Family Meal Challenge Update

Last Saturday we sat down during lunch and talked about a challenge for our family - eating at home as much as possible this week.  So, I am evaluating how well we did.  We realized that this week may not have been the best week to start, but there are always going to be challenging weeks - right? 

Monday night - I made Bacon Potato Soup (We hadn't planned for Monday night because it was a holiday.  I like to try to keep the ingredients for this on hand because it is easy to fix and goes over well with my crew.  The leftovers (if there are any) also work out great for lunch the next day.  We did have lunch out while shopping  Monday afternoon.)

Tuesday night - Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli (The meal went over great, the girls loved it and Natalie gave me a thumbs up)

Wednesday night - Leftover Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, and Texas Toast (It was a little chaotic, but everyone enjoyed the meal. Because of our rush to get out of the door the dirty dishes were left behind and were not a welcomed site when we came home from church later that evening.)

Thursday night - Poppy Seed Chicken, Rice, Peas (The girls loved the chicken.  I have made this recipe for years - it is actually the first meal I cooked for Steve when we were dating.  This time it didn't turn out as great.  I didn't have butter and substituted Parkay for the crumble on the top, I was finishing up some frozen chicken breast from a bag I had in the freezer, and I don't always measure when I cook and I think I used too much sour cream.  It just didn't excite me like it normally does.  I also had rice trouble - I almost burned it.  The peas (not my favorite) were ok.  It was not a highlight of the week, although Natalie was very sweet and still gave me a thumbs up as she ate 3 toddler servings of everything.

Friday night - We failed.  I didn't take the leftovers for dinner.  I just couldn't get myself to eat it again.  Steve and the girls came by to see me at work after he picked them up from the sitter's house.  He realized I didn't bring anything for dinner and out of pure concern for my welfare offered to go get me something to eat.  (I work in a grocery store that has prepared foods, pizza, and a grill.  It was not that busy at work and I could have grabbed a lean cuisine if nothing else.)  He offered to go get chinese food - something that Ukrop's doesn't have.  So, he and the girls went to go get chinese food and brought it back to Ukrop's where we sat down for a few minutes and ate chinese food together.

Tonight we are going out to dinner with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Sunday night I am going to Bookbinders for a Ukrop's Pharmacist Appreciation Dinner.  Steve has to go out to dinner on Monday night with some people from work who are coming to town.  So, maybe we will try to have a second week of the family meal challenge.  The thing that I have realized is although we may eat out several times a week, at least we are still eating together for the most part and that is something that I hope we can continue to do as the girls get older and involved in more outside activities.