On the Menu - {pinsperation}

I am quite certain that the majority of "My Seven" have heard of Pinterest, however, just in case you haven't I suggest you hop right on over and add "drooling over all of the creative and wonderful things other people have done or are planning to do" to your list of addictions. One of my favorite things about Pinterest is it inspires me to plan new and exciting meals for the family. As soon as I begin to peruse the food and drink boards I can't help but salivate over all of the deliciousness. Here are some of the pins who have won a spot on my weekly "Yummy Plan". Enjoy.

Pork, Kale, and White Bean Soup. I GREATLY overestimated the amount of Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin my family would eat last week. I cooked 2 tenderloins (totaling about 3lbs). Not only did we have them for dinner the night I made them, but again when I used left overs to make pork, caramelized onion, and provolone paninis and STILL we have an entire tenderloin left over!! So it's currently waiting in the freezer to be a part of this yummy winter soup.

Oven Baked Shrimp Scampi. We haven't had shrimp in a while and this sounds not only SUPER easy but SUPER yummy, so we'll give it a whirl. Served with a salad and some bread it should make a nice meal. :~) 

Creamy Southwest Chicken (for the crock-pot). I am going to really attempt to use my crock-pot at least once a week. Now that I have discovered the wonderfulness of crockpot liners, there is really no reason NOT to use it as much as possible. The recipe calls for serving this over rice, but I'm not a big fan of rice (unless wrapped in a nice sushi roll) so we are going to wrap it up in tortillas.

Catalina Taco Salad. This stuff is SO SO GOOD!!! I have Catalina dressing left over from the Catalina Chicken I made last week (not my favorite recipe), so that gave me an excuse to make this scrumptious salad. Yum! (Note: I use kidney beans instead of pinto and use no where NEAR the two onions called for in the recipe)

Now don't you want to head on over to pinterest and get some PINsperation?

Monday Muchies - Meal Planning

I'll admit it. On any given week, you might find me in the grocery store three out of seven days. Prior to having "the littles" this wasn't really a big deal, nor was it a bad thing or a frustrating thing. I actually ENJOYED  going to the grocery store,  wandering through the isles, and searching for inspiration. Prior to the littles, you would find me, almost daily, salivating over recipes on my lunch break and envisioning dinner for the coming evening. We rarely ate the same thing twice, sure I had my favorites (coconut chicken, chicken parm, beef and bean chili....blah blah), but I truly loved love culinary experimentation. Since the boys have come along, it seems I am experimenting less and less (even though they will eat most things). I attribute this lack of kitchen creativity to a couple of things:

1) It just isn't easy or pleasurable to run to the store with twin toddlers, especially when there seems to be a shortage of carts which will accommodate TWO little guys who desperately need to be strapped in. Although, I am quite certain people revel in the comedic relief of watching me struggle through the isles with one baby in the Ergo and one in the cart, while BOTH are trying to thieve things off of the shelves, it would be nice if the experience were a bit more relaxed. :~)

2) I am horrible at meal planning. I actually LOOKED FORWARD to the daily meal planning and running to the store prior to preparing dinner for the evening. Unfortunately, that kind of spontaneity no longer has a place in our lives. Boooo.

So, I am going to try, like REALLY try, to make a weekly meal plan. A plan which allows for creativity AND helps us keep our collective family sanity. In addition to making meal time less stressful, planning ahead may also help to make meal time more healthy, which is good....I guess....if you like that kind of thing. :~) So far I am only planning for dinners (we can wing breakfast, lunch and snacks, right?), but maybe in the future I will become even MORE organized. I would like to present to you, my loyal followers, with this weeks meal plan, or "The Yummy Plan" if you will. Enjoy. (link to the blank plan and all main dish recipes follows the image)

If you would like to join me in meal planning, you can download the blank version of the Wordy Bird Designs "Yummy Plan" here. Our family's plan has been laminated and is proudly displayed on the fridge, where I can write/ erase to my heart's content.

This week's recipes: Pasta Bolognese, Catalina Chicken, Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin (left overs will be used for sandwiches, thanks Megan), and Beef Stroganoff.