Foodie Friday and Menu Planning

I'm still in that food rut I mentioned a few weeks ago. Every time I cook there are too many leftovers, even when I cut the recipe. Little girls just don't eat that much. And so much of it goes to waste because they'd rather have chicken nuggets, and my kids are the type that will go to bed hungry just to prove a point. I have to cook though, and start trying more new recipes, for all our sake. I've been threatening to meal plan a week in advance for months and never started. I've been saying, 'I want a cool website to facilitate it' - never found a free one I liked, or  'I need a neat chalkboard to write the weekly menu' - those cute framed chalk boards on etsy go for over $100, and that's just silly. I'll make one eventually. It's like needing cute new workout clothes before you go running, which is a habit I'm only partially guilty of.

$140 at this etsy shop

 The Sailor and I did our budget while he was home and we spend an insane amount of money on food. Our food/drink budget is $_ _ _ _. That's right...four digits per month. That's too much. So, chalkboard or not I'm going to start meal planning next week, and hopefully Foodie Friday will turn into my success story for the week. I'll post the difference in budget once I've got the hang of it. This site... OrganizedHome.com  has some good tips for first-timers. Some are common sense, but ideas like recycling whole weekly menus isn't something I would've thought of.

Wish me luck!

Last night I made bruschetta, which is so easy, and kid friendly. Paired it with the twin's favorite soup (N.E. clam chowder) and poof! Easy, breezy dinner that didn't come in a carry out box. [the wine, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar was for Mom] With 9 yr old children you'd think I'd have this week night dinner thing down by now...oi.

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