After a super crazy week last week, this week should be a relatively laid back, easy week. I've a got a few new things on the menu and am excited to try them!

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday:
Peanut Sesame Noodles via Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

Tuesday: {Happy Valentine's Day!}
Hubby and I are going out to dinner, so I'm planning on making a single portion for my oldest and will freeze the rest for next weeks dinner.
Asian Turkey Meatballs via Skinnytaste

Wednesday:
Chicken Burritos {Frozen from last week}

Thursday:
Cilantro Chicken Salad via Skinnytaste

Friday:
Mini Melt Sliders via Cooking Unbound

Saturday:
Broiled Tilapia Parmesan via Renee @livinglaughingloving

Sunday:
Crockpot Sesame Chicken via ifyouwantgoodfood.blogspot.com


Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

This week I am planning meals that I already have lots of the ingredients for to save money & to use up the items I have. The last two weeks with lots of new recipes I've spent a decent amount of money on new seasonings and oils so I figure it's a good idea to plan around those things. :)

The one thing I struggle with is my toddler who will NOT eat ANY meat. She seriously has a fear of it for whatever reason. At least with all of my meals being pre-made it gives me a bit more time to get her something to eat. I always give her a fruit or 2 plus a veggie and milk and/or yogurt but for her 'main' item it's usually noodles or a sandwich. I do offer her meat but I don't force it because it is pointless. I'm hoping she comes around eventually.

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday: Quesadillas w/leftover Barbacoa {Going grocery shopping!}

Tuesday: Spinach & Chicken Pasta Bake via Saving Money, Living Life

Wednesday: Meatloaf

Thursday: Crock pot Sesame Chicken via ifyouwantgoodfood.blogspot.com

Friday: Chicken Piccata via Skinnytaste

Saturday: Pizza Braid

Sunday: Tomato Bisque & Homemade Croutons

Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Monday:

Sunday's leftover pizza

Tuesday:

Asian Turkey Meatballs via Skinnytaste 

Wednesday:

Barbacoa Beef ~ Burritos via Skinnytaste 

Thursday:

Parmesan Chicken via Skinnytaste

Friday:

Oma's Sour Cream Chicken via Making Life Delicious

Saturday:

Mini Sliders via Make 5 Dinners in One Hour

Sunday:

Crock pot Sesame Chicken via ifyouwantgoodfood.blogspot.com

{I'm very excited to get going for week 2! And to be trying some new recipes!}

Chicken Parmesan = Heavenly Delicious

Last night I was so excited to try out my first menu plan meal which happened to be Chicken Parmesan from Skinnytaste.com I had prepared it the night before. I picked this meal specifically for my oldest daughter who just adores Chicken Parmesan.

I followed the directions exactly with preparing the recipe but with cooking I strayed just a tiny bit. She called for flipping over the chicken half way through and I didn't want to ruin my beautiful breadcrumbs so I did NOT flip. They still turned out great. I served with some Ronzoni Smart Taste angel hair pasta. {Even my Italian husband the 'noodle snob' LOVED this pasta!}

Now let me just say that I have a family of 4, my 3 year old toddler has become vegetarian and refuses to eat meat. {I mean she even inspects food to make sure we're not trying to pull one over her!} My husband isn't too picky but he loves fine restaurants and has gotten a taste of too much 'good' food so even though he'll eat what I cook ~ he doesn't usually LOVE it. My oldest daughter is SUPER picky but loves meat and pasta as long as there's no random chopped veggies or anything else that she can't recognize in her food.

SO to cook a meal that all 3 {excluding vegetarian toddler} of us actually LOVE is nearly impossible. This Chicken Parmesan was LOVED by every single one of us! It was amazing! So easy and yet so delicious. I don't even like Chicken Parmesan and I LOVED it.

This will be a REGULAR meal in our menu plan ~ I am happy to say.

I wrote out my Weekly Menu Plan and grocery list yesterday and headed for the store. The trip was relatively easy since I knew exactly what I was buying and had my list in hand {which I never have}. It would have been easier if I was at 'My Kroger' but since I had errands to run on another side of town I had to go to a different Kroger so I was a bit lost in looking for some things.

When I got home I put everything away and started dinner for that night which was simply Tomato Bisque and homemade croutons. Kroger has a VERY delicious creamy tomato bisque that they sell - our entire family LOVES it! {And it's WAY cheaper than buying us all soup bowls at Panera} Then I just buy a loaf of some type of fresh bread like sour dough and chop it into big chunks spray with a ton of olive oil spray, sprinkle some garlic salt and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Once dinner was done, I cleaned up the bowls and started my meals for the week at 6:30. I definitely made some mistakes my first time around {like next time I will trim all of my chicken at once and have it ready to go} but it was still SUPER easy and I had 3 full meals completely prepped in 20 minutes! One meal is a crock pot meal so I will throw that together tonight and plug in Wednesday morning. Then 10 minutes to clean everything up. Not bad! Not bad at all.

This weeks menu:

Monday:
Kroger's Creamy Tomato Bisque with homemade croutons

Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan via Skinnytaste

Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches via Melissa's Bargains

Thursday: Sweet & Tangy Chicken via Syrup & Biscuits
Friday: Cheddar & Cracker Chicken via What's Cookin' Chicago

Saturday: Mini Melts via Cooking Unbound {These are absolutely delicious!}

I haven't really planned Sunday yet...I have some things in the house that I can choose from or we will end up eating out either Friday or Saturday and have one of those meals.