How do you plan your menus?

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

Ok I know I just said laundry was my downfall....but my second worst kept secret is cooking. Hey, I can cook well- I just fall short in the planning?

 

What are your secrets to planning and success in the kitchen?

[MamaT]

I sit down and make a menu for the coming week right before I go to the grocery store. Then I put everything I need for those meals on my list. I add everything else I need and only buy the things on my list.

 

HTH

[Tammy]

I can't plan meals ahead of time.....I have tried...and have been a complete failure....so don't feel bad. I like to plan my meals after I wake up in the morning. Yea...I know...lots of trips to the store....but it doesn't bother me.

 

I never know what I feel like eating until that day..... If I see a cooking show on.....I have to run out right then and get the stuff to make it, LOLOLOLOL. I have already decided there is no hope for me....LOL.

 

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[Avila]

When I am doing well with this, here is how it works. I have a six week menu all written out, with only our favorites repeated and a basic outline of chicken on Sunday, beef on Monday, soup or beans on Tuesday, ethnic on Wedneday, pork on Thursday, meatless on Friday, etc. At the top of the page is the menu, and at the bottom is the grocery list required for it, plus a list of items that we frequently buy. I print this out, take it to the kitchen and cross off anything we don't need. I don't have to think about it again, and I just print and go.

 

Right now, it isn't working because swim practice is killing my time to cook, and I need to have more crockpot meals or already-prepared-and-frozen options going, so I am trying out recipes and making my list as I go. But the six week rotation works great for me when I account for my schedule!

[AlmiraGulch]

I can't plan meals ahead of time.....I have tried...and have been a complete failure....so don't feel bad. I like to plan my meals after I wake up in the morning. Yea...I know...lots of trips to the store....but it doesn't bother me.

 

I never know what I feel like eating until that day..... If I see a cooking show on.....I have to run out right then and get the stuff to make it, LOLOLOLOL. I have already decided there is no hope for me....LOL.

 

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Me, too! I've tried to plan, but when I do there ends up being a lot of waste because I'm usually not in the mood for it on the day I've planned for it.

 

The cashiers at the grocery store know me WELL! :-)

[*Inna*]

Before my weekly shopping trip, I pull my recipe binders and then choose one recipe out of each category : chicken, beef, pork, pizza, pasta dish. Usually we have someone over for dinner one day a week or we're invited to dinner. One or two days are leftover days. I rotate the side dishes as well.

 

HTH, :)

[Irene Lynn]

Ok I know I just said laundry was my downfall....but my second worst kept secret is cooking. Hey, I can cook well- I just fall short in the planning?

 

What are your secrets to planning and success in the kitchen?

 

I only plan loosely, but my trick is to use the freezer more effectively. I buy large quantities of hamburger or a big turkey, then cook them and freeze the meat in 1-2 cup measured amounts. I like to cook double recipes and freeze half. Just having the meat to throw into a soup or dish without having to fry it or even defrost, then fry, helps me SOOO much. Nachos are really easy.

 

Another thing I like to do it cook a huge batch of rice, then use it for several meals. I might make a stir fry the first day, then make dirty rice or add taco seasoned meat and beans and cheese and various other odds and ends and sometimes throw them into the crock pot. If I have a little left over, I might make a soup and throw some in there. You could always do fried rice or eat it with milk and brown sugar or make a rice pudding. I try to take a basic ingredient that I can make in a large quantity that can be used in multiple ways. I have also done this with potatoes.

 

I try always to have certain things on hand: rice, frozen veggies, cooked hamburger (I also cook up a batch that is seasoned like meatloaf, but cooked in patty form. That makes a quick meal.), cooked chicken or turkey, chicken broth, beans (These can be cooked in a large batch and frozen, too.), spaghetti and sauce, macaroni, and more, but my son is asking me to read. LOL Anyway, with these basics and some seasonings, I can make quite a bit without much trouble, even at the last minute.

 

Last night our power kept going off, so I didn't have much time to fix something. I did have plenty of rice, a package of frozen broccoli, a can of chicken (I don't use those much at all, but I was glad to have it last night.) and some cheese. I threw the rice in a pan with some broth and cheese and chicken meat, threw the broccoli in the microwave, then tossed everything together in a large pot and stirred it together. I found a new winner at our house and it didn't take long at all. Now I need to replace the canned chicken to make sure that it is there in a pinch again.

[mazakaal]

I sit down and make a menu for the coming week right before I go to the grocery store. Then I put everything I need for those meals on my list. I add everything else I need and only buy the things on my list.

 

HTH

 

:iagree: This is exactly what I do. :001_smile:

[Amira]

I have a six-week list of dinners, and I choose from that list every day, crossing things off as we go. I've tried planning out meals more specifically, but most of the time I didn't want what was written on the menu that day. What I needed was ideas, so the list of dinners helps a lot. And I do sort of think ahead for the week, but I always know I'll change my mind on a few things.

 

I live right by a grocery store, so it's easy for me to walk to it in the afternoon if I need something. But it's rare for me to run to the grocery store. Most of what I need for that 6-week list is in my house. I use the freezer the same way Irene Lynn does, and there's always at least a 3-month supply of everything else around. Usually the only time I go to the store is when I want to try something new.

[H.S. Burrow]

Several years ago I purchased a "freezer menu" from Saving Dinner. We still use those recipes. Everyone here loved all but 2 recipes...so I don't make those "freezer kits" anymore.

 

I also signed up for a year of their menu-mailer (where they email a menu and shopping list to you each week). Now, by no means did I make everything that came in those weekly menus! :lol: But, by assembling the "freezer kits", I learned how to take *any* recipe and turn it into a "freezer kit". I grouped our favorite recipes by meat type (pork, chicken, beef, ground beef, fish) and when pork loin or ribs are on sale, then I put up 4 or 5 pork "freezer kits". I do the same for whatever meat is on sale.

 

The folks at Saving Dinner have since broken their freezer menus down by meat, so you can purchase just the chicken, or just the beef, etc.

 

Thaw the kits overnight and everