Menu Monday 3/8/2009

I plan the menu....shop for it and then hit the "eh" stage. With five kids, a husband and a home-based business....I, every once in a while, just don't want to mess with cooking dinner. Like tonight! Hubby is bringing home Mexican....yay him! Luckily we work nights like tonight into the budget, too!

My menu planning around the chicken this week. a challenge for me is i'm going to start shopping for a week at a time instead of two weeks at a time. should be interesting!! thanks.

I am menu planning around the crockpot this week. a challenge for me is i'm going to start shopping for a week at a time instead of two weeks at a time. should be interesting!! My goal is to plan 7 crock pot meals that can double as lunches the next day

I had a blah menu season recently. The best fix I've found is to dig out the recipe files (these are magazine rip-outs) and try something really crazy for a few days. It often doesn't make it into our rotation, but it snaps me out of the meatloaf or baked chicken rut.

I've just started menu planning. I gave up going out to eat for Lent, so choosing my meals before the week starts has made it a lot easier. I try and make sure that most of the ingredients I use overlap in a few recipes for the week. It can be hard though b/c I'm only cooking for one. I'm actually blogging about it too! - here's my menu plan for this week, http://cookprayeat.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/meal-...

I have a fairly simple receipe for white chicken chili. It calls to be cooked in the slow cooker, but I cook on stovetop for about an hour. Very nice twist to the traditional tomato-based.

I menu plan through orgjunkie.com. You can link your menu/site on her blog. It is fun to look at what other people are cooking. It helps to inspire me when I am in a rut. I am in a phase like you mentioned each time my husband comes home. I am really good at making things at home when it is just me and the kids. When he gets here though, we do a lot more running around and tend to eat out way too much. Then, it gets hard to switch gears and make something at home. Especially when you haven't been home to clean up the kitchen, see what you have on hand or even buy some groceries. He leaves tomorrow, so I can get back on schedule. Good luck!
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Would you be willing to share your recipe? I'd love to try it.

I think 4/5 of my meals planned this week are from this web-site... making and posting my menus helps a ton at the whole not eating out or not eating just buttered noodles for supper, yes sometimes I am that lazy.

I'm absolutely a menu planner. I plan an entire month at a time, that way there are no excuses. Inevitably, something comes up in the course of the month so that things need to be shuffled, but at least I know I have a month worth of ideas. This week's plan:

Monday- Grilled Cheese and soup (grilled cheese will be made on the easiest homemade white bread in the whole world, I'll be posting the recipe on my page on Wed.)
Tuesday- Homemade pizza
Wednesday- Honey Glazed Chicken and Rice
Thursday- Homemade Mac n Cheese
Friday- Eat Out Night
Saturday- Leftovers
Sunday- Pancakes for Dinner (http://commoncentshome.blogspot.com/2010/03/100-w...
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I think my problem is that I'm always in a "I don't feel like cooking" phase. I was trying to break that with a resolution to try something new each week but it is still a struggle.
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I keep past menus so that when I hit the "meh" stage, I can sort through previous lists and come up with a few ideas. Luckily, I have 4 eating machines and a husband that can throw out some good suggestions to get the ball rolling if I come up short.

One of the ways to keep menu planning from being rigid or repetitive is to keep in mind that *I* am still the one in control. I often look at my menu in the afternoon and realize I either just don't want what was planned or I don't quite have the time for the scheduled recipe. In those cases, I still utilize the main ingredients but I make something else. I also allow myself to switch up days within the week or weeks (I make a 6 week menu plan). For instance, Wednesdays are busy so I usually plan easy to make and eat foods. Sometimes I use the meal planned for Wed/week 4 on Wed/ week 1 because is just sounds better or I didn't get shopping done in time or whatever.

If the week didn't go as planned, I look at the menu and figure out what needs to be cooked (because it will spoil, etc) and what can languish in the pantry or freezer. Then I focus on those meals and let the other ones hang out in storage until they show up again in the menu. This is also great for helping to keep a week or so worth of meals on hand without it feeling like you had to budget for them.

Regarding the white chili... we call it "green" chili because we put lots of.... wait for it, wait for it.... green chilies in for flavor. I also season with cumin, lotsa garlic and onion and a little oregano. We love it but I only make it about 4 times a year. I generally make chili every other month and alternate between red, traditional chili and white/green chili just to make sure we don't get tired of either one.

I do menu plan, but don't necessarily attribute a day of the week to each menu. This is because my energy level, errands, or quantity of leftovers may change unexpectedly. So I make a big list and just cross things off as I make them. Options for this week: pumpkin pancakes with breakfast sausage, pumpkin turkey chili, lasagna, chicken tenders with cole slaw and black beans n rice, pineapple fried quinoa, and thai chicken curry.

In my experience, I get that "meh" feeling because of two extremes: 1. I'm just tired out and really need a rest/break/dinner out or 2. have gotten out of the habit of things and need to pull myself together and look at some cookbooks/home organisation blogs/backsides of cleaning products for inspiration. But first I have to figure out which one it is, because the cure for being frazzled is not the same cure as for laziness!

I'm trying a few new recipes I found in Better Homes and Gardens this week including an interesting turkey salisbury steak dish with white bean mash, and some spicy pan seared shrimp with cheesy grits.

Dinner tonight is spaghetti. I have no clue what the rest of the week looks like. We went on an eating out marathon last week, so my whole schedule is out of whack. I have chicken and meat for chicken fried steak, so we'll probably be covered for a few days.

Your menu sounds delicious! I would love to know what you think of the white chili. I've never made it before, but so many people I know love it. For some reason, I'm worried that it won't come out seasoned enough.

Trixie
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