Counting down this week to Spring Break. I’m not sure who is more excited, me or the girls. Or SuperMan, actually. He is going on an all-guys fishing trip this weekend. It’ll be the first time in I don’t know how long he’s done something like that. I’m so excited for him and hope it becomes a regular occurrence – I think everyone needs a little getaway now and then.

The girls and I will be hanging out with my mom for part of the week, and at home for the remainder.  We’re looking forward to shopping, crafting and just relaxing. It’s been a busy past few weeks and no break since our snow days in January. It’ll be nice to just wake up without an alarm clock for a change.

I’m hoping I may actually get to scrapbook a little next week, too. Who knows? I may have something to share with you…

Rainy, rainy weekend this past weekend. It feels like wintertime again, although the trees and flowers are going nuts with new growth.  It was amazing on Saturday to look outside and it felt as if you could actually see the leaves popping out! Every time I’d look out, there were more leaves than just a few hours prior.

Of course, with all the new growth comes allergies – and we’ve all been suffering this year.  The rain was welcome on that account, although I know the pollen counts will be even higher once the rain stops. It’s a necessary evil to endure in the spring and I’ll take it if it means warmer weather and spring flowers.

Because of the rain, I’m planning something soupy for dinner tonight. And maybe some cornbread.

The rest of the week will be about preparing foods SuperMan can eat while we’re gone so he won’t have to worry with cooking. He likes to cook, but his busy work schedule right now means cooking is not high on the priority list. I’d rather have things ready for him to heat and eat so he can focus on other things.

So, here’s what I have planned for the week’s cooking:

• Apple cake – using up some apples that have been on the counter too long.
• Chicken tortilla soup & corn bread
• Beef tips & onion/mushroom gravy & egg noodles 
• Homemade pizzas (or maybe this pizza braid)
• Chicken pasta salad (recipe later this week)

What about you? Anything good planned in your kitchen this week?

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Happy Spring, y’all!

I say that as I sit here listening to the birdies chirping and my eyes are watering and my nose running. Achoo!  I am so happy spring is here, even if that means the pollen counts hover close to the 1,000’s and that I’ll most likely be miserable with allergies for a few weeks.

I’m so happy that it is finally sunny and warm – I’m so happy the kids get to play outside and the flowers are blooming.

I’ll put up with the pollen and the sneezing and itchy eyes.

As I sat on the back deck this weekend, I noticed our dogwoods are starting to bloom.

… and look at all the holes in this tree from the woodpeckers! We have three or four different kinds in the woods outside our house. I love watching them.

Bring on the spring!

I’m lightening up our menu at home, too, now that the weather is warming up. I’m thinking more about salads – green salads, pasta salads, and about grilled foods.  Less heavy items and I’ll probably be packing up the crock pots for a while – well, maybe one or two anyway. 😉

I posted a series last week on how I approach menu planning. You can start with Part One here.

Here’s what we have planned this week:

• Monday – Baked Ham, rice, black-eyed peas (mac & cheese to go with the ham for the kids)
• Tuesday – Country-style chicken & gravy with rice & veggies
• Wednesday – leftovers
• Thursday -  Salisbury Steak w/ mashed potatoes
• Friday – Grilled chicken & grilled veggies, salads & baked/roasted potatoes
• Weekend cooking  – chicken pasta salad, Sunshine Cake, whatever else strikes my fancy – maybe some Beer Can Chicken or my Dry Rub BBQ chicken.

And here’s what I have planned on the blog:

• I’ll be updating you all on my exercising adventures this week. I’ve been practicing my yoga to get myself a little more limber and I’m psyching myself up to tackle that exercise-video-from-hell again this week.
• I’ve also got some recipes planned and and an update on my reading. Beatrice has been quite busy lately.

Hope you have a great week!

 

So, this is part two of a two-part series I’m doing on my menu planning process. If you missed the first installment, you can find it here.

At this point, I’ve already explained how I begin the menu planning process:

• check the sales
• check the calendar
• ask the troops
• write the plan

Let’s continue from there…

Utilize my appliances and prepare as much as I can ahead of time

I also try really hard to find at least one crock pot meal for the week. This takes a lot of stress off of me on the afternoons we have a lot going on (Mondays, for example) and allows me to get dinner started at 9AM when things are quiet and know that when everyone is starving at 6PM we’ll be good to go.

