So, the lack of posts lately has been due to my adventure of starting something new (again…I’m seeing this as a pattern in my life!)  :)  Ever since starting to grind my own flour, I have really loved baking with it and trying recipes.  The results are just so good with everything I’ve tried and I love baking with 100% whole wheat and things turn out so yummy.  So, with all that, you may have noticed the new tab for Simply Wholesome Bakery.  For Charlotte area folks, I’m now offering freshly ground flour and all sorts of other baked goods and frozen dough.  Check it out and look out for more info coming soon.

Also, Plan to Eat is offering a 20% discount to you, Getting Through the Day readers until January 1, 2013.  Read more here in this post about the benefits and to get the discount code.

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Mac & Cheese cups (from the freezer), fruit

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Creole Black Beans (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Pizza Pockets (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  out to eat at Chili’s with a Kids Eat Free coupon

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Pancakes and Pancake Muffins eggs, bacon

Friday

Breakfast:  cereal, fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, fruit

Dinner: pizza (with dough from the freezer)

Saturday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  Steaks and hot dogs on the grill, baked beans (*Freezer Side), potatoes

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com.

In the name of keeping it simple, this week we are having super simple meals and my freezer cooking will be minimal while still putting something in my freezer stash.  We were out of town this weekend.  So, just like every other weekend when we travel, we come home with needing to get ready for the week and catch up on laundry and shopping.  So I’m thankful for leftovers, a super easy soup recipe (see below), freezer cooking, and my Six-Week Meal Rotation.  Also check out our other posts on 31 Days to Simplifying Life.

Click image for more posts on 31 Days to Simplifying Life

If you want to know more about my freezer cooking plan, you read more about that here.

If you want to know what I use to plan my meals every week, Plan to Eat makes it super easy!

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  grillin’ with friends

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Vegetable Soup (*Dinner Freezer Meal), cheese toast

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Bean & Cheese quesadillas (*Lunch Freezer Meal), fruit

Dinner:  Potatoes & Sausage, peas

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: Ham & Broccoli Cheddar Roll (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  waffles (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), frittata

Friday

Breakfast:  cereal, fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, fruit

Dinner: pizza (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Saturday

Breakfast: waffles (from the freezer), fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  hot dogs, fries, Freezer Baked Beans

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com

I’m back!   I know that many of you probably think that Stacey has taken over full-time.  Actually, I just needed to prioritize my time while the kids were home for the summer and blogging was something that just had to go until I had my quiet mornings back with the kids in school.

We’ve had a couple of big changes here which are affecting how I meal plan.  First, we temporarily have an extra special 5th blessing that we are fostering.  We absolutely adore her and are thankful for the opportunity to care for her.  Also, our oldest, Vera, is starting Chinese 1st grade!  We weren’t sure if we would choose local school or homeschooling, but finally decided to first try the local Chinese school and see how it goes as we can’t change our minds and put her in later if she doesn’t start from the beginning.  Today is her first full day, which is only orientation, but on Thursday she starts full time.  I promise pictures soon!  Another big change is that Eden, our second oldest, has changed from half-day preschool to full day kindergarten.

What does all of this have to do with meal planning?  Well…

• A baby needs to be fed…and that usually happens right around dinner time!
• Our 1st grader needs to be picked up at 4:20.
• Our kindergartener needs to be picked up at 4:45.
• All on this happens on foot each afternoon with the the two boys and the baby tagging along for pick-up!
• The kindergartener has been in a classroom most of the day and needs to run around outside, which means we don’t actually get home until 5:30ish.

We used to eat dinner at 5:30!  

I’m having to change the way I meal plan.  Monday through Friday dinners must be meals that I can prepare in advance such as:

• crock-pot meals,
• one-dish meals for the oven,
• meals that can be prepped and then cooked within 15 minutes of getting home.

One thing that is going to make this so much easier for us is that we have just found out that our child who was allergic to milk (i.e. no milk, cream of something soups, cheese, butter, etc. casseroles) seems to have outgrown his allergy!  I have so many new things to try that I haven’t been making for the last couple of years to accommodate his allergy.

You’re really here for the meal plan though, right?  Here it is!

Breakfast
M/W/F: Granola or Oatmeal (child’s choice), fruit
T/Th: Eggs, bacon, and toast
Saturday: Waffles
Sunday: Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns (These are amazing.  Not healthy, but AMAZING!)

