Sunday Meal Planning- 1

I'm kind of a creature of habit and Sunday afternoons are typically my meal planning and grocery shopping days.  Am I alone in this?  If I don't plan it, it won't happen. And there is definitely not enough time in my day to try to go to the grocery store and pick up food for dinner on a weeknight.

I mentioned in a previous post that life has been a little chaotic/busy/CRAZY lately.  So while we usually save our eating out for weekends, I've been picking up a pizza on my way home from work more often than I'd like.

In an effort to maybe give myself a bit more accountability, I'm listing some of the meals planned for this week. All of these are relatively easy to make and my kids like at least PART of the meal. (i.e. - Kate loves shrimp and salad, but she'll skip the grits).  Such is the life when you live with a picky eater.  We definitely don't cater to her or we'd be eating chicken strips every meal, but I try to have at least a few choices that she likes.

I'm linking to the original recipes (if there is one) in the title.  So, here's what's up for this week:

Ham Stromboli 
I made this one for our small group tonight, and we have it occasionally for dinners during the week. Super easy and quick to make.  I have had a hard time finding the french loaf dough in my local grocery store the last few months, but WalMart always seems to come through. They have everything.

Shrimp and Grits, with Salad
I kind of made this one up, knowing what is already in there. I'll make cheese grits and then top it with bacon and shrimp (sprinkled with Tony's Seasoning, and sautéed in butter).  I like to add sautéed onions or chives too but the kids don't love those, so that often gets left off.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo over Orzo Pasta
I stumbled across this recipe in the last 6 months and decided to give it a try. I figured it would be a bomb (in a bad way) because my kids are weird and don't like pasta.  For someone like me who loves Italian food, this is a major disappointment. I mean what kid doesn't like Mac & Cheese???  Anyway, I figured I would make this and serve it over orzo since that's one of the few pasta's I have never given them.  By some small miracle, they didn't hate it!  I won't say it is their favorite meal, but it lets me eat pasta every now and then.  (I use Prego's Homestyle Alfredo and really like it. You definitely have to find an alfredo that you love, because that's what makes the dish.)

Meatloaf Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
With a Pioneer Woman recipe, you can't go wrong.  This recipe is a make-ahead one for me. I will double or triple the recipe and make a big batch of meatballs on a Saturday.  Then I'll save out some to cook and freeze the rest.  We like the Meatloaf Meatballs better than typical meatloaf.

Pulled Pork BBQ, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cobb, and Chips
Kevin likes to buy Boston Butt when it is on sale, and then freeze them. He'll smoke one on the grill all day on a Saturday and then we'll save it for a different night. Yumm!  This is one of my favorites.