Meal Planning : Week of 16 Jan 2012

Yikes! I have not kept up...Okay enough of beating myself up since this is most likely to happen again. Now to make good my committment.

I am getting better at this and also better at improvising. With a big familym, it was inevitable that plans change mid-week. For us this week, my third son fell ill. So all lunch and dinner plans were in disarray. With lots of leftover uncooked ingredients, I also used it to plan out the following week's meal plan.

For the next post, it will be a special Chinese New Year post! Stay tuned.

Star Recipe - Coca Cola Chicken Wings by NoobCook  [gallery columns="4"]

This was one of the easiest dish I have ever made! Literally, it took me about half hour from assembling ingredients (chicken wings must be thawed) to plating. No. 3 licked his plate and asked for more. Its silky gravy was great for rice and the wings was a quick cook. The sticky sweet yet savoury flavour was what kept us going back for more! Definitely a keeper - and you can cook it for a party in large quantities without ever breaking out a sweat!

Meal Plan - 16 Jan 2012

Monday
Lunch - Plain Porridge, Fried Eggs, Sardines with Onions
Dinner - Bak Kut Teh Soup with rice, Blanched Spinach

Tuesday
Lunch - Steamed Chicken with Baby Corn and Enoki Mushrooms with Rice
Dinner - Pan Fried Tengiri Steaks, Steamed Tofu with Fried Shallots, Stir Fry Pea Shoots, Rice

Wednesday
Lunch - Baked Beans on Toast, Canned Potato Soup
Dinner - Corn Soup, Coca Cola Chicken Wings, Stir Fry Mixed Vegetables

Thursday
Lunch - Minced Meat with cubed potatoes and onions in Soy Gravy on Mee Sua
Dinner - Reunion Dinner Out

Friday
Lunch - Leftover from Thursday
Dinner - Leftover Night

Weekly Meal Planning Learning Experiences

1. Be prepared for changes in the family schedule. Most importantly, to have a relaxed attitude and go with the flow.


2. Keep a list of the favourite recipes and what works best with your family. This is a valuable resource to have when doing meal planning.


3. Take care not to repeat a favourite recipe too many times or it will lose its lusture. :)


4. Give yourself a challenge to explore 1 new recipe a week.

My total grocery bill this week, which includes non-food items, came to $183.39.