What's For Dinner?

I always find it interesting to see what other families eat. I've written lots of posts about our meals when we followed Wheat Belly and Whole 30 diets. Here are the most common meals we eat. I prepare the first ten meals much more frequently than the rest of the meals.

1. Chicken Tetrazzini with salad or green beans
2. Shepherd's Pie (loosely based on this recipe)
3. Chili (2 cans of chili beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of rotel, 1 diced onion, 1 lb ground beef), with tortilla chips or cornbread muffins, sour cream, shredded cheese
4. Tacos (beef with taco seasoning, lettuce, grated cheese, salsa, sour cream, refried beans, Mexican rice)
5. Turkey meatloaf (1/2 the recipe) with mashed potatoes and veggie (green beans, cooked spinach, peas)
6. Lasagna w/ salad
7. Taco Soup
8. Cube steak (cooked in crock pot with cream of mushroom and lipton onion), rice or mashed potatoes, veggie
9. Enchiladas with black beans and Mexican rice
10. Pork chops (fried, grilled, crock-pot, or baked--any flavor), stewed apples, slaw, mac-n-cheese or baked beans
11. Chicken pot pie
12. Chicken and gravy (chicken breasts cooked in crock pot with cream of mushroom and lipton onion) served over egg noodles, veggie
13. Baked BBQ chicken, potatoes (either baked sweet potatoes or lipton onion potatoes), cooked veggie or salad
14. Fajitas (top round steak in crock pot all day, add strips of peppers and onions) with cheese, sour cream
15. Chicken stir-fry (frozen stir-fry veggie mix, cut up chicken breasts, teriyaki sauce), served with either Asian noodles, fried rice, or egg rolls (The kids won't eat this meal so I fix PB&J or frozen pizza.)
16. Sloppy joes (ground beef, can of manwich sauce, hamburger bun) with homemade sweet potato fries
17. BBQ sandwiches (pork roast cooked in crock pot, shredded, put on bun), sweet potato fries
18. Beef stew with rice
19. Baked fish (tilapia or salmon) with steamed broccoli and packaged cheddar broccoli rice
20. Spaghetti and salad
21. Quesadillas (chicken or plain cheese), black beans
22. Breakfast Night (scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, hashbrowns, fruit, yogurt)
23. Pigs-in-a-blanket (hot dogs and crescent rolls), mac-n-cheese, veggie
24. Pizza (frozen or from a chain restaurant)

We used to have a bit more variety (stuffed peppers, soups and sandwiches, pecan crusted fish, chicken ceasar salad, butternut squash, etc) and we also ate out more. That was before kids, when finances were more flexible and we didn't have to worry about kids refusing to eat. I still like to try new recipes every once in a while. I have an unopened box of stuffing mix from Thanksgiving that I plan to use in this casserole. I just have to be more conscientious about whether I think the kids will like it or not. (Of course, nowadays the toddlers refuse food they loved the week before!)

Ever since becoming a stay at home mom, I've been responsible for all grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking. Almost all of our groceries come from Aldi. When I shop on the weekends, I have a general idea of what meals I'll cook for the week. I no longer make a list, but I cook the same rotation of meals and keep certain things on hand at all times, so I've become a more efficient shopper and meal planner. The average monthly grocery budget for our family of six is $400 (strictly food, not including toiletries, cat food, or other household items). I can spend less when absolutely necessary, but $400 gives us a good variety of options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

As I unload groceries each weekend, I write our meals for the week on the dry erase board in the kitchen. There's a place for meals beside the calendar, which allows me to reference any scheduled events when meal planning. It helps me keep track of what meat to thaw, when to put the crock pot out, and how much time I need for meal prep. 

Feel free to share your favorite kid-approved recipes or meal planning strategies!