weekly menu

I've blogged about it numerous times before, but cooking isn't my thing.  At all.  It's just never been something I love doing, and therefore I've never put much effort into it.  When I decided to stay home full time, I knew there would be sacrifices.  Buh-bye Chili's, Panda, Noodles, etc.  Don't get me wrong, we still do our fair share of eating out, but we've tried to cut back, in hopes of saving money.  So what does this mean for my hatred of cooking?  Well, it has kind of gone away...for now! :)

I realized that a big reason I hated cooking was because I was so bad at it, that I would only make the most basic things.  This resulted in lots of bland dinners.  And who wants to eat bland food?  Not me.   It's hard to cook for a picky husband, a 2 year old, and a momma that doesn't like much other than chicken.  So, I have been working really hard at finding different recipes to try, even non-chicken recipes.  Now, I by no means am a future Pioneer Woman, but I must say, my dinners are getting better.  I still don't cook anything that requires too much work because let's be honest, cooking with a 23 month old at your feet can be challenging.  I thought I might share our weekly dinner menu with you all since some of you may be in the same boat. And I'll even let you in on a little secret...I'm actually kind of enjoying trying these new recipes.  I can't believe I just typed those words.  

So here's what we had this week.  I will say that Monday nights we go to my parents house for dinner, and Friday nights we eat out, so I just meal plan for 3 nights usually.  I make enough so that Duane has leftovers to take to work as well.  I get most of my recipes via Pinterest, but sometimes make adjustments to them.  I don't make any recipes that take more than 45 minutes to prepare and cook because I just don't have the time. I also don't have time to take photos of every step, so you're getting the Pinterest picture.  I tried to take pictures the other night, and found Kason hanging on the towel rack on the oven when I wasn't looking.  Bye bye big camera, Insert Pinterest photos.  Just click on the meal to get to the recipe link. :)

Tuesday: Oven Tacos

Oh man, these were yummy!  I've seen them floating around Pinterest a lot, and don't know why I waited so long to try them!  Duane said they were great leftovers as well.  I will say that I didn't add the beans to all of the meat, because Duane isn't a bean fan.  I just added them to some of the meat for me, and left the rest without. :)

Wednesday: Taco Stuffed Shells

These have been a favorite for a while.  So easy, and so, so good.  I do use ground turkey as opposed to ground beef.  I like it better and it's healthier..so it's a win win! :)
  PS - Yes, I'm craving mexican right now..if you can't tell! :)

Thursday: Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

This one is a Bucca di Beppo recipe, and it was so tasty!  I will warn you, it was a little spicy but Kason did east some of it. :)

I hope these help you get some new ideas!  I'll share more next week.  Happy Thursday friends! :)