What's for Dinner?

Summer for me (and I think other teachers as well) has become some sort of New Years Resolutions time where I am willing to take on a few new challenges that felt much too daunting to take on during the school year.

My big three of the summer:

1) Conquer meal time/menu planning/sticking to a food budget

2) Read! (Isn't this why nap time was created???)

3) Organize the shelf in the basement next to the computer.

Going backwards through this list, my organization did happen, although I admit I took the easy way out by making the shelf itself look pretty and put together, however all of the things from said shelf that I didn't know what to do with found itself stuffed in the closet under the stairs to be organized for another day. Shh, don't tell anyone.

I have been a reading fiend this summer, I will admit. Although, in all honesty, I've read a lot of books but I haven't really found any new loves except for The Selection series of books, which are total fluff, but totally awesome. I've got a bunch of books that I mostly like, but I would love any ideas if really good books if any of you have them.

Last, but not least, I have finally tackled the beast that is figuring out what to eat every night.  In the past, my least favorite time of day comes around 5 pm, where J and I look at each other, already a little "hangry" and frustratedly try to piecemeal a meal together. This is never a pleasant experience.  But, with extra time on my hands this summer, I have created a little binder of recipes that are both affordable to make a doable for the average human being, and so far, it's been a positive experience.

My favorite website, by far, for recipes has been this woman who blogs about saving money and she creates meals from items at Aldi that she shares with one and all.  Check out her blog:Iamthatlady.com where she features regular recipes and also Crockpot Meals. I can't get enough!  Her food is really tasty, pretty healthy and easy to make.  Tonight, we just made the Thai Peanut Pork crockpot recipe and it was awesome! I am feeling so domestic.

No, seriously, getting mealtimes to be a less stressful part of our day has really changed things for the better,  and, because it isn't random assortments of what we could find in our pantry or fridge, our kids are learning to eat more of what we are eating instead of having a good excuse to eat just what they want to eat.

For the first time tonight, Ellie didn't ask "what are we having for dinner?" in reference to what she and sister would be having versus what mom and dad would have. Score one point for us! She is catching on!