I have a confession to make…
I have a confession to make.
I LOVE to bake, and while my kids wouldn’t mind living off of scones, cookies, and bread, that’s not exactly a well rounded diet.
I am a huge advocate for a whole foods diet, which naturally means using as little processed foods as possible. With the busy-ness of life, we’ve gotten away from that and have been utilizing the freezer section at Trader Joe’s far more than we should. Does anybody feel me there?
So, in an effort for some accountability, and because I know I am not the only one who could use a personal chef in my back pocket, I want to share what our meal plan looked like for the week, and how the recipes went.
Sunday
Salisbury Steak Meatballs with egg noodles and organic corn. Chris and I made this together on Sunday afternoon. It was fun doing it together. There were a couple of moments he said, “don’t do that!” Oops. Another positive of doing this together: cooking lessons. And a huge reminder to only do one thing at a time, instead of ten. (I have no idea how I will actually manage this. Feel free to give me suggestions in the comments!)
Anyway, back to the recipe. It took a LONG time. I watched Pioneer Woman’s episode for some tips on making this, and realized how much time they edit out. We probably spent an hour and a half making this! Ok for a Sunday afternoon, but it’s not going to work during the week.
The recipe came out well. Chris and my oldest loved the meatballs and devoured them. I didn’t care for the flavor as much, but vibrant flavors are something I’m getting used to. We had organic beef from our local farmer to use, and it felt good to serve a home-cooked meal.
Tuesday
Fancy Mac and Cheese
This was another meal that took a while to prepare, but oh-my-gosh it tasted fabulous. Bacon + mushrooms + lots of cheese = fantastic. I experimented and used my Vitamix to grate the cheese. I mixed the softer and harder cheeses together for that purpose, and it worked out well. This meal took a while too because it had lots of separate dishes to prepare to put together in layers. I was trying to homeschool math and make this at the same time, so that was a little stressful.
Friday
It was a crazy day and we had friends coming over for a send-off meal together. I just heated up the Trader Joe’s pulled pork, warmed up some organic buns, and cooked organic corn on the stove top. We added some leftover cheese from the Fancy Mac and Cheese for a topping. Everyone loved it, and while it didn’t meet my whole foods standards, I got overwhelmed with the idea of cooking pulled pork for 6-7 hours, wet basting every 45 minutes. Trader Joe’s to the rescue!
Up this week:
Stovetop lasagna
Chicken Marsala with Alfredo
Tilapia
