Menu Plan Monday 4/18

We had such a busy weekend I didn't get a chance to menu plan yesterday. I thought I was going to have to wing it and figure out each day what we were going to have for dinner (like I did last week and that does not go well for us). Luckily, I finished lots of stuff around here and everyone is napping well so I had a little time to plan.

I got lots of good ideas when I was doing the Menu Planning Challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons. One that I used today was to plan for more than one week at a time. Today I used my 7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies book and planned two weeks worth of meals. I recorded them on the Monthy Menu Planner I printed off here from 5 dollar dinners. I think next month I might try to plan for the entire month.

This week:
Sunday- Burgers, fries, salad, grapes
Monday- Sandwiches (I couldn't get to the grocery store after I made my plan so I had to go with what I have here. Plus, my daughter has softball practice tonight.)
Wednesday- Mamas Amazing Ziti (Meal Makeover Moms)
Thursday- Tater Tot Casserole
Friday- Pizza
Saturday- Leftovers

Next week:
Sunday- Chicken Pot Pie
Monday- Leftovers or sandwich (softball practice)
Tuesday- Tuna Noodle Casserole (7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies)
Wednesday- Meatball Mac & Cheese, green beans (7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies)
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Pizza
Saturday- Orange-Thyme Salmon, green beans, jasmine rice, salad, crusty bread (7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies)

I've got to get to the grocery store tonight or tomorrow for the next couple of days to work.

I'm linking up to Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 3/28

Meals last week were a disaster. I only planned a couple because my husband was going to cook three times. I can't even remember what threw us off track every day but we each only cooked once. So, this week I need to get a little more serious.

Sunday-Tacos
Monday-Tortilla Soup (A Slob Comes Clean) with cornbread
Tuesday-Spinach Artichoke Casserole (Stolen Moments)
Wednesday-Leftovers
Thursday-Fish (not sure what kind yet) & Cheesy Spinach Bake (Meal Makeover Moms)
Friday-Pizza
Saturday-Meat Loaf

I sat down this morning to do my meal planning and it is still a struggle for me. It takes me a long time. Even with my Menu Plan Plan (which I posted here last week) it still takes forever. Maybe I should use one of those menu planning services. Hmm, something to think about.

 Linking up to Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie.

(When I went to link up, I saw Org Junkie has some menu planning resources listed. Perfect timing. I will be sure to check those out.)

Menu Plan Monday 3/21

Our meals this week are going to be interesting. It's spring break for us. That means my kids are home as well as my husband. I'm going to hand off dinner to him several nights. He's not into planning all the meals he's responsible for at the beginning of the week. For that reason, I have no idea what we are going to have for dinner tonight, Wednesday or Thursday. I have listed the meals I'm planning. I've also listed my menu plan plan. No, it's not a typo, see below.

Sunday-@ Mom & Dad's
Monday- ? Husband cooks
Tuesday-Fit & Trim Tetrazinni (Meal Makeover Moms)
Wednesday-? Husband cooks
Thursday-? Husband cooks
Friday-pizza
Saturday-Breakfast for dinner

Hey, I like this. I could get used to sharing so much of the cooking. Maybe this summer.

My menu plan plan is what I follow so I have an idea of what to cook on each night. When I started menu planning I would sit down at the table and my mind would be blank. I really couldn't think of what I wanted to cook each night. I would take down my recipe binder and cookbooks but there are hundreds of recipes to choose from. I knew there had to be a better way. I found several people who would have nights of the week designated for certain types of food. For example, Monday would be chicken, Tuesday crock pot. I love that idea. It gives me a place to start. Here is what I have come up with:

Sunday-new recipe
(I don't always follow this here. Sometimes I make a favorite that is more involved than what I want to do during the week.)
Monday-soup or sandwich
(I love this. The soup/sandwich category is one I never would have included when trying to menu plan off the top of my head.)
Tuesday-pasta
Wednesday-left-overs or breakfast
Thursday-fish or beef
Friday-pizza
(This is usually pizza we make with a premade crust. It can also be little pizzas made with english muffins. I hope to also include homemade crusts, but haven't yet.)
Saturday-International
(This is really a misleading name. It's most likely Mexican or Italian though I have tried stir fry.)

