Since my house is a disaster after a week of total focus on our church Christmas production and total lack-of-focus on the house, I figure that the least I can do is plan a menu. Besides, I'm craving some home-cooked food after a week of takeout pizza and burgers.Monday - Chicken in mushroom gravy over rice (make extra rice for Chicken Fried … [Read more...]

I've been slacking on menu planning, and definitely have felt the effects of my neglect in the rest of the house. I've said it many times before, but it's amazing how much of a difference it makes in my quest for order to not have to scramble to figure out what's for dinner each night. As I get back into the swing of things, my goal is to keep … [Read more...]

Week one of school is done. It's time to get back into menu planning for real. Honestly, it's the last thing I want to do right now, but I'm planning to stop by the store in the morning, and if I'm prepared, maybe it can be my only stop there this week. I mentioned on facebook Thursday that I trimmed 12 lbs of chicken, separating some into … [Read more...]

I didn't make a menu plan last week. Again, I was reminded me of how much of a difference menu-planning makes in our overall home-sanity.  Having a menu plan, especially in these fun-but-unscheduled last days of summer means that we can survive.  I generally have enough to throw together some meals, but if I don't plan ahead, I invariably am … [Read more...]

As much as I don't feel like making a menu plan on Mondays, it's amazing how much of a difference a plan makes. The last thing I want to do when I come home from the pool is make decisions about what to cook. First, before I share our plan, I need your help. Instead of steak, hubby made fish last Saturday night, and we had a feast. I offered to … [Read more...]

I'll admit it. Menu planning hadn't even entered my mind until I sat down just now. It's amazing how easy it is to get out of routine during vacation times. But since we have about five days until payday, and we "dedicated" a portion of our grocery budget to our vacation, I'm planning to stretch what we have in the pantry and freezer to make it … [Read more...]

Now that my horrible, terrible, very bad kitchen is clean(ish), I'm determined to get this menu plan done. Somehow, the kitchen is easier to clean when I have a planned menu. I'm not sure how that works, other than that maybe I don't pull things out as a part of an idea to make something, and then leave them out when I realize that I don't have the … [Read more...]

Happy Memorial Day! The boys are out fishing, so I'm taking advantage of some free time to put more thought into my menu plan than I have in a while. This week is full to the brim with kindergarten graduation and a baseball game for the same kid on the same night (grrrr), and games every other night as well. If I don't plan now, we'll be eating … [Read more...]

Another week of baseball games and easy suppers.  Tomorrow is payday and it's tempting to put "grab something" every night, but I really don't want to use up our entire month's budget this week. Enter the Menu Plan to save the day! Monday - Tacos Tuesday - Turkey sandwiches and chips at the ballgame (Who'd want a juicy burger-joint-burger … [Read more...]