Menu Planning

Nov
07

menu plan monday :: back to planning

 

I made out my list of meal ideas. Then, I used it to write out my monthly menu plan. Finally. I thought I'd never get it done. Making a menu for next week should be a breeze. I'll just need to arrange my flexible monthly plan to fit our real life schedule. We'll see if everything goes the way I'm hoping it will.

But for now, here's this week's menu plan:

Breakfasts around our house tend to be a fend-for-yourself affair. I try to keep a wide enough selection of items on hand that the kids can either fix for themselves or can fix with minimal help. Also, since my husband works a job with odd hours, every meal is not a "family meal". When Dad is at work, I try to keep things simple to save time and my sanity (well, whatever sanity I have left by dinner time.). I've marked our "family meals" with an asterisk (*).

BREAKFAST
Leftover pancakes
Homemade granola
Pumpkin muffins
Cereal
Oatmeal
Eggs
Homemade bread
Toast
Yogurt
Fruit

LUNCH
Sandwiches
Tortilla with cream cheese
Cheese, lunchmeat, crackers
Boiled eggs
Celery with cream cheese
Leftovers
Fruit
Veggies and dip

DINNER
Chili, corn chips, cheese, sour cream
Pancakes, homemade syrup, applesauce or mac & cheese with salad
*Broiled chicken, roasted veggies
*Meatball subs, salad
Homemade pizza, veggies, chips
Spaghetti with meatballs, Garlic bread with cheese
*Spaghetti with chili

Be sure to check out more menu ideas over at Menu Plan Monday.

Do you enjoy Gospel Homemaking? You may want to consider subscribing to get free updates, tips, and The Daily Plan-It right in your email inbox or in your feed reader. How cool is that?

Oct
24

31 day to {a better} ordinary :: day 23 ~ monthly menu planning



I usually jot down a seven day menu while I'm making my grocery list each week. Then I do the same thing the following week...and the week after that....over and over again. Next month I'm going to give a different system a try. I'm going to plan an entire month of meals. Sort of.

The typical monthly menu plan has never worked well for me. I've tried it, but my husband's odd schedule and the grocery store's weekly sales always threw a wrench into my plans. This time I'm going to do it a little differently.

At the beginning of the month, I'll print out two basic monthly calendars. I'll be using the dinner chart that comes with my JDC Monthly subscription, but any blank calendar or chart will do. On the first calendar, I'll use my meal list to fill in five dinners for each week. Normally, my husband is only home for dinner twice a week, so I'll plan easy meals for those five days when he's not here. I hope that by looking at the month as a whole, I'll avoid feeding the kids the exact same things every single week. Sure, some items will show up weekly (like pizza), but I'm sure other foods will show up just once or twice a month if I'm being intentional about mixing it up a little.

For the two empty days in each week of my chart, I'll write down selections that will make for good (and inexpensive) family meals even if there isn't anything much on sale at the grocery store. Those days will remain flexible, so if roasts are suddenly marked down, I can easily replace whatever I've already penciled in. I'll also use those two extra days to schedule new recipes I want to try. I'm awful about fixing the same meals all the time. Maybe writing in some new ideas will force me out of my lazy, comfortable ways.

With each new week of the month, I'll grab my monthly calendar and arrange the planned meals around my husband's work schedule and the other activities we have going on. I'll write this finalized menu plan on the second calendar I printed. This way, nothing is set in stone until a new week (with its irregular schedule) rolls around, but I don't have to come up with a menu from scratch each and every week.

Make sense? I hope so. And I hope it works. This could be a great time saver if it does!

Click to learn more about 31 days to {a better} ordinary and to find links to all the posts in this series.

Oct
21

31 days to {a better} ordinary :: day 21 ~ meal list



Back when we were first married, I never made menus or clipped coupons or used a detailed grocery list. And I rarely cooked anything but French toast. I'm not exactly sure how we survived, but I think it had something to do with fast food burgers and the fact that we both worked at restaurants. I guess it was fine for us at the time, but a lot has changed since then. Thankfully.

For the past several eons, I've been creating menu plans and carefully using coupons and shopping lists. Food is a big part of our lives, and all that planning, clipping, shopping, and cooking takes up a huge chunk of my time. I feel like I'm constantly searching for systems that will enable me to spend less time on all these food related tasks, yet get better results.

I like my method of clipping and filing coupons, and I'm on my way toward using a master grocery list to quickly prepare for my shopping trips. But efficient menu planning still has me stumped. I don't like the week-at-a-time method I'm using right now, but I've struggled to come up with another system I'll stick with. I have some new ideas, but only time will tell if they'll actually work for me.

One thing I'm confident will help me out is a list of meal ideas. This weekend I'm going to rack my brain for any and all dinner items my family enjoys. I'll have a category for easy meals I make when I'm cooking for the kids and one for those special foods I reserve for when my husband is home. I'll also jot down any side dishes I can come up with. I'm no good at thinking up side dishes.

I think this list will come in handy with whatever menu planning method I finally settle on. If it cuts even a few minutes out of the process (and reduces the brain strain required), it will be worth it. I'm hopeful!

Click to learn more about 31 days to {a better} ordinary and to find links to all the posts in this series.

