I used to plan one meal of the day, and got out of the habit. Last night, I had some dead time in class, so I decided to plan for this month. It makes my life so much easier, though it is such a small thing. It eliminates the "what's for dinner, what do I feel like eating, what do I feel like making, what do I have ingredients for" dilemma at the time of day when I have the least amount of energy.
What I did first was to make a list of meals: our regular meals, things I either have all the ingredients for already or just need one or two things, and a couple different meals mixed in.
Then I sketched out the month, filling in days I know there are things going on. Four of the kids have birthdays this month, and they get to choose the meal on their birthday (or another close day if the birthday doesn't work out), so I left those open for now.
Next, I started filling in the days. My school schedule helped decide where to put things. Monday is very meat heavy, things I can put in the crockpot, since that is my long day of school, and I am not a big meat eater. Yesterday, they had boneless pork ribs and potatoes with BBQ sauce in the crockpot. Tuesdays, I have class until 6:50, so those are simple, quick meals. Any high prep meals need to land on the weekend.
This is what I came up with for this month...
T, 1...grilled cheese and soup
W, 2...lemon pepper chicken, rice, veggie
Th, 3...blueberry pancakes, sausage, cantaloupe
F, 4...spaghetti and meatballs
Sa, 5...leaving this open for Nick's birthday meal, if we have him
Su, 6...turkey breast (on sale this week), mashed sweet potatoes, other sides
M, 7...beef roast in crockpot
T, 8...meatball subs, salad
W, 9...Levi's birthday! He'll either pick box mac and cheese or chicken nuggets. Maybe both.
Th, 10...Levi's party at McDonald's.
F, 11...Frnech toast, bacon, fruit
Sa, 12...leaving this open for Nick's birthday meal, if we have him
Su, 13...family bday party...chicken riggies!
M, 14...venison and eggs (blech. Glad I'll be in school for this!)
T, 15...PIZZA!!! I'll pick it up after school. This is my birthday meal.
W, 16...Noah's birthday (and mine). He'll pick something fun.
Th, 17...pot pies
F, 18...tacos
Sa, 19...Pampered Chef party!
Su, 20...Hannah's birthday meal. Her birthday is the 21st, but that's my long school day, so she gets her meal a day early.
M, 21...burgers
T, 22...cheesy chicken and rice bake (will make before school and have Noah put in so it's ready when I get home)
W, 23...cheese chowder (YUM!)
Th, 24...Noah's friend party at Chuck E Cheese
F, 25...macaroni and cheese, veggie
Sa, 26...sausage ziti, salad, garlic bread
Su, 27...leftovers
M, 28...pork chops, mashed potatoes, veggie
Looks good. Now I know when to invite myself over. Or when I'll "happen" to stop by =P. But yeah, I personally have a commitment problem, so I wouldn't want to write down meals for the whole month =) A week at the time is fine so far (and I might steal some of your ideas) =P My plan is to start freezer cooking at some point.
ReplyDeleteLet me know how you like that, Kaidi. Everything I have made and frozen, I have a hard time eating. Texture is off or something. Picky, picky, I know.
ReplyDeleteAnd those aren't set in stone. Some may end up switched or changed completely, but having somewhere to start is a huge time and frustration saver. :)
You're welcome to stop over any day except Monday and Tuesday! I mean that...
I have a trick too...instead of buying hot pockets, etc. I make a huge batch of bagel/english muffin sandwiches and freeze them. I butter both sides of the bagel and place some lunch meat and a slice of good cheese on the bottom side. Then I put them on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet (makes clean up a breeze) and bake them at 350 until the cheese is melty. Then I put the top back on and let them cool. Afterwards, I put them in their own sandwich bag and fill up a gallon freezer bag or two. This makes making lunches super easy! All you have to do is heat them up for a bit and enjoy! SOOOOO easy too!
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