To Do List…

When I was still writing that darn dissertation, I had a very LONG list of things I wanted to do with my time once it was complete. I was planning to:

• read more
• blog more
• cook more
• organize our house
• clean more
• organize my photos
• scrapbook more
• sew more
• organize my coupons/shopping…

The majority of my list involved organization or doing {insert good thing} more. Well, the time has come to execute said list! I begin with an inspiration from my dear friend Julie, who has also begun participating in MENU PLAN MONDAY, which will actually help to accomplish several list items: organize my coupons/shopping, cook more, and blog more. You see, I have been couponing for about a year now. I have saved our family a lot of money and built quite a substantial food stockpile in the process. The problem now lies in planning meals around what we have on hand. I used to just hop over to my favorite recipe website, allrecipes.com, browse through menu items that had a five star rating and looked like fun to try, and run out to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients. Now I need to look through my pantry and freezer and plan meals accordingly.

A little about meals at the Ryle household: I love to cook. Especially with garlic and onion. :) And lots of veggies (admittedly not P's favorite part). We are trying to eat a little healthier overall. Philip and I both love leftovers. We think most meals taste better the second time around. So I really only cook three or four meals a week, and make enough to eat more than once. And I am trying to use my crockpot more, which is actually easier now that it has a home in my cabinets and is not buried under bags of chips and boxes of cereal in the bottom of my pantry (begin organizing house... CHECK!). Here is my first Menu Plan:



Monday: Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken
Tueday: Slow Cooker Fried Rice (made with leftover chicken from Monday)
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: I will be traveling to Mobile with Caroline, so P gets a frozen pizza...
Friday: I am making ahead and taking Chicken Alfredo Lasagna to Mobile to enjoy with the group there

So there ya go! Sounds yummy... and the garlic chicken in the crock pot is already smelling delicious!