Meal Planning for the Busy Family

We have a big week coming up.  Not only do our kids start a new school  year, but my husband and I are celebrating our anniversary! So, with that in mind, we will have a special meal this week of grilled steak!  Going to still keep it simple, because we have vegetables coming out of the garden and I have been busy canning up Tomatoes, Spaghetti sauce, and Salsa.  Also, since I am making all this, I'm going to use them this week! I have been craving pizza. Like really bad.  Pizza is my spirit animal, so I have found a low carb "Pizza casserole" that I hope will curb this craving. :)  Meal 1 – Pizza Casserole with Salad Pizza! (No crust) Garden Salad Probably side of pasta for the kids. Recipes needed: http://www.food.com/recipe/low-carb-supreme-pizza-casserole-485518 Going to use my homemade spaghetti sauce for this.  Also, going to use Ground Turkey because its a leaner meat.   I will also leave off the Black olives, because my husband dislike

This was a busy weekend. We had not one but 2 showers for my sister! So I was VERY happy I had my plan in place and some easy recipes to follow.  Here is what all I did! I started out early with putting my brown rice in my instant pot and letting it go.  Seriously, this thing makes the best rice!  While the rice was cooking I placed all my chicken in baking dishes.  Yes plural, I cook at least 6 lbs of chicken a week.  We are already almost out of chicken as I type this, so I think I will have to up that to 9 or 10 lbs.  I liberally added salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the chicken and placed in a 450 degree oven. I then baked the chicken thighs for 45 minutes. Once done I removed them from the oven and then placed them on cookie sheets.  I do cover my cookie sheets with either aluminum foil or parchment paper.  This way it allows for easy cleanup!  You can now cover the chicken with a sauce if you like. My family likes Terriyaki sauce and this one is our favorite! I

I realize its been a long time since I posted.  To say we have been busy has been an understatement. BUT we just completed my oldest daughter's Spring/Summer softball season, so I'm back!!   This week I'm utilizing my Instant pot.  I am in love with my instant pot! My husband purchased me one for my birthday and I believe I use it now several times each week!   So, probably from now on I will have at least one entree cooked in my instant pot.   It's super hot outside, so if I can use something that won't heat up my kitchen I'm all for it.   I do cook my brown rice in it now because its so easy! NO stirring? Yes please! My husband is on a low carb diet. I eat only complex carbs, so expect to see a lot of low carb dishes.  I can add in brown rice when needed.  I also love some roasted sweet potatoes! Meal 1 – Pork Roast with Mushroom Gravy and Steamed Cauliflower Pork  Cauliflower Recipes needed: http://www.healthstartsinthekitchen.com/recipe

Keeping it simple yet again this week. And, we are still enjoying our grill. It will be mother's day, so I want to be able to relax a bit. I deserve it right?  We have a family get together on Sunday, so most of the grilling will be done on Saturday.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!  Meal 1 – Grilled Lime Shrimp with Asparagus and Brown Rice Shrimp Asparagus Brown Rice Recipes needed: http://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-lime-shrimp-43737 We were given some fresh gulf shrimp, so this will be used on the grill this weekend! You do not get much better than that!  I see I have lettuce wraps planned for every meal, but you could really put this shrimp in a lettuce wrap if you want to as well.  Meal 2 – Grilled Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers and Roasted Brussels Sprouts Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers Brussels Sprouts Recipes Needed: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/67952/roasted-brussels-sprouts/ I will make both regular hamburgers and turkey burgers. On

SO, I had taken some beautiful pictures of all my food, but somehow my camera ate them. I am an engineer and yet my camera and computer teamed up against me and I can't retrieve some pictures. I did happen to save a few though. We only cooked one time this week. I had went to a local grocery store to get meat for the grill and noticed they had chicken and pork on sale. I went ahead and stocked up on this and didn't cook any of the fish. I started out by getting the meat marinated.  My husband requested a homemade white sauce, so I went ahead. With the chicken, I will eat mine with the skin removed, so I didn't see it as a big deal. All my white sauce includes is a Little bit of Mayo, A lot of vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can add more  mayo or less vinegar depending on your tastes. Some people like their white sauce sweet, so add sugar if this is the case. I mixed up my white sauce and added the pork tenderloin and chicken to it. I let it marinate unti