I was pretty determined this week. I was also a bit optimistic about Thursday, which was the day we went to the rodeo and of course ate fried food on sticks and were exhausted when we got home.  As is traditional for tired and hungry people with phones, we ordered food and were grateful, even if it wasn’t the plan.

• Mon:  bratwurst, baked potatoes, grapes, watermelon, carrots
• Tues:  corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, fruit
• Wed: Prince Spaghetti Day! pasta with beans and sausage, spinach salad, fruit + veg
• Thurs:  dumplings, egg drop soup, pork fried rice, fruit + veg
• Fri: fried halibut, coleslaw, hush puppies, fruit + veg

I liked this plan, and not just because there was corned beef involved. Most of this is very low work stuff, with the exception of frying fish, which is basically taking my life in my hands given that Tiny wants to dance in the kitchen as soon as I start cooking. Initially, I’d thought this would be a good week for Boy and Tiny to help, but with the rodeo exhaustion and Friday night crazies, this was a week off for the kids.

• Mon: nailed it!
• Tues: nailed it!
• Wed: pork fried rice, carrots, raspberries, blueberries
• Thurs: takeout Indian food. mmmmm, chicken korma!
• Fri: fried catfish, cornbread, coleslaw, pickles, peaches

11 points! The crowd goes wild!

No points for Thursday, with the minimally healthy (and delicious) takeout from Tarka, but 3 points for every other day except Wednesday which only got two for being on the wrong day.  I’m pretty happy with how our week went.

And to you see that happy Friday meal up there with the fried fish? I told DH that I thought I might just start frying everything it turned out so well.

Tune in tomorrow for the plan for this week. Cheep cheep!

It’s Spring Break, so we’ve got lots of family time this week.  Possibly, we’ll even consider eating at the dining room table.  Right now it’s got a typewriter and an art project on it, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be moved for possible togetherness.

• Mon:  bratwurst, baked potatoes, grapes, watermelon, carrots
• Tues:  corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, fruit
• Wed: Prince Spaghetti Day! pasta with beans and sausage, spinach salad, fruit + veg
• Thurs:  dumplings, egg drop soup, pork fried rice, fruit + veg
• Fri: fried halibut, coleslaw, hush puppies, fruit + veg

This is a week of meals I like. On Thursday, Boy can help with chopping and cooking the rice, and on Friday, Tiny will be able to help bread fish and slice cabbage with the mandolin.  We’ve got St. Patrick’s Day covered, and a new dish for Wednesday.  

Typing that put John Bender’s lunchtime comment to Brian in The Breakfast Club in my head:

 “PB & J with the crusts cut off… Well, Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch; all the food groups are represented. “

Which isn’t the worst thing that could happen. I could still have All About That Bass stuck in my head!

The ad post will be up next. Stay tuned, and make sure to check FB and Twitter for sales I find when I’m out and about!

Cheep Cheep!

In a shocking twist, I get 15 points for the week!  That’s what creating the plan halfway through the week will do for you.

Unfortunately the Russian judge and I agree that I am disqualified from any score for last week.  We are tough!

• Mon: french toast, sausages, scrambled eggs, cuties, cucumbers
• Tues: roast chicken, cucumbers, kiwi, mac and cheese, green beans
• Wed:  salmon cakes, fettuccine, salad, watermelon, green beans
• Thurs:  pork curry on rice, baby carrots, watermelon
• Fri:  tuna noodle casserole 

I did finally get my casserole!  It was pretty hysterical–as soon as DH realized I wasn’t kidding when he asked what was for dinner, he started scheming to take kids out to eat. Eldest found a friend that wanted her over for supper. Tiny and Boy suddenly weren’t hungry.  I sat in my rocking chair, not at all sad that I was going to have it all to myself.  It was Dinner and three happy lunches for me!  Add to that the funny sight of everyone trying to politely jump ship and it was a win for Cheepie.

This week’s plan post is coming up today, so I’ve got less of a cheat going this week.  

We’ll have to see what Yakov thinks come next weekend!

Yes, I realize that starting the plan three days into the week is clearly giving myself an advantage, but after last week’s home-cooked catastrophe I think it’s understandable. 

If it helps, I did have a plan for Tuesday, and followed it, there just wasn’t time to type up a plan post–things are hectic over here at Casa Del Cheepie!  Add my need to catch up on The Goldbergs (you really should be watching this show for the sets alone–I want all the posters in the kids’ rooms!) to all of the general running around, throw in a modicum of personal hygiene, and time flies by.

• Mon: french toast, sausages, scrambled eggs, cuties, cucumbers
• Tues: roast chicken, cucumbers, kiwi, mac and cheese, green beans
• Wed:  salmon cakes, fettuccine, salad, watermelon, green beans
• Thurs:  chicken curry on rice, stir fry vegetables, fruit
• Fri:  tuna noodle casserole. dammit.

Can you believe I still haven’t made the casserole!?! Me neither. It’s happening this week.

