Menu Planning 101-Putting It All Together

Okay, so I'm participating in The Happy Housewife's Menu Planning 101 blog tutorial. Here's the link for this weeks assignment: Menu Planning 101-Putting It All Together.

For this weeks assignment we're supposed to take 5 meals from our list and add some sides that we would serve with those meals, and that's our menu plan for the week.

First of all, I didn't pick 5 meals. Wednesday is payday at my house, and we're beginning to get low on some things. But, even running low, I have everything that I need to make at least 8 meals, and most of those will be large enough for leftovers for lunch. Also, there are some things that are on my menu that are not on my list of 20 meals. I'm just going from what I have on hand, and some of these things I honestly didn't think of when I was putting my 20 together.

The Happy Housewife prefers not to assign days for her meals. While my menu will sometimes change radically during the week depending upon scheduling changes and such, I still prefer to assign things to a particular day. The main reason being that I try to look ahead at my calendar while planning my meals. Does my husband have any days this week where he is working 2nd shift? What activities do we have going on that might impact our daily meals? I also prefer to assign all 3 meals of the day. That way, I'm not standing with my head in the fridge at breakfast or lunch thinking, "There's nothing in here to eat."

Looking at the coming week specifically, my husband works 2nd shift today (Sunday) and Friday. He works a weird in between shift tomorrow (10-7) because he has inventory. Now on the days that he works second, he will not be home to have dinner with us. He will be here for breakfast and lunch. But on inventory night, if I have supper ready to put on the table when he walks in the door, we can eat about 7:30 (barring any delays at work). Because he doesn't go in until 10, he will be there to have breakfast with us. He isn't working Tuesday or Wednesday and will be home for all 3 meals. My husband likes breakfast, so I like to try to make something special on the days that he is there to have breakfast. On Thursday, he works first shift, and has to be at work at 6. So, it would be good to have something quick for him to grab for breakfast before he leaves for work. And I need something for him to take for lunch that day.

Now, for activities. The biggest thing that is going on this week that will impact our meals is that our homeschool group is starting our new cooperative learning classes on Friday. We need something quick and easy for breakfast. We will have lunch there. We have the option of purchasing lunch, but packing a lunch will be cheaper. Since we are going on vacation at the end of September, we're trying to pinch pennies anywhere that we can. And, since I am going to be gone most of the day, it would nice to have something that I can either pop into the oven, or cook in the crock pot while I'm gone.

Taking all of these variables into account, I try to place things on the days that make the most sense. I also try to put at least a day's space in between leftovers. We really aren't the kind of family who likes to eat a lot of leftovers. I try to repurpose them as much as possible. But when that's not an option (there aren't that many ways to repurpse baked spaghetti), I allow a day or so for some variety.

So,after all of that, my menu for the week looks something like this:

Sunday- Brunch: Pancakes

Supper: Hotdogs in Mac & Cheese, green beans

Monday-Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls

Lunch: Bologna Sandwiches

Supper: Beans, Slaw, Cornbread

Tuesday-Breakfast: Gravy & Biscuits

Lunch: Potato Soup

Supper: Baked Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

Wednesday-Breakfast: Waffles

Lunch: Cheese Pizza, Salad

Supper: Chicken Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans, Salad

Thursday-Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Baked Spaghetti, Salad

Supper: BBQ Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Slaw

Friday-Breakfast: Banana Nut Muffins

Lunch: Sandwiches

Supper: Bean Soup, Corn Bread

Saturday-Breakfast: French Taost

Lunch: Bean & Rice Burritos, Salad

Supper: Chicken & Dumplings, brocolli & cheese

Hope you have fun planning your menu!

Menu Planning 101-5 More Meals and Side Dishes

I'm working on the blogging tutorial over at The Happy Housewife. Here's a link to the post:

The Happy Housewife-Menu Planning 101 Task 2

So, for this weeks task, we are to come up with 5 more meals, to give us a total of 20. Here are my first 15 meals. Now for 5 more.

