Monthly Meals

This is for Andrea :)  After a conversation about dinner, she asked if I would share what we eat.  Viola!

I keep a spreadsheet of meals and try to plan a month at a time, simply to make my life a little easier.  I have a giant list of all the meals we make and then insert them into the days of the month.  However, I am not good at following the "every Tuesday we eat Mexican" plan.  Maybe I have food ADHD or something, but I get bored easy and am constantly looking for new meals to add into the rotation.  I'll also add on the spreadsheet anything on our schedule that will affect food...if Ben is out of town, I always plan breakfast for dinner.  We usually eat leftovers for lunch, so it is very rare that we are able to do that for a dinner.

How do I cook in the heat?  I cook anything and everything I can in the Insta Pot and stagger cooking things throughout the day so the house isn't completely heated up at the same time.  I've also just been a rebel this summer and quit caring.  We've grilled and had soup when it was 106.  We're sweating anyway, might as well have a tasty dinner.

What about the kids? I try to plan meals that Ben and I will enjoy, that are healthy and are budget friendly.  I also want to expose the kids to different food, the same way I expose them to a variety of literature and music.  If there is a meal that I'm pretty sure they won't like, I'll add in something they do, but they still have to eat a little of everything.  For example, they're not huge fans of salmon, so I made sure they had fried rice (which could be a meal alone) to get enough food.  I think we sell kids short when we assume they won't eat something...they will surprise you.  I made up a recipe for stuffed eggplant, based off a Gwen Jorgeson video I saw and the kids LOVED it; like asked me to make it all the time, loved it.  I giggle each time they eat it because it's so easy and completely full of veggies.

I also just think it's interesting to document what you eat because it's always changing.  I wish I would have done this 10 years ago, because I know it would look completely different than this.  I always wonder what meals the kids will remember, as I have some distinct ones I remember my mom cooking. 

*Just let me know if you want any recipes!  Some are on our blog, some are on my Pinterest board and the rest are in a couple of my favorite cook books.

	August
1	Wednesday	Pork chops, cinnamon apples, veggie rice
2	Thursday	Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries
3	Friday	Pesto Pasta w/ chicken, no knead bread
4	Saturday	Pizza
5	Sunday	Tostadas, guacamole
6	Monday	Asian salmon, fried rice
7	Tuesday	Curry chicken, roasted root veggies
8	Wednesday	Shepherd's pie
9	Thursday	Tortilla soup, quesadillas
10	Friday		Game night @ church
11	Saturday	Beef stroganoff, salad
12	Sunday	Chicken pot pie, cinnamon apples
13	Monday	Waffles, sausage	Ben out of town
14	Tuesday	Speghetti, meatballs, broccoli
15	Wednesday	Chicken kabobs, coconut rice, roasted sweet potatoes
16	Thursday	Carnitas, cabbage, quesadillas, guac,	Rentz's for dinner
17	Friday	Leftovers
18	Saturday	Burgers, hotdogs, corn salad
19	Sunday	Bbq chicken sandwiches, baked beans
20	Monday	Summer soup, no knead bread
21	Tuesday	Walnut crusted salmon, green beans, potatoes
22	Wednesday	Stuffed eggplant, sweet potatoes
23	Thursday	Chicken swarma, naan, greek salad
24	Friday	Enchiladas, guacamole
25	Saturday	Chili Peppers
26	Sunday	Chicken noodle soup, french bread
27	Monday	Pork roast, broccoli salad, roasted potatoes
28	Tuesday	Coconut lime chicken, rice, cucumber salad
29	Wednesday	Chicken potpie
30	thursday	Waffles, bacon
31	Friday	Pizza

Monday	Grill:	Soup
Lo mein	chicken kabobs	chicken and rice soup
orange chicken	flank steak	chili
Beef and broccoli	bison burgers	Minestrone (Run)
shrimp, sausage skillet, rice	Tandori chicken	potato soup
pesto shrimp with cherry tomatoes		Zuppa toscana
salmon sweet potato cakes		summer soup-good for lunch
beef and cabbage, potstickers		Tortilla soup
Walnut crusted salmon		red lentil soup
Tuesday:
blackened salmon	Tostadas
enchiladas	carnitas
Wednesday
shepherds pie	chicken fingers, potatoes, peas	porkchops, apples, veggie rice
Chicken potpie, baked apples (blog)	stuffed eggplant	beef stroganoff
baked chicken, potatoes, greenbeans	bacon wrapped stuffed chicken
Root lovers salad, turkey meatballs w/ dill sauce	Swiss chicken and rice
schnitzel, spaetzle	bbq chicken sandwhiches (CL)
Thursday:
Coconut curry chicken (blog)	Indian Lentils (blog)
coconut lime chicken (pin)	chicken curry w/ green beans (phone)
chana masala (pin)	turmeric chicken
chicken swarma	cajun chicken and rice
Friday
speghetti with ground turkey, sweet potatoes, broccoli
pasta carbinara
bruschetta pasta
baked penne with turkey (CL)
Pesto pasta