This evening I wrote out our meal plan for the week.  Something I do often.  I would love to say weekly, but there are weeks I just don’t have it all together.  My husband suggested I post our weekly meal plan, so here I am.

The method to my  madness is this; my husband chooses 6 different cuts of meat from the freezer.  I have a list of what is growing in the garden or what is in the fridge or freezer that has to be used.  I take the meat and the veggies with the help of http://www.pintest.com, I come up with recipes for the week.  You might not have a garden to do this, but you can do this with a sale flyer from your favorite grocery story  or what is available at the local farmers market.

This Weeks Menu

Monday

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic-Maple Glaze, Apple Sauce and Baked Potatoes.

So take out your potatoes, wash the skins, poke holes in the skin with a fork, place in a 400 degree oven.   Slice brussels sprouts in half and place on a cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place in the oven with the potatoes.  On the stove top reduce 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 3 tbsp of maple syrup till you have a glaze then remove from heat. Pan-Seared Pork Chops:  With a little corn oil heat in an oven safe pan to a medium heat.  Brown the pork chops on both sides in a pan then transfer to the oven to finish cooking, goal is 145 degrees. When you put in the chops, turn the brussels sprouts so they can roast on both sides.   Chop up two gloves of garlic and three sprigs of thyme.  Remove the chops from oven, remove chops from pan and set aside, add two pats of butter to the pan, scraping the lovely bits off the bottom, once butter is melted add  garlic and thyme.  When garlic is soft, add back the chops.  Cover with foil and set aside.  Remove sprouts, top with glaze.  Remove potatoes, serve with a side of apple sauce and eat

Tuesday

Taco Night, Beef Taco Meat with Rice, Beans, Homemade Corn Chips, Lettuce, Salsa, Peppers and Onions.

This one is easy,  brown ground beef, (sometimes we use cube steak), drain and add Taco seasoning.  I cut up peppers and onions and saute in a very little oil, cook beans in the pressure cooker, chop up lettuce and fry corn shells.  This is a quick meal for us, the kids help cook and we all look forward to Tuesday!

Wednesday

Crock-pot Rotisserie Chicken, Pan Cooked Potatoes and Chard Au Gratin.

I cheat with this one too. I take a frozen chicken from the freezer and put it in the crock-pot, top with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and pepper.  To the crock pot I add a very small amount of water to the bottom, careful to not wash off my seasonings.  The potatoes are washed and peeled.  I pan fry them in butter and oil, not the healthiest but it is worth it for every once and a while.  I cook them till they turn golden brown. The secret is not to turn them too much.  The recipe for Chard Au Gratin is on my site already.

Thursday

Asia Garlic Sirloin, Noodles, Snowpeas, Carrots, and Peppers.

The sirloin has to come out of the freezer the day before.  Chop it into 1 inch cubes when it is thawed then marinade it in 6 garlic cloves, crushed, 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger, 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup oil and ground pepper.  Put on skews or pan cook it depending on weather.  Once cooked top with sesame seeds and serve over cooked noodles.  I will cook extra marinade for dipping sauce.  Stir fry the veggies and serve.
Love quick Chinese nights.

Friday

Crock-pot Brown Sugar Pork Roast, Rice, Corn, Salad and Roasted Radishes.

Also you have to take out the roast the night before. In the morning sear the roast on high heat on the stove.  Mix together crushed garlic, chopped sage, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp corn starch, and salt and pepper to taste.  Place roast in crock pot and pour sauce over top.  Cook for 4-6 hours depending on your crock pot. We cook rice in the rice cooker, pan sear some radishes in butter, garlic and pepper. Lastly heat up some corn.  The salad the kids pick and build from the garden.  Love fresh veggies.  This is a veggie heavy meal because not all of us eat all the veggies, and I want to make sure everyone has at least one veggie. Some of us eat them all!

Saturday

A special reward meal for a kid, so Tacos again!

Sunday

Crock-pot Beef Roast, potatoes, Carrots, and Celery with Gravy.

I take this roast out the night before too, sear it in the pan the next morning.  After searing the beef, clean veggies and rough chop.  Leaving them in large chunks.  I add onions and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce to the meat.  Again put 1/2 cup of water on the bottom, not washing away the sauce.  Cook for 4-6 hours depending on your crock pot.  I will sometimes add potatoes wrapped in foil for those kids that don’t want things to touch.  This is a great Sunday meal, left overs for lunches and my husband can pick at it through out the evening.  If I play my cards right it is done about 2 and I do not have to cook lunch or dinner, score!

This is a picture of our week. I am sorry my recipes are not great, but this was a quick post.  I will work on how to write better recipes.  The problem is I do not really follow recipes and I get ideas for meals from the titles and pictures on pintest.  My husband laughs at me because most of the time if I do read a recipe it is a guideline and I do not follow it anyway.  I made sure I copied the names the way the ideas were posted on pintest if you need to search for the exact recipe.   Meal planning reduces stress for me and helps me mid-week when I have lost brain function.  I hope that this helps you too.