Meal Planning for Two

This is what my refrigerator door looks like these days. I crave simplicity and organization, so all the pictures got moved to our magnetic chalkboard wall and the other extraneous stuff got moved to the side of the fridge. Any other Type As out there who know what I mean?

In the interest of simplification, I have been trying to come up with a meal planning system that works for us. Planning out the upcoming week on Friday and then shopping over the weekend or on Monday has been good so far. Talk to me in a month, and we'll see what the system looks like then.

We've also adopted theme nights to make my brainstorming sessions less painful. We eat a lot of Italian and Mexican food (well, Tex Mex, really, but you get the idea), so Tuesday and Thursday are international nights.

We will eat Italian food (typically some type of pasta) on Tuesday. And then some type of Tex Mex (tacos, fajitas, enchiladas) on Thursday. Or vice versa. That way the days when I work require the least thought and prep time.

Mondays and Fridays are free days when I try out new recipes that have caught my eye or classics like poppy seed chicken, pizza, soup, or anything that's reasonably healthy and sounds good to me on Friday.

Wednesday nights are Chick-fil-A or cereal because we go to church, so we eat fast food before or cereal at home right before bed. Just keeping it real, y'all.

At our previous church, one of the little girls I taught on Wednesday night asked her mom if we ever ate anything but Chick-fil-A. That was a proud moment for me as a young wife/homemaker. Not.

Weekends are also up for grabs. We usually eat out at least one meal, and I try to plan at least one new meal. Otherwise, there are leftovers to be consumed before we start all over. :)

BBQ turkey sausage and broccoli rice cups

Flexibility is key to this working while maintaining my sanity. For example, last week I had planned to make broccoli rice cups and sautéed BBQ turkey sausage on Monday, but I didn't realize we didn't have any rice. Fail. So we totally rearranged the week's meals and that one didn't happen until Thursday when I had time/motivation to run to the grocery store.

Don't worry. We still ate well all week, just not each meal on the night I had originally planned. (Links are provided for recipes scavenged from the inter-webs.)

{Monday} ravioli with zucchini
{Tuesday} fajitas
{Wednesday} off
{Thursday} BBQ sausage with broccoli rice cups (I used brown rice and fresh broccoli, and they were delicious.)
{Friday} baked pasta and squash casserole with friends

 Yum...leftovers mean I can put a hodge podge assortment of deliciousness from all the meals on one plate.

This whole process is still a work in progress, but I have our meals for this week planned, and the groceries have been purchased, so we shall see what gets eaten when.

Happy planning, cooking, and eating this week!