I’m finding that in the winter I can usually do two crock pot meals per week, with one being a soup or stew.  In the summer, I usually do a lot of grilling (well, SuperMan does) and that is not something you can cook ahead, but you can prep ahead!

Dinner is the only meal I plan

I don’t worry about lunches or breakfasts. SuperMan eats leftovers for lunch. If the kids don’t have lunch at school, I’ll fix them one of four or five different “standard” lunch combinations I’ve found they will actually eat.

Saturday lunch is usually a haphazard affair and we either do subs if we’re out running errands or we make use of leftovers from the week before.

Weekday breakfasts are usually one of a half-dozen things that I keep on hand all the time.  The girls love biscuits for breakfast and those nasty toaster strudel thingys.  I also make muffins on occasion and they sometimes have cereal or eggs.  I just keep a stockpile of all of this so I can adjust to their desires each morning.  We are not morning people, so it’s usually as much about keeping the peace as it is getting the troops fed.

Saturday morning breakfast is usually SuperMan’s affair and I just make sure we have plenty of the things he likes to cook on hand so he can fix whatever strikes his fancy.

Sunday mornings the kids and SuperMan eat donuts at church and I usually stick to my protein shakes.

Get ready, get set, go shopping

Once I have the general plan down on my index cards, I pull out my trusty coupon binder and check the Southern Savers website yet again for coupon matches (if I haven’t already printed out my plans from there).

I sort through and pull any coupons I need at that time.  My little coupon binder has a pocket for “today’s trip” and I load all the coupons I plan to use there.  I also love the fact that it comes with a handy tote so I can put my shopping list, my menu plan and my coupons all in one bag to carry into the store. That way, if I change plans while I’m in the store, because of an unadvertised sale, for example, I can update the menu plan while I’m there and everything is good to go when I get home.

Once I’m home I try to store my different planned menu items together – for example, if we’re having a stir fry for dinner, I’ll put the veggies in one corner of the crisper drawer so they are easy to find and I’ll group the spices and seasonings together in the pantry to be ready to grab when it’s time to cook. 

It also makes it easier for SuperMan if he has to step in and cook a meal for some reason. He knows what is planned and can easily find the components.

Keep the plan handy

One big tip here is this – keep the plan where you can see it.  I keep my index card in the same spot on the refrigerator every week – the top right of the right hand door.  That way, everyone knows it is there and knows that is where to look if they want to know what’s for dinner.

I never have to worry about losing my list and I can refer to it quickly when I’m making plans or decisions and decide if I need to rearrange things on the fly.

It’s okay to go off-plan

I don’t beat myself up if and when I don’t cook something on the plan. I’ve had weeks where everything went haywire and we ended up eating nothing I’d planned.  It was OK because most of the meats could be frozen for another time and I repurposed the other perishables as I went along with my improvisations for the weeks.

It’s really worth the trouble

And finally, I just want to say this – it really, truly is worth the trouble. I would estimate that this takes me (the planning part, not the shopping part) about 20-30 minutes total for the week.  And the amount of time it saves me in stress and worry? I can’t imagine.

I absolutely LOVE knowing what is coming and my kids do, too.  I also love the fact that planning allows me to save money by shopping the sales and save time by using my crock pot and oven for meals that would never be made if I was doing things at the last minute.

I also feel like my family is eating healthier because I am paying more attention to what we’re eating and ensuring that we’re having well rounded meals and variety at the same time.

I hope this helps you if you are thinking about dipping your foot into the pool of menu planning. It’s not hard and you will be amazed at how much easier it becomes with time.  You are probably already doing more of this than you think – just not in a formal way or on paper. By writing it down, you may find you gain more peace of mind and clarity about your plans for your family meals.  You may also find that you want to make some adjustments to your eating habits.  I was amazed at the “rut” we’d gotten into, eating the same 8-10 things most every night of the week. Now, I try to spice things up with at least one new meal every two weeks. We’re expanding our palates and I’m growing my repertoire of cooking choices!

If I’ve just muddied the waters for you, please don’t hesitate to comment (or email me) and I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.

I’ve had a few of you tell me how much you admire me for my menu planning.

Whenever I hear this, I’m usually taken aback.  I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal to plan menus for the week. I don’t feel worthy of admiration for doing it.

