Meal planning

I've had a goal in the past few months to try at least one new recipe every week for dinner.  My ideas were piling up on Pinterest, and I wasn't making any progress, so I decided to jump in headfirst.

To help further this effort and to cut the amount of food we throw away, I've been trying hard to meal plan every Monday for the rest of the week.  I generally plan meals for Monday - Thursday.  We usually eat with family or have a date night Friday or Saturday, and then we graze and eat leftovers on Sundays.

Not all of the recipes I've tried have been a success, but last week I tried three new recipes and loved all of them.  I thought I'd start recording my meal plans here so I can keep track of what I've made that I've liked or disliked.  Also, then I can refer back to it in a pinch when I'm too lazy to meal plan in the future.

I bought a rotisserie chicken at Costco last Monday and made it last for three meals (hence the plethora of chicken-centered meals last week).  By the fourth meal I was - understandably- over chicken and went veggie.

Monday
Rotisserie chicken
Steamed broccoli
Oven roasted garlic and bacon mashed potatoes  (I used turkey bacon because we prefer it)

*Verdict:  The roasted potatoes were incredible. I think I could eat them every week.

Tuesday
Chicken enchiladas (no recipe here, just an old standby)
Rice and bean with diced tomatoes and peppers
Raspberries

*Verdict: Nothing too adventurous, but always a crowd pleaser.  I did find that I like the Giant brand enchilada sauce more than any other I've tried.

Wednesday
Chicken Yakisoba

*Verdict: Good, but not my favorite thing I've ever made.  It did have a ton of veggies in it, so that was a plus.

Thursday
Indian Spiced Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato soup  (I didn't like the texture, so I blended this and it was divine)
Bread
Salad

*Verdict: I think I'm adding this to the "go-to" recipe list.  It was easy, cheap, and delicious.

Sunday (baking)
Swig sugar cookies

*Verdict:  YUM. Just about the easiest sugar cookie you could make because it doesn't need to be rolled out and cut.