Menu planning. I love it and I hate it. I hate sitting down and figuring meals out, but when it comes down to it I do like knowing what we are having for dinner and it really is the make or break piece of our budget. So here is a quick rundown of the process I use to plan our meals for two weeks at a time.
~ Make a list of ingredients you already have that need to be used (this does not include staples like flour, sugar, etc.). For this week my list looks like…
- Broccoli
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Asparagus
- Red potatoes
- Russet potatoes
- Cheesy bread from Papa Murphys
- Leftover ribs
- Kale
- Lunch meat
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Apples
~ From this list I can now make a few menu ideas to use up my ingredients
- Chicken and broccoli
- Salad
- Chicken and asparagus
- Mashed potatoes
- Roasted potatoes
- Sandwiches
- Smoothies
~ Now I look at my calendar and see what events and activities we have that will affect menu. (Do we need to eat out? Do we need to pack a meal? Are we going to someones house? Do we need a quick meal because we have something to do? Etc.)
- Jon on shift – 3 days (I note this because I usually use up leftovers when he is gone or make something light for the boys and I)
- Fireworks at Clement
- Brian’s birthday party
- Swimming with family
- Elbert Days
~ From here I will go in and add to the menu what I plan to have on those days.
- Shift 1 – Leftover ribs, mac n cheese and watermelon
- Clement – Fried chicken (us) co-ordinate others bringing sides
- B-day party – Ask what to bring
- Swimming – Dad treating to late lunch – plan light dinner
- Elbert Days – Ask what to bring
~ Now I can go in and fill in what we would like to have based on the grocery ads, freezer stock, etc.
For right now I have just been writing the menu ideas down and not assigning them a day. Sometimes I am much better at choosing meals for particular days but with our schedule right now and it being summer, I’m a bit looser with it and as long as I have a list to pick from that I have all the ingredients, I’m happy.
So here’s what the list looks like right now before I hit the cookbooks and recipe box and fill in the holes…
- Leftover ribs, mac n cheese and watermelon (shift)
- Fried chicken (fireworks)
- Taco salad (swimming)
- Chicken and broccoli
- Chicken and asparagus
- Enchiladas
- Meat (TBD), roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli
- Scalloped potatoes
- B-day (ask)
- Elbert (ask)
- Leftovers (shift)
- Potstickers (shift)
As you can see, I’m only two meals short of two weeks
- Donuts (VBS this week and found on clearance)
- Toast
- Smoothies
- Breakfast casserole
- Egg sandwiches
- Sandwiches
- Chicken nuggets
- Taquitos
- Quesadillas
- Leftovers
- Fruit
- Cucumbers
~ After all this, I go to my grocery list app and add any ingredients we need to complete any of these meals. Then I go and check all my staples (bread, milk, butter, juice, etc.) and add the ones we need to the list. Finally, I check where I am in my budget for that period and see how much money I have left. Then I check my “Items Needed Soon” list and add one or two of these items to get to finish out the money I have left. This way we don’t get too far behind and suddenly need 10 items and there’s no room in the budget.
I hope that this will give some of you some ideas and encouragement when it comes to creating a menu plan!
