Making a Menu

Every month I pull together my cooking resources to create a menu. It saves me time, money, and energy. Several of my friends have asked how I do it. I believe 100% that if you have something that works, share it!  I have a lot of type A in me and this menu task is just one way I put it to good use. Here is my basic system.

1. Compile the resources from where you wish to choose your meals. I have a variety of sources ranging from cookbooks, blogs, Pinterest, etc. This month's meals come primarily from The Pioneer Woman's blog, The Pillsbury Soup & Crock-Pot Recipes cookbook, and Pinterest.

2. Have a game plan. My system is pretty simple when choosing meals. I want meals that will not take too much time away from my family and have minimal prep. I have a basic meal outline that cycles through each week.

Monday: Pasta (or as I like to call it, Noodle Night)

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (various Mexican recipes and of course, the tried and true taco smorgasbord)

Wednesday: One Pot (these meals are usually soup or crock-pot related. The rule is that the meal has to be able to be made in one pan or pot, thus easy clean up)

Thursday: Throw Together (these are simple meals that can be made from leftovers or require minimal ingredients. Often times casseroles are used  this night.)

Friday-Family Favorites (I pull from my family's favorite recipes)

Saturday and Sunday-I'll experiment with new recipes, eat left overs, or grab a bite out while we run errands. You won't see meals listed for these days on my menu, mainly because I rarely know what the weekend will hold.)

3. Map out your meals.

4. Create a grocery list. I do this as I go along. As I write down the recipe I'd like to use, I place the ingredients on a grocery list. I typically know what I do and don't have in the house and only include items I need to purchase.

5. This is where my type A kicks in. I organize everything and transfer the menu to a printable calendar. You'll notice that some meals have letters in parenthesis. These letters indicate which cookbook, blog, etc. that I need to pull from along with the page number if needed. This goes on my fridge. I love having it there for easy access and my husband, when he's feeling it, can begin making the meal on the nights he's home before me.

6. My final type A maneuver is yet another list. I break my grocery list into sections such as "produce", "canned", "cold", "household", etc. This helps me work my way through the grocery store without any major backtracking. My list also contains other items that I need to replenish, such as shampoo, paper towels and the like.

This system can be used for any length of time, whether it be a week or a month. If you are super ambitious, I suppose you could even do a year. More power to you:) Sometimes I break up the process, and then other days, like today, I was able to complete everything between G playing and taking her nap. This process allows me to have a month's worth of meals. We eat leftovers throughout the week for lunch as well. I am proud to say that by the end of all of this, I have one grocery trip that provides my family with 3 meals a day for the entire month. Should I not feel like a certain meal one night, I can swap it out with another knowing that I have the ingredients already on hand. I simply replenish perishables throughout the month. I hope you'll find this process just as beneficial as I do.

Just for Fun

This weekend, my hubby and I went out of town for a very special baby shower. While visiting our friends, we were able to have an anniversary dinner out while they graciously kept G. The weekend was grand despite G's 3 day fever, teething, and the obnoxious hotel guests next door. The baby shower was a wonderful success and we can't wait for baby Cadence to get here come December!