My whole reason of doing a WEEKLY MENU is to save money. I really do enjoy cooking, if I know what I am going to cook. I have found that planning ahead and making sure I have all the ingredients makes it alot easier to cook. There have been so many times in the past that when 4:00 p.m. rolls around and I don't know what I am going to fix for dinner, before I know it it is 5:00 p.m., then 6:00 p.m. I then call Jim and ask him to pick something up on his way home. I love take out, but it gets expensive. Planning ahead has helped so much.
You never realize how much goes into putting a WEEKLY MENU together until you sit down and put one together. So, before I share my WEEKLY MENU, here are a few things I consider while I plan the menu.
---
Starting with Sunday....I always want something nicer and more put together...(not mac-n-cheese), but also not time consuming. If it is time consuming I consider starting it Saturday. We often cook with the crock pot on Sunday. We (I say WE because Jim does alot of the cooking on Sunday), throw everthing in a crockpot before we go to church, then when we walk in the door after church we are greated with such wonderful smells.
---
Mon., Tues., Wed., are the days I plan whatever I feel like it. Thursday is my left over night. I do my grocery shopping Thursday so by the time I am done with shopping and putting it all away, there is no way I want to cook, so it has become my leftover day. If there are no leftovers, then everyone can choose from whats in the pantry. It could be Spaghetti O's or Top Ramen. Who knows what we will find.
---
Friday's are my more time consuming meal....if I choose. I save Friday's for homemade lasagna, or enchiladas, or things that we love, but take alot of time to fix. I will also use Friday for the day that I might need bread or rolls with the meal. For example...doing hamburgers on Friday because I just purchased the buns the day before so they are still pretty fresh.
---
Saturday is another day off for me. I figure that I have planned and cooked successfully all week, so I should get to go out to eat. Of course the decision of where we go depends on how much money is in the account!
---
When choosing what I put on the menu, there are alot of things to consider. I keep a sheet of all the things we eat and mark off when we have them. Of course we have some things more than others....because it is a crowd favorite! I try to do a variety during the week. A recipe with chicken, a pasta recipe, a hamburger recipe, then fill in what ever I need. I always have to consider any special occasions too when deciding on a menu. One other thing I do is ask the family what they would like on the menu for the week. It helps them look forward to what ever is for dinner and I know they will like it then.
---
Ok, there is a basic run down on my WEEKLY MENU planning.
=============================================
WEEKLY MENU
Sunday: Corned Beef Casserole/Corn/Green Salad/Jello
Monday: Tuna Helper/Peaches or Pears/Cottage Cheese
Tuesday: Sloppy Joe Bake/Veggie
Wednesday: Pancakes, Sausage, and Eggs
Thursday: LEFTOVERS!
Friday: Shepard's Pie/Green Salad
Saturday: Going Out!
All meals are served with milk.
4 comments:
I am excited to follow your menu and steal from it!
What a good idea, now I will have some good ideas too :) I love to cook, I just hate deciding what to make.....wish I lived closer to sample all of the cookies that you make!
Thanks for sharing your menu. I love getting new ideas! Looks like you have very well rounded meals planned. YUM!
you are so ambitious! i also plan to steal from all of your preparations. :) i am the worst about waiting until 4 or 5 to think about dinner.
Post a Comment