Family Meals

I just admitted it on Facebook, so now the world knows... after 14 years of being a vegetarian, I've started eating meat. Have I said that here on the blog? When I was breastfeeding Clark, I realized that I needed more protein - and it was right around the same time my folks moved to town and started having family dinners with us - so, I started adding meat the rotation. I don't eat meat at every meal or even everyday, but it's been interesting to have so many new options. I also have a new oven, microwave AND a toaster (thanks Santa!), so now that we're back to our hectic work and school schedules, I've decided that it's time to get serious about meal planning again.

For the first time in quite awhile I went shopping over the weekend for an entire week's worth of dinners with variations for the kids and leftovers for lunches:

Sunday - green apple, basil and mozzerella pizza with white bean and tomato soup
Monday - spaghetti with garlic and basil, garlic bread and asparagus
Tuesday - chicken fajitas with onion, peppers, spinach, tortillas and cheese
Wednesday - baked potatoes with chili, cheese, and onions
Thursday - mac & cheese with chili for the grown ups

These kids are picky eaters. They like quesadillas, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, all kinds of fruit, and a few other things - but they're hungry right when we get home so prep has to be fast. For awhile, Clark was hating his high chair so mealtimes were a struggle regardless of what I served. I just got him a hook-on high chair which puts him right at the table, and it's been working out pretty well!

I really want to do better meal planning and prep every week so that mealtimes can be fast, easy, and delicious in 2014. If you have any tips, tricks, or recipes that have worked for you - let me know! What are your favorite go-to kid-friendly meals?