I'm not very rigid with how I follow this. While I might not have soup on Monday, I will probably have it some time during the week. Plus, the hope is that I will get more fish in our diet because I know I will be looking at fish recipes for Thursday (though I tend to choose beef instead of fish.)

I plan on tweaking this plan a bit. I think it could use some rearranging (like having a fish only night so I can't get out of cooking fish), but it is a whole lot better than what I did before.

As always, I'm linking up to Menu Plan Monday.

Menu Plan Monday 3/7

My husband won't be home for dinner most of this week. I usually use that as an excuse not to cook. I still feed my children on those days but it's less planned. The meals are much simplier (which is fine) but our fruit and veggie intake goes way down. I'm sure we don't get enough fruits and veggies anyway so we can't afford to get less. My focus this week is to get more fruits and veggies on the table. Plus, this is a busy time of year for my husband so if I use that as a reason not to cook, the kids and I will rarely eat a good meal.

Monday-Pizza Pie & salad

Tuesday-Italian Meatball and Tortellini Soup

Wednesday-French Toast & canned peaches

Thursday-Lasagne (frozen from a past meal) for me, frozen ravioli for kids & green beans

Friday-homemade pizza & salad

Saturday-left overs

Sunday-I have no idea. I thought about just putting something random but the truth is, I have no idea.

I plan on freezing some of the soup, pizza pie & french toast. Then I can use these on some of the upcoming nights my husband won't be home.

I'm linking up to Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 2/28/11

I almost didn't do a menu plan for this week because my husband might not be home for dinner any night. My son is a picky eater and while my daughter will try everything she might not eat much. I do not enjoy cooking so if no one is going to eat I don't want to go to the trouble. If my husband isn't going to be here it is very easy to talk myself out of cooking. While we don't eat out or order in if I don't have a plan, we still don't eat very well. Our veggie & fruit intake goes down dramatically and that's not what I want. What I need is a list of easy meals but I just haven't accumulated them yet. So, here my plan for the week.

Monday-Tortellini Soup (from Mommy Hates Cooking/Pioneer Woman)
Tuesday-Chicken with Peanut Sauce
Wednesday-Scrambled Egg & Sausage Sandwiches on English Muffins & fruit
Thursday-left overs
Friday-homemade pizza
Saturday-at in-laws for daughter's birthday
Sunday-at parents house for daughter's birthday

Once I made my plan I realized I didn't have to cook that much this week and was able to have a couple good meals for my family. It didn't take near as much time to come up with my plan as I thought it was going to and it will be well worth the effort.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday (I'm trying to add a banner here with no luck, maybe I'll get it later.)

Short and simple.

Sunday-Colorful Cacciatore (The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers)
Monday-Chicken Tortilla Soup
Tuesday-Spaghetti, broccoli parmesan, bread
Wednesday-leftovers
Thursday-Almond Crusted Tilapia, red bell pepper couscous, steamed broccoli
Friday-pizza
Saturday-?? leftovers? breakfast food? a new recipe?

Menu Plan Monday

I'm going to link to Menu Plan Monday for the first time today. Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at Org Junkie. I am not linking up because I think I have anything special to offer. I'm linking up because I don't have anything special to offer. I try my best, but cooking and menu planning is not something I am good at. I know Laura says her life has changed because of menu planning. That is not the case for me. It has made deciding what's for dinner much easier. I also am much more prepared for dinnertime because I have taken some time to plan ahead. I'm linking up because often when I look at the menu plans on Menu Plan Mondays I feel inadequate. My hope with linking up is to show other moms a menu plan doesn't have to be anything special, and that's ok.

Sunday-Crock Pot Pizza
Monday-Baked Potato Soup
Tuesday-Spaghetti
Wednesday-Left-overs
Thursday-Salmon in Foil (from Meal Makeover Moms)
Friday-Homemade Pizza
Saturday-??Husband is supposed to cook (but usually doesn't)

The above plan shows one of my weaknesses, vegetables and other side dishes. I always have frozen veggies and I try to remember to pick up something fresh to use during the week. I always have apples and applesauce. I try to steam a veggie or cut up a piece of fruit, or both, each night.

Wow, this sounds even more pathetic than I thought. Oh, well. It has been and could be worse.