Monday, September 21, 2009

on the menu

It used to be that Monday morning would find my weekly menu posted here. Menu planning went by the wayside when summer started. Now that school is back in session, I decided I better get with the program again.



Menu planning does two things for me. 1) Saves me money. 2) Saves my sanity. There's something comforting about walking in the door at 5:20 and knowing what I am cooking for dinner. I hate nothing more than not having a plan. Standing in front of the fridge/freezer/pantry and saying, "What shall I cook?" No more. There's a menu for the next 2 weeks on my fridge. I've got an answer and all the ingredients for the next 14 days. It feels good.



Here's the menu:



baked crab rangoon, chicken skewers, rice

chili

chili dogs, oven fries, salad

bbq shrimp, polenta, green beans

blueberry pancakes with sausage or bacon

meatball subs, chips, carrots with dip

chicken & corn chowder, caesar salad

old settler's beans (a bean trio with ground beef, bacon & seasonings)

lentil & potato stew, flatbread

orzo frittata, roasted butternut squash

beef & potato nacho casserole



We have 2 nights of volleyball plus a home football game this week and next. That puts a damper on how much time I have in the kitchen to prepare meals. So, with that in mind, I am making the chili today which will speed up 2 meals and the meatballs for the subs are already cooked and in the freezer.



You'll notice that there are only 11 meals listed above and I mentioned that this was a 2 week menu. We will be able to have leftovers from a few of these meals which will become lunch fare or a clean out the fridge meal. I also have sandwich fixings on hand and I have one convenience meal of chicken tenders and fries in my freezer.



Do you menu plan? What's on your menu this week?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are very organized. that is going to make the next two weeks a little less stressful. way to go!

amanda said...

Oh, to be this organized again! Thank you for your encouragement!!!

And thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers these past couple of weeks! It means more than you know!

Much love,
amanda:)

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Your menu sounds fantastic! Yum! (We love breakfast dinners, too!)

I am SO inconsistent with menu planning. SO inconsistent. But when I do...it makes me happy. And like you, keeps me on target with the shopping list which leads to saving money... And like you I love walking in the door...or OUT the door in the morning, knowing that dinner is ready to go. Thanks for the inspiration...I need to get better about this. Does it count that I know we're having bbq hot dogs tonight? Hey..it's a start!

Anonymous said...

yes, yes, yes!!

i love your menu! we always have that quick meal stashed away for that night i just cannot do it too!

And Saturday the girls said can't we just have sandwiches and watch our movie. Tuna with fresh fruit on the side and wa-la!

We're doing a pot roast that will become beef/barley soup and I'm roasting a chicken tonight that will become a chicken/leek pie later on.

Amy said...

It is so hard to keep up with the menu planning. I finally sat down and spent a good four hours working on a menu planning project that I have been wanting to tackle. I am hoping it will make our school year easier!

I have to admit though, I love, love, love planning, but I hate, hate, hate grocery shopping :)

Your menu plan looks delicious!

Jenni said...

I'm trying to get better about menu planning. Something always comes up to throw a wrench in the works, though, and I am having a hard time adjusting to only having four of us at home.

This week we'll be having some of the things I didn't cook last week. Tonight we're having an unplanned meal of creamed tuna on toast (which is a comfort food for me) and red, orange, and yellow pepper slices with hummus. The salmon I forgot to take out of the freezer will be served tomorrow night instead along with a salad. Wednesday we'll have crunchy black bean tacos with feta. Thursday is a game day, so we'll scrounge for leftovers. Friday we'll have chicken soup. Saturday we'll be gone. Sunday will be something with chicken.

I'd love to see your recipes for lentil and potato stew and orzo frittata. I wish I could get my family to eat the butternut squash.

Wren said...

Funny you should post this as we just had a "what-are-we-going-to-do-for-dinner" discussion last night. Like you, I need to get back on the wagon. Makes life so much more peaceful. Thanks for reminding me. PLUS.. your menu looks wonderful BTW..

Minnie said...

I have to admit, I was thrilled to see this...
Last year it was so easy to stay organized when I found your meal plans (not to mention so recipes that we eat often now.)

Anonymous said...

No, I don't. I want one, I have plans of making one, in fact I have a nifty little paper right here in my pile to help me plan and organize one, Gotta do this! I would love to eat at your house this week, everything sounds yummy, but doesn't everything sound better when we don't have to cook it :)

CALAMITY JANE said...

oh gosh, that menu sounds sooo good! i may be stealing some of your ideas... :)

Anonymous said...

Your menu sounds so exotic, not sure if the b/berry pancakes are served with bacon on top.

I can't live without a menu plan, ours is for 7 days though, thinking 14 days ahead would make my head explode!!

Nancy said...

blueskyhi ~ I haven't always done a 2 week menu plan. When I started planning years ago I would do 3 days and it has just grown from there. Like everything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets. I've been doing 2 week plans for about 2 or 3 years now. I was tired of having to go to the store every.single.weekend.

cheryl said...

After grocery shopping, I used to make a list of available meals and keep it on the fridge. That way there wasn't the 5:00 agony - and if my DH chose to cook, he'd have options.

But, somewhere along the line, I quit making the list. I miss it. Thanks for the reminder.

Rechelle said...

Nancy, Please come organize my life for me.

I used to plan meals for a week at a time and buy all the appropriate groceries. I did that for years when the kids were all little and I did it before we had kids because planning my grocery list gave me something to do during my very boring job - but now - I grocery shop three or four times a week and never know what I am making. I need an intervention!