"Failing to plan...is planning to fail."
That quote has been resonating in my mind for the past couple weeks...so much so that it has quietly become my new mantra.
For someone who plans events for clients for a living, you'd think I'd be better adept at this in my own life, but alas that's not the case. I seem to drift through my daily home life on autopilot...without much pre-planning involved. Especially when it comes to meal planning.
The dreaded “What’s for dinner question?” has haunted me for years. But with the new year comes a new resolve to tackle those areas that need attention in my life. And coming home to two hungry kids with no idea what I’m making to eat has led to some not so healthy choices.
So, for the past two weeks, I’ve forced myself to plan a weekly menu for our family. I’ve asked for input from the kids, and scoured blogs and my new favorite cookbook for recipes.
And it is working. The kids know “what’s for dinner” and I feel less pressure when I come home.
Tonight’s menu at the Managed Chaos household featured Pierogies, a recipe I saw on OHmommy’s blog last week. One that Mr. B drooled over when he saw the pictures.
The instructions seemed simple enough, so I asked for a little help from one of my favorite little chefs.
While Mom was boiling the potatoes, Miss Monkey grated the cheese (but not before donning her own chef hat and apron)
Then it was time to make the dough…
and have fun with the flour…
You have to concentrate really hard when cutting the pierogie dough…
Because they need to be nice and neat when you add the yummy potatoes.
Then you place them very, very, very carefully in the boiling water.
When they’re done, it’s time to hop into the frying pan…
Until they are a plate of yummy goodness.
They might not be perfectly shaped, but it was well worth the hour we spent together in the kitchen.
5 comments:
AWwwww.... did you have fun? It looked like it!
Oh, yum!! Can you beleive I'm Polish and have never made my own pierogis? I'm really going to have to try this soon.
And, we are trying to do the same thing RE: meal planning. We shoot for 3 "real meals" a week (not counting spaghetti w/jarred sauce or anything heated up from the freezer). Two new, super-easy, super-fast go-to meals I've stumbled upon are the following:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/peanut-butter-noodles-685939/
(we add some grilled chicken for protien)
and
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2007/04/the_dinner_im_a.html
Both take about 20 min to get on the table and are very, very good.
Wow! Impressive! I've never maid homemade pierogis (the frozen kind are a favorite for my family--I suppose I should look at the nutritional info!).
I SO agree about having a plan for dinner. I have a large dry erase board that I write the weekly menu on. It serves as a great reminder for me to take the meat out of the freezer, or pick up a special herb. It has the added bonus of completely eliminating the "What's for dinner" question!
Loved the post :)
Oh, that so looks like you had a great time! And, yummy, too.
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