Weekly menu planning

It's that time of year again!-  The time when us full time moms turn into full time super moms/teachers!  With that in mind, today was my first day of planning out an entire week of meals and shopping for all of the ingredients.  I have been asked many times in the past about how I find such a variety of ideas and how I manage my time with weekday meals, getting the kids to their activities, AND being "on top of" my teaching career so I wanted to do a post with some tips on making things a little easier...

Planning up front is a little bit more work, but I end up feeling less stressed during the week if I know what's coming up. AND I get to avoid answering the dreaded "What's for dinner?" daily question!

~I start planning meals for the week on Saturday night.  My main source of ideas is Pinterest.  Sometimes I will just see a picture and go at it on my own, other times I will follow the recipe exactly.

~As I am making the menu for the week, I am making my shopping list at the same time.  If I do not finish the planning on Saturday, I finish up Sunday morning before I head out shopping, or literally while I am at the store!

~I do my shopping for the week early Sunday morning.

~I write the meals for the week on our chalkboard menu in the kitchen.

~I make dinner for Sunday night and I prep or cook Monday night's dinner also.  I usually try to make a crock pot meal for Monday so I can just come home, heat it up for the kids, and get our daughter to taekwando.  If it is not a crockpot meal, it is something quick.  If I have leftovers from Monday's meal, we usually eat them on Wednesday or Thursday.

~One of the weekend nights we normally go out to dinner.  Since we just started playing on a co-ed soccer team on Friday nights, we have been eating out after our game on Fridays.

Here is an example of a week's worth of meals, our "back to school" menu this week!

Steamed kale with garlic and feta

One thing I finally got around to doing this summer while I had some time off, was figuring out what to do with this super trendy, amazingly delicious, leafy green vegetable!  Again, my motto; simple and tasty!  Hopefully, if you have not yet ventured into the kale world, and have been wondering how to prepare it, this recipe will help you out!  I plan to continue preparing this for my lunches and side dishes for dinner during the school year!

Steamed kale with garlic and feta

Kale

Salt

Black pepper

Feta cheese

Garlic cloves (marinated in oil with fine herbs)

Wash and chop kale- cut down each side of the large stem in the middle of the leaf and then cut each side of leaf into smaller pieces.

Put kale in steamer and cover with lid.  Check kale every so often and sprinkle to taste with salt.  When kale looks dark green and is soft and tender, it is ready!  Kale needs to be cooked thoroughly... I have read some recipes that say 5 mins. but I definitely steam it longer than that.

Move kale to bowl and add more salt if you need to as well as cracked black pepper.

Chop marinated garlic and add garlic and feta to kale.  Toss and enjoy!

Eat alone or as a side/salad to your entree...

<3LML.leafygreens.

Seriously 10 minute tortellini

Just sharing a super quick, with minimal ingredients, but delicious recipe I came up with during our inservice week in preparation for "back to school!"  It's good that I do have a "not as serious" week to get readjusted to our back to school schedule, and during that week while looking for some "healthier" recipes to prepare, I came up with this idea:  It was seriously quick and different from what we usually have, since I did not top the pasta with sauce, but tried fresh cherry tomatoes instead!  

*I will be sharing the quick, weekday recipes that I turn to this school year with my fellow teacher/moms in an attempt to make our lives, if at all, slightly easier!

Seriously 10 minute Tortellini

Frozen tortellini 

(Used two bags of Great Value tortellini and had leftovers during the week)

Olive Oil

Ground black pepper

Cherry tomatoes

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Start boiling water in pot.

While water is boiling, slice cherry tomatoes.

Drizzle pan with olive oil and once pan and oil are hot, add cherry tomatoes and saute until cooked.

Once water is boiling, add tortellini.  

(It's literally done in 5-7 mins!)

Strain pasta, drizzle with olive oil, and add cracked black pepper...mix.

Serve tortellini in bowl and top with tomatoes.  Shredded parm will finish off this delish dish!

Smothered Mexican Chicken

This chicken recipe is delicious and loved by a picky-eater, so I know it's good!  I just kind of invented it one day- It is simple to make with minimal ingredients and the taste is probably different than anything you've made before.  It's along the lines of Mexican, so I usually prepare it with Zataran's Yellow Rice and a veggie.

Smothered Mexican Chicken

Chicken breasts

Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
Garlic salt
Goya Adobo Seasoning
Ortega Original Taco Sauce
Jalapeño slices
Shredded Taco Blend Cheese

 Drizzle skillet with olive oil and begin to cook chicken breasts in skillet.  Season both sides generously with salt and pepper, garlic salt, and Adobo seasoning.

 After chicken is cooked, coat both sides with the taco sauce.  Continue to cook for about 5-7 more mins. in the sauce turning chicken on both sides.

 Cover each piece of chicken with a few jalapeño slices.

I usually leave a few pieces without jalapeños for the kids!

After jalapeños are added, completely cover chicken with the shredded cheese.  Lower the stove temperature just a bit and cover the skillet.  Cook covered chicken until cheese is melted.

Serve with yellow rice and a veggie!

<3LML