Meal planning is not my strong suit

I’m learning that I’m not very good at being the one in charge of feeding myself, let alone feeding Aaron, and a cat.

Don’t worry. The cat eats like a king, especially since the SPCA told me he needed to gain weight. (And the vet said he seems to be doing well. He gained a pound in the month between vet trips.)

Before we bought our house, we didn’t cook much because the kitchen was too tiny to function. Cooking required first doing all of the dishes so there was room to prep and cook. So we dined out a lot and ordered takeout.

But now I have a gorgeous kitchen that’s a joy to cook in and have started cooking more for myself and Aaron. I’ve struggled with meal planning. And by that I mean I generally don’t do any meal planning, which causes some problems.

My friend and coworker Rebecca posted a photo recently on Instagram of her list of dinner meals for the next five days.

I don’t have that foresight. I change my mind too frequently to commit to a weekly menu. I should. But since I don’t, I often find that I don’t have the right ingredients to make the meals that strike my fancy on a given day.

But on the bright side, it means I often buy only what I plan to cook right away, even if it means an extra trip to the grocery store to pick up an ingredient or two. And I might see something during a regular grocery store trip that inspires a dinner idea for that night.

I’m also getting better at keeping certain essentials on hand so there’s always something to make. And I’m developing a handful of go-to recipes that can help me end the “what should we have for dinner” debate.

But that question still gives me fits when I’m in one of my indecisive moods. What’s your go-to dinner recipe? What about your pantry staples?