What's for Dinner?

I am so excited to share with you the first menu of dinners for the upcoming week.  Before I do, I would like to give a little back story on how, and why, my menus are planned out this way.  I had been doing my families' dinner menu the same way for six years.  I would usually rotate my proteins and sides for the week, a generic example would be:

• Monday-Chicken and pasta
• Tuesday-Beef and rice
• Wednesday-Pork and potato
• Thursday-Fish and veggies
• Friday-Pasta

I would then start the rotation all over again.  After six years of planning the menus a similar way, it became more challenging and time consuming to find new recipes and ideas to keep dinner interesting.  Then, last September, my 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son helped me come up with the idea of having a "theme" for each day of the week.  Thus, we breathed new life into dinner again.

***Disclaimer, these themes are in no way intended to insult anyone or anything. They are for the sole purpose to get the kids involved in the dinner planning process and to make it fun for everyone.

We start our week on Monday and run through Sunday.  We rarely eat out so I have a theme for each day of the week. The themes are as follows:

• Mac-n-Cheese Monday - a jazzed up version of mac-n-cheese each week with a protein
• Taco Tuesday - Mexican fare
• Wang Chung Wednesday - Asian fare (sometimes becomes "Wacky Wednesday" and it's pot luck)
• Tuscan Thursday - Italian cuisine
• Fish Friday
• Slow Cooker/Simmer Saturday
• Sandwich Sundays - this can be anything from burgers to panini's to cold cuts

***Saturday and Sunday are interchangeable depending on our families schedule that week.

With each post regarding the weekly menu for dinners I will add printable grocery lists, recipes, mouth watering pictures, and proper links to help further your quest for delicious dinners that appeal to the whole family.  On a side note: most dinners are not exclusively mine and are from other sources, but if I have altered the recipes I will make a note in future posts.

Stay Tuned!