I was inspired by Lynette to make my menu for the month this time instead of a week. She just mentioned it casually, and later when I thought about it, it made perfect sense. Each week I get out paper, cookbooks, my computer and pencil to make my menu. Why not just sit and do it all at one time? It took me 45 minutes, and it usually takes me 20-30 to make a weekly menu, so it was a huge time-saver and wow, what stress relief to know that I don't have to think about my menu again until the end of the month!
In fact, I printed four blank calendars: two for March and two for April. I used one March calendar to make my dinner menu and will use another to make our lunch menu, which doesn't change nearly as much as our dinners do so it will be quick and easy, relatively speaking. I'll keep the April calendars at hand so that when I see a recipe or meal idea that I like, I can jot it down and April's menu planning will be even easier than March was!
We eat out (usually Subway or Del Taco) on Tuesdays, since it's just easy to do that on our way home from ballet and also because it's nice to have one day a week that I don't have to cook! We used to eat out at LEAST 3-4 nights a week so once a week has been a major cutback for us, and so good for us in many ways. Here are the rest of the meals we have planned for March:
chili & rolls
stir-fry, brown rice
pot roast, veggies, mashed potatoes & gravy
baked ham sandwiches, fruit
pork chops, oven-roasted carrots, peppers, onion, red potato wedges
burritos, salad
chef's salad
parmesan garlic chicken, green beans, pasta w/marinara
breaded tilapia, brown rice, broccoli & carrots
spaghetti w/meat and veggie sauce, garlic toast
chicken fajitas, beans
sloppy joes, corn
black bean soup
chinese chicken salad
pasta w/chunky vegetable sauce
slow-cooker black beans and brown rice
pita pizzas, salad
taco salad
taco soup
turkey burgers, salad, fruit
citrus grilled chicken, brown rice, pineapple
fish tacos, asparagus
shredded chicken sandwiches, fruit
broccoli garlic pasta, yams
white chicken chili, cornbread
I'll post our lunch menu tomorrow.
How do you squeeze in all the Abundant Harvest veggies? I've had a hard time planning very far ahead since doing the CSA thing.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the past boxes to get *some* idea of what might be in there, but mostly we eat the fruit as snacks and use the veggies in whatever we're having. Like last week I had stew on the menu, and I cut up everything that fit this last week (parsnips, green garlic, carrots . . .). If there's something that just totally doesn't go in any of those week's dishes, I'll either substitute it as a side or make an extra side with it.
ReplyDeletei miss AH! all of your dinners sound great i am hungry right now =)
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