Monday Meals

Hello and happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Overall, ours was pretty good. Now, I’m ready to tackle this week! We only have two more weeks until fall break which is so hard to believe.

It’s been a minnnnute…since I’ve shared a Monday Meals post, so that’s what I’m doing today.

I swear, I feel like I spend a good portion of my life meal planning, ordering groceries, putting away groceries, and cooking dinner. Sometimes, I don’t feel very inspired or feel like I’m in a rut when planning meals for the fam.

I usually consult other blogs and Pinterest first for meal ideas as well as some of my recipe books and recipe box as secondary sources.

When I’m really stuck for ideas, I usually ask the kids what they would like for dinner. Hadley suggested Shay’s Easy Enchilada Skillet recently, so we had that.

I tend to try to follow a system of cooking something Sunday for leftovers Monday. Taco Tuesday. If I’m lucky, I will cook something Wednesday with leftovers for Thursday. I do think it’s easier to get two or three meals out of fall and winter recipes since we eat more soups and casseroles then.

I used to always plan meals Sunday-Thursday, but now I just plan Sunday-Wednesday and hope we have leftovers for Thursday. If we don’t have leftovers, I will do something quick like pork loin and Bob Evans mashed potatoes or breakfast for dinner. In the winter, we’ll have tomato soup and grilled cheese sometimes.

Last Thursday, we ended up having sheet pan nachos because Travis wasn’t home for dinner, and I wanted to make something quick and easy.

Anyway, in case you are in a cooking rut, I’m sharing what we’ve eaten recently and what we’re eating this week:

Last week we had:

Sunday – Crockpot Crack Chicken and waffle fries. I’ve made this many times, and it’s a family favorite. The recipe says it can be a dip, and I can definitely see that being true. The kids had their chicken on buns, but this time, for me, I put the chicken in a tortilla and rolled it up and ate it that way. I think that’s my preference now. I was able to take tortillas for lunch a couple of days too.

Monday – Crockpot Cheese Tortellini and Sausage soup. It’s another family favorite that hits the spot.

Tuesday – I tried a new recipe: Meatball Bombs. We had green beans and fruit too. These were a little sloppy to make, but they were a hit. I used one and a half cans of biscuits in order to make a few more for leftovers. Also, the meatballs I had were smaller, so I cut up two to put in each biscuit.

Travis has been super busy with work, so I’ve been doing most of the parenting things…I decided to give myself a little “break,” and we had dinner on paper plates.

Not an Earth shattering tip, but it was just nice to not have to clean dishes after dinner.

Wednesday- We just had leftovers from the previous nights.

Thursday- I made Sheet Pan Nachos. I don’t know why, but the kids love the fact that I just put the sheet pan on the table, and they just eat from there. Actually, I guess now I can see why that’s fun for them 😉 Again, another night with minimal dishes to clean.

This week we’re having:

Sunday: I made Million Dollar Spaghetti and green beans as a side dish.

Monday: leftover spaghetti and bagged salad

Tuesday: I had extra meatballs from last week’s dinner, so I decided to try this new recipe: Meatball and Tortellini Soup and biscuits.

Wednesday: I’m making Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken and rice. This has been a “go to” recipe for me years because it makes a ton. We have an extra busy week of evenings, so I wanted to use the slow cooker as much as possible and not worry about cooking on Thursday….and I bet I will have enough leftovers for lunch one day too.

Thursday: Wednesday leftovers.

Looking ahead, I think next week, I’m going to make Pumpkin Sausage Penne Pasta. I always look forward to this dish!

…and Bev’s Simple Chicken Pasta Soup.

It’s nice to already have a few ideas for next week!

What’s your “go to” meal?