September meal planning

With back to school and the weather (incrementally) cooling off each day, I was happy to get this next month's meal planning done.  Am I the only one that sometimes doesn't even feel like eating when it's so hot outside, let alone cooking!  It's time to get back in the kitchen and getting our weekly dinners more regular now that Grey and I are both back to school - and all of the fall activities we have lined up (football! Violet's birthday! homework!)

My main goal this month was for it to be mostly easy to make the meals (still getting a hang of this part-time working, full time mom'ing of four thing) and as usual, meals that the kids aren't going to complain about too much.

For the past three years, I've planned out our meals for the week nights and leave the other two meals to left overs, random stuff we dig out of the freezer, or grandmas' houses visits :)  Brandon usually takes nightly leftovers as his lunch to work (if there are any).

I was talking with my sis the other week (hi, Uch!) and told her that meal planning is a huge part of what makes days feel manageable; it takes an enormous weight off of my shoulders to know that first - dinner is already planned and second - that I have the ingredients for it in house, as I build my monthly grocery list off of my meal plan.  Sure, I still have to make the food (and clean up, bleh), but the fact that I don't have to use my brain for that makes my life so much easier.  I'm the meal planning nerd that proclaims that she wouldn't know how to function without it...and I'm being serious.

September Meal Plan:

September 1-2
R: kielbasa & cabbage in the slow cooker (and hot dogs in there for the kids)
F: chicken Parm crescent roll-ups

September 5-9
M: (Labor Day):  Grilled Pizza burgers & haluski
T: Chicken, green beans, & potatoes Italian bake
W: Chili over elbow macaroni
R: Chinese green beans & ground turkey over rice
F: Grilled honey garlic pork chops

September 12-16
M: Lemon "fried" chicken
T: Slow-cooker enchilada casserole
W: dinner at the Elks!
R: veggies & cheese enchiladas
F: Violet's (early) birthday party!

September 19-23
M : chicken & potato with garlic, parmesan, cream cheese sauce bake
T : taco pasta
W: baked potato soup with 4 ingredient homemade bread
R: round steak over egg noodles
F: spaghetti & salad

September 26-30
M: Chicken & gravy over mashed potatoes (Grey's favorite)
T:  Crispy shrimp (from this recipe) with fried rice
W:  rigatoni with kielbasa and brocolli 
R:  Tater tot enchilada bake
F: French Onion chicken noodle casserole

What have you got cookin' this month?
xxox