I SO needed this today. Home Sanctuary shared a post on menu planning today and it was the same system I was doing and now I need to get back to it so today I am working on this project....
I start with 7+ main categories of food
Soups/Sandwiches
Crockpot
Breakfast for Dinner
Ethnic Foods
Comfort Foods
Seafood Meals
Gourmet Meals
New Recipes to try
Leftovers
Then I write down meals or main dishes in each category... about 3 to 5 will do.
Soups/Sandwiches or breads - tomato soup/grilled cheese, corn chowder/cornbread, vegetable beef stew/savory muffins, lentil stew/veggie sandwiches, chili/chips/cheese (frito pie)
Crockpot -lentils and rice tacos, mission chicken, salsa chicken, chili, Ragu sauce for spaghetti
Breakfast for Dinner - waffles, pancakes, quiche, biscuits and gravy, egg casseroles
Ethnic Foods - curried chicken, spaghetti w/meatballs or meat sauce, pizza, lasagna, chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos, lamb stew, soft tacos, fried rice, stir fry, shepherd's pie, Chicken Tetrazzini,
Fish & Fowl (non-ethnic) - Chicken & Dumplings, Roasted Chicken, Tuna patties, Crab cakes,
Childhood Favorites - meatloaf/mashed potatoes, Macaroni & cheese, Chicken pot pie,
Vegetarian Fare - beans and rice, ratatouille, will be adding to this as I go along this year...
New Recipes to try - will be searching cookbooks from my library for this over the coming days and months - I will most likely be trying new stuff on Fridays and Saturdays.
Leftovers - self explanatory I think... One day a week we clean out the fridge.
The next step is take a calendar and plug these meals into days of the week where they would be most helpful or easiest to make. Take into consideration all the stuff you do each day and plan accordingly. Then you have a few months of meals and now all you have to do is make your shopping list for the week and you are ready to go.
This will get updated later on as I add more stuff and I will be getting them onto a calendar later tonight.
I start with 7+ main categories of food
Soups/Sandwiches
Crockpot
Breakfast for Dinner
Ethnic Foods
Comfort Foods
Seafood Meals
Gourmet Meals
New Recipes to try
Leftovers
Then I write down meals or main dishes in each category... about 3 to 5 will do.
Soups/Sandwiches or breads - tomato soup/grilled cheese, corn chowder/cornbread, vegetable beef stew/savory muffins, lentil stew/veggie sandwiches, chili/chips/cheese (frito pie)
Crockpot -lentils and rice tacos, mission chicken, salsa chicken, chili, Ragu sauce for spaghetti
Breakfast for Dinner - waffles, pancakes, quiche, biscuits and gravy, egg casseroles
Ethnic Foods - curried chicken, spaghetti w/meatballs or meat sauce, pizza, lasagna, chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos, lamb stew, soft tacos, fried rice, stir fry, shepherd's pie, Chicken Tetrazzini,
Fish & Fowl (non-ethnic) - Chicken & Dumplings, Roasted Chicken, Tuna patties, Crab cakes,
Childhood Favorites - meatloaf/mashed potatoes, Macaroni & cheese, Chicken pot pie,
Vegetarian Fare - beans and rice, ratatouille, will be adding to this as I go along this year...
New Recipes to try - will be searching cookbooks from my library for this over the coming days and months - I will most likely be trying new stuff on Fridays and Saturdays.
Leftovers - self explanatory I think... One day a week we clean out the fridge.
The next step is take a calendar and plug these meals into days of the week where they would be most helpful or easiest to make. Take into consideration all the stuff you do each day and plan accordingly. Then you have a few months of meals and now all you have to do is make your shopping list for the week and you are ready to go.
This will get updated later on as I add more stuff and I will be getting them onto a calendar later tonight.
I am hopelessly broken in this dept.
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