It's going to be a very busy week, with Sam having two high school soccer games, and Nick with club soccer & volleyball. (And yes, we've told him that he needs to choose two sports after his current commitments end. Volleyball was a great fill in when soccer wasn't happening, but now that everything has restarted, it's too much. He'll likely select tennis & soccer, which seems to be a good fit for him personally, & for us with logistics.)
I did prep a few things to make things easier during the week. I shredded cabbage & carrots, & made up the coleslaw dressing, and Nick prepped a Blue Apron dinner, so it will be ready for reheating on a night where we need a quick dinner.
Here's our menu plan for the week:
- Friday - I selected the easy option, and we had pizza two ways. I doctored up a frozen veggie cauliflower crust pizza from Costco for the adults, using extra pepperoni from the freezer. The kids had a pepperoni pizza (freezer). Keeping pizza in the freezer for busy nights is always a good idea. We had it with champagne, to celebrate achieving our mortgage goal.
- Saturday - takeout Greek food & cake. I opted for a new item at our local restaurant - gyro sliders. Delish. There was enough leftover that Sam had Greek food for lunch yesterday
- Sunday - M grilled chicken (there was a huge rain storm, so he had some regrets), Nick roasted potatoes & I made a salad & sauteed brussel sprouts. Team effort.
- Monday - Nick is cooking the last of the Blue Apron meals. It's a gouda burger with roasted carrots. M will make salmon for himself, and I'll make a keto friendly coleslaw to round it out.
- Tuesday - we prepped another Blue Apron meal on Sunday, so we could easily whip up a chicken in black bean sauce. It looks interesting. We'll roast carrots or potatoes to go with him.
- Wednesday - Leftover grilled chicken on caesar salad
- Thursday - potentially chicken tacos
- Friday - TBD
What about you? What are you eating/making this week? Any quick & easy weeknight meals to recommend?
I love, love, love that you are pressing your boys to stay busy and engaged as they move into high school. We did similar with our daughters, cross country and track in their case, which alternated seasonally, so I can imagine having them run concurrently would be stressful!
ReplyDeleteThe biggest win in keeping ou daughters engaged and busy, considering a heavy academic load as well, is that they were too tired to look for troublesome ways to fill their rare, free time. If for no other reason than that, I continue to be a big supporter of 'Keep 'em busy!' in their teen years.
And Happy Birthday to Sam!
I find that boys are really high energy. If they don't work out & get a lot of exercise, they are fighting & wrestling & generally causing me trouble. As they get older, they just become attached to electronics. Neither scenario is good, so keeping them busy & fit is a priority!
DeleteThe plan sounds good. One thing I made a lot of when my kids were home and we ran from one sporting event to the next were stir fries. I'd grill or bake a tray of chicken breasts on a day I had some time, slice them up and keep them in individual freezer bags so all I had to do was throw it in the wok with some veggies for quick and easy meals. Rice noodles or glass noodles are great to use in stir fries too since they only have to soak for a few minutes in hot water instead of waiting the 20 minutes for regular rice to cook.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea - thank you! I've typically been a "cook on weekends, leftovers during the week" cook, but COVID meant we had a lot more time. I'd almost forgotten our old routine, but last week reminded me that I need to go back to my old ways!
DeleteI think it is brilliant for you to cook ahead.
ReplyDeleteWhen our sons were early teens not driving, taking them back and forth to their activities was almost a full time job. We kept our busy too! I think it is just healthier not just for their bodies but also for their minds and attitudes.
So many activities & driving. We've never had a high school sport, plus a club sport, and that intersection is nuts. It also doesn't ever happen (school soccer is intentionally played during winter, as club soccer pauses at that time), but COVID has meant lots of adjustments.
DeleteAthletics have been a really important part of our kids development. Keeps them happy & healthy for sure.
I roasted 4 kinds of veggies,carrots, cauli,broccoli, and asparagus and then fried pork chops and made a broccoli slaw salad with raisins and sunflower seeds. Hubs will take all the leftover roast veggies in his lunch tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delicious!
DeleteI dont miss the taxi service days! Of course it's been four years since I've been able to stop running since last started driving. You always have such nice meals and I like the team effort.
ReplyDeleteSam will theoretically be driving in a year or so, but he's on the younger side of 15, so we will see how that goes.
DeleteThis week I'll be challenging myself to cook with what we already have on hand in creative and delicious ways. Zero-food waste meal planning is my favorite way to feed us.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Zero waste meal planning is a fabulous goal.
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