Ah, December. This lovely month we’re currently in has a history of kicking me in the tail. It’s just so BUSY with all the Christmas shows and events and special activities. We have family come into town which is SO fun, but it also means we try to cram a lot into the time we have. Add in C’s Christmas Eve birthday– and the family and friend parties that go along with that– and it gets to be a LOT.
Last month, I attempted to cook for an entire month all at once. We ate well and my life was EASY. (Well, except for the wild shop/cook/bake craziness at the front end of the month, but then it was a cakewalk.) I did learn a few things, however:
- My family will happily eat certain things every week.
- My family is NOT happy about eating other certain things overly frequently.
- I need to make bigger batches of pizza dough.
- My husband missed some of “my” recipes– some of our old standbys around here.
- Even though cooking a pot of oatmeal in the morning is easy-peasy and, arguably, quicker than assembling individual packets… my kids loved having their own packets. In this season, it’s worth the extra minutes just for their joy.
- Cooking a month’s meals upfront really DOES free up time throughout the month and eases my burden on those busy days. I don’t think it’ll be an “every month” thing for me but, for this chaotic one, it seemed like a good plan again.
So, with all that learned, here’s what we’re eating for the month. (Just breakfast and dinner are listed for most days. Leftovers and random bits will fill in the lunches.)
1: Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwiches, Italian Wedding Soup & Breadsticks
2: Breakfast Burritos, Sunday Supper @ B&P’s
3: Oatmeal (Blueberry Creme or Brown Sugar Raisin– kids’ choice); Poor Man’s Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, & Green Beans
4: Strawberry Wheat Muffins & Fruit, Manicotti (<– cover recipe of Jessica’s cookbook)
5: Lemon Almond Granola & Yogurt, Homemade Spaghettios w/ Meatballs & Broccoli
6: Oatmeal & Milk, Burgers & Applesauce
7: Banana Pumpkin Smoothies & Toast, Pizza
8: Pancakes & Applesauce, Carnitas Soft Tacos (I actually assembled these in kits for the first time ever.)
9: Ham, Egg, & Cheese English Muffin Sandwiches, Sunday Supper
10: Oatmeal & Milk; Spaghetti & Meatballs, Broccoli
11: Strawberry Wheat Muffins & Fruit, Burgers & Baked Beans
12: Oatmeal & Milk, Poor Man’s Chicken Parm Sandwiches on Garlic Bread & Green Beans
13: Oatmeal, Italian Spiced Cheesewiches & Carrot Sticks
14: Strawberry Cuke Vanilla Smoothies & Toast, Pizza
15: Cinn. Rolls, Sausage Links, & Fruit; Angelhair w/ Garlic & Oil, Gr. Beans
16: Breakfast Burritos, Sunday Supper
17: Oatmeal & Milk, Carnitas Soft Tacos
18: Strawberry Wheat Muffins & Fruit, Poor Man’s Chicken Parmesan w/ Tortellini & Green Beans
19: Oatmeal & Milk, Burgers & Applesauce
20: Strawberry Muffins & Fruit, Italian Spiced Cheesewiches & Carrots
21: Banana Pumpkin Smoothies, Pizza
22: Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwiches & Fruit, Homemade Spaghettios w/ Meatballs & Broccoli
23: Ham & Cheese English Muffin Sandwiches, C’s family birthday dinner: Ham, Mac & Cheese, Dark Pink Jello, Sweet Potato Fries, Broccoli, Cake
24: (Christmas Eve and my daughter’s actual birthday!) Cheerios, Yogurt, & Grape Juice; Cheese Pizza & Grapes; Christmas Eve dinner at my sister’s house
25: Cereal & Juice by the tree, Scr. Eggs w/ Cheese & Cinnamon Rolls, Ham & Cheese Sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls w/ a relish tray
26: Lemon Almond Granola & Applesauce, Poor Man’s Chicken Parm. Sandwiches on buns & Gr. Beans
27: Oatmeal & Milk, Homemade Spahettios w/ Meatballs & Broccoli
28: Strawberry Cuke Vanilla Smoothies & Toast, Pizza
29: Pancakes, Ham, & Fruit; Burgers & Baked Beans
30: Scr. Eggs, Toast, & Fruit; Sunday Supper
31: Oatmeal & Milk, Manicotti
I gotta say– I’m feeling pretty well-organized! Now if I could just figure out how to remember to EAT while I’m doing all that cooking…
linked to Menu Plan Monday
