Posted in Time Saving Tips
I may be preaching to the choir here, but I'm going to recommend a menu scheduling plan that has worked wonders in our home. I have to say that when I stray from this method, meal planning seems like more of a chore and we don't eat as well either!
I have created a schedule based on the main ingredient for the meal as well as our activities for the week. For example, on Wednesdays we have our weekly 4-H meeting, errand running and then karate late in the afternoon, so the family isn't home until around 7:30pm. That makes it crockpot night! I just start the meal in the morning, set the crockpot for 10 hours and it'll be kept warm until we get home. Wednesdays can also be leftover or pizza night. Whatever we eat, it has to be something easy, but I still have to plan what we'll eat so we aren't rummaging through the fridge at 8pm trying to find something!
The other method I use is to assign a main ingredient for each day like this:
Monday - chicken
Tuesday - salmon
Thursday - beef
.... etc. By doing this, I can take advantage of good meat sales and plan ahead what we'll be eating down the road. Of course, this schedule isn't set in stone. Just this week, my husband wanted a meal of pinto beans and cornbread so that's what he got! I also work leftovers into the schedule as we always have some - that's usually Friday night.
It doesn't take long to plan weekly menus and we do NOT have to be gourmet cooks unless we want to. I know that my family likes having the same 30 meals over and over again. I will try a new recipe now and again, but I have to say that it's more work to do that and I don't have hours and hours to be pouring over recipe books looking for new things to fix. I need it simple, quick and healthy! If you are stuck in a rut with your menus and have the time, try assigning each day a specific main ingredient and then go looking for new recipes using that item (chicken, fish, etc.). I think you'll find that, in the long run, it saves you time and $$ to plan weekly menus, whatever method you choose to use!
Kris in TN
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