The Idea

I am a stay-at-home mom, owner/operator of a vegetable CSA and marketing director at Red Star Ranch.  The last two titles are self-made and a mental distraction to hopefully keep me sane and make me better at the first title.  They take up some of my time but only as much as I am willing to give.  The stay-at-home mom is a job that entails two little people I love very much, many chores I enjoy and a couple that “aren’t my favorite”. 

Given my other two titles, many will be surprised that one of those tasks that isn’t my favorite is cooking and meal planning.  In my single days, I survived on yogurt, pasta, sandwiches, uncooked vegetables and the occasional pizza, taco or Chinese delivery.  Such a short grocery list, minimal dishes to wash, no one complained about how done the steak was or that the bacon was in the vegetables instead of one the side…. It was heaven!  It wasn’t an un-healthy diet, but it definitely could have been better. 

Now, I have a husband who seems to think a man should eat 3 (THREE!!!) meals a day and his sons agree.  I can’t even imagine the food that will be needed when I have 2 teenagers and a husband eating at the table!  One of the things I miss about the days when I used to work – I only had to get a dinner on the table, no lunch.  Now, I should be putting lunch and dinner on the table.  Honestly, it doesn’t happen.  On good days – Yes.  On other days – Not so much.  At the end of the summer, I noticed that I was barely getting anything on the table but had no good excuse for why that was happening.  I had the time and supplies but…

This idea started to form in my head.  Maybe if I put up on the internet for the whole world to see what I made for dinner then maybe I would focus on creating regular, healthy meals for my family.  Kind of like having a workout buddy who holds you accountable.  So, I am going to give this a try.  It may not last.  But for the 20 some people who look at the Red Star Ranch website, you will get to see what my family eats for at least a couple weeks.

Here are my guidelines on what this is and what it is not!

1. This is not a center for recipes.  Request one and I will try to get it up.  However, realize that I rarely measure while I cook and sometimes just start adding things to a pot and hope it becomes soup!  There are successes and failures (just ask my husband).
2. The goal is to put up one list each week that has one meal from each day.
3. While it is Red Star Ranch, my meals are not all about beef or chicken or pork or anything specific.
4. My idea of meal planning is deciding what to speed defrost an hour before I should start cooking (It is 2:30 and I should probably be figuring out what is for dinner instead of typing!).  Don’t expect rhyme or reason to anything on the menu.
5. I try to feed my family wholesome food.  I use as many vegetables from my own garden as possible and basically only use meat that was raised on our farm.  Very few meals involve a cardboard box or plastic packaging.  We aren’t gluten free, low fat, low carb, high protein…

I would love to hear what is going on your table!  So share and comment your favorite meals.

Here is the first week:
Monday:  Steak with crispy gnocchi and peas.  I baked a Vanilla Rich Chip cake because it was just that kind of day.
Tuesday:  Potato soup (vegetarian) with spinach salad.
Wednesday:  Ham and beans from the crock pot.
Thursday:  Turkey Pot Pie.  Love it when all of the veggies are included in the meal!
Friday:  Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with pickled beans and beets.
Saturday:  Leftovers!!!
Sunday:  Breakfast Hash.