"F" is for Effort

I'm one of those people who isn't very flexible. I function on a routine much better, so I've been trying to get back on top of something since Claire joined our family. The first thing I did was prepare our menu and haul the kiddos to the grocery store (don't be too impressed, Alan was home and that's why I did it yesterday!). But I also conquered an on-going problem. First off, I take a majority of my recipes off the internet, but when I go to cook the meal I have to print the recipe off if I can find the website. Also, the ways I've done it in the past, we don't know what's on hand. Alan doesn't necessarily know what the options are, so he can't provide input into what sounds good.

So I made a folder to sit by the fridge, in which I will print the recipes as I decide to use them. I can use them as a reference there for my grocery list and then clip the list of meals and what I planned to make with them for side dishes. Here's what we're making over the next couple of weeks:

Texas Lasagna with green salad
($19.17, split for two families-bagged salad is pricey!)
Sweet & Sour Chicken with added veggies and brown rice
($6.34--we have 90% of the stuff on hand)
Chicken Stroganoff with green salad ($7.76)
BLTs (we also add an egg--we're weird) with Carrot Apple Salad
($12.52)
Grilled BBQ Chicken with Springtime Pasta Salad
($3.40)

Treat: Strawberry Kabobs ($21.93 for approx 20)

Anyone jealous that our schedules are so jam-packed we only fix five dinners over two weeks? Plus, all of these things except the BLTs will have leftovers.

Also, totally unrelated, we are using Nestle Good Start formula to supplement Claire's feedings, so if anyone receives coupons for this they aren't going to use, please let me know because I will take them.