The way I meal plan.

Micah reads this blog at work to find out what's going on in our lives, and he thinks my posts about recipes and cooking in general are very boring. Sorry Micah, that's all it is today.

Several of you have put your weekly meal plans on your blogs in the past, and it's always fun to get ideas. Mostly I'm impressed by your organization. I am so not a planner. I rarely know what I'm going to cook a day in advance. In fact, more often than not I decide at about 4 pm. The thought of actually figuring out a whole weeks worth of meals is so daunting to me (and contrary to my personality) that it will never happen.

On the flip side, never knowing what I'm going to make more than 3 hours in advance makes life harder than necessary. I love trying new recipes and cooking elaborate meals, but since Skylar has come along cooking has turned into a chore and I just don't have the motivation.

Last week it occured to me that I actually DO have a system, I just didn't consciously realize it. Over the past year, out of necessity, I started doing meal "groupings". Basically I have a small repertoire of ideas that can then be made into more than one meal, thereby minimizing the work (and planning) for me.

For example:

1st night: grilled or broiled marinated chicken breasts (the key to variety is with sides)
2nd night: quesadillas (made with leftover chicken breast, beans & cheese) or paninis (a loaf of day old artisan bread, pesto, roasted red peppers or artichoke hears, cheese, all squished to toasty goodness with my handy dandy panini press, courtesy of the in-laws:)
3rd night: Big salads for dinner with leftover chicken breast (I also like garbanzo beans, fresh grated Parmesan, homemade croutons, turkey bacon, avocado, and always homemade dressing on them). I just make them on seperate plates so everyone has what they like.
-or-
1st night: Whole wheat pasta with turkey meatballs (tip: I use fresh grated Parmesan instead of breadcrumbs to bind them and it makes them really moist since there's almost no fat in the meat)
2nd night: Meatball subs with leftover meatballs
-or-
1st night: Tacos or chalupas made with ground turkey
2nd night: Leftover turkey for homemade mexican pizza or skillet mexican pizza with cornbread crust, or burritos, nachos, etc.
-or-
1st night: Grilled salmon
2nd night: Grilled salmon salad (A Barefoot Contessa recipe--love her)

The list goes on, but you get the idea.

I will also poach a batch of chicken (I simmer it in broth on low heat for a long time) and then shred it for enchiladas or succotash, or chop it for potpie or homemade chicken soup.

We don't eat red meat around here, so everything I make involves boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground white meat turkey, or seafood (hard to come by in Colorado). This probably seems like it would get redundant, and Micah does occasionally get the urge to grill himself a steak, but for the most part we don't even think about it. In fact, 9 times out of 10 he still orders chicken even at restaurants.

On weekends when Micah is around to keep the munchkin occupied, I try new recipes or make more time consuming meals to mix things up a little bit. Either that or we go to Chipotle:)