Welcome!

What can I say? I am a bit of an obsessive planner. I've been planning weekly menus for several years now, and I've also been creating an extensive recipe database in the process.

I have found numerous advantages to creating menus for our family, including:
1) We don't waste money on unnecessary items at the grocery store that won't be used in our meals.
2) It saves time and energy in the evenings because you don't have to figure out what you are going to make for dinner after an already long day.
3) You don't have to make extra trips to the grocery store during the week to pick up extra ingredients for meals. If your menu is planned out prior to your shopping trip, you can buy everything in one-stop.
4) It reduces money spent on dining out/carry-out because you "have nothing to eat at home."

Since I know time is at a premium for so many of you, I thought I would start this blog to share our planned menus, as well as links to the recipes included. My hope is that I might help to simplify your evenings a little bit and give you a little extra time and less stress with your families!

A couple of things to keep in mind:
1) I never claimed to love to cook or to be a great cook. (Given the choice I will pick going out to eat any night! However, our dining out budget just does not support that habit.) So if you are an avid chef, these meals will probably be pretty simplistic for you.
2) We try to eat moderately healthy at our house, but some nights are better than others. You will find that some of these recipes are actually Weight Watchers recipes. For the less "healthy" recipes, I frequently make modifications to them to make them healthier (i.e. substituting reduced-fat products.) However, I am including the original recipe so you can modify the recipe as you see fit.
3) To save money, I try to plan our meals around what is on sale at our local grocery store, or with what ingredients we already have on hand. I know this may vary for you, so I encourage you to alter the schedule of these recipes to help you do the same for your budget!
4) I do not claim to be the creator of these recipes. I have gotten them from numerous sources throughout the years. Some that I post will be tried and true family favorites. Others will be new adventures for us!
5) In addition to myself, I am typically cooking for my husband and two teenage step-sons. They are definitely carnivores, so you will not find any vegetarian meals here. Sorry!
6) And finally- I do enjoy trying new recipes. So please feel free to share your favorites with me!

Bon Appetit!