Hi friends, how are you? We had a busy week last week and our menu kind of went topsy turvy on us but thankfully by the end of the week it had all worked itself out.
One thing that makes a huge difference in our house for getting dinner on the table each night is all the help I get from my kids. For instance, since she was young my daughter has been a fabulous sous-chef for me. She grates cheese, browns ground beef, chops veggies, sets out ingredients, etc. All this training has paid off big time because now of course she can can prepare dinner all on her own when I need her to. She’s a fantastic cook (although she doesn’t enjoy it, but too bad!). I can’t stress enough how important it is to get your kids involved in the kitchen. I know with young kids it can be easier to just do it ourselves but you have to consider the big picture. Training them young and consistently means the responsibility for dinner won’t always rest solely on your shoulders. Everyone eats, so everyone should contribute. That’s the way it works.
Do your kids help in the kitchen at meal times?
Yesterday a friend told me about a new menu planner notebook that just came out at Wal-mart so of course in the name of research I had to run right out to buy one for myself 🙂 I absolutely love it! It’s made by Blueline, measures 6.5″x3.5″ and sells for $6.00. Each week includes space for menu planning for the week plus a perforated grocery list page. It’s so cute.
Also for those wanting to use their slow cookers a little bit more I’m excited to offer Stephanie Odea’s TWO slow cooker cookbooks as a bundle in my shop. These will be SIGNED copies. Check it out here.
Have a terrific week everyone!!
My Weekly Menu Plan:
Monday: Ham Fettuccini Bake
Tuesday: Brown Sugar Chicken served with mashed potatoes and corn
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Parmesan Pork Roast served with rice and carrots
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Homemade Pizza (dough made in bread machine)
Saturday: Taco Salad with Fritos
Sunday: YOYO (you’re on your own!)
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
Semi Domesticated Mama says
Thanks so much for hosting. Have a wonderful Monday!
Liz@PocketChangeGourmet says
The Taco Salad sounds yummy! I’m ready for Spring!
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
Miz Helen says
Good Morning Laura,
Thanks for hosting and have a wonderful week!
Miz Helen
Susieqtpies says
Thanks for hosting! I linked up and gave you a big fat pin on Pinterest! Stop over and link up this menu plan in my weekly menu! I’d be honored to have you. http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/2012/02/tasty-menu-with-recipe-photos-and-blog.html
The Happy Housewife says
You had me at brown sugar chicken…. yum!
Have a great week.
Toni
Rosa B. says
Oh! How exciting! I’ll have to see if I can find that planner at my Walmart! 🙂
Alicia @ Alicia's Homemaking says
Laura, your menu looks great! I’m going to have to check out that Parmesan pork recipe. 🙂
Thanks for hosting.
~Alicia
Tiffany says
I’ve seen recipes for brown sugar chicken but I’ve never tried it. Not sure why, because it sounds great!
Laura says
I bought a planner similar to that at CVS during a post new year clearance sale. I love it!
Mindi says
Super cute planner! I do everything online using Kitchen Monki but that’s a great option for those who don’t want to use the computer to do planning.
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
That’s so awesome that your daughter likes to help out so much. My kids wanted to help when they were young and I’d let them – though you’re right, it often was more time consuming – but by elementary school neither were interested anymore and it was easier, so I let it go. Now I’m sorry – they are OK in the kitchen, but I have to ask for help all the time. 🙁 My daughter can prepare a few dishes on her own though, so that’s helpful.
Laura says
Ooops, I guess I should have clarified…my daughter doesn’t enjoy being in the kitchen at all and I still need to remind her what she needs to do. She just has no choice about it 🙂
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Oh! I think I need to take a page from your book, then. 🙂
Missy says
Oh no! I love that organizer but my biggest problem is consistency when it comes to organizing. I find something I like then I find something new that looks like it will work better to try. I want to buy this but have to stop myself.I have come up with a way to make my menu online that I can just print with a grocery list for what I will need for the week as well as what needs to be brought up from the freezer and pantry that is downstairs for the week. If I did not just start that I would LOVE this. I think it would be great for someone who did not use the net to type up their menus. for me it would make an extra step. Then again i could write it in that a month at a time and then transfer it to my blog a week at a time saving on printing. lol I guess I have to check it out.
