It's the busiest time of the year for myself and my family. September means we are back in school, back into fall soccer, back into choir and bells and back into scouts. This year it also means I'm back to work full time instead of occasionally. We are busy 3-4 nights a week with activities and volunteer obligations. It also means I need to get back into formal meal planning. I'd let it fall to the wayside this past year because I was only working part time and not every day. I had plenty of time to run to the grocery store and pick up last minute items. Now, not so much. After three weeks of school with no real menu plan I found that it's just not working. By Wednesday at 6:20 when we still weren't home from the day of school and after school activities and the meal I had planned would take at least an hour to prepare we ended up at Corner Bakery for dinner because I just didn't have it in me. Now I know that on Wednesdays I need to plan a meal that is either in the slow cooker or one that is pre-cooked or eaten cold. Here are my ideas for next week:
Monday: Slow cooker Honey Garlic Chicken over rice. I'm going to attempt to make this in the instant pot instead of slow cooking it. Hoping it works!
Tuesday: Chicken fajitas with rice. I use Penzey's fajita spice seasoning. It's the best! It's scouts night so this needs to be a quick meal.
Wednesday: Buffalo chicken chili in the slow cooker. This is a great recipe and I like that I can control the spiciness. My kid won't eat this though!
Thursday: No school! Will make homemade pizza dough for either pizza or Stromboli. The kiddo likes cheesy bread sticks with this dough too. This is an easy to make pizza dough that uses yeast and bread flour. It turns out great every time and I can make 2 huge pizzas with it or 3 medium ones. Served with salad.
Friday: who knows!!
Weekend: Depending upon soccer games, volunteering and church activities, meals will be planned on the fly. I do hope to get some meal prep done as well as some grocery shopping. I'd like to make these no-bake energy bites to pack in school lunches.
