Meal Planning: A Week in Carrie's Life

 Welcome to a "Week in the Life"- a meal planning series that offers you a peek into the kitchen's of other women. Every Friday we will be featuring a different woman and a week of the meals she feeds her family. You can read more about the purpose of this series here. Happy meal planning! May your culinary side be inspired :).

Welcome to Carrie's Kitchen!

I was excited when Rachel announced this series. I'm always looking for new ideas and inspiration for meal times. :-)

As the week approached when I was planning to record each dinner I made for my family, God had a different plan. I ended up spending the majority of that week on the road helping my sister and her husband move from California to Nebraska. :-). So this is a sample meal plan showcasing some of the typical fare you can find on our dinner table. :-)

Sunday - Spaghetti. :-) After years of occasionally trying a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe and never quite liking it, I finally found a recipe my family likes. And it is delicious! I love how simple and easy it is. I can mix it up on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The sauce is supposed to simmer for an hour so be sure to allow plenty of time. I've rushed this meal preparation on occasion when I've forgotten to leave enough time and it just doesn't taste quite as good.

Monday - Cheesesteak Sandwiches. This is one of my favorite dinners! :-) When I find steak on mark down I usually make this. It's very simple. Slice the meat. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Saute the meat, 1 onion, and 1 bell pepper. When it's cooked through, serve on rolls. Sprinkling the meat mixture with cheese makes it even more delicious!

Tuesday - Crockpot Fajitas. Crockpot meals are so wonderful! :-) I love being able to fix dinner in the morning and smell it cooking all day long. :-) I have to admit that we prefer fajitas freshly made in the evenings. However, this is a great go-to recipe if you know you won't have time in the evening to slice and cook all of the ingredients.  

Wednesday -Beef Enchiladas. It took me awhile to find an enchilada sauce recipe that we liked. But this one is perfect!! I use it in more than just this recipe. If something else I'm making calls for enchilada sauce, I can substitute the sauce in this recipe. It's so easy and simple.  

Thursday - Shepherd's Pot Pie. I love this casserole as an effortless way to use up leftovers. :-) When I find my refrigerator filling up with odds and ends I throw the leftover meat, sauce and veggies together and add some gravy. I whip up some mashed potatoes to put on top of the casserole and bake until it's hot all the way through. Delicious and simple.

To make some gravy heat 2 cups of broth in a pot and bring to a boil. While you're waiting for the broth to boil, whisk 1/3 cup of flour into 1/2 a cup of milk. When the broth is boiling, whisk in the flour/milk mixture. Stir constantly until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. 


Friday - Pizza. My husband does the pizza for our family :-) He loves to do that and our two boys enjoy being in the kitchen and helping daddy. I make a pot of the spaghetti sauce that I linked to above for him to put on the pizza, I just leave out the meat since we prefer a meatless sauce on our pizzas. :-)  


Saturday - Brunch Strata -I was never a big fan of breakfast casseroles until I found this recipe. I rarely follow this recipe exactly. I add in vegetables that my family likes. This recipe makes it very easy to get a great variety of vegetables into our diet.

 I hope this menu plan inspires you. I love being able to share some of our favorite recipes! :-)

Carrie is a wife, and mama to two little boys and one sweet girl. While she is passionate about caring for her home and kiddos for the glory of God, she  also enjoys helping other women as a Bradley childbirth educator. You can find her blogging with her twin sister Melinda to encourage women to embrace whatever life circumstances God has for them at Wholesome Womanhood.