Some of you still had some questions about the meal planning notebook last week. Hopefully I can answer them here, and if not, just ask again and I'll answer directly in comments. Above you can see my shopping list template--a blank one. It is organized by the aisles of my particular grocery store, so once I'm in the store I can move right through without back tracking and circling, which is what I do when I bring a regular list. It took a little planning to make the original template--I took some notes while at the store a few times and kept those so I can know which aisle everything is in. For the weekly lists the ingredients I need for that week are already printed (see below) and I keep copies in the hard drive, to be freshly printed whenever.
As far as how many meals I plan for each week, only four. Cooking every night still doesn't work for me, even when I am this organized. I plan two meals for the weekend, and two meals for the week (to be made ahead on the weekend and reheated so I'm not cooking midweek, which is hard with toddlers "helping" so much). Then on the other 3 nights we either eat leftovers or, more often, get pizza or Subway or burritos. Sounds bad, I know, but here is my rationale: I pack healthy lunches for us every day--with fruit, and little veggie packets, and leftovers from dinner for the grownups, and sandwiches for the teens, so we're not eating out at all for lunches or getting unhealthy cafeteria food, so our take-out dinners are somewhat more justified because of that. At least that's what I tell myself! We can only do what we can do. In truth, I still find the dinner hour overwhelming--I do think it will be easier when the little ones are not so little any more.
Okay, onto a recipe. I've been collecting recipes a long time and store all the "repeaters" in a huge 3 ring notebook. This one comes from Eating Well magazine and it's a family favorite. I cut up my own farmer's market veggies for it this time, but it calls for a package of fresh stir-fry veggies, so it can be super quick that way if you don't feel like cutting the vegetables.
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ c. smooth natural peanut butter
2 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 t. minced garlic
1 ½ t. chile-garlic sauce, or to taste
1 t. minced fresh ginger
8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
1 12-ounce bag fresh vegetable medley for stir-fry (broccoli, carrots, and snow peas)
1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size strips.
3. Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
4. Cook pasta in the boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in the package directions. Add vegetables and cook until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, 1 minute more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse the pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the peanut sauce; add the pasta, vegetables, and chicken; toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.
Makes 6 servings, 1 ½ cups each.
363 calories, 12 grams fat, 7 grams fiber
Source: Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook
Ease of Prep: very quick and easy. A good weeknight dinner.
Rating: very good to possibly excellent.

