Confession: I struggle in the meal planning department of my homemaking duties.
It’s true. TRUE.
You seasoned Susie Homemakers out there are rolling your eyes at such a statement, but, in my little ol’ opinion, meal planning takes creativity. And organization. And frugality. It’s not as easy as it seems, folks!
So yesterday, I started brainstorming and listing our family’s favorite supper categories. Within each category, I listed a few meal ideas---some we know and love, some that are new. And here’s how it went down. Nothing too revolutionary.
A more organized version:
| Mexican Mondays | Pasta Tuesdays | Sandwich Wednesdays | Comfort Food Thursdays | Breakfast Fridays | |
| Week 1 | Nacho bar | Lasagna | Reubens | Chicken Pot Pie, Sweet Potato | B’fast Casserole |
| Week 2 | Santa Fe Soup | Crockpot Mac-n-cheese, Salad | Bagel Sandwich | BBQ Cups, Squash | Scrambled eggs, Bacon, Grits |
| Week 3 | Taco Salad | Pizza | Chicken Salad Sandwich | Pot Roast, Cream Potatoes | Pancakes, Fruit |
| Week 4 | Chili w/ Fritos | Chicken Spaghetti | Turkey Wraps w/ honey mustard | Meatloaf, Roasted Greenbeans | Omelets, Blueberry muffins |
| Week 5 | Quesadillas | Cheese Ravioli w/ Meat Sauce | BLTs | Chick.&Dumplings, Butterbeans | Sausage, Biscuits & Gravy |
| Week 6 | Beef & bean burritos | Pasta Formaggi w/ Grilled Chick | Sloppy Joes | Minute Steak, Baked Potato | Quiche, Cinnamon Rolls |
{I tried to link to all the recipes that can be found online. The others are from cookbooks or my recipe box.}
Saturdays and Sundays are usually our sporadic and fend-for-yourself days. We like leftovers and Wendy’s dollar menu.
How do you meal plan? What system works best for your family?
4 comments:
Hey, Em! I try to plan our meals one month in advance. Each meal stretches for two suppers or one supper and one lunch. I try to make soup or a lunch dish on Sundays to stretch the first couple of days during the week. Also, we eat breakfast for supper every Sunday night after church. Tonight it was scrambled eggs and grits. Sometimes it's Fiber One pancakes. My boys prefer french toast. Easy stuff. Let me clarify. All this organization is during the school year. We totally "wing it" during the summer. :) Also, I try to do one big grocery run every 2-3 weeks and buy ingredients for all my meals. That way we don't "run out" of food and eat a bunch or junk or eat out. Sus
Emily, I love, love how you post things you think are too simple and that we (your faithful readers) are going to roll our eyes about but instead we think your topics are awesome!.(Please don't fret over my grammatical structuring lol) I truly struggle with menu planning. It's at the top of my list for things I really want to improve on and get right. I know it would make my dinner routine so much less stressful. Thanks for this post! I love it. :)
I LOVE YOU. I meal plan each week, but your "method" has just brought more organization to my life, which will equal less time menu planning. And for this I LOVE YOU :)
GREAT idea to have a theme night. That takes such a chunk of my energy....just thinking up a meal. If you already have a category for each day, that's half the battle.
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