Meal Planning That I Just Might Enjoy!

My neighbor invited me to join a local MOPS group this year & since it's been awhile since I've been involved in any mom groups, I was more than willing to give it a shot. It's been a lot of fun & the kids seem to enjoy the childcare as well. Did I mention that we get to eat a HOT breakfast, do crafty things & have an occasional speaker with tons of great ideas?! This past week we had a speaker that talked about meal planning. I have always been HORRIBLE at planning meals ahead of time for multiple reasons...
1) They usually require many ingredients that I don't have on hand. Which leads to a super spendy grocery trip.
2) My hubby is fairly picky & I often feel like he doesn't love what I make. Therefore, I usually leave the cooking to him! He enjoys it & can come up with anything at the drop of a hat.
3) If I don't research, I have NO recipes stored in my memory that stand out. Seems like too much work to find a ton of yummy ones.

BUT...I've decided to give it another shot! The speaker gave us a ton of fun ideas, some great money saving tips as well as websites that she uses often for her own planning.
This was my favorite idea...

A weekly menu to hang in my kitchen! I bought the frame (12x12) at Hobby Lobby for $5.00 & picked out a piece of scrapbook paper & some cute stickers to match my kitchen colors. Since the frame has glass, you write with a dry erase marker & TADA...a super cute addition to my kitchen!

I plan to come up with our weekly meals on Saturday or Sunday, make a grocery store run to get anything I'll need & post the menu. Knowing that I have all the necessary ingredients on hand, we should be good to go! The best part is that Chris & I can share in the cooking process. As long as there's a recipe to follow, we shouldn't have any problems :)

Tonight I made this super yummy recipe that I found on Pinterest (super addicting BTW). Zucchini, black bean & rice skillet. I thought it was delicious but Chris thought I should have added some chicken. He's also not a huge fan of large chunks of tomatoes or zucchini but he was a good sport & ate it anyway.

Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon Pure Wesson® Canola Oil
* 1-1/2 cups quartered lengthwise, sliced zucchini
* 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
* 1 can (15 oz each) Rosarita® Premium Whole Black Beans, drained, rinsed
* 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic, undrained
* 3/4 cup water
* 1 cup instant white rice
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, undrained tomatoes and water. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese.

I'd love to hear if you have any yummy recipes that are family favorites! I'm willing to try anything! :)