It is time to get back into the groove of homemaking the wholehearted way!! Now that I have our home somewhat under control, I sat down and made up a menu for the week. I have not been consistent in planning my menu and I am tired of thawing meat and wondering what I am going to do with it?!
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So you thought I was totally and wholeheartedly organized?! Not completely so, but I do try!!
One reason to blog about menu planning is because I love all those encouraging comments you ladies leave. There is a sense of accountability when different bloggers blog about 'what's for dinner.' I don't want to find that there is nothing because I went to the cupboard and the cupboard was !bare!
I thought about visiting my recipes on Pinterest, but didn't feel like spending an hour there. It is a rare treat when I do. I thought about looking at my ZipList clips, but no, I wanted the tried and true ideas for this week.
I went to my 30 Meal List and decided (for once!) not to be so random. I took the first 5 meals and copied and pasted them into a new Evernote page. Then, I made a grocery list (minus staples like salt and pepper) and typed them under the 5 menu meals.
I titled it Winter Menu: Week 1 as next week, I plan to add five more recipes for supper.
Voila!!
Easy Peasy, don't you think?!
You can use these recipes as they link into my Plan to Eat account (tell me if they don't do this for you). That is where I store my tried and true recipes.
I will tweak these recipes according to my finances. For instance, when a recipe calls for Alfredo sauce I make my own. If I don't have mushrooms or someone doesn't like them, I delete them. If I want to simplify....I leave extra non-necessary ingredients (like onions?)! If it is a special occasion I use all the ingredients. Following a recipe like this is no-nonsense family cooking. I leave the recipe as is.
I will add to this list items for lunches and breakfast. We don't need any more snacks, RIGHT???
We always have pizza on Saturday and so that leaves one day free and simple (maybe canned soup and sandwiches?)
So get your 'thinking cap on' and tell me what you are cooking for your clan??
Menu Planning: Week One
- Chicken & Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo
- Sausage Egg Casserole
- Yummy Beef Brisket
- Creamy Egg Noodle Bake
- Brunch Lasagna
Grocery List
Meat:
chicken breast tenders
sweet sausage
beef brisket
cooked ham
Produce:
tomatoes
lettuce
mushrooms
potatoes
onions
peppers
green onions
Dairy:
eggs
milk
cream cheese
butter
fettuccine
cottage cheese
sour cream
Parmesan cheese
cheddar cheese
Misc:
creamed corn
BBQ sauce
Pam
Alfredo sauce
uncooked noodles
lasagna noodles
cold cuts
American cheese
canned chicken
I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!
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~Judith~
Your recipes look yummy. I am going to check them out! I always love a new recipe.
ReplyDeleteI have spring/summer recipes and also fall/winter recipes in a little box.
For example, my potato soup recipe is a fall/winter recipe to me, lol!
Thanks!! And it is a blessing when my 19 year old daughter comes into the kitchen and says that she is cooking today and the menu is thrown out the window!! I never make her stick to 'my' plan but leave her to her own creativity. It is always more delicious!!
DeleteOoh! I was SO good at meal planning and menu making and then baby #3 hit and I lost it a little and then 13 1/2 months later WHEN I NEED THE MOST HELP WITH ORGANIZATION baby #4 hit and... well... I lost the rest of it. We've eaten more hamburger helper than I care to admit. Some of the reason is because I'm lacking inspiration from my same old and part of it is because I'm lacking energy. HOWEVER, maybe I should come on here tomorrow during grocery list making time (no, I don't really have a "time" for that - but I should!) and borrow from you. Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm tired just reading your blog. Meal preparation is the hardest and most dreaded thing for me. UGH. I actually blogged once about wishing for the invention of the Wonka Pill. You are always inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWould ya' like my recipe for take-out terriyaki and delivered pizza? We can do a recipe swap. :)
LOL...Monday I was out all day with my daughter and we stopped by Panera Bread. When I got home, I needed cereal so I could let my flu take it's course...and I got a small pizza!! My kids were incredulously thrilled!! So you see...I do those things too when life happens!!
DeleteBrisket Sounds good. I have one pan of smoked brisket now begging my name that is in my freezer. I'll probably try to save it for sometime after our new baby arrives. I cooked a turkey on Saturday so we've been eating turkey dinner, turkey and gravy and tonight we had Southwest Turkey and Rice Casserole (I just dumped the ingredients together.) I think we'll have one more night of turkey something and maybe a soup and I'll freeze the rest for another day. Since I didn't grocery shop this week I don't have any other fresh meat on hand, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. I came over from A Mama's Story.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Suanna (what a sweet name!!) I have a confession to make. I have days that the plan doesn't happen and the meat stays in the freezer. Planning helps for those days that I don't know what I am doing. I could use a plan for this week. My plan is very sketchy...simple is my plan :-) so we can get over our colds.
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