meal plan friday

it's friday

but all i can think about is that next week is going to be a full week of work

the first full week in like 4 weeks.

it's going to be tough.

but right now i'm going to focus on the fact that it's friday.

and i have 2 uninterrupted days at home to be with my woodford and bill.

i also have a fresh loaf of bread courtesy of my breadmaker

and my favorite recipe

i keep it on my fridge since it's pretty much the only bread i ever bake

and at one point i had all measurements memorized since i made it weekly.

i'm promising to get back to doing that.

i've also promised to cook more meals

and that means i need a plan.

my goal is to keep my favorite recipes in rotation in my coupon binder

that way i always have the recipes on me if i'm at the grocery and need to reference them

i thought i would share my meal plan for the next 7 days. my goal by the end of the next couple of months is to find some great recipes that are keepers and build a nice reference cookbook to always have something different to fix each week - instead of the same 3 meals.

my other goal is to weed out the culinary flops on my pinterest boards.  so many things are either loaded with fat or completely flavorless;i'm wondering how they keep getting repinned - pretty pictures of foods =/ great tasting food.

so week 1 of my commitment to cooking:

Friday:
Dinner - taco pasta salad with romaine salad (this was a pinterest find)

Saturday:
B: steel cut oats
L: chickpea salad sandwiches - also a pinterest find
D: DINE OUT (we've allowed ourselves one night a week)

Sunday:
B: pancakes and fruit (the one morning bill and i both have off and eating a big breakfast is fun to cook together)
L: smoothie
D: homemade pizzas

Monday:
B: smoothie
L: romaine salad
D: leftover chickpea salad

Tuesday:
B: smoothie
L: pb&j with carrot sticks  (tuesdays are lunch dates with bill - maybe we can picnic)
D: 15 bean soup with cornbread (basic recipe on the bag of beans)

Wednesday:
B: banana oatmeal
L: leftover bean soup
D: bean burritos

Thursday:
B: oatmeal
L: broccoli pasta salad or leftovers
D: leftovers/ broccoli pasta salad

Friday:
B: smoothie
L: broccoli pasta salad
D: layered eggplant parmigiana - one of my other goals is to cook with my husband - and cooking dishes that are new to us both means we both have to learn and help.  i've never cooked eggplant and this recipe seems easy enough with a few different steps so that we can both participate.

do you pin tested recipes on pinterest? have any that i could try and blog about?  let me know!