a new season

Now that I've got a newborn to look after again, I'm starting to reprioritize my time and rethink all of my routines/or lack there of. One major change has been the way I grocery shop and cook. Those of you who know me well, know that I love to cook and love to try new things. Pre-Jonathan I shopped for groceries once a week and usually came up with a new menu each week and made my shopping list from that menu. Now that my time is a little more scarce, I've got a new plan which is a lot more structured and, sadly, a bit boring. I know you're dying to know (probably not), so I'll tell you the plan. ;)

From here on out, I shop for groceries once every two weeks and we have a menu that's mostly the same every week.

The Boring Menu...
Mondays- Spaghetti, Bread, and Salad
Tuesdays- Soup or Stew and Bread
Wednesdays- Hot Dogs and Mac'n Cheese (Annie's)
Thursdays- Homemade Pizza and Veg
Fridays- Quiche and Salad
Saturdays- Something Different! (The only two recipes I have to come up with each time)
Sundays- Leftovers... I refuse to cook on Sunday anymore. It's way too draining.

Here's how it helps me:

• This will help me not to space out in my sleep-deprived stupor and forget half of my ingredients
• It should also help me take less time to make the menu and grocery list when it's time.
  
• It also saves me time when I cook, because I can make double or triple batches of things and save them to pull out for the next week, instead of eating the same thing for three days in a row.
  
• What I like too, is that the routine of this all allows me to keep cooking healthy and not succomb to fast food dinners. As easy as they are, they don't help my kids to grow and thrive well.

Just a picture to keep you from being visually bored... This is a sample of Matt's crazy dinners for the kids. When I'm gone or sick, he puts the leftovers together to make some funny sculptures for the kids.