Meal Plan for November 16-22

I'm back to meal planning again after a few months off. It was just too much hassle if I don't plan ahead. Without a plan, I find myself trying to find ways to convince the family that we should eat out instead of cooking. Not really money-saving at all.

A friend recently explained to me that in their family, each person gets to choose one meal during the week, and the mom chooses for the days left over. I thought it was a great idea. We tried it for a bit last week and had very happy results. The picky eater in the family was thrilled that people had to eat what she liked, and she didn't whine as much on the other days. So, my family members have shared the duty again this week, and we put together the following menu:

Monday -- French Dip Sandwiches
Tuesday -- French Peasant Bread with Cream cheese chicken and rice
Wednesday -- Wild rice soup and homemade bread
Thursday -- French toast and bacon
Friday -- Chicken Tacos with Black Bean Salsa
Saturday -- Spaghetti Bake
Sunday -- Crock pot BBQ pork chops with simple roasted potatoes and Alabama white BBQ sauce

I'm getting into the habit of thinking ahead. Next week, on my day we're going to have Tostadas with shredded beef that's already made and waiting in the freezer.

Sunday Dinner Menu

I'm preparing a big Sunday dinner this week for a friend and her familiy that are coming to town to visit. This is a great menu for guests, mostly because some of the preparation can be done the night before.

Here's what we'll be eating:

• Pot Roast
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Garden Salad
• Green Beans from the garden
• Cheese Bread
• Fresh Peach Pie for dessert

Saturday:

Cheese Bread -- once the dough is put together, and kneaded, place it in the fridge overnight. You'll only have to warm it to room temprature, roll it out, put on the cheese and let it rise again. Then bake just before the meal on Sunday

Pot Roast

Place all the items in an oven bag and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Pop it in the oven three hours before dinner and you're set!

Very Full Freezer

I've been packing my freezer until it can take no more! Now it's time to eat it all before it goes bad. Then, I'll pack it again.

Here's a menu plan for the next few weeks to get rid of all of it. Some of the items will be listed a couple of times because we have multiple of them prepared or because it's a family favorite. I'm going to number it so that I'm not stuck to a certain day of the week:

1. Homemade pizza --
2. Garlic Chicken and fettuccine
3. Hamburgers & hot dogs
4. Chicken tacos & black bean salsa
5. Cheesy Mexican Chicken
6. Chinese Chicken Salad
7. Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches
8. Chicken & Broccoli with corn bread
9. Spaghetti Bake
10. Chicken Garden Salad
11. BBQ Salmon and baked potatoes
12. Zippy Casserole
13. Calzones
14. French Dip Sandwiches
15. Beef Fajitas
16. Beef Shiskabobs
17. Stromboli
18. Breakfast Sandwiches
19. Garlic Chicken Pasta
20. Black Bean & Kielbasa soup and empanadas
21. Chicken Pot Pie
22. Spaghetti with meat sauce
23. Chicken Nuggets & Fries
24. Garlic Chicken & Fettuccine
25. Stuffed Shells
26. Calzones
27. Chili & Corn bread
28. Chicken Rice Salad
29. Won tons and salad
30. Stromboli
31. Citrus Pork Chops
32. Hamburgers & Hot dogs
33. French toast & bacon
34. Italian crock-pot chicken
35. BBQ bacon & cheddar chicken
36. Wild rice soup and whole wheat bread
37. Chicken Kiev
38. Chicken tacos & black bean salsa

I often save leftovers and freeze them in smaller sized portions. I've put these in vacuum sealed bags in the freezer and they're ready to defrost. So, for my lunches:

1. Beef Stroganoff
2. Wild Rice Soup
3. Crustless Quiche
4. Egg Rolls
5. Calzones
6. Black Bean Soup
7. Stromboli

Menu Plan for 5/10 to 5/16

We were so-so at following last weeks menu. It just wasn't fun to cook -- I wanted to be outside working on the garden. I'm hoping to do better this week.

Here you go:

Sunday -- Fettuccini and French Peasant Bread

Monday -- eat out

Tuesday -- Stromboli

Wednesday -- Zippy Casserole

Thursday -- Clark's Favorite Pork Chops and yummy potatoes

Friday -- Spinach, Chicken and Pasta Salad

Saturday -- Calzones

Menu plan for 5/3 to 5/9

I was really good at following last week's menu. We ate six of seven dishes during the week. I did move a couple around and we ate one for lunch, but we still followed the plan(except the one night when we were one hour away from home and had to go to Arby's).

I'm hoping that by making and following my plan, we'll waste less fresh produce and save money in the process. Here's this week's plan:

Sunday -- Chicken in a Pot with rice
Monday -- Crock-pot Chicken Cacciatore with fettuccine noodles
Tuesday -- Chicken tacos and black bean salsa in honor of Cinco de Mayo
Wednesday -- Chinese Chicken Salad
Thursday -- Navajo Tacos
Friday -- Panera
Saturday -- Beef Stroganoff

Wish me luck!

Menu plan for 4/26 - 5/2

I did pretty well following last week's meal plan. I moved one or two days around, but otherwise stuck to the plan and used the food in the house. I've been stocking our freezer the last few weeks and it's time to use what we've got. Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday -- BBQ Bacon chicken with yummy potatoes
Monday -- Chicken Rice Salad
Tuesday -- Garlic Parmesean Chicken with fettucini
Wednesday -- Chicken Tacos with black bean salsa
Thursday -- Calzones
Friday -- Pizza from Illiano's
Saturday -- Tempura chicken with rice and a salad

Menu plan for next week

Here's my menu plan for next week. I've linked to the recipes if you're interested in any of the items. I'll add pictures as I can so that you can see what it looks like if you're curious.

Sunday -- Roast, Potatoes and salad
Monday -- French Dip and salad
Tuesday -- Calzones
Wednesday -- Chicken Pot Pie, rolls
Thursday -- Chicken Fajitas
Friday -- Pizza and salad
Saturday -- Stromboli and salad