Do I Have to Make Dinner? Meal Planning Success Story.

Ok..so 4 pm rolls around and it's time to think of something for dinner. Ohh the dread. I forgot to thaw out anything, we are out of pasta, soccer practice starts in an hour, I've got to come up with something new, yada yada yada...lets' just grab something quick at Chili's.

Up until a few weeks ago this is how my late afternoons went down. I finally did some surfing and found these two great websites that have made my life way more enjoyable in the "dinner" department.

This one is hands down my favorite thus far. If you are a family of five+ this is the way to go! There are enough portions here for all of us and them some leftovers. I love the way the grocery spread sheet is layed out complete with each ingredient check marked under its dish. This plan even includes side items such as salads and fruit. The most fabulous part, however, is that when I go to make a meal every night ALL the ingredients are present in my HOME!!! Each and every single last one of them down to the onion (I just never seem to have onions on hand).

http://www.makedinnereasy.com/
When you sign up for this one you get:
A spreadsheet with a grocery list for the week emailed to you on Sun.
All the recipes for the week with marvelous instructions also emailed to you on Sun.
Extra cooking tidbits and recipes

This one I have less experience with, but love the pictures. Yes, I do judge books by the cover.

http://www.dinnervibe.com/home.html
When you sign up for this one you get:
A weekly newsletter with recipes and pictures (which is always nice)
A grocery list in a list form
Weekly snack and dessert recipes

Believe it or not meal planning has not only simplified my evenings complete with yummy meals, but has become an enjoyable event. I never thought I would say that.