times.......don't worry it just depends on your sweet potatoes. It will still be very tasty. If you want to be sure to have a darker color I guess you could throw in a few carrots.

For fun here is a list of some of the other Sweet Potato dishes we have been enjoying:

• Curried Cauliflower with Sweet Potato & Black Beans
• Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
• Sweet Potato Fries with Southwest Fry Sauce
• Sweet Potato and Mango Tacos
   

I have also been working on a Quinoa and Sweet Potato Grilled Wrap and Black Bean and Sweet Potato Taco Packets that are full of potential and soon to be perfected. We have enjoyed every single trial of them....can't wait to share them with you!

Sweet Potato Soup

4-5 sweet potatoes, peeled
8 cups water
2 Heaping Tablespoons Vegetable Broth Powder
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons Real Salt
1 drop natural butter flavor, opt.
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup cashews

In 5-8 quart pot put in cut up sweet potatoes, water, and veggie broth powder.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are soft.  Add the coconut oil and seasonings.  Mash potatoes with a potato masher, or you can blend in the blender in small batches (be careful when blending hot soups). Or you could just use an immersion blender and save yourself a lot of mess and hassle.   Take a cup of the soup and blend it with the cashews until smooth add to the soup and mix in well.  May garnish with nutmeg, cinnamon, or cashews!  Very Simple, really good and a great way to get all those nutrients from sweet potatoes!  ENJOY!

My Weekly Meal Plan

Last week Ryan and I went to Vegas. He had a Kitchen and Bath show to go to. We stayed at the Stratosphere....We went to the top of it Ryan isn't a big fan of heights but I convinced him to sit with me and enjoy the view. It is quite the view from up there. Nope we didn't ride any of the rides! Just enjoying the view was adventure enough for us.

Needless to say our little trip in the middle of the week kind of threw off my groove so I still have a little of the kitchen to finish but I still hope to finish it and the basement this week. Then my purging will be done (well except for our books...that's a slow and painful process for a homeschool family;) and it will be on to planning garden and I think it's also time to change around the kids chores since they are starting to slack off quite a bit.

I have a simple little chore system that I came up with years ago because I was tired of trying all the different ideas out there and not having them work because they didn't fit my personality. When I finally came up with one that fit me (it had to be very hands off without a bunch of follow up)it has worked wonderfully now for over eight years. I will share more about our chore system soon.

In other fun news....Ryan was running errands the other day and saw something he thought was picture worthy. (picture just above)  Look close.....we had a good chuckle over this we had never seen such a thing. We have since learned that it is fairly common and as a safety feature are made to come off and go back on easily. We still wonder how far she drove before she noticed.

Our menu as usual is very simple this week with a fun distraction of Valentines....You know it's been long enough that we are actually looking forward to a fun nicer meal that takes a little more prep.

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
Mexican Pizza

Tuesday:
Red Lentil Soup

Wednesday:
Curried Cauliflower with Sweet Potato and Black Beans


Thursday: 
Black Bean, Butternut Squash, and Bulgur Chili (I'll be trying this with sweet potatoes instead of butternut squash....yep still have some that need using)

Friday:
Valentine's Day Dinner

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Lentil Sloppy Joe's

 

Valentine's Day Menu 2014

More often than not we have an somewhat Italian themed dinner for Valentine's Day. Not sure why maybe I just figure and Italian meal is romantic. It's just kind of become a tradition.

I used to feel like Valentine's Day was just for couples and I wanted to just go on a date with my sweetheart. Well I guess I wasn't the only one that felt that way because it seemed like everyone was on a date on Valentine's Day.

If you know me you will know that I'm a little bit claustrophobic and don't really care for crowds......So I rethought how we celebrate the Valentine's thing. And now we like to have a nice quiet dinner with some fun treats, maybe a few games and usually a movie this year Love Comes Softly is our movie of choice.

Now don't you worry, my Sweetheart and I still celebrate with a fun date or a nice little getaway we just don't choose to celebrate as a couple on a different day then Valentine's Day. I'm kind of non-conformist that way.........sometimes! ;)

Valentine's Day Menu 2014

Pizza - It's super easy to make somewhat heart shaped and your kids think your the coolest mom ever.....at least mine do. They are pretty easy to please.

Italian Tossed Salad - It's like being at The Olive Garden only better!

Snickerdoodles - You could even make these heart shaped too if you wanted.

Gourmet Vanilla Ice Cream with Hardening Chocolate Sauce - This is so fun and we haven't had it in quite some time. I used to love Magic Shell as a kid I thought it was so cool how it would harden. I also think it will be fun to have some Strawberries around to dip in it and chill them then add another coat or two. Nothing like Chocolate dipped strawberries at Valentines right!

My Weekly Meal Plan

Well things are plugging right along and I'm starting to feel like I'm getting on top of things. Don't you love that feeling!? When things are long overdue for some of your attention and even just focusing a little time everyday makes all the difference.

I got through my bedroom, bath and most of my closet and I'm about finished with my Kitchen and Pantry. Now I'm on to the basement. That should take a couple weeks but I know we will all be happier once it has had a good purging.

I have found that learning for us all and more constructive creative play for the kids goes up dramatically after we do a good purging. That's really important for us as a homeschool family. It's funny how even a little extra clutter can really slow us down and cause us to waste so much time.

I have noticed that the survival mode I have been in has been quite uninspiring to the kids.  Funny how the smallest thing like me spending no more than an hour a day purging and being more proactive can inspire my children to also be more proactive in the things they need to be doing.

My experience has shown me that You, not Them and Inspire, not Require are true principles. They are part of the 7 Keys to Great Teaching (NOT an affiliate link) and I find that they work for more then just our schooling. I'm sure you have all heard the phrase "Example is the best teacher." It is so true! But so often it's not the easiest. But I keep trying.

My kids love eating and like learning to cook good healthy food....Why because I love it and they see me do it everyday. And speaking of food I think I'll quit rambling and get on to this weeks menu.

My Weekly Meal Plan

Monday:
No-Fuss Potato Soup

Tuesday:
Sweet Potato and Mango Tacos

Wednesday:
Mac and Cheese Better Than I Remember

Thursday:
Quinoa Burgers

Friday:
Taco Sundays

Sauturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Taco Soup