MPFSSBJALMWLABOV...It's gonna sweep the nation!

So my new adventure this week is Meal Planning.  Well, it's not so much a NEW adventure as an adventure that I fail terrifically at frequently then give up in a huff of Kraft Mac & Cheese and Pirate's Booty (but the Trader Joe's kind, I pretend it's healthier).

My first try was the Month-Long Meal Plan.  It was good in theory, but shopping for the entire month was completely impossible money-wise and the logistics of planning the leftovers for an entire 30+ days was exhausting.  And Hubs decided to smoke a pork butt that month so of course that totally threw off my planning since it lasts, like, a week with leftovers.  Not that I'm complaining, my husband knows good butt.  Mmm.  That smoker was the best Valentine's Day gift I've ever given, maybe will have EVER given.  I love self-serving gifts!  Like the kegerator I was going to make/give him for his birthday that he ended up making and gifting to himself - WIN!

My second try was Meal Plan Every Sunday by making a shopping list while comparing to a stack of recipes.  This works alright, but then I ended up getting REALLY bored with some of my "staple" recipes.  And Hubs will kill me if I EVER make white enchiladas ever again.  I may kill myself, actually.  And making the same recipes over and over just gets SUPER dull.  Comfort food is great, and all, but for exciting the palate, it's so blah. 

And meal planning sucks ass sometimes when both Hubs and I get home around the same time after work.  Or the days that I drive from work to my MIL's home to pick up the kids then back to our house, getting home around 7 pm, needing to get the kiddos fed, washed, and into bed in about an hour and a half.  See, it's not that I'm necessarily BAD at meal planning, it's just that I'm really, really dumb.  You've probably already seen my major mistake: not a SINGLE mention of the Holy Crock Pot.  I just need to be smarter.  Can I buy that somewhere?  Like Walmart?  Hahaha, probably not there.

So I'm meal planning again, this time I'm calling it Meal Planning For Slightly Smarter But Just As Lazy Moms Who Like A Bit Of Variation (acronym can be located in the title): 

1.  Scour the world wide web for new recipes.  I like this because I can put "easy" into the Google search...but don't just use that one word, you may not like what pops up.  I'm  fan of Food Network recipes.  Partially because I'm so star-struck by the celebrity chefs, but partly because they knew best when Paula Deen was a douche.  I was one of those people that stood by her when she was saying she had said the [insert racist bullshit here] long ago and had learned since then and all that crap...  Until I read her sworn testimony only LAST year that had her relating UNDER OATH that she had said some terrible, racist things, such as the [insert racist bullshit here], VERY recently.  I was disappointed in FN for not giving her a chance, irked that they immediately cancelled her show, and annoyed that they didn't show more grace for a mistake made so long ago...but they proved me wrong...and secured my loyalty.  Anyhoo, I got 5 brand new recipes and am looking forward to expanding my horizons!  That is the general gist of my new Plan: new recipes for a month!  And then maybe longer!  Exciting!
2. Print out a list of ALL the recipes starting with Sunday night's recipe and going through Saturday night.  This ensures that on my dumber days, I do not lose the recipe I'm suppose to be making.  Unless I lose ALL the recipes because I put them in that place that I'm sure to not lose them.  You know that place.  Sigh.  But I'm pretty sure - like 60% - that I've saved the list to my computer...somewhere.
3. Make a complete shopping list.  Be sure to be un-lazy for a bit to actually check the pantry for items you THINK you have...because, you surely are out of something on that list and it WILL fuck up your master plan.  Trust me on this.
4. Shop.  Try REALLY hard to not impulse-buy.  Yeah, I suck at this.  Mmm...Oreos.
5. READ all the recipes.  This is very important.  Like my Tuesday recipe (tomorrow) calls for beans that have been soaked overnight.  That could throw an old monkey wrench into the sitch if you find you've overlooked that part when you're throwing together the meal!

And that's pretty much it.  I'm hoping it works out well.  Yesterday's recipe was Chicken Diablo utilizing the meat from a roast we had on Saturday night (in the Smoker - mom's night off from cooking!) and a new sauce recipe: Lucky Devils Diablo Sauce from, you guessed it, FN.  I sauteed the onions in the large pot the sauce was dumped out of into the blender (after it cooled) with a little vegetable oil until they were a little browned, added the broccoli, chicken, and sauce, brought it to a simmer and covered it until the broccoli was al dente.  I served it over white rice (I used sticky rice, not Basmati or Spanish) with a side of garlic bread.  It was SO yum, seriously.  Hahaha, I'm actually eating the leftovers right now as I type this.  I am THAT talented.

Chicken & Broccoli Diablo with rice and garlic bread.  ZOMG.  Numm.

I'll add that Hub's home brew went swimmingly with the dish, but you can't have that part until he starts marketing his beer...which I don't think he has any interest in doing...so, sorry for you.  But it WAS a tasty accompaniment!  So I can say that an IPA pairing would be pleasant for the palate.  Oooh, I sound so frou-frou!  Really excellent mouth-feel.  Bwah hahahaha!

I'll try to post the best of the new recipes that I'm trying here.  At the very least, this new Plan has spurred my interest in cooking again!  And that's been MIA for quite a while now.  Weeeee!