Sep
19

Menu Plan Monday: Uninspired

My menu planning has been rather uninspired lately.  Just getting some sort of food onto the table before bedtime has felt like an accomplishment.  That's fine for awhile, but I can't go on like this forever.  It's important to me and to my family that I plan meals that do more than simply fill us with some "grub".

Unfortunately, this most likely won't be a week for creativity.  Creativity usually takes some planning.  That could be a problem.  I did a quick grocery shopping at the end of last week before I made out a menu, so this week I'm getting by with whatever I find in the pantry, fridge, or freezer.

Next week I want to do a little lot better job planning for the week.  Sure, our menu will still be filled with mostly easy meals, but there may also be a couple "inspired" items thrown in, too.  I hope.

Here's this week's menu plan:

Breakfasts around our house tend to be a fend-for-yourself affair. I try to keep a wide enough selection of items on hand that the kids can either fix for themselves or can fix with minimal help. Also, since my husband works a job with odd hours, every meal is not a "family meal". When Dad is at work, I try to keep things simple to save time and my sanity (well, whatever sanity I have left by dinner time.). I've marked our "family meals" with an asterisk (*).

BREAKFAST
Leftover pancakes
Homemade granola
Pumpkin muffins
Blueberry muffins
Cereal
Oatmeal
English muffins
Pop Tarts
Eggs
Homemade bread
Toast
Yogurt
Fruit

LUNCH
*Chicken nuggets, corn
Sandwiches
Cheese, lunchmeat, crackers
Boiled eggs
Leftovers
Fruit
Veggies and dip

DINNER
*Cob salad with Quick Chicken, bacon, cheese, veggies
Waffles, homemade syrup, applesauce
Garlic bread with cheese, salad
Rigatoni with meat sauce, salad, bread
Chicken fajitas, cilantro rice, homemade salsa
Navy bean soup, biscuits

What do you have planned for the week? Have any inspiring ideas? Share them in the comments (please!).

Be sure to check out more menu ideas over at Menu Plan Monday.

Sep
12

Menu Plan Monday: Back to School…


...and back to menu planning. Actually, I haven't been away from menu planning, I just haven't had much time to write about it. Or think about it. Or work at it.

As a matter of fact, this little post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point because I'm one busy mom today.

Here's this week's menu plan:

Breakfasts around our house tend to be a fend-for-yourself affair. I try to keep a wide enough selection of items on hand that the kids can either fix for themselves or can fix with minimal help. Also, since my husband works a job with odd hours, every meal is not a "family meal". When Dad is at work, I try to keep things simple to save time and my sanity (well, whatever sanity I have left by dinner time.). I've marked our "family meals" with an asterisk (*).

BREAKFAST
Leftover pancakes
Homemade granola
Pumpkin muffins
Cereal
Oatmeal
Eggs
Homemade bread
Toast
Yogurt
Fruit

LUNCH
Sandwiches
Cheese, lunchmeat, crackers
Mac & Cheese
Boiled eggs
Leftovers
Fruit
Veggies and dip

DINNER
*Chicken kabobs, rice pilaf, salad
Homemade pizza, salad
Pancakes, homemade syrup, applesauce
Quesadillas, veggies
Wraps (with leftover Texas One Dish), salad, peas
Homemade soup (not sure what kind yet!), biscuits
Pasta with tomatoes

What do you have on your schedule and menu this week? Tell us about it in the comments!

Be sure to check out more menu ideas over at Menu Plan Monday.

Aug
30

Menu Plan Monday: A Little Late

 

Since we started our homeschool year last week, I wasn't able to find the time to post our menu. Here's a quick recap of what we ate: Frozen pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets. Spaghetti, hot dogs (again), brats. Of course, that's not all we had. We also ate a couple bags of chips.

This week, I thought I should try to add in a little bit of variety. No, I don't mean cheese puffs. I thought I would try feeding my family some real food, you know, food that doesn't fall out of a box or bag. Imagine that!

Here's this week's menu plan:

Breakfasts around our house tend to be a fend-for-yourself affair. I try to keep a wide enough selection of items on hand that the kids can either fix for themselves or can fix with minimal help. Also, since my husband works a job with odd hours, every meal is not a "family meal". When Dad is at work, I try to keep things simple to save time and my sanity (well, whatever sanity I have left by dinner time.). I've marked our "family meals" with an asterisk (*).

BREAKFAST
Leftover pancakes
Homemade granola
Pumpkin muffins
Cereal
Oatmeal
Eggs
Homemade bread
Toast
Yogurt
Fruit

LUNCH
*Pressed sandwiches
Sandwiches
Cheese, lunchmeat, crackers
Boiled eggs
Mac & cheese
Leftovers
Fruit
Veggies and dip

DINNER
*Stuffed peppers, corn on the cob, cooked cabbage
*Tacos, corn chips, homemade salsa
Tortilla pizzas, salad
Garlic Bread with Cheese, pasta salad (for my braces girl), tomato-cucumber-onion salad
Texas One-Dish (a beans and rice sort of thing)
Homemade pizza loaded with veggies, salad
Waffles, homemade syrup, applesauce

What kind of meals are you eating this week? Tell us your secrets in the comments!


Be sure to check out more menu ideas over at Menu Plan Monday.