But, I thought I’d share with you my technique just in case you were looking for a place to get started. It’s something that has been constantly refined based on my personal style and my family’s current lifestyle. It started a lot more loosey-goosey before we had kids and has continued to gain structure over the years, especially in the past two years as we’ve tried to manage our budget more tightly and pinch pennies where we can.

I have a lot to share (more than I thought I would) so I’ve divided this into two posts. Here’s the first installment.

Check the sales at the stores

I usually start my my menu plans by checking out Southern Savers website. This is a blog/website that is dedicated to posting sales, promotions and good deals in many of the Southern grocery and drug store chains. 

There are similar sites which focus on other national chains – such as Money Saving Mom and Coupon Mom.

Anyway, I check these websites to see what is on sale for the week. My grocery of choice is Publix, so I always look to see what meats and vegetables are on sale. I try (especially post-surgery) to try to shop the perimeter of the store (meats, dairy, vegetables) and stay away from a lot of the processed foods. So, I try to capitalize on the sales whenever I can.

Check the calendar

Once I know what is on sale, I’ll jot down the things I know I want to purchase. The next step is to check the family calendar.  For example, this school year, Big Girl has a late dance class on Wednesday nights. I usually try to do something easy on that night (even leftovers) so that I’m not worrying about something being ready on time and we can eat in shifts. Usually Big Girl doesn’t eat until after class and SuperMan will eat with her. I eat earlier with Little Bit because she is often in bed by the time the other two are home.

I also look to see what our weekend plans are and if we have any other special activities planned. It always pains me when I forget about something and I have to either make another trip to the store, or worse, end up not cooking something as planned. (and have to toss it or, hopefully, freeze it)

This also helps me to decide if I need to make any special food purchases.  For example, we had friends over last Saturday and it was a nacho/taco themed dinner. Each family contributed different things, so I needed to be sure I purchased the items we were responsible for and I really didn’t want to make a last minute dash to the store on Saturday morning with 95% of the other people in the county who were doing their weekly shopping. I’m spoiled with shopping during the week when everyone else is at work!

Ask the troops

Based on my family’s plans for the week, the next step is to survey the family to see if there is anything they are hungry for. Some weeks, I don’t do this at all, but usually I try to ask on Sunday evenings if there are any cravings that need to be addressed.  I don’t usually get much input here, but I feel like I’ve at least given everyone the chance to have their say so there is less reason to gripe later in the week when they “get what they get and don’t pitch a fit.”

Orgjunkie.com is a great website for menu planning ideas as well.  I’ve also subscribed before to menu planning services – such as e-Mealz and Saving Dinner.com  Those were good resources, especially as I got started menu planning, to help me figure out what meals I might want to try – and to add variety to existing menu plans.

Write the plan

Finally, I write my plan.  I have used many things for this before, but what I have found works best for me is to use index cards. I use the big ones – either 5×8 or 4×6 so that I have room to write with a bold felt tip marker. This is because I’m getting old and I want to be able to read the stupid thing when it is hanging on the refrigerator and I’m in the kitchen trying to remember what I’d planned for dinner that night.

The other advantage of using the index cards is that I save them and use them again. If I have a week where I’m feeling uninspired by my menu options, I can look back at them for ideas – or simply grab a menu plan I have used in the past and recycle it.  My hope is to one day have an old 4×6 photo album to store all my old menu plans so I can just flip through them like I do my recipe books for ideas.

Now, I know people who plan what to eat each night of the week. I don’t usually do that. Mostly because I like to leave myself open to options.  I may not want pork chops on Tuesday after all, and I like knowing I have everything in house and can cook any one of my choices as I feel like it (or as the monkeys request it).

Don’t plan for every single night

So, what I do is jot down between 4 and 6 different main courses, skipping a line or two between each one to allow me to go back and add in any particular side items I may decide to cook with them.  I don’t always decide those ahead of time, often waiting until the day I cook the main course to decide which sides I have on hand that I may want to prepare. That way, I can use up vegetables that may need cooking before they go bad in the refrigerator.

I also don’t plan all 7 days of the week. I know that my family is probably going to go out for dinner at least one night (usually no more than that) or else we go out after church on Sunday.  I also know we’ll have one night that we either do pizza (homemade) or Mexican (homemade) or will have leftovers we need to finish up. So 4 – 7 dinners usually works for me. 

