a week at our dining room table

These days, with take out and meal delivery services, it is really easy to not worry about coming up with a plan for meals or even cook them for that matter.

I have struggled throughout motherhood with meal planning and cooking.

For a good portion of being a new mom, I was cooking for myself a few nights a week while Michael was at work and instead of making a real meal, I’d resort to quick foods. Which are usually the worst foods.

Once Camden got a little older and ate what I ate, I started to try to make homemade dishes but do half the size so we didn’t have 10 pounds of leftovers.

Now that both kids are at the age of eating what I want (for the most part) – I have been doing a much better job at cooking most nights to ensure we are filling our bodies with balanced meals.

It has not always been easy. For a while, I was running out of ideas pretty quickly. Even scouring Pinterest wasn’t helping me come up with a plan and I’d still have nights where I was completely scattered.

Then I found a meal plan schedule. Each night is a different theme with a different dish to go along with it. I try to use a different dish each week, but the same themes on the same day to keep myself organized.

I meal plan on Thursday night, shop for and order my groceries, then schedule pick up for Fridays. So our schedule starts on a Friday. It looks something like this. I have included an example photos (and link) plus a few more recipes where I could.

Friday – “something fun Friday” which includes something the kids can help with or will really enjoy like make your own pizzas, mac + cheese, hotdogs, sandwiches + soups, etc

Homemade cheeseburger macaroni

Easy cheesy vegetable pasta
Homemade macaroni and cheese
Ranch chicken tenders

Saturday – “breakfast for dinner” which is any kind of breakfast foods

Pancake muffin bites
Strawberry cream cheese French toast bake
French toast sticks
Muffin tin breakfast casseroles

Sunday – “football Sunday” which includes any kind of stereotypical football party foods

Buffalo chicken grilled cheese
Oven baked chicken wings
Homemade corndog bites
Easy meatball sliders

Monday – “Mexican Monday” which is basically any Mexican dish served with rice and/or black beans as a side

Pulled salsa pork + Mexican rice + Mexican street corn

Chicken and cream cheese taquitos
Corn + black bean quesadillas
Chicken enchiladas

Tuesday –  “Italian Tuesday” which is any kind of pasta dish, I try to rotate between different types served with a side salad + bread

Mini meatballs in tomato cream sauce

Italian sausage tortellini
Chicken Alfredo stuffed shells
Crockpot (no boil) manicotti

Wednesday – “one pan Wednesday” which could be anything made in one pan

Shrimp boil foil packets

Kielbasa, rice, and broccoli skillet
Sweet and sticky chicken with vegetables
Green beans, sausage, and potatoes

Thursday – “take out Thursday” (or leftovers) depending on the week, but it is the end of our week so we tend to take it easy on cooking

We also sometimes rotate in a seafood night.

Baked flounder with panko + parmesan

Shrimp and broccoli stir fry
Slow cooker crab dip
Teriyaki shrimp pineapple boats

Here are some other recipes that don’t fit in the above theme nights but we have made them more than once and love them.

Meatloaf cupcakes
Pasta e fagioli soup
Chicken pot pie soup
Asian pan seared steak rolls

I have also listed a few of our favorite desserts

Chocolate chip cheesecake with brownie crust
Soft baked pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing
Blueberry oatmeal cookies
Strawberry poke cake

I hope some of these recipes appeal to you and help you decide what to make for dinner this week! Happy Monday mommas!

xoxo K