Menu Plan Monday: Go with the Flow

The past two weeks, I've been having a little bit of trouble sticking to my meal plan. Maybe I need to start making the plan before Monday, so I can have my groceries ready to go for the week. In fact, when I cooked in bulk that first Sunday that I started menu planning, it was much easier to stick to the menu because the meals were already prepared. This week, I spent $27 at the grocery store at the beginning of the week on pork chops, sausages, apples, bread, and a few other things. But then at the end of the week, Big T decided he wanted Philly cheese steak egg rolls to eat while he watched the game, so I spent another $60 on fixings for that, lunch meat, and who knows what else... Can you believe I have no idea where $60 went to? Oh, right. Beer. Beer and lunch meat were about $36 right there. Is it bad that that makes me feel a little better?

The Plan:
Monday: Chicken Korma (freezer) with rice
Tuesday: Sweet Potato Chili (freezer) with bread
Wednesday: Pork chops, Twice Baked Potatoes (freezer), green beans
Thursday: Steak, Roasted Cauliflower with Kalamata Olive Vinaigrette, Sweet Potato Fries
Friday: Eat at Mom Mom's
Saturday: Rice and beans with sausage, Homemade bread

The Reality:
Monday: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice
Tuesday: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice
Wednesday: Pork chops with mustard sauce and artichoke hearts, Twice baked potatoes, green beans
Thursday: Fend for yourself day
Friday: French onion soup at Mom Mom's
Saturday: Philly cheese steak egg rolls

The Method:
Monday and Tuesday: The beginning of the week was easy. I thawed out some chicken tikka masala from the freezer and made some rice. I didn't account for the fact that there would be leftovers, though, so I ended up eating this two nights in a row. Not bad--less cooking for me.
Wednesday: On Wednesday, I made the best pork chops ever. They were simple to make and delicious. The sauce tasted great on both the chops and the green beans, and twice-baked potatoes from the freezer rounded out the meal. And this time, I didn't cook the crap out of the potatoes, so they were moist and delicious.
Thursday: On Thursday, I was exhausted. Big T was working late, Baby T ate a peanut butter sandwich, and I ate some bread for dinner.
Friday: Since I had actually promised Big T that I would make him French Onion soup on Thursday (which was veering from the plan anyway) but didn't deliver, I decided to make it for my meal at the in-laws' on Friday so I could bring home the leftovers to Big T. I made it with broth from my freezer stash, and it was delicious.
Saturday: We prepped the meal before the kids went to bed, then ate and enjoyed it after they were asleep.

I'll be adding the recipes for this menu plan tomorrow, so stay tuned!

For more meal planning obsessiveness inspiration, check out orgjunkie.com!