This November, I had a harder time trying to come up with a meal plan. Usually, I make 2 roast chicken dinners throughout the month. But that doesn’t mean that we eat a chicken dinner twice. Most of the meals I make with chicken are already assuming the chicken is cooked, and just needs to be added at the end of the cook time to reheat.
But with Thanksgiving this month, I didn’t want to make two different roasted chickens, and then have to make a turkey as well. So I had to think outside our usual repertoire box a little bit to come up with some meals. I’ll be brutally honest, I got a LOT of feedback from the kids on our meal plan for the month. It’s definitely not a bad thing… it just means there are meals that they are very likely to eat.
Other than hosting Thanksgiving and not wanting to get sick of eating roasted poultry all month long, the only other scheduling issue I had to take into consideration was that I had three parent-teacher conferences and a fundraiser pick-up on a Monday night. And the kids had school the following day. Not too bad considering what our schedule looks like for December.
Beyond that, here are some other things to consider when reviewing our monthly meal plan:
I plan only our dinners. Unless it’s noted, sides consist of a fruit or veggie, possibly a grain, and is based on what is the fridge and pantry.
We try to have one big meal each week, and it’s usually a roast. Throughout the rest of the week I use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals. For instance, a roast beef then becomes ingredients for beef stroganoff, beef quesadillas, and so on.
Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast or bagel with peanut butter and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, or yogurt with granola. It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices as simple as possible makes it much easier on our hectic morning routine. Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and the boys are on the bus at 7.
Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the kids, while I currently eat at home. Lunches are either sandwiches, salads, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or leftovers as the main course. It’s served with a fruit/veg, yogurt or cheese, a drink and a “treat” {gummies, chips, etc}. Snacks, such as crackers, pretzels and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent to school in smaller snack containers.
I don’t stock pile shop, but I do shop for weekly sales, mostly for prepackaged snacks. While this may not be the best of healthiest option, I have found it to be by far the easiest when divvying out snacks, and also the least messy/sticky in the classrooms.
During the summer and fall, I preserve what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets. It helps me keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limits our preservative and additive intake {I have a preservative allergy and my middle gets migraines with certain food additives}.
Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup {with spinach instead of kale}
French Toast x2
Cheese Steaks & Fries
Roast Chicken Dinner {with mashed potatoes, gravy & frozen corn}
Chicken Quesadillas & Rice
Chicken & Waffles
Baked Rigatoni
Chicken Sammies
Pizza
Chili & Cornbread
Swedish Meatballs & Green Beans
Potato Soup
Cheeseburger Macaroni
Tuna Noodles
Chicken BBQ & French Fries
Chicken Tenders
Chicken Parm & Tossed Salad
Chicken & Biscuits
Sloppy Joes
Pancakes
Roasted Red Pepper & Sausage Pasta
Thanksgiving Dinner
Turkey Corn Chowder {with leftover turkey}
Turkey Open Faced Sandwiches
Turkey Chili
Pierogies
Tortelinni with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
Dinner at in-laws
Need more dinner inspiration? You can check out our past meal plans. Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I have a whole board dedicated to meal planning.
What was on your meal plan for November? Were you hosting Thanksgiving dinner, or did you visit family? Do you have any other recipes for using up turkey? I’d love to know in the comments below!
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