Answering this dreaded question once and for all.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook and bake but it is the absolute last thing I want to do after a long day of working or shuttling kids around town. All of the mental energy that goes into feeding a family on top of being tired and hungry myself. A combination sure to result in some sort of meltdown.
For years, I saved recipes on Pinterest, magazines and cookbooks only to be overwhelmed at dinner time or worse, missing a key ingredient. Until I heard this…
Write out a list of every recipe you know how to make by heart. Every recipe you know how to make easily without extra brainpower. Then, get rid of the rest.
So, I went through my cabinets and bookcases and tossed every specialty recipe that wasn’t “weeknight friendly”. The cookbooks, that taunted me when I opened the cupboard, went to the local used bookstore and the printed recipes were recycled. Leaving me with two shelves of resources I knew would be helpful on holidays or for preserving our garden harvest.
The best part…no more panic searching through recipes at 5 o’clock.
Now that we have a cleaned out space and a list of all the recipes that can be thrown together without thinking any extra at rush hour, let’s put together a weekly dinner plan before the week starts. Grab a piece of paper (or open the Notes app on your phone) and make two lists: one of the recipes that will be made and one of ingredients that you will need to shop for. Below is a printable version of my favorite meal planner + grocery list.
We are a family of 5 and I like to have five dinners planned out along with favorites for breakfast and lunch. Usually, my kids like snack-style lunch boxes while I prefer leftovers, warm lunch meals or chopped salads.
Last week we made:
Pork Chops & Cheesy Zucchini Rice
Steak with Mashed Potatoes
Carne Asada Nachos
Chicken Bacon Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo
Sausage with Stir-fry Veggies
Chicken Tenders & Watermelon