Meal Plan for November

I'm going to try to map out the entire month of November so I can use up some of the stuff in my freezer and have a more concrete plan when I go grocery shopping!

Tues. Nov 1st:
Chicken Pasta

Wed. Nov. 2nd:
Shepard's Pie

Thurs. Nov 3rd:
Enchilada Pie

Fri. Nov 4th:
Roast Veggies and Roast Chicken

Sat. Nov. 5th:
Fish Tacos

Sun. Nov. 6th:
Friends Giving

Mon. Nov. 7th:
Pel Meni

Tues. Nov. 8th:
Crock Pot White Chili and Corn Bread

Wed. Nov. 9th:
Tamales

Thurs. Nov. 10th:
Pho

Fri. Nov. 11th:
Chicken Marsala

Sat. Nov. 12th:
Tortellini

Sun. Nov. 13th:
Pizza

Mon. Nov. 14th:
Portugal Dinner

Tues. Nov 15th:
Beef Pad Kee Mao

Wed. Nov. 16th:
Chicken and Avocado Creamy Enchiladas

Thurs. Nov. 17th:
Pel Meni

Fri. Nov. 18th:
Mushroom Shepard's Pie

Sat. Nov. 19th:
Lemon Grass Chicken Bahn Mi

Sun. Nov. 20th:
Tamales

Mon. Nov. 21st:
Tortellini

Tues. Nov 22nd:
Chicken Rice Cakes

Wed. Nov. 23rd:
Roast Veggies and Meat

Thurs. Nov. 24th:
Thanksgiving

Fri. Nov 25th:
Pizza

Meal Plan: 11/22-11/28

Saturday:
B- Cheddar Waffles and Chicken
L- Salad
D- Birthday dinner!

Sunday:
B-Smoothie
L- Sandwich
D- Roast Chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli.

Monday:
B- Smoothie
L- Bahn Mi Sandwiches 
D- Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Kale curry

Tuesday:
B- Cheddar Bacon and Spinach Quiche
L- Wrap
D- Chicken Piccata served on bulgar with spinach 

Wednesday:
B- Quiche
L- Salad
D- Beef with Broccoli served over quinoa

Thursday:
B- Breakfast casserole

THANKSGIVING!

Friday:
B- Smoothie
L- Leftovers sandwich
D- 2nd Thanksgiving!

Grocery:
Produce:
Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli
Garlic
Fresh Ginger
Butternut Squash
Kale
Pearl Onions

Dairy:
Heavy Cream
Butter
Sharp Cheddar
Eggs
Whole Milk

Meat:
Flank Steak
Chicken Breast
Whole Chicken
Bacon
Breakfast Sausage

Other:
Soy Sauce
Coconut Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Oyster Sauce
Coconut Milk

Wednesday:


Thursday:
Cheesy Gordita Crunch and spicy cabbage slaw

Friday:
Baked Salmon, Steamed Green Beans and Rosemary Potato Stackers 

Saturday:
Chicken Piccata served on bulgar with spinach

Sunday:
 Skinny Chicken Alfredo add mushrooms and broccoli

Monday:
Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Pasta

Tuesday:
Eat Out! 

Grocery List:
Produce:
Mushrooms 
Broccoli
Green Beans
Tarragon
Rosemary
Sweet Potato 
Cabbage
Lemon
Shallots 

Garlic 

Dairy:
Goat Cheese
Cheddar
Pepperjack Cheese
Cream Cheese
Parmesan 
Milk
Butter

Meat:
Salmon
Chicken Breasts 
Bison

Other:
Fettuccine Noodles 
Capers
White Wine
Chicken Stock
Bulgar Wheat

CHORE CHART

I am sooooo proud of this chore chart! I put a ton of work into it and I'm really pleased with how it looks so far.

Eventually I'm going to be adding the sheet metal piece to a whole command center, something like this: 

http://theelusivebobbin.blogspot.com/2013/03/plans-for-mega-mom-board.html


I started seeing these really cool breaking up chore lists:

http://www.my3monsters.com/2011/09/housekeeping.html

http://nessamakes.com/2014/08/25/making-house-home-viva-vantage-free-printable/

I loved the idea of breaking up the chores to make them more manageable. But I wanted something that could be crossed off or checked off each day. I'm a list oriented person, and a visual person so I wanted something a little more... interactive.

I went to Pinterest of course and and started searching for inspiration.

http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/diy-cookie-sheet-chore-charts

I'd seen these cookie sheet magnetic chore charts before and merging the mega mommy board above I came up with my own idea.

I love little bubble magnets and I know they're pretty easy to make, so that's where I started. I found this super easy tutorial on... you guessed it. Pinterest.

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/marble_magnets 

I went to Joann's and got all the supplies pictured here, plus the magnets:

I went for the cheaper magnets, which aren't quite as magnetic. Next time I would get a stronger magnet to ensure better sticking to the metal sheet.

Flattened Marbles
E6000 glue
Glass glue (MUST DRY CLEAR!)
Magnets


I started by measuring the flat marbles, and the average one was at least 1 1/4 inches in diameter.

Next I got on my computer and designed the little magnets of all the chores that we need to get done around the house. My husband and I aren't exactly what you would call "clean freaks"... or "clean" at all really ;)

So this chore chart is just for us at the moment, but I have plans of making the LOs contribute as they get older as well. I want to have a little basket for each kid and each time they do a chore they take it off the chart and put it in their basket. The kid with the most magnets gets a special treat at the end of the day! But since I only have one kid, and she's only 14 months, this is MAJOR over thinking for the future.

