Meal planning is a lot of work, I swear I spend about 2 hours just researching recipes that look appetizing. Then another 2 hours shopping and putting everything away. And then I still have to cook everything, sigh. But despite the dread I feel at the thought of taking a day to meal plan… I NEVER regret it when the day begins. Not only do I have a clear direction of what we are eating that day, all the ingredients in my cupboard, but it means that dinner is usually in the crock pot by about 9am and I can’t even tell you the weight that takes off my back all day long. It probably shouldn’t make such a big difference, but when you hate to cook, having it taken care of kind of makes me want to do a happy dance.
This week I’m solo with the kids so I knew I needed some good meals to look forward to at the end of a long day, but also to be on top of things so that we weren’t living on cereal. I have put together 6 meals, an easy printable shopping list, as well as easy links to what recipes I am using. If you need a week where the planning is just done for you, join me this week! Or take a look at another week’s meal plan here. My goal is to have 4 weeks of crock pot meal planning that I can just alternate (wouldn’t that be epic?).
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My One Week Crock Pot Meal Plan
Monday: We are trying out this yummy looking Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Broccoli over rice. Rice is pretty easy to make in my slow cooker, though it does mean another dish. I’m not a big canned soup fan, so we’ll see how we end up liking this. But I also don’t want to take the recipe’s alternative of making my own cheese sauce as that means 3 pots getting dirty, which is not my definition of an easy slow cooker meal 😉
Tuesday: The kids asked for tacos this week but while I was putting that into my planner I kind of felt like trying out a taco type soup. I stumbled upon this one (well, you know, after hours of research) and it looked too good to pass up! It looks super simple to make.
Wednesday: Time for something with beef! I love roast and potatoes, but with the heat the idea of turning on the oven is less than appealing. This one looks moist and delicious so I am definitely looking forward to Wednesday 😉
Thursday: I love thai food, specifically soup and this one looks delish! I am a *tad* concerned about the kids and what they will think of it, kind of hoping it is not too spicy. I will keep you updated on what we think of it.
Friday: I LOVE pulled pork sandwiches. They are kind of the perfect summer food and we haven’t had them ONCE this summer. I have my pork loins ready to go and a couple bags of coleslaw to go on the side for this night.
Saturday: We are ending this week with a bang with this AMAZING looking kung pao chicken dish. It has the most “ingredients” so a little less on the simple side, but if it tastes as good as it looks, we won’t be complaining! Stay tuned for updates.
Sunday: I wanted something REALLY simple for Sunday, as it is often kind of crazy over here and I am ready for a rest. I decided to try this easy spaghetti recipe, I know it’s always a winner. We’ll finish it off with caesar salad and garlic bread.
Want to try this meal plan with me? Grab your free shopping list!
One of the things I hate the most is going to all the different recipes to compile my shopping list. It is a long process for us and the WORST is when you go to the store and your list is EVERYWHERE. You are in the spice isle and all you see on your list is dairy and bread, where are the spices you need in the midst of your mad scrawl? So I put together a shopping list, I did leave a few simple ingredients out of this list that we already had at home (spices and such) so double check the recipes and make sure you don’t need to cross anything out or add anything in, but it is pretty much everything you need for the entire week.
