Monday, May 16, 2011

Menu Planning Monday ~ In Reverse

a while back i tried to start blogging about our dinner menus for the week at the beginning of the week.  it failed.  i think that the one week i did it i did not make one thing that was on my menu for the week.  it's not that i'm not organized...because i am.  it's just that i have trouble organizing our meals for the week, and end up just grabbing something out of the deepfreeze or deciding it's a good night to eat out.  in an effort to be more organized, save money at the grocery store, waste less food, and most importantly, eat healthier, i have decided to be a better menu planner. 
i started a few weeks ago.  during the weekend i create a menu plan for the week, dig out all of the recipes i need, write my grocery list and hang the menu on the fridge in plain sight.  and it works!  i stuck to the plan and we had some great meals and less frustration at dinner time trying to figure things out.   i want to share my menus with my readers, but instead of sharing this week's menu with you, i've decided to share my menu from last week, so that if i try a new recipe and it stinks i can tell you so, or if i have to switch the menu around for some reason, i can adjust it accordingly.
so without further ado, i present to you our menu from last week, i call it:

Menu Planning Monday in Reverse
Monday:  Dinner with Michaels' parents to celebrate Mother's Day
Steak filets (always on sale at Krogers!)
 Herb Roasted Potatoes (just realized I've never shared this recipe..I will do so soon)
Green Beans
 No-Knead Bread (I made this in my dutch oven...delicious and SIMPLE, give it a try!)
Tuesday:
Tuscan Chicken Flatbread
Grapes & Yogurt
Wednesday:
Slow Cooker Chicken Burritos (healthy AND tasty!  we had these leftovers several times last week...a new fave for Michael & I)
Cheese Quesadillas for the kids
Chips & Salsa
Applesauce & Corn
Thursday:
Brinner!
Pancakes
Sausage
Strawberries
Friday:
Leftover Night & a going away party for my cousin who is moving to California to be a movie star...all kinds of tasty treats there
Saturday: 
We were supposed to tailgate at the Roller Derby, but had to change our dinner plans because of rain, so we went to Sorrento's Pizza instead.  Click HERE for pix from our fun night at the roller derby.  Here's what I had made/bought for tailgating (we ate them for other meals instead)
Hot Dogs w/ wheat buns
Pasta Salad (I think I would have liked this better with plain ol' pasta instead of wheat pasta)
Mixed Berries
Hummus with Pita & Carrots
Sunday:
Cincinnati Style Chili three-ways (Michael's grandfather's recipe, a family favorite)

So there you have it, just in case you are looking for ideas or recipes.  I found my life to be much easier come 5pm with a menu plan in place for the week.  I'm going to keep doing this because it's good for my sanity ;)  I'll try to be better next week with adding links to recipes and adding in other menu items for breakfast, lunch and snacks.  What are you cooking this week?

** i found inspiration for this adventure at orgjunkie.com, i suggest you hit her blog and see all of the other great MPM posts for this week! 

1 comment:

micaela said...

Yay!!Good for you Katie!! I've tried several times to do a menu and it's always worked great..but then I always fall off the wagon! I remember my Mom having one..she just rotated through different meals throughout the month. My problem is..I sometimes don't like the meal that I planned come time to eat it! Then..the menu falls apart!
I do find that if I start making dinner about 4pm..things are calmer around 5-6 b/c dinner is ready when the kids are hungry at 5pm instead of them having to wait until 6pm b/c I procrastinated getting it ready! Now if only I could follow my own advice every day my life would be easier! Ha!

Looking forward to reading about your menus! I need inspiration and new meal ideas!