ANYHOOO. I designed a bunch of 1 1/4 inch circle designs for all the different chores I wanted to get done around the house. I just looked up clipart silhouettes on google images and different digital scrap book patterns the same way.

 Once I had designed all the magnets I printed them out and cut them out into the little circles.

Then took the marbles and picked out the most round ones that had no weird inner bubbles or messed up parts.

Put a VERY thin even layer of the elmers Glass glue and add the cut out circle picture.

Once these have dried (5 minutes or so) I added a tiny drop of E6000 to the back and each magnet and pushed down. The E6000 takes a while to get tacky, so wait at least 2 minutes before adding the magnet. It also has a 24 hour curing time, so once you've added the magnets, give them at least a day to cure completely.

Voila! Magnets done.

Now I had to figure out how I was going to use them. The problem I was having was that not only did I have chores I wanted to be done daily, but I also wanted the days of the week to be split up with a different part of the house AND have some of those chores to be done only once a month, rotating on a weekly basis.

Most of the chore charts I found are a weekly grid. This inspiration kept coming back to me:

http://todaysmama.com/2012/03/picture-chore-chart-for-non-readers/

So I decided to split the chart into a daily list on the left that's always showing and a right side that is constantly changing for days of the week, with alternate chore listed for weeks 1,2,3 & 4. 

Here is the final product for those guys:

I left Saturday and Sunday blank because ideally we'll get all the cleaning done during the week and have the weekend to spend with each other... Ideally.

I went and got the charts printed out on glassy thick card stock at our local copy shop since my printer wasn't giving it quite the bold colors I wanted. Then I got tiny super strong (Thanks Courtney!) to hold up the edges of the two different charts and now I can add different magnets for each chore completed.

Feel free to print and steal my ideas!

Meal Plan 10/29-11/4

I realized that shopping on Mondays= Barges haven't come in yet so bad selection! Wednesday is now grocery day!

Wednesday:
B-
L-
D- Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday:
B- Smoothie
L- Eat out
D- Chicken with Garlic Gravy and Broccoli 

Friday:
B- Spinach and Bacon Quiche
L-
D- Roast chicken, green beans, and rosemary sweet potato stackers 

Saturday:
B-
L-
D- Date Night!

Sunday:
B-
L-
D- Chicken Pho

Monday:
B-
L-
D- Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Tarragon Pasta

Tuesday:
B-
L-
D- Bison tacos

Dairy:
Eggs
Butter
Milk
Goat Cheese
Parmesan
Fresh Rosemary
Sweet Potato
Garlic Heads
Basil
Bean Sprouts
Cilantro

Meat:
Bison
Skin on chicken thighs
Chicken Breast

Produce:
Spinach
Fresh Tarragon
Mushrooms
Chives

Other:
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Chicken Broth
Pho Chicken Broth
Rice Noodles

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 1 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (or about 3/4 tsp. dried leaves)
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Meatless Mondays
B- Smoothie with chia seeds
L- Black bean soup
D- Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Kale curry

Taco Tuesdays
B- Breakfast Burritos
L-
D- Fish Tacos with spicy cabbage slaw

Wednesday:
B- Breakfast Sandwiches
L-
D-  Kale, pumpkin and chicken sausage lasagna

Thursday:
B- Breakfast Burrito
L-
D- Chicken apple and mushrooms with greek yogurt 

Friday: Shabbat
B- Bagels and Lox
L-
D- Roast Chicken, Green beans and mashed parsnips.

Free day Saturday:
B-
L-
D-

Shell Fish Sunday:
B- Shrimp and Grits
L-
D- Sweet Potato Stackers and


Grocery List:
Meat:
Chicken Breasts
Whole chicken
White Fish
Chicken Apple Sausage

Dairy:
Greek Yogurt
Eggs
Almond Milk
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Produce:
Butternut Squash
Cilantro
Kale
Parsley
Fresh Sage

Other:
Coconut Milk
Red Curry Paste
Apple Cider Vinegar
Chickpeas
2 cans pumpkin
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodle
Tortillas
English Muffins

9/2-9/9 Meal Plan

Tuesday:
B- Smoothie
L-
D- Skinny Chicken Alfredo add mushrooms and broccoli

Wednesday:
B-
L- Taco Salad
D- Chicken Piccata served on bulgar with spinach

Thursday:
B- Smoothie
L- Buffalo Chicken Mac 'n' Cheese with broccoli
D- Jerk Chicken and Caribbean Quinoa

Friday:
B-
L- Beet Salad
D-

Saturday:
B- Brunch!
L- Pizza!
D- Chipotle Chicken Toastadas 

Sunday:
B-
L- Leftovers
D- Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp

Monday:
B-
L- Twice Baked Broccoli and Kale Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
D- Beef and Broccoli over Quinoa 

Grocery List:
Produce:
Green Onion
Shallot
Spinach
Red Onion
Avocado
Beets
Jalapeno
Broccoli
Strawberries
Mango
Pineapple
Cilantro
Yellow Onion
Kale
Sweet Potato

Dairy:
Greek Yogurt
Cheddar Cheese
Goat Cheese
Stir fry beef

Meat:
Shrimp
Chicken Breast

Other:
Salsa
Capers
Bulgar
Quinoa
Lime Juice
Toastada Shells
Whole Wheat Pasta

Spices:
Sweet Paprika
Garlic Powder
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cayenne Pepper
Cinnamon
Black Pepper
Thyme
Cumin