I think I’m even going to go ahead and put peas in it at this point, since it’s so unlikely that anyone else will want it and I’ve now been waiting forever. There should be drive-thru casserole places.   Just drive up, and they hand over the casserole of your choice. Then you go home, eat, and have a good night’s sleep with a belly full of happiness.

I really thought about just straight-up lying this week.

Then I realized lying about imaginary dinner points on my blog was crazy. So we’re all just going to have to work through this together.

I’m sitting here actually trying to delay the part of the post where I list dinner!  I’m trying to think of jokes to distract from my week of meals.  We’re just going to get this over with:

• Mon: El Mercado. For my non-Austin fans, that’s a Tex-Mex restaurant.
• Tues: Sonic. For non-TX fans, that’s a drive-in burger joint
• Wed:  P Terry’s, carrots, cantaloupe/Date Night. P Terry’s? Drive-thru burgers
• Thurs: venison stew, broccoli, sourdough bread, cantaloupe
• Fri:  I don’t even know. They ate french fries at the lodge, and I made spaghetti when we got home, and I’m sure I put blackberries out because there are so many in the fridge.

This was the plan:

• Mon:  venison stew, cantelope, spinach, dinner rolls
• Tues:   salmon cakes, polenta, blackberries, broccoli
• Wed:  baked chicken, pasta, salad, fruit, fresh bread
• Thurs:  hamburgers, fruit &veg
• Fri:  Refrigerator Buffet

Points-wise? This is going to be a 3. 3 points. Two for venison stew day for being on the plan and involving all the food groups, and one for Friday because I technically followed the plan (with a pre-game of fries) and found a nutritious meal for the night.

There were a few factors that combined to cause this dinner mayhem. I had a meeting night, and DH worked from home a bit. There was a scheduled ice storm that then did not occur, making grocery shopping a risky bet. Most importanly, when DH and I are home together all day, we tend to want to go out in the evening, so we bailed on dinner.  

All in all, this is easily the worst week since the Dinner Accountability Program started. I’m mortified at how the week looks, especially because I know all the other meals eaten weren’t really enough to make it a wholesome week. 

Onward and upward!  If I can’t beat a 3 point week, there’s not really much hope for me, is there?  Let’s all see what happens next. 

This week is heavy on the berries and melon I stocked up on at Sprouts on Friday at the 48 hour sale.  If it weren’t so cold, it would be half gone already, but watermelon isn’t the high-demand item in 40 degree weather that it is when it’s 90 degrees!  I’ll also be using meat from the deep freeze this week, because I didn’t quite get around to shopping the way I’d meant to last week.

Which leads me to a question: How do YOU shop? Why do you think it’s best for your family? What do you wish was simpler?

Cheepie wants to know.

I have friends that do a once-a-week, and friends that buy as they go.  I stock up on things on sale, but then end up in stores several times a week getting what we run out of.

I’m a down-to-the-last-roll tp shopper. My kids don’t understand a lot of what I do, but running the gas tank until the light comes on, and not buying toilet paper until at least one bathroom is out rank high on their list of ‘Things Mom Does That Make No Sense’.

I like to think that this is how, as a parent of three young-ish kids, my inner wild child comes out.  I can run you all the way up to Cedar Park, and not stop for gas. I WILL IGNORE THAT LIGHT.

Here’s the plan for this week:

• Mon:  venison stew, cantelope, spinach, dinner rolls
• Tues:   salmon cakes, polenta, blackberries, broccoli
• Wed:  baked chicken, pasta, salad, fruit, fresh bread
• Thurs:  hamburgers, fruit &veg
• Fri:  Refrigerator Buffet

This is hopefully a plan that will have me at least scoring in the double digits.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to see how I do during the week!

And honestly, if you think I’m even a little bit funny, you need to read some Erma Bombeck.  She’s the bomb.  And then, if you’ve got a bit of old-time sentiment, read her predecessor, Betty MacDonald. Do you remember Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle? She wrote those, AND wrote some hysterical autobiographical fun that turned into a movie where she was portrayed by Claudette Colbert.  I know when I’m turned into a movie I want Claudette Colbert playing me!

Cheep On, Cheepsters!

Four months! That’s crazy. But math doesn’t lie–16 weeks is four months and that’s how long since I started the Internet Dinner Accountability Program for Remedial Family Dinner.  I did abandon the whole ‘sit at the table’ idea, but overall we are eating out and ordering take-out less than we were before.  Eating at home is the first step!

I’ve also gotten completely out of the habit of creating more than one meal, which is a relief to the portion of my brain that had been devoted to ‘plain noodles for Tiny, noodles with pesto for Eldest, DH and I eat pasta with sauce and meat, and Boy gets meat and those other noodles he likes’.  That part of my brain has been busy for about a decade now, and is enjoying kicking back and spending time thinking about what kind of tape JLo’s got her closet stocked with to make her Oscar gowns stay right the heck where they’re supposed to be (gaffer tape? superglue tape? straight up magic tape? is she a WIZARD???), and how to make a centrifuge out of Lego.

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