I am no expert, but this is what works for me. Instead of wondering “what’s for dinner” every week, I have a 28 day plan. Since we are not through the first 28 days, I am going to show you how I plan.
Each season, I look at our calendar and see which evenings have activities and I plan around that. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Sunday this is the day to rest, so simple is the key AND since Saturday mornings Steve has Men’s Breakfast, we don’t usually have a large Saturday morning breakfast, I have decided that Sunday evening will be Breakfast for Dinner. Sometimes, this means quiche (or egg pie), pancakes or eggs and sausage, I plan for quiche every other week and wing it the remaining Sunday evenings. Sometimes, when there is an activity or an abundance of leftovers, we eat leftovers.
Monday is probably our busy evening. We have piano lessons (Kyla) and Tae Kwon Do (Steve and oldest kids) so I try to make something in the crock-pot or stockpot early in the day. When it gets warmer, we will have chef salads on Mondays.
Tuesday is the day we host a Bible Study in our home. I also invite folks for dinner beforehand, so I make this a casserole night. Many times I can just pull one out of the freezer, but I sometimes have to make a lot so that I can freeze some for later. Most Tuesdays my dear friend Cathy comes to help me, so bulk cooking on a busy night is not so overwhelming.
Wednesday is a free night, I try to make something more involved on these days. Baked chicken, pork chops, fish or steak are on the menu for Wednesdays. I am not above pulling something from the freezer though.
Thursday is not really a busy night, Brendan has praise band practice, but I still take it easy. This is Pasta Night, so spaghetti, or chicken alfredo (from chicken I froze previously), or mac and cheese (homemade of course) are on the menu for Thursdays. I make spaghetti sauce in bulk, so that is a real time saver. Mac and cheese is a great leftover!
Friday is Fun Food night. We have hamburgers, hotdogs, tacos, nachos or gyro burgers on Fridays, usually in front of the TV watching a movie.
Saturday is Pizza Night. Usually homemade, sometimes frozen or take out, but never boring. The easiest pizza is made with french bread for crust (yes, I can make french bread, but don’t always). I make a pretty good pizza crust (thanks to an on-line friend), but I struggle with rolling it out and putting it in the pans. I am still learning though.
Breakfasts are usually eggs and toast, breakfast tacos, or granola. Sometimes we make muffins and I plan to try making bagels soon.
Lunches are usually leftovers or sandwiches.
So, there you have it. I will let you know how the 28 day menu goes.
1 comment:
I do something similar -- chicken one day, beef another, meatless on another, breakfast supper (pancakes or biscuits) on Friday, easy and simple on Sunday. For about a year or more, I have recycled a 28 day menu. At first I worried about being too repetitive -- but we end up eating a particular menu only once a month, so it has worked out fine. I've tweaked it as I realize what items the kids consistently don't eat well. The 28 day cycle has really simplified meal planning, cooking, ans shopping!
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