Planning

I'm a planner.....is anyone else a planner?

  I am also spontaneous when it comes to just packing up and heading to the lake(s), mountains near where we live, biking trips, picnics, etc.

BUT.....

When it comes to my work week, and even during the summer months when I am off from my teaching job, I find that I do well if i PLAN a weekly dinner menu.  I stay flexible in case we decide to eat out, or in case it's pouring rain and I don't wanna grill in the rain, etc. 

Menu planning is not that difficult.  A co-worker recently asked to borrow one of my cooking mags and I told her that it is the one where I get most of my dinner ideas.  I told her about the concept of "menu planning" and she loved it.....and wanted to know how I attempt it.  So...here is a summery, with a sample of a typical 2 week's worth of dinners that take place in our household.  (my co-worker doesn't do blogs, so I jotted this down for her as a guide...feel free to copy this..copyright is lifted for this particular post!)

• I have a steno-pad in an attractive cloth holder that my mother in law made for me....this is where I jot down menu plans, dessert ideas, and notes about posting recipes to this blog.
• I keep a magnetic notepad on fridge to jot down items needed at the grocery store, or fresh food market.  The rest of the family knows to add their "wants" to this list.  It cuts down on expenses, too, as I tend to clip coupons for brand names, and I tend to (try!) stick to the grocery list once at the store.  I do tend to buy more at the farmers market but....it is so hard to resist all those great fresh, locally-grown veggies/fruits/breads!
• Sometime during the weekend, or Monday morning (during the summer) I outline dinner ideas in the steno-pad. I try to keep 1-2 meals 'meat-free" and I usually always add fresh fruit or raw veggies to certain meals.  I don't serve a lot of red meat to my family....we have cut way back (my youngest no longer even accepts a grilled burger...those I still love!).  We eat alot of chicken dishes, salads, and pork (the "other white meat").  I also make sure we get fish 1-2 times per week....more when we are at the  T----family beach house.  I tend to buy salmon fillets at least once a week for the nutritional benefits plus everyone in the family loves salmon!

Here is what my week last week looked like: (items in bold, blue print have a link to the recipe found in my "faithfixes" that you are free to copy if you'd like)

Mon: Fiesta Beef Bowls, Watermelon/blueberries, Tortilla Chips

Tues: Chicken a la King, Fresh Cantaloupe, Fresh Tomato Slices,Ice Cream Sundaes

Wed:  Grilled Herb Steak, Easy Sweet Slaw,(you have to scroll down about half way through that post, once you get to it) Steamed Peas/Steamed Corn, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thurs: Grilled Orange-Vinaigrette Pork Chops, Cheesy Orzo, Steamed Broccoli, Fresh Strawberries

Fri:  Parmesan-Peppercorn (dressing as marinade) Grilled Chicken, Herb-Roasted Red Potatoes, leftover steamed Peas, Spinach Salad

Sat:  Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes, Italian Zucchini, Salsa Sunchips, Ice Cream Cookie Sundaes

NOTE:  yesterday was HOT so I cancelled my idea for sloppy joes, and instead, I made Italian Orzo Salad, Garlic Bread, Fruit Platter.  By the time we turned on the central air in the late afternoon after working in the yard most of the day, the house was cooling down so I could turn on the oven for the garlic bread.  I will just make the sloppy joes this next week.

Now....if you notice, I cooked each nite.  I had lots of meat in the freezer that I wanted to use up so this is why we had meat almost every nite).

Here's my menu plan for this upcoming week:  note the differences...now that is is "summer" as of tomorrow with just 3 more days of school, my dinners will be a bit later in the day and lots of grilled or salad-type foods will be served.

Sunday (today) is Father's Day.  We asked Dave where he wanted to go for dinner after church.  He chose PJ's BBQ!  All I need to do tonite is set out sandwich fixings, chips, fresh red grapes and fresh bing cherries.

  

Monday:  Leftovers: Italian Orzo Salad, Honey biscuits, Fruit Platter (watermelon, berries, Cantaloupe), Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cones

Tuesday:  Grilled lemon-dill salmon,Tossed Salad, Parmesan Breadsticks, Raw veggies for the girls (they don't eat alot of regular tossed salad but they do like all the veggies I put in the greens....)

Wed: Mango Grilled Chicken Wraps(recipe to be posted later this week), Broccoli Salad, Raw Carrots/Cukes/Orange Pepper strips. (again, broccoli salad is not something my daughters like, yet they like raw veggies on a platter)

Thurs:  Grilled Hawaiian Burgers, Tortilla Chips with Mango Salsa, Brownie Sundaes to celebrate first day of summer vacation

Friday: Pizza ordered in (this is a day we have planned to go to a lake with 2 friends of my daughters and other invited families....by the time I get home it is going to be close to 5:30 so I plan on ordering pizza and popping a salad in the fridge before leaving for the lake in the morning. Dessert will be leftover brownies or ice pops.

Sat:  either the Slow Cooked Sloppy Joe menu from previous week OR grilled chicken with ranch pasta salad and fresh fruit plus a peach pie from our local farmers market.

Now....I stay flexible.  Some times what I have planned for one day, I will switch with another day.....for example, if I don't get to the grocery store to buy the fresh salmon on Tuesday, then we will have it Wed or Thurs and I'll just swap menus.  OR sometimes if something comes up I'll just make cold salads or sandwiches, put out chips, dip, raw veggie platter or fresh fruit and cold drinks like chocolate milkshakes for the girls, and iced tea for Dave and I. I just plan and outline....and I have learned to go with the flow...there are many evenings in the summer when my neighbor and I just say "let's do BBQ together" so we combine forces and usually gather on my deck.  OR ....we go to a lake spontaneously and if I haven't had anything in the crockpot planned, we often just go to a fave diner or the kids just eat sandwiches, fruit, etc.  I always have sandwich fixings on hand in the summer.....along with plenty of items to make chilled desserts or drinks.

I hope this helps anyone trying to get ideas for easy dinners.  Most of the recipes I post are VERY easy with simple ingredients found in your local grocery store.  And remember:  shop locally grown foods for best nutrition and to help our environment and local economy!!

HAPPY COOKING!!