Meal Planning

Today I bought a new cookbook.. This is very exciting for me because this is no ordinary cookbook. This is "The Best of Chef at Home"! For those of you who aren't familiar with Chef at Home, it is a cooking show on the Food Network. I absolutely love it because the recipes are easy to follow and most of the ingredients can be found around the average home, but he incorporates a few new ingredients each time. It's a great way to "build your cooking vocabulary"... for lack of a better term.

I've been falling short in a bunch of areas. Providing my husband and myself with balanced home cooked meals has been one of those key areas I want to change. This evening, Joe and I sat down at the kitchen table and hashed out a plan of attack for weekly meals, figured out what we'll be eating and came up with a grocery list to match. Our strategy? A theme a day.

Seafood Mondays - this week, salmon, rice and green beans

International Tuesdays - this week, sweet potato curry and rice (recipe from my new Chef at Home cook book)

Chicken Wednesdays - this week, grilled chicken, lentil pilaff and broccoli

Italian Thursdays (I know Italian is technically international but we like it so much it gets its own night) - this week, shrimp and spinach pesto and penne pasta

Leftover Fridays - cleaning out the fridge by eating anything remaining from the week

Try-Something-New Saturdays - this week, shrimp gumbo. (Also from my new cook book) We picked Saturday for this because Joe is home in the afternoon and can watch the baby while I spend extra time experimenting.. And he also has the opportunity to get involved if he wants to so we can explore the preparing of new foods together.

Slow-Cooker Sundays - this week, chicken stew and homemade bread in the bread maker

I'm looking forward to this plan. It gives me a guideline but allows me to keep things simple.. And by having it written out, I'll not feel lost and will be more likely to cook something well-rounded. If you'd like a copy of my Meal Plan Template, you're welcome to print it off and try using it yourself. Choose "click here to start download from media fire" and it will give you the PDF. Let me know how your planning goes!