I look at the meats/veggies I’ve planned to purchase from the sales and then figure out what menu items I can cook with those.  I also rummage through my bursting-at-the-seams recipe book for ideas and check some of my favorite cooking/recipe blog sites for inspiration.

I also think about what I can “cook once and eat twice” – for example, I might roast a chicken on Sunday and then use the leftovers later in the week for something else like chicken pot pies.  Or, plan to cook a pork roast for BBQ one night and use the leftover BBQ for sandwiches for lunch on Saturday.

more to come tomorrow

Happy Monday, y’all.

And it is most definitely Monday today. My poor babies did not want to go to bed last night and really did not want to get up this morning – stupid time change really messes with their little body clocks. This morning was a lot of non-verbal communication – I felt like I was living with some Neanderthal girls – lots of grunts and moans and such.  Oh well, hopefully we will all adjust soon.

Thankfully, I have a menu plan for the week. I think this is going to be one of those weeks where I will be really glad I am prepared and know what I need to do on each day – SuperMan has some evening plans and I am sure the kids are going to be tired until their little bodies adjust to the time change. Having dinner sorted out will make it easier for me to focus on them when they need it – and not on a panic about what to cook for supper.

Cooking up some comfort food this week:

• Meatloaf on Monday
• Creamy chicken & noodles with vegetables on Tuesday
• Salmon croquettes and grits on Wednesday
• Spaghetti on Thursday – we’re taking dinner to a friend whose daughter just got out of the hospital on Saturday. Poor darling has mito and has had some recent challenges. We’re all praying for a miracle for her – but I’m doing what I can by feeding them with love and food this week.
• my new favorite Asian chicken lettuce wraps on Friday
  (I may try to make the girls some homemade sweet & sour chicken for their dinner)

What about you? Have your menu planned?
I’ll be sharing my menu planning tips later this week – and some recipes!

Be sure to click on over to The Organizing Junkie’s Monday Menu Plan post for loads and loads of other ideas.

March is almost here – and we’re supposed to have some pretty big storms tonight. Wonder if the old phrase “in like a Lion, out like a Lamb” will be true for us? I think we could use the rain, but I am hoping we don’t have any severe weather and that no one suffers any major damage – I’ve seen tornados from the same weather front on the news this morning. Fingers are crossed we escape that.

As I sit here and type this, I’m enjoying the last of the homemade blueberry-lemon scones I made this weekend. They were some of the best scones I think I’ve ever had. Moist, fluffy and so, so good. I’ll post a recipe later this week, so keep watching for it. And then run out to get the ingredients so you can make them for your family next weekend. They will love you for it.

This past weekend was the weekend for making new recipes – We also made a chicken lettuce wrap recipe for dinner on Saturday and chicken & spinach stuffed shells for dinner on Sunday.  I’ll post all the recipes in the next few weeks. They were awesome, even though the lettuce wraps were a lot of work to make.

This week is a short week for cooking for me – we’re headed to the grandparents’ for the weekend so I will help cook down there, but there is nothing specific planned. After all the cooking we did this past weekend, it’ll be a nice break.

 

Here’s what I have planned so far for the week:

• Monday: Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken (this is a new recipe – if we like it, I’ll share it on the blog soon) Saffron rice, veggies
• Tuesday: Beef with egg noodles & gravy
• Wednesday: leftovers
• Thursday: Sandwiches and leftover chicken wraps

Slow start today.

SuperMan is off of work for President’s Day. Little Bit is home sick with a bad cold.

I am moving slowly thanks to an early-morning migraine headache.  It’s better now, thanks to Tylenol and a heating pad on the locked-up muscles in my neck and shoulders. 

Poor Big Girl is at school today, although she didn’t seem perturbed about going out in the world today without us. She is probably happy to be back in her routine.

We had a busy but fun weekend.  Circus on Saturday, church and the usual on Sunday. Lots of fun times with friends and exciting adventures.

I’m planning to try a few new recipes again this week – more from my e-mealz subscription.  I have to admit the past two weeks have been challenging to keep to our menu plan. Life has been hectic and we have had a few nights where dinner has been catch-as-catch can.  Thankfully, I have a well-stocked pantry and we have a lot of leftovers from more prepared days.  So, we have been eating well, just not eating what I’d planned.

