Menu Plan Monday

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted a menu, but that doesn’t mean I have not been planning them.  :)  For my family, the only way to ensure I am able to consistently get a healthy, homemade dinner on the table 6 or 7 nights a week is to take about half an hour and plan it all out.  I write each night’s dinner on the calendar, because by about 530 I am likely to be unable to remember my own name, much less what I’d decided to make for us perhaps a week earlier.  It also helps me to use all the vegetables we get from our CSA share (only 3 more weeks, waaah).  I don’t really like to rehash the same meals over and over, though I know a lot of people feel exactly the opposite.  To me, cooking is as much about fun—albeit practical fun—as the end result.  So, I do have a dozen or so meals we have probably at least once a month when the right season, but I’d die of boredom if I didn’t torture my kids with mostly new foods try out lots of new recipes.  To avoid end-of-the-day-tired-mommy-brain-confusion, I choose one magazine or cookbook and pull any new ‘tries’ from that for the week, along with bookmarked online finds.  I also make a point of asking my husband if he has any specific requests, and sometimes will also have Bun choose a recipe that she will make with me.

Having said all that, this week we’re having the following:

Monday:  Undone Cabbage Roll Skillet with CSA red cabbage, and fauxtatoes.
Tuesday:  salmon, Sesame Cabbage & Green Beans
Wednesday: Chicken and Parsnip Soup
Thursday:  Crustless Swiss Chard Pie, Bratwurst
Friday:  cottage pie (with cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes)
Saturday: Roasted Chicken Pieces, braised collards greens, green beans
Sunday:  Pork Chops, Roast Herbed Eggplant, salad, fresh baked bread

I try to mix up larger meals that will provide leftovers for lunches/snacks with ones that’re likely to be all eaten that night, and also keep in mind that it’s not the end of the world if I call it a ‘forage’ night, when I make something super simple for the kids and expect us adults to fend for ourselves.  We probably do that a couple of times a month, especially if there are a lot of leftovers already in the fridge.  :)