Week one

As a mom who works full time, with frequent overtime, if I don't plan ahead for the week's meals we often end up eating out, which is frequently unhealthy and generally uneconomical. I find that if I spend about an hour planning meals for each evening of the week and making a list of what I need I can control my family's spending and what we are putting into our bodies. I have always loved planning a weekly menu, but I know that not everyone feels this way, so in comes the idea of a blog where I share my weekly menu plan complete with shopping list in hopes of making this task a little easier for my fellow busy families. You will notice that the majority of these meals will contain meat, that is really the only meal of the day when we eat meat, we buy ours locally at DC Meats, where I know that the animals are raised in a pasture without antibiotics or hormones and I encourage you to find a similar shop that responsibly sources meat. Regardless of where you buy your meat or other groceries, I think you will find these recipes easy to prepare and family friendly.

-Skinny slow cooked pernil; this is a delicious, slow cooked, Puerto Rican style pork that is a great base for many recipes. This week I am going to use this shredded pork for two meals, the first will be to make burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice and Corn Salsa, delicious and you don't even have to stand in line at Chipotle. The second meal will be a quick and easy throw together for a busy week night, taquitos, which you can even make ahead and pan fry when you're ready to eat. You can make these will corn or flour tortillas, I prefer yellow corn, and you add some of your leftover shredded pork and cheese if you like, roll up and you can either bake (350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes) or pan fry in oil until browned. I prefer to pan fry in lard, and before you cringe, you should know that lard, when from a responsible source like I mentioned before, is a great source of Vitamin D, is high in monounsaturated fats, and is an all natural product. Serve these taquitos alongside guacamole, salsa, and/or queso dip and you have a fun, tasty, and easy dinner for the whole family.

-Korean Beef; this is a pretty non-traditional recipe, but is inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare, and a tasty alternative to Asian take out. I think that you could replace the ground beef for whatever ground meat you would like, like pork or chicken. I will personally be using a pound of non-gmo ground beef that I got on sale, and as far as the rice, you could use white, brown, or even wild rice depending on your family's taste and dietary needs.

-Low country boil; I will not be preparing this meal, in fact my dad will be for my mom's birthday dinner because they have some delicious shrimp straight from a boat in South Carolina that is crying to be eaten. This might seem a little involved for a week night, but can easily be done in your slow cooker and ready when everyone is home from work or school for the day.

-Chicken cutlets with herb butter; This is a new recipe for me, but I have wanted to try it for a while. I will be serving it with a hearty Italian bread to clean up that delicious herb butter and either a fresh veggie tray or a green salad to balance it all out. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can replace the white wine in this recipe with chicken broth for a similar taste. 

And now the grocery list, many of these are pantry staples that I keep on hand, but I will add every ingredient that you will need to prepare the above recipes and you can sift through what you do and do not need. Check your local stores for coupons and sales, and keep in mind that taking your list and just shopping once a week will save time and money.

4 lb Pork shoulder roast
rice
bunch cilantro
3 oranges or 1/2 C orange juice
garlice
oregano
Cumin
6 limes
2 jalapenos
1/3 cup diced onion (I prefer frozen)
corn tortillas
shredded Mexican cheese
1lb ground beef
brown sugar
soy sauce
sesame oil
ginger
green onions (optional, I'll probably leave these out)
smoked sausage
3lb shrimp
12 new potatoes
6 ears of corn (mini ears work easily with this recipe)
crab/shrimp boil
1 1/2lb chicken cutlets
flour
butter
parsley
dry white wine or chicken broth
salt
pepper
Italian bread
salad or assorted fresh veggies

I have built in one day to eat out for a family birthday and anticipate that some of these recipes will allow for left overs, so hopefully five meals will give you a good start to planning tasty at home meals, that allow a little extra time with your family.