Lunch
Monday-Friday: The kids eat at school, I eat whatever’s in the fridge, and the hubby eats at work!
Saturday: Sandwiches, Leftovers, or Freezer Burritos
Sunday: Eat Out

Dinner
Monday: Pizza and Veggie Sticks
Tuesday: Dinner out with a friend!  Chinese take-out for everyone at home.
Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan, Salad
Thursday:  Shrimp Scampi over Noodles, salad
Friday:  Honey Mustard Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans
Saturday: BBQ Burgers, Sauteed Mushrooms, Homemade French Fries
Sunday: Beef and Bean Enchiladas

What are you eating this week?  Check out orgjunkie.com for more meal plans!

Today is the first day of school for my oldest starting Kindergarten.  Ummm, wow.  I pulled out my Daily Schedule again last week to revamp it for this new school mom life.  I plugged in my new duties of school carpool and Landis’ new dance class and added some intentional time with my three little ones.  And, wow is my day full before I even start!  But that’s what I love about having a schedule.  I can actually see what time I really have and how I need to plan.  This is also where I’m super thankful for freezer cooking and my Six-Week Meal Rotation.

Since this week is the last week of the month and I used a chunk of our grocery money to buy my bulk wheat order and 1/16 of a cow, I had only $15 left in my Groceries Envelope.  So I planned a week where I have most meals already in the freezer and only had to buy milk, produce, and a few other items.  And amazingly, I stuck to our cash spending plan (after borrowing the rest from the Dining Out Envelope).  :)  So, we won’t be going out to eat any this week, but I also won’t be doing a lot of cooking thanks to my freezer stash.

If you want to know more about my freezer cooking plan, you read more about that here.

If you want to know what I use to plan my meals every week, Plan to Eat makes it super easy!

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Balsamic & Brown Sugar Pork Chops, rice, peas

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Enchilada Rice (from the freezer), green beans

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Macaroni & Cheese with Beef, (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  Bacon Spaghetti, broccoli

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: Mini Pizza Meatloaves (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  waffles (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), frittata

Friday

Breakfast:  Cinnamon Rolls (from the freezer), fruit

Lunch: Ham & Cheese Rollups, fruit

Dinner: pizza (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Saturday

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal (from the freezer), fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  Labor Day weekend dinner with family

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com

So, this is the last week before Karis starts school.  Wow!  (Ok, I’ll spare you from all my thoughts about how she was just born and how I can’t believe this is happening, but I am having all those thoughts!)  Last night while Dee had Popcorn Fiesta with the kids, I sat upstairs in my laundry room/office with my laptop and looked at this coming week.  I haven’t been very good at weekly planning in several months, but I need to get back on it!  I asked Karis if there was anything she wanted to do special this week before school started, and of course, she had an elaborate answer!  She wants to go to the pool, visit the pet store (just to look, I assure you!), and go to a local kids’ play center.  So after thinking through that and a couple other things we already have going, this week ends up being pretty full.  But it’s exciting!  Along with all that, I’m trying to make meals as simple as possible and I’m super thankful for my Six-Week Meal Rotation.

If you want to know more about my freezer cooking plan, you read more about that here.

If you want to know what I use to plan my meals every week, Plan to Eat makes it super easy!

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:   Chicken & Artichoke Penne (*Dinner Freezer Meal), green beans

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Baked chicken, potatoes, green beans

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Macaroni & Cheese, Cucumbers with Ranch

Dinner:  waffles (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), frittata

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: Baked Potato Bar with lots of different toppings – we’ll see how the kids like it!

Dinner:  Back to School Picnic at Karis’ Schools (Whoa – Is this really happening??)

Friday

Breakfast:  Baked Oatmeal (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, peas

Dinner: pizza (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Saturday

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal, fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  Family Birthday Dinner for my 3 Little Ones!!

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com

I know I said it was Dee’s last week of official summer a couple weeks ago, but he ended up having a few extra days off this past week.  I really wanted to take advantage of him being here and get a few projects done of which I did accomplish a few.  I hope to share more this week about the

• Simple Solution to Cleaning Grout
• No-Scrub Way to Clean Blinds and
• Our Attempt to Keep Our (Flat Paint) Walls Clean of Grimy Fingerprints

If you want to know more about my freezer cooking plan, you read more about that here.

If you want to know what I use to plan my meals every week, Plan to Eat makes it super easy!

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:   Chicken & Artichoke Penne (*Dinner Freezer Meal), green beans

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Bacon Spaghetti, Cucumbers with Ranch

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner: Potatoes & Sausage, peas

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch:  Chicken & Corn Quesadillas with Homemade Tortillas (*Lunch Freezer Meal), broccoli

Dinner: pancakes (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), frittata

Friday

Breakfast:  Baked Oatmeal (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, peas

Dinner: pizza (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Saturday

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  Extended Family Birthday Dinner

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com