From the Kitchen of. . . .

I am trying a meal planning experiment hosted by (http://thehappyhousewife.com/). I am jumping on board at week two--you can still join the fun too! Does anyone else here do meal planning or have tried it? I've have definitely meal planned since our middle child was a baby. However, I have noticed I've been in a rut the past couple of years. I have pretty much been serving the same seven meals almost every week. I think my family will welcome this challenge as it has motivated me to crack open the cookbooks and try some new (and old forgotten) recipes.

Step one was to make a list of 15 meals (this was expanded to 20 in step two):
1) Spaghetti
2) Picante Chicken
3) Beans and Rice
4) Tacos
5) Baked chicken and rice
6) Meat Loaf
7) Shrimp Lo Mein
8) Chicken Spinach Bake
9) Bean Burritos
10) Breaded Chicken Tenders
11) Skillet Chicken Cacciatorie
12) Stir-fry
13) Shimp Diablo
14) Baked Potato Bar
15) Veg. Totellini Toss
16) Aztec Quiche
17) Salmon Patties
18) Spinach and Rice Casserole
19) Pizza
20) Ham Mac n Cheese

Step Two is to expand above list to 20 (check) and made a list of sides your family enjoys:

1) Bananas
2) Peas
3) Corn
4) Green Beans
5) Apples
6) Oranges
7) Beets
8) Kiwi
9) Yams
10) Carrots
11) Grapes
12) Yogurt with blueberries
13) Pears
14) Peaches
15) Avocados
16) Broccoli
17) Cantelope
18) Watermelon
19) Strawberries
20) Salad (well, some of us like it)
21) Bell Peppers
22) Raspberries
23) Snow peas
24) Spanish Rice
25) Rice Pilaf
26) Cornbread
27) Raisins
28) Cranberries
29) Broccoli with Cranberries and Almonds (been wanting to try this for a long time)
30) Okra

Whew! I'm sure there's more but that's about all I can come up with right now!