1. Nachos

2. Quiche

3. BBQ Pork

4. Stew Beef

5. Lasagne

For the second part of the task, to come up with side items or fruit that you serve with your meals. She didn't set a specific amount, so I'm just going to see how many I can come up with.

1. Mashed Potatoes

2. Baked Potatoes

3. Parmesan Potato Wedges

4. Fries

5. Sliced Potatoes w/Cheese

6. Scalloped Potatoes

7. Potatoes Au Gratin

8. White Rice

9. Creamy Rice

10. Fried Rice

11. Spanish Rice

12. Crab Rangoons

13. Macaroni & Cheese

14. Salad

15. Green Beans

16. Green Bean Casserole

17. Baked Beans

18. Potato Salad

19. Brocolli & Cheese

20. Brocolli Casserole

21. Corn on the Cob

22. Corn

23. Creamed Corn

24. Corn Casserole

25. Honey Glazed Carrots

26. Peas

27. Peas & Carrots

28. Creamed Peas

29. Sweet Potatoes

30. Sweet Potato Casserole

31. Cole Slaw

32. Stir Fried Cabbage

33. Sliced Tomatoes

34. Sliced Cucumbers

35. Apples

36. Grapes

37. Pears

38. Fruit Salad

39. Brocolli Salad

40. Pasta Salad

Okay, I'm stopping at 40. Some of these I don't make on a regular basis. My husband doesn't eat veggies, so I make them for just myself and the girl. Some things I like that she doesn't (she's not big on brocolli), but I've included them here because I will make them for potlucks or family meals where there are other people who will eat them.

Hope your planning is going well.

Menu Planning 101-15 Meals

Over at The Happy Housewife, she is doing a blog tutorial on menu planning. Here's the link:

The Happy Housewife-Menu Planning 101

First of all let me say that I am big on menu planning. I have notebooks full of menu plans that are older than my daughter (who is 7). If I have a plan I can generally stick to it. And that's good, because when I cook at home, we save money. A lot of money.

My problem is that I usually reinvent the wheel each time I menu plan. What do I mean? Well, I've been planning menus for a long time. And yet, every time, I have to sit and think about meal possibilities. Some of this is necessary. I add new recipes to my repetoire and if my family likes them, they stick. And it also depends on the time of year. We don't typically do soups in the middle of August, because it's hot here in NC. And I can't get good tomatoes in December, so we don't do a lot of tomato sandwiches then. And I also try to shop the sales when there's a good deal. So if I have a freezer full of chicken, I probably won't be making much with beef.

What I need is a way to get all of my recipes organized on the computer so that I can basically copy and paste a menu together from my complete list. It would also be great to have the recipes for each meal saved with the menu so that if I need to find it, I can click on the meal and the recipes will pop up. So, that is my goal. To find a way to make my menu planning easier.

But while I am working on this, I am participating in this blog tutorial...this might just be what I'm looking for. She said she plans all of her menus on the computer. So, for my 15 meals, I choose:

1. Awesome Chicken

2. Fried Chicken

3. Rotisserie Chicken

4. Chicken & Dumplings

5. BBQ Chicken

6. Sweet & Sour Chicken

7. Pizza

8. Baked Pasta

9. Pasta Alfredo

10. Hotdogs

11. Hamburgers

12. Meatloaf

13. Tacos

14. Quesadillas

15. Hamburger Steaks

Here's the link to the blog post on The Happy Housewife-Menu Planning 101. Happy Planning!

Welcome

Well, I've started to start another blog. This one is all about being fun and frugal. In these trying economic times, everyone is looking for ways to pinch their pennies and stretch their dollars. Because of my particular set of life circumstances, I've learned a lot about frugality by necessity. But I also love a bargain, so I have begun to look at frugality as a game of sorts. How can I save more money? And believe it or not, playing the Frugality Game can be a lot of fun. So, please join me and let's save money together!