Last week was great. I hardly had to cook at all. It was a nice. In an attempt to cut out as much unplanned spending as possible we had, up until this past week, eaten at home every single day in January with the exception of one Saturday where we order pizza. I was sick of cooking. For real. I feel like I can pick back up as we head into February and not feel the need to eat out for several weeks, at least :-) We also did a little shopping again at Trader Joe's :-) We don't get their often but we have already figured out things we love. Our favorites? Smoked Gouda - straight from Holland. It's so good. I love the Tomatoless Corn and Chili Salsa. We have also found that the Trader Joe's Crackers (we've tried quite a few) and cookies (the Butter Cookie Cookie Butter Sandwich cookies are to die for) are awesome. I bought a bag of Tortilla chips to go with my salsa and didn't realize that they were unsalted until I got home . .. they are awesome. I love that they are unsalted because then it doesn't change the taste of the salsa :-)
After all of that, it's time to move on to planning another week of menus :-)
Saturday - After just saying I would cook . .. the plan is to go to town and use some Christmas Gift Cards. The boys each got gift cards to Toys R Us as well as some money so we are going to take them shopping. We got a gift card to Red Robin - which is a family favorite Restaurant.
Sunday - Sunday Dinner :-) Roast, Carrots, and Noodles. Yum! There is something in this meal that every single person loves.
Monday - Hard to believe that Gymnastics is starting up again but it is. The boys enjoy it still and I'd really like them to learn how to do a cartwheel! HA! Dinner needs to be fast and easy. Last week my mom made a beef stew out of a leftover roast dinner my dad made so I'm stealing her idea. Throwing in the leftover roast, carrots and noodles to make stew. Add some biscuits and life is good.
Tuesday - I have a meeting so again, dinner needs to be easy and quick. Chicken Thighs cooked in our favorite sticky marinade, Mac and Cheese and Green Beans. The chicken make take an hour to cook but sitting in the oven for an hour doesn't cost me anything HA!
Wednesday - Tacos. AWANA nights are always a little rushed so having something simple that we can eat in stages is good since Darryl sometimes doesn't get home until after 5:00 and we have to leave by 6:00
Thursday - Steakhouse mac and cheese. This is a new recipe that a friend tried this week and recommended. There will be salad . . .and probably chicken and fries for the picky eaters HA!
Friday - Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing. I've made a similar recipe in the oven that we really liked but I haven't made it in years (I think we got tired of it ;-) ) Well, I love my crock pot so this is worth a try.
