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!

Fun Valentine's Day Project

Made these adorable edible crayons this weekend with my 3 year old. She had so much fun {eating the chocolate}! Of course I got the idea off of Pinterest. I just love Pinterest!

Ugh...Computer Problems

Crazy week!

I lost my hard drive last Friday and am just now getting everything back and reset up.

Monday was a crazy day, I had no good access to my site or the blogs that I can't live without. But I was determined to still create my weekly menu plan. So on a sticky note, I jotted down my weekly recipes and the shopping list.

Here it is:

Monday:
Leftover Meatloaf & Biscuits

Tuesday: 
Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday:
Pizza Pockets

Thursday:
Crock Pot Roast

Friday:
Some type of chicken; yet to be determined.

Weekend:
I will wing it!

Lessons learned...

When I planned this weeks menu I didn't check our calendar to see what else we had going on. I planned a new item that was going to require extra prep work. Then on my regular cooking/prep day I had a work thing pop up and didn't have time to go shopping that night.

Tuesday, I did go shopping but had forgotten that my oldest had a hair appointment so I ended up getting home later than usual. PLUS, I made our leftover menu item more complicated by getting 'fancy' and making it into barbacoa beef flautas. It took way more prep time than necessary and I could have just made plain ol' tacos.

I didn't get done cooking the weeks menu until 8pm and was just exhausted when I was done; although I was HAPPY to still have done it. Later that evening we realized that we had other things going on. So this week every night I've switched items around to go with our schedule.

Lesson Learned?
Well; from now on I will check the calendar to see if we have extra things going on and if we do I will make sure to only prep easy things for the week.

I've been tested in week 3 but I feel I passed. I didn't give in to the temptation of just running out and picking up some fast food and I stuck to the plan. Even though I'm exhausted!

Just go with it...

Well that didn't take long; I ended up having a work meeting at the end of the day which was off site so it put my drive home at twice as long or more. So of course I couldn't go to the store and then pick up the girls on time so I just had to go with it.

I moved up the pizza braid to Monday since I already had everything for it. {It actually ended up being pizza 'muffins'.} I just took some Pillsbury crescent rolls flattened out, lined the muffin pan, put some sauce, pepperoni and cheese then folded up and baked. Super easy, almost mess free and super delicious!!!

So I'll rearrange the menu a bit and will be doing my weekly cooking tonight instead. Luckily Tuesdays are pretty free right now so I'll actually have the time to still do my 5 dinners in 1 hour!

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!

Crock Pot Sesame Chicken is #1

I was home with my 3 year old yesterday who had a fever, cough and runny nose. So I updated our weekly menu a bit by using the Crock Pot Sesame Chicken and will move Barbacoa Beef to Sunday. {My house smelled so good all day it was hard not to dig in!}

I added about 1/2 a cup of chicken broth into my crock pot just to make sure there were enough juices but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. It was YUMMY, my oldest LOVED it and my husband couldn't stop saying how amazing it was! Definitely a KEEPER!

Amazing how easy this stuff was to make, I literally spent 1-3 minutes on this meal. I trimmed my chicken breasts, got a crock pot liner and placed it inside one of my large measuring cups to help keep it open, poured in all of the ingredients then plopped in the chicken. I used this tip from Renee at Living, Laughing & Loving and twisted my crock pot cover pinched it shut with a clip and placed that inside a zip lock baggie. {I also rubber banded the outside of the zip lock to keep it from shaking around too much.} It worked GREAT!