It’s a gloomy, rainy Sunday here and all I feel like doing right now is cuddling up with a blanket and…. well, that’s about it. Haha.
But I’ve been puttering around on the computer for too long now already (caught up on some blog comments, sketched out a MEAL PLAN for the week, etc.), and I have quite a list of To Do items for today.
*Speaking of meal plans, oh my goodness, THANK YOU to everyone who commented on my post about my dinner planning woes. The comments are absolute gold! I went back last night and responded to every single one. If you haven’t checked out the tips there, definitely do.
**I especially loved the latest comment from Erin, with a link to this substack on the same topic. She articulates the issues SO WELL and I feel like she just gets so many of my issues (specifically regarding inconsistencies making it extra difficult to plan. We are in the same boat re: the “not everyone is even always hungry, or home, at the same time” thing!)
I did jot down a bunch of “extra quick meal ideas” the other day.
Also, I’d like to browse my Pinterest boards more often and make a “short list” of good options. (I have about 9 million recipes I’d love to try from Pinterest that I’ve saved over the years… I just need more time to cook, I guess! But some are definitely of the “super quick” variety and are good ideas. They’re just buried in a mountain of pins….)
Example: This 20 minute chicken and corn skillet dish. I mean, I wouldn’t even need a recipe to make something like this, and we like this sort of thing. But when I sit down to meal plan, things like this just don’t always pop into my mind.
In other random news, yesterday Ethan and I volunteered at the high school girl’s Conference swim meet from 12:30-4:30. Earlier in the week, the volunteer coordinator for the girls’ team (a swim mom friend) had posted on Facebook they were desperate for timers and could any of the high school boys help?
Well. My past Volunteer Coordinator heart went out to her, because, yo, I’ve been there! Also, Ethan needs volunteer hours for school, so I suggested to him that we do it together. It was a pretty quick and easy 4 volunteer hours for him. I just added them to my bank of “good karma hours”. LOL.
Also, I’ve decided I’m going to uninstall Facebook this week for a little “weeklong detox”. (After reading SHU‘s post, looking at my own screentime, and realizing I spent 4 hours and 54 minutes on FB last week. 😬) Besides, could there BE a better week to stay off social media than election week?? 🙃
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a chill Sunday.
GRATEFUL KAE 
Good call to stay off FB this week! It will not be net positive during a stressful week with emotions running high! At times like this I am especially glad to not be on social media!!
I’m glad you’ve got some good ideas for your dinner woes. I would like to find more quick meals that appeal to everyone in some form but that is a tall order in our house! I did just get rid of a bunch of cookbooks that I hadn’t touched in 5+ years during my organizing spree yesterday. I like the idea of using cookbooks but in reality I only use 1-2 and otherwise cook recipes in a binder that I printed off from the internet. I find that unless I print something, I won’t make it as I don’t like to follow a recipe on my phone.
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It sounds like you have a good start to a workable solution. Another thing I did think of regarding my own menu planning. I do plan out for a week but not specific days, I only designate a “day” so I can keep track, but I can totally adjust depending on schedules. If I plan something that’s a bit more involved for one night but we end up having a change in schedule, I just plan on making it later in the week. Thawed chicken breast stays ok for a couple of days in the fridge.
I guess what I’m trying to say is not to get too hooked on planning meals for specific days, just say this is what we are having this week. The night before you thaw your protein in the fridge for the next day, but if something happens, you just go with the flow. Even if it means eating out, which we have definitely done. It does get too stressful trying to stay on the plan,.
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Mom of 5 here. I wash and cut veggies and greens as soon as they come home from the grocery store. I just mentally count it as part of the grocery store errands. Also, I highly recommend a garlic mini chopper and keep home chopped garlic in a glass jar at all times. Same with green onions.
I don’t meal plan, but every time we have a meal the family likes (even if it is not necessarily a recipe), I add it to my meal spreadsheet (like your dish would have been added as “chicken+corn+veggies” under the Mains column).
I bold the item in the spreadsheet every time we eat it. At the end of the month, I unbold everything and start over. This way I know we haven’t eaten the same thing like 10 times.
Also, I highly recommend the Frugal Girl chicken breast brinerade. It’s easy to throw together with pantry staples and it’s so basic you don’t ever really get sick of it. We’ve used it for tacos, pasta, sandwiches and salad toppers, etc. She has no idea who I am. I just really like the flexibility of that recipe.
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I love this idea of making sure to automatically add good meals to your meals spreadsheet, and I also love the idea of bolding things! What if you eat something more than once in a month? Do you have a way you indicate that? Or do you usually not do that?
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I only have to meal plan for two people on max 4 nights a week but it drives me nuts. I have no idea how you all do that.
I also need to go through my recipes and sort a bit. One of those things I keep pushing off.
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Uh huh- this is the week to stay off social media for sure!
I think the key for people who work, have kids with busy and erratic schedules, and don’t really enjoy spending hours i the kitchen, is to have lots and lots of quick and easy dinner ideas available at all times. Good luck with it!
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Good luck on staying away from social media, always a good idea to be conscious of how much time you spend there and WHY. Why do we do it? It’s SO easy, right? But something a bit harder is often more gratifying I think. Like blogging or learning something new.
Cheers & Happy November!
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it’s a great idea to ask/let the kid to volunteer, no? I haven’t done it myself the swimming volunteer parent thing most because I’m afraid to screw up taking the time, those milliseconds matter so much!!!
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Nice that you got to help out with the volunteer gig, and that your son was able to help out as well. Volunteer coordinator can be a tough gig, for sure!
Meal planning is endless, just like laundry. At least laundry is mindless though. Sometimes I think of how nice life would be if we didn’t have to eat or wear anything. I guess we’d be rocks.
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Ohhh, great call on staying off social media this week. I may do the same with Instagram. I need to spend some time away!
I have a hard enough time meal planning for MYSELF and can only imagine the difficult in meal planning for four people with varying needs/schedules. I’m glad you got some good advice!
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Quick meals (<30 minutes) are key for meal planing during the week, IMHO. We should crowdsource true-and-tried recipes in a shared Google Doc 🙂
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I am glad that you got some good suggestions for dinner ideas and organizing! Isn’t the internet (and bloggers specifically) wonderful!? That chicken skillet looks pretty much like what I cook a lot: one pan, throw it all in! Also I often will chop things like onions in bulk and keep a container of pre-chopped ones in the fridge to save having to do it for each meal.
I am never on FB, and am glad of that even more now. I will check the news a few times this week to see what is happening, but I am not interested in everyone and their mother’s opinions about the subject!!
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My phone was at the Apple sote overnight this weekend, and I was noticeably less stressed and angry w/o social media access.
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STORE. ugh.
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