What's for Dinner? January 2012

My New Year's Cooking Resolution is to better incorporate fresh vegetables into our meals.  I have a new Pampered Chef steamer which I plan to use for broccoli, green beans and other vegetables.  Microwavable "steam fresh" veggies are great and I will be using those on crazy days, but I'd like us to eat more fresh food when we can.

January's meal-planning challenge around here is the theatre.  Little Brother's acting in a play that opens the last weekend of this month, so there's a full week of every-night rehearsals, plus Sunday-afternoon rehearsals, to work around.  In addition, there are Middle Sister's track meets, and one week left of feeding Big Brother well so that the dorm food is extra-yucky by comparison (hey, a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.)

I didn't plan meals for next weekend, which is our wedding anniversary and Big Brother's birthday.  Otherwise, this plan was based on the reality that is our schedule for this month.

Sunday 1:  Gumbo and biscuits (the gumbo was delicious but never thickened up...the next day I cooked it 2 more hours with some pearl barley and wound up with fantastic chicken-barley soup)

Monday 2:  Spaghetti, Olive-Garden breadsticks

Tuesday 3:  Homemade Chipotle with crockpot chipotle beef

Wednesday 4:  Beef paysanne with noodles

Thursday 5:  Rosemary-balsamic chicken

Friday 6:  sick day

Saturday 7:  Pizza at Grandma's

Sunday 8:  Cilantro-Lime chicken drumsticks, rice, green beans

Monday 9:  Italian veal stew with penne and breadsticks

Tuesday 10:  Enchiladas, hash-brown casserole

Wednesday 11:  Spaghetti (time to make a big new batch!)

Thursday 12:  Pho and vegetable dumplings (I have to search for a recipe for the Pho, and the dumplings are frozen)

Friday 13:  Happy Anniversary to us!  (We'd better not be eating at home!)  Takeout for the kids.

Saturday 14:  Big Brother's birthday is tomorrow but we'll probably celebrate as a family tonight.  He gets to pick what he wants.

Sunday 15:  dinner for 3, working around a late-afternoon rehearsal.  I think it might be a good night for French toast.

Monday 16:  Chicken piccata bites, rice

Tuesday 17:  Tacos

Wednesday 18:  Spaghetti

Thursday 19:  Asian chicken wraps

Friday 20:  Sweet & spicy tilapia

Saturday 21:  Hawaiian chicken

Sunday 22:  Tech rehearsal all afternoon/evening; it's Fend For Yourself day

Monday 23:  Chicken pot pie over biscuits

Tuesday 24:  Southwest chili mac with chicken, corn muffins

Wednesday 25:  Spaghetti

Thursday 26:  Spicy orange chicken, rice

Friday 27:  French bread pizza, salad

Saturday 28:  Copycat Alice Springs Chicken

Sunday 29:  Crockpot BBQ chicken (perfect for an after-matinee dinner!)

Monday 30:  Balsamic chicken with thyme

Tuesday 31:  Fajitas