Stephanie says
Thanks for hosting!
My son just returned from preschool where he made (AND ATE) his own pizza. He never touches pizza here. I’m excited to have him make is own pizza here this Friday night. Hoping for similar results. I try to involve him at home, but we’re still at the pour in or mix stage of his helping.
The chicken and pork dishes you have listed look amazing! I think I might be adding that to our mix in the next two weeks or so!
marci@overcomingbusy says
My 10 year old daughter is awesome at chopping veggies and meat! She enjoys it while I do not. It works perfectly!
Crystal & Co says
That pocket meal planner looks perfect! Great find.
Laura says
I get so excited to find new fun organizing products…whoot!
katzien says
Ugh…you lost me at Walmart.
Kelly @ Dysfunctionally Functional says
It’s been a while since I’ve linked up…it’s been crazy here at my place. But I’m hoping that things are going to be getting back to normal now.
I love having my kids help me in the kitchen. My girls do it more often than my boys. I can even get my older girl to do dinner all by herself, sometimes! My younger boy has absolutely no interest (or attention span) whatsoever, but my older boy will make mac & cheese for all the kids for lunch on the weekend. Every little bit helps!
Have a great week!
Minty @ Under de Mango Tree says
I totally agree! Helping in the kitchen was how I learned how to cook and fostered my love for food. It’s a wonderful way to nurture healthy eaters.
Queen of the House says
LOVE Taco Salad!!!! I have been wanting to make “walking tacos” (basically a version of taco salad) that we keep seeing at all of the basketball tournaments we have been to over these past few weeks!
Lisa says
I grasped the concept fully of having kids help with dinner when my oldest son was eleven. It has been the best experience for our family in so many ways. It definitely didn’t happen every night, but it was enough that my kids really looked forward to it. We cook together, we eat together and we even clean up together when we can. It’s a great time to catch up with each other about the day and yet also teach cooking and cleaning skills and basic nutrition to the kids. My two oldest kids are in college now and I don’t worry about them. I am a big believer!
Susie My SoCal Life says
linked up for the first time today! so happy to have joined in the fun )
Liz Slater says
I refuse to make separate meals for my kids for dinner. To keep my kids involved, I give them each a night to pick our dinner every week (Thursday and Friday), and then whatever is served is what everyone eats. In the beginning the kids often picked “kid food” – chicken nuggets, grilled cheese etc, but over time they’ve gotten better.
I can’t figure out how to link my post above, so here is our menu for the week…..
http://seeingthetreesfortheforest.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-9-menu.html
Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse says
Thank you so much for hosting Menu Plan Monday.
Caroline @Southern Mom Says says
Thank you for hosting and keeping us on track. Menu planning has ben a lifesaver for me!!! I will have to check out the organizer. I have been thinking I need a journal tpye book to write all my menu plans in so I can go back and refer to them all in one place on paper to see what we haven’t eaten in a while if I am lacking in ideas!
Liz Slater says
Thanks for hosting. Looks like I missed out on linking up, so for what it’s worth here’s my plan for the week…..
http://seeingthetreesfortheforest.blogspot.com/2012/03/week-10-menu.html
Also your Brown Sugar Chicken and Parmesan Pork Roast look great. Pinned those for another week.
Laura says
Here’s the link to the most current MPM:
https://orgjunkie.com/2012/03/menu-plan-monday-march-512.html
Liz Slater says
Thanks for responding. For some reason I can’t figure out how to backlink even on the current post (I’m new at this). Any tips?
Laura says
A backlink is simply linking to my blog somewhere in the body of your MPM post.