This week will, hopefully, not be quite so manic.

Here’s what is on the menu:

• Monday: SuperMan will  grill steaks, I’ll make twice-baked potatoes and roasted veggies
• Tuesday: Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken
  (from my old Menu Mailer subscription)
• Wednesday: this is becoming leftover night because SuperMan and Big Girl tend to eat late (after her late dance class) and Little Bit and I eat early.
• Thursday: Lettuce Wraps
  (this will either be from this recipe that my friend shared with me – and cooked for us on Sunday night – SO good, or from my e-Mealz recipe. Most likely, a mash-up of the two! )
• Friday: I’m thinking about trying the Bacon Cheeseburger pizza from e-Mealz or we’ll do our usual Friday Night Mexican deal.

Weekend? probably something quick and easy – maybe some BBQ pulled pork in the crock pot, roasted potato skins, stuff like that. There are quite a few e-Mealz recipes I’m dying to try. Saturday may be a good day to do that.

Sunday we’re hosting our Small Group from church, so I am still trying to decide what to make for that. Maybe SuperMan’s jambalaya, or some soup. Not sure yet. I found this recipe for a Coconut-Lemon loaf cake that looks good and I think I want to make a new chopped salad I invented last week. Beyond that, it’s still up in the air.

What about you?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you find some time today to spend with the ones you love.

I know I will be working on some special treats for my family. Nothing big, but hopeful that they make them smile.

Here’s what’s on my menu this week – in no particular order. Some are repeats from earlier weeks because we’ve veered off the menu a few times. I also reserve the right to change up a little mid-week because I’ve subscribed to e-Mealz.com and I’m going to give a few of their recipes a whirl. It’s a great program, on the surface. $5 a month gets you a weekly menu and shopping list. What I like are the variety of choices you get – including ones that take advantage of grocery sales for Publix, Kroger, Aldi or WalMart.  There are also Weight Watchers friendly menus. 

I’ll let you know how it goes after we try our first month.

A couple of the items on my menu this week are from the first two menu plans I’ve downloaded, so I’m jumping in right away with some new things to try.

I like mixing it up a bit, while keeping my family favorites in the rotation.

Anyway, here is our menu:

• Sunday night: Crock Pot “Rotisserie” chicken
• Sloppy Joes (made w/ leftovers from the meatloaf)
• Chicken pot pie (with leftover chicken)
• Grilled steaks w/ twice baked potatoes
• Mexican Chicken Salad (from e-Mealz)
• Lettuce Wraps (from e-Mealz)
• Taco night (maybe served w/ Tortilla soup for the grown ups)

For lunches this week:

• Veggie Chili
• Chopped Blue Cheese Salad
• Tortilla soup (if I don’t do the chili)

Check out more menu ideas at orgjunkie.com

It’s a rainy, gloomy day today. I’m watching the little birdies outside my office window as they are gobbling up the seed we’ve put out for them  Greedy little things, they are.

Of course, they are not as bad as the squirrels,which Little Bit calls “woodchucks” after the silly Geico commercial.  She runs out on the porch and shouts “Hey you dang woodchucks! Stop chuckin’ mah wood!”  It is too adorable – and effective!

I have a lot going on at work this week – many little projects that make up one huge project and they are all at the “critical point” this week.  Hoping all comes together and there are no complications – although I’m sure there will be  a few.

Here’s what I have planned for the week, dinner-wise.  I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how it’s going to go – SuperMan may get rained out because of the weather, and work may change my cooking plans.  If SuperMan is home, he will get to cook and then my menus usually change.

But here is what we are planning.

• Sunday dinner was Spaghetti, which will be leftovers later in the week
• Chicken Noodle Soup – probably tonight since it is a rainy day.
• Baked pork chops with rice and veggies
• Homemade Chicken fingers & roasted potatoes
• Chicken pot pie

That is probably it – the girls have their Father/Daughter dance on Friday night, so they may go out to eat before (they usually do) and then they have a Father/Daughter date night on Saturday at Chick Fil A – yes, that means I have TWO nights “off!” Whatever will I do with myself!?!

What are your menu plans for your family? Join us over at orgjunkie.com for more ideas.