Just another not-so-manic Monday...

Mexican Monday: Chicken & Steak Fajitas w/ Spanish Rice

Some people really hate Mondays. I can understand why. The weekend comes to an end, no more lounging on the sofa or late night dinners with friends. Once the work week starts some of my favorite things get put on hold until Friday comes around again.


But I actually really love Mondays. I love a new beginning. A new day, a new week and a chance to start fresh. It's like every seven days I hit a reset button somewhere in my psyche and old habits I want to shed or new hopes I have for self-improvement get another chance. I like that. By Thursday some of my resolve and excitement may have faded, but that Monday morning feeling that I get--to start again--is something I look forward to. 

Tues: Cheese Tortellini and Sundried Tomatoes with Pesto 

This Monday I kicked off my first week of our 9 week menu-athon (get it..haha). A few posts ago I gave you the calendars I created with 9 weeks of pre-planed, pre-cooked, and pre-purchased meals. I work full-time and am also working on my masters degree online at night, so I was looking for a way to simplify my life. 

After a day at work and a good butt-kicking at the gym, my possible hours for grad school work begin preciously ticking away. Normally I frantically scan my brain thinking of what I will be cooking and how long it is going to take to get it done. And then there are the days that I forget something for a recipe and have to run to the grocery store on my way home. My anxiety starts to build. By the time I get home from the gym and showered, I resent the meal I am about to cook so much I feel that resentment in every bite. It is just plain awful for me to eat a meal I can't even enjoy. 


To make my life a little easier until I finish my masters in May, I decided to try this menu idea and see if it made my day-to-day dinner making easier. 


I cannot tell you how great it felt yesterday after sweating to the oldies in BodyStep to head home knowing that all I had to do was chop up some peppers and onions and throw them into a skillet with my previously prepared chicken and steak strips while the Spanish rice simmered away on the stove. I had a plan and all of my materials. I felt calm as I cooked. It was comforting to  know that within 20 minutes I would be sitting down to catch up with my hubby over a delicious meal. No stress. By 8:45 I was at my desk click-clacking away at my instructional analysis flowchart. That my friends is victory. 


I even had a chance late in the evening to do some research on formatting the blog and have made some updates. Let me know what you like and if there is anything you would like me to fix. I also am new to blogging, so if you have any tips on ways to enhance your blog, I would love to know!

To try and make it so that you can follow along on the 9 week menu, I have created a grocery list, menu reminder and mini recipe card that highlights what you will need for this week's menu. Let me know if you like the format or if you think I could make it more user-friendly in the future.  You can print it out and fold it in half for easy carrying.

 

Keep cooking :)

Megan