All In A Day: Meal Planning Quick Family Recipes

Meal Planning 101

Like most things, there is good, better and best. As I have stated before, we are coming out of the fog of survival mode around here, so we contently settle for good ( or sometimes "fair").  An additional challenge is a very tight budget which means that every penny, I mean EVERY single one, must count. Maximum nutrition is also very important to me, so there are some things I do not economize on.  For instance, we can eat less meat and more organic produce.

Best:    Seasonal menus / recipes based on sales
Better: Weekly Menu based on current listed sales
Good:  Buy a standard list of items, stock up on sale items, for routine recipes @ week
Fair:     Buy what's on sale to get you through a couple of days, then repeat
Poor:    Eat out everyday.  NEVER happens, too expensive.

Standard Plan:

SUN:   Feast: lavish amounts of meal and dessert
MON: Beans/Rice or Tacos
TUE:   Fish or Pasta dish
WED: Chicken or Stir Fry
THU: Spaghetti or Pasta dish
FRI:   Boys cook: hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, grilled cheese
SAT:  Subs, soup, salad,

We eat very simply during the week and pile it on for Sundays.  I really like the idea of feasting and as much as possible, try to make sure we have more than everyone can eat.

Here are some quick recipes that are crowd pleasers.

Chicken Oregano

Place chicken thighes in a pan. Any amount, any size pan.
Lightly douse it with soy sauce until it lightly covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. When in doubt, use LESS.
Sprinkle with oregano (ground, dried, or fresh to taste)

Cover and bake on 350 for 45 minutes.  Uncover. Bake 15 more minutes UNCOVERED to allow it to crisp.

This is a very simple, but delicious dish. Thighes work best. They come out tender and tasty.  Chicken breasts usually come out dry and too salty, so we only use thighes, plus they are typically cheaper.  I also leave the skin on.  It is not low-fat, but this is a Sunday feasting dish for us.  No calories!  ;-)  lol

We serve it over brown rice.  I pour the drippings over the chicken and rice and let it set for about 15 miutes before serving. We also add green beans, baby carrots. salad or brocolli, rolls.


Quick Easy Dinner


Baked Potato Bar or Mashed Potato Bar

Pop potatoes in the oven or
Idahoan Dehydrated Potatoes (not instant, less nutritious, but convenient)

Lots of toppings: butter, cheeses, sour cream, grilled onions, carrots, any leftover chopped meat, etc.



Quick Pizza
    - for a couple or a crowd.  Just use as much as you need for each item.

Pita bread
Canned pizza/spaghetti sauce or homemade
cheddar cheese, mozzerella cheese shreadded
parmesean cheese
toppings of choice

We like to lightly toast pita in oven first, then add the rest.  Then we bake in a hot oven (450) for 5-10 minutes until cheese melts and browns around the edges.

Favorite pizza sauce recipe:  Laine's Letters   Pizza Like  a Restaurant
     This is a great recipe for fabulous pizza. When we have time, we do the whole thing from scratch, but in a hurry, use the pita bread.  Your family might prefer a less hot version.  Just leave out the cayenne.

http://www.lainesletters.com/recipe/pizza.html


Resources:

Lovely website, full of encouragement and delicious, recipes, not always easy, but economical
http://www.lainesletters.com/recipe.html

Power packed website with all sorts of packaged menus based on budget, diet, health, seasonal and more.  Very healthy recipes and guidelines.  Delicious and convenient with shopping lists.
http://savingdinner.com/

Planning system of healthy family favorites.
http://www.suegregg.com/

Healthy, low acidic recipes: (less eggs, less meat, less wheat, less dairy recipes) two homeschooled sisters
http://www.thetwosisters.com/home.asp

Healthy, crowd pleasers with a down home charm Marmee's Kitchen Primer and others by Martha Greene
http://www.marmeedear.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=100