Thursday, August 27, 2009

Meal Planning 101

The Happy Housewife has been hosting a menu planning challenge over the past week or so, and it's not too late to join!

If you've been thinking about trying your hand at menu planning, I highly recommend reading over her posts on how to get started. Her first post goes over why she menu plans, and her second post gives you some great resources to start menu planning.

And, she's great at keeping you accountable too! She's had two challenges thus far....

1) Create a list of 10 of your families favorite meals.

and,

2) Add 5 more meals to that list, plus a list of side dishes (fruits/veggies) your family enjoys.


Frog Prince and I have been meal planning (with weekly accountability through Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday) for almost a full year now, and I don't think we'll ever go back to not planning. You can read more about why we meal plan, and how we do it here.

Since I already have created a top-10 list of sorts, I'm jumping in this week with 5 more meals, and side dishes. My five additional meals are "fall-themed" as this season quickly approaches.

5 (okay 7) Additional Favorites

Chicken Stew



Lucy's AMAZING Chili



Meatball Tortellini Soup



Zucchini, Carrot and Black Bean Quesadillas



Crockpot Broccoli Beef




Unstuffed Pepper Skillet



Crockpot Chicken Parmesan





Side Dishes we love

Roasted Asparagus




Vegetable Medley




Herbed Green Beans




Sauteed Zucchini



Baked Potatoes

Buca Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Potato Fries



Sweet Potato Fries




Zesty Potatoes



Broccoli (especially roasted)

Cauliflower

Apple-y Carrots

Carrots, steamed

Corn on the cob

Mixed Veggies -either mixed or separate (peas, corn, carrots, green beans)

Sauteed Mushrooms

Squash (Acorn/Spaghetti)

Herbed veggies (red, yellow bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, with olive oil and herbs.)

Beans (I love 'em... we're working on Froggy)

Rice (brown, wild)

Blueberries

Cherries

Applesauce

Pineapple


What are your favorite side dishes?
For more ideas, check out Menu Planning 101 at the Happy Housewife!

4 comments:

  1. My favorite side dish is a great green salad with lots of vegetables in it. It is probably the one I serve the most. Also mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, or steamed broccoli are also good simple ones. Coleslaw is another good one. We tend to stick to simple here!

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  2. That list looks great. Instead of meal planning from now on, I think I will just always copy you. It makes me feel so great that one of my recipes made it onto your list! whoo hoo!

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  3. MMmmmmmm...your blog always makes me feel like cookin' and eatin' up a storm!

    I love all your pics.

    :)

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  4. Your pictures are so delicious! I just ate dinner and I am starving after reading your post! The sauteed zucchini looks really yummy!
    Toni
    http://thehappyhousewife.com

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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