Intro & Organization

Hello! I had so many friends and family members ask about posting my meal plan online, so I decided to do just that... A blog where I post the recipes as well as tidbits that I think will help!

I started using Pinterest a little over a week ago and have become addicted it. I began pinning all sorts of things and saw how people mentioned planning and organizing things to make dinners. This is something I had wanted to do for a while and with my wonderful husband getting me the mandolin (slicer) I so desperately wanted for Christmas, it made it easier to do. Planning things out like this minimizes the amount you spend on groceries and it saves you time, which is something high on my list with my baby girl here now. I decided I wanted to take this challenge on. New year, new organizational system.

I started off with a Microsoft Word template. I loooove Word. I used it all the time. I even used it for my wedding invitations. Anyways, I used the 12 month basic Calendar, (any year) template. It's fantastic! You can choose your month and year and save it, but it also gives you the option to change the month and year, so when you are ready for a new month, all you have to do is hit the button. I typed in important dates in January, such as days I knew I wouldn't be cooking dinner (working events, out of town, family/friend parties, etc). This also helps me keep track of things like that as well! I printed it out and then began to plan my menu. Here's what it looks like:

I know it doesn't look like much at first glance, but I promise. Everything is low-carb and healthy! I had to do the low-carb thing with my gestational diabetes for 4 months, so I had to get creative (especially as a pregnant lady!). I do want to note that these are not crazy low-carb, but I will make notes on how to make them like that if you would want. We decided to go back to low-carb since we both lost so much weight, but not be quite as crazy about it as we had to be during my pregnancy.

When creating my menu, I tried to do things like use the zucchini for the first week so it doesn't go bad and re-purpose the leftover Buffalo Chicken as a salad. This will get more refined the more I cook these recipe and figure out exactly how much I have leftover and figure out how things can be repurposed.

After deciding on the menu, I printed out all the recipes I got my inspiration from. I am a stickler for not actually using the recipe, but tweaking it to how I think it should be or flavor combos I liked better, so my copies have notes all over them  with things crossed out and added on. The biggest thing I find in recipes is major lack of seasoning. I also hate the way most recipes are written. All of mine I post on here will be a specific layout with important info on it!

I took all of these recipes and put them in a binder in order that I needed them. I also wrote a list of all the recipes I want to use and listed them on the first page and checked off the ones I was using this cycle. I also made a prep list. Everything I could do to make the meals easier and things I could cook ahead of time and freeze. Here is a picture of my binder:

 

I wrote down and totaled up all the ingredients I needed. I added everything up in my head, crossing my fingers that the total wasn't more than $200. I figured I could do the whole thing, 2 weeks worth of meals, for around $175. I was excited and set out on my journey to the grocery store, on a Sunday no less!

I did better than expected. I spent $160 in two locations. I got half of the stuff at Aldi and the other half at Wal-mart. I am usually not a fan of Wal-mart, but they have ground pork and ground turkey, not to mention their produce is much better than Aldi's and cheaper than Giant Eagle's. I did find out something interesting though... Wal-mart does not have Goat Cheese. Aldi, on the other hand, has Goat Cheese every single time I go there.

High off spending less than intended, I came home and unloaded my groceries. It was amazing! My fridge had never seen so many vegetables!! Look!

 It's beautiful right? My bottom drawers and bottom shelf filled to the brim with veggies! It still makes me smile...

Once all the groceries were unloaded, I began all my prep work. I started by making a gallon of marinara. It's so simple and so good! I like making big batches because if I don't use it, I freeze it. Here's my recipe: 
Marinara Sauce
Yield - 1 gallon
4 - 28oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Minced Garlic
2 tbsp Dried Basil
1 package Fresh Basil
Salt & Pepper to taste

1)In a large pot, turn the heat on high and dump in Olive Oil. It should be enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan.
2)Give the oil about a minute or two, until hot and dump the minced garlic into the pot. Stir, and be careful. The garlic will burn before you know it!
3)Once the garlic has cooked for barely a minute, before it burns, pour the cans of tomatoes into the pot. I recommend pouring it in with the mouth of the can against the side of the pan. This avoids having the tomato sauce splatter everywhere!
4)Stir everything around and add a decent amount of salt and pepper. Remember, tomatos, especially canned, don't really have much flavor, but adding a decent amount of salt is what helps enhance that flavor! Add the dried basil and stir again.
5)With the heat still on high, mince up the fresh basil and add to the sauce. Stir again.
6)Turn the heat down to low when it begins to bubble. Leave on the heat for about an hour (longer if you want/have time) and then you're done! Told you it was easy!

I used this marinara for multiple recipes on this menu cycle.

Then I portioned all my chicken out into bags and froze what was being used next week and kept out what I needed for this week. I made a homemade teriyaki marinade for one of the portions of chicken and put it in the fridge.

Then I made my stuffed cabbage, cheesy enchilada bake and my stuffed peppers. I had planned on making lasagna too, but I forgot to buy my ricotta cheese. I will posted these recipes soon. I wrapped them all really well and put them in my freezer.

During all this, I also cut everything up for my crockpot cabbage jambalya which we had for dinner that night. I will also post that recipe soon as well. I don't have a picture of it though. I forgot to take one!

Now you have an insight into how I started everything and how I plan on doing my next couple cycles of meals. It took me about 3 hours to cook everything, which is great when you consider I saved myself prep time on almost every single one of my meals and even cooked 4 off them!

I plan on coming up with 40+ recipes for me to use so I never have to repeat  recipe in a month! I also plan on coming up with ways to re-purpose meals and more freezer and crockpot recipes! Stay tuned! I will post some recipes tomorrow... Right now, I have to make dinner! 

Thanks for joining me!