Borscht and Plans

No, that is not art . . . it is dinner! 

The snack bucket has been such a huge success (see here), that I thought maybe I could take it a step further, and really get organized . . . with a weekly menu plan! (It's about time, don't ya think?)   

Life has begun to get really busy around here -- mostly because of our distance from the school and church (and everything else!) I feel like I am in-and-out of the car ALL day, and it is hard to function without a plan. In the past, I had plenty of time for "creative cooking" (cooking whatever random food we had), but now I need a plan -- or dinner will be pasta every night! 

Our Church Schedule this week:

Monday: Family Home Evening

Tuesday: Activity Days (Sammi), and Scouts (Daniel)

Wednesday: YM (Charles)

Thursday: Stake Activity Day (Sammi)

Friday: Scout Camp-out (Charles)

Saturday: Temple Open House helpers instruction meeting (Me)

Sunday: Church, Teach Relief Society, Teaching Fireside (Me)

Our schedule made our plan necessary! 

This Week's Menu: 

Monday: Meat and Veggie Kabobs

Tuesday: Sweet Potato and Chicken Crock-pot Stew

Wednesday: Borscht

Thursday: Stuffed Peppers

Friday: Tacos

Saturday: Portobello Mushroom burgers

We wrote it down on the calendar on the fridge, so it turns from plan to action! It has been working beautifully! (Imagine that . . . a plan making life easier! Yes!) It also relives the pressure of me having to be creative on a daily basis. (That can hurt my brain!) Now we just get the proper ingredients beforehand, and we are good to go for the week! Even with specialty items, our food budget was about the same.

 I am curious to see how our Borscht will turn out tonight (it is a crock-pot recipe, my favorite!) . . . it smells super yummy, and it is so pretty! I love pretty food. 

My hands are all red from grating the beets. 

 The real trick . . . 

Will the kids eat it?? 

Whoever invented the crock-pot . . . I could just kiss you!