Meal Planning and Prep Lately

  Y'all....

... who else can feel me on this ;) hahaha. The first week of school KICKED MY TAIL and I made a commitment to bring back one of my least (but also most) favorite things in the whole world... meal planning.  I hate it because on a Friday night I have no clue what I'll want to eat the following Wednesday and the last thing I want to do is make a grocery list but I LOVE it because we don't end up eating grilled cheese sandwiches 4 nights in a row and it makes me kind of feel likeI have my life together a little bit.  

Today I'm sharing a few of the things I've been trying to do to help with the craziness that can be feeding my family when we don't get home until 4:00, have activities multiple nights a week, etc. 

I meal plan on Friday nights so we can do the grocery store on Saturday morning.  I never feel like doing it on Friday but if I don't shop on Saturday it is TOUGH to get it done any other time so I make it happen.  I'll typically ask the kids what they want to eat (spoiler alert - it's always meatloaf) and then go from there depending on what they're asking for and what proteins I have, what's on sale and what we have going on that week.

- I typically cook a meal Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights.  Wednesdays are leftovers or something else super simple (hello, grilled cheese!) because we have church and then I'll usually make another meal on Thursday.  Friday nights are pizza nights.  Amen.

- I cook/prep A BUNCH on either Saturday or Sunday. It sets my week up for success by simplifying meals and I'd rather make a big ol' mess one time to avoid multiple messy nights.

This past Saturday morning Dave took my big list to the grocery store and then I did the following:

Cleaned/stored produce...

... made  a double batch of sausage balls for breakfast (these are something that all of my kids will happily eat and they're so simple in the mornings), prepped  stuffed shells for dinner that night and baked  a german apple cake.  

I sliced a bunch of cheese that Griffin likes to pair with salami for lunches...

and went ahead and cooked/prepped chicken for  chicken enchiladas I was making on Monday.

 While Dave had the grill on for Italian sausages I was serving with the stuffed shells he grilled a bunch of chicken for Southwest bowls that I've been taking for lunches this week.

The weekend before I prepped a  "faux quiche" that Griffin really enjoys for breakfasts and that I also took for lunches with some fruit on the side.

Another easy prep-ahead breakfast that's my boys absolute FAVORITE are chorizo burritos.  We browned a pound of chorizo, drained that and then scrambled 12 eggs in the same pan.  We laid out 8 of the big burrito tortillas on wax paper and then the boys split up the eggs and chorizo and topped them with cheese.  We wrapped them up, put them in a ziplock bag and popped them in the fridge.  In the mornings they'd grab one, unwrap it and pop it in the microwave.  SO EASY.

Another favorite thing of mine is to prep a soup (like this one) and then portion it out in to containers for lunches.  

I feel like this post has been a bit scattered, but honestly, that's kind of how I feel about meal planning ;). I'd love any tips and tricks you have!!!  I'm hoping that you found a tidbit or recipe today that gets you inspired for meal planning next week.  HAPPY WEDNESDAY, FRIENDS!!!