dinner. it's what's for, uh...dinner.

and it's monday again.

how do weekends go so fast? they go even faster when it's warm & sunny outside. rainy saturdays last FOREVER, it seems.

this weekend i started something that before i had always laughed at, secretly made fun of. when i realized that i could start saving money doing it, i decided to give it a shot.

i'm meal planning!!!

hm, not as exciting as training for a marathon or digging a garden plot but certainly a big change for us.

i'm only planning our suppers for now. i could go crazy and plan lunches, but during the week there's just 2 kids home so i'll just jump in and see where it takes us. before trying this grand experiment, i'd just throw some oven-ready creation in the oven, add a fruit or vegetable and call it dinner. truthfully, that still resembles my meal planning, only now it's on the fridge for everyone to complain about.

i shouldn't say everyone is complaining, just my 4 year old. he's been the main deterrent to meal planning in the past. the fact that he a) hates meat, b) hates most vegetables and c) hates most sauces should let you know why i've put this off for so long. i've realized that if he's going to be a kindergartener in a public school next year, i should start putting new foods under his nose. who knows what those lunch ladies will try to feed him!

so far, not so good.

last night was meatloaf muffins, using this recipe. pretty much just turkey meatloaf (with cheese mixed in, to tempt him...what 4 year old can resist melted cheese???), put into well-sprayed muffin tins, with a spiral of ketchup on top. reese and rob LOVED them, both will be eating them for lunch today as well. i thought they were pretty good too, but i restrained myself with just two. elisha ate about 1/2 of hers, which is normal. cade, however, had to add drama to the meal. crying, screaming, crouching into the fetal position on his chair WHILE crying AND screaming...but eventually he at least took one bite of the meatloaf, and one bite of the mashed potatoes i had fixed on the side. his dinner was: 1/2 an apple (no skin), 1/2 slice of homemade bread (with butter), one bite of meatloaf, one bite of mashed potatoes, and one mini banana chocolate chip muffin. the muffin was the deal maker, obviously. cade will do anything for those yummy things.

anyway, tonight is spaghetti and breadsticks, with broccoli and/or cantelope. cade's meal will be: buttered spaghetti noodles (remember he hates sauces), cantelope, and as many breadsticks as i'll let him have.

i'm actually looking forward to dinners this week. it's almost like since it's on paper, it's there to back me up when cade starts whining about what's being served. i did work in some fun dinners too, it's not all meatloaf and crockpot dishes. wednesday we're having chocolate chip flax pancakes. you KNOW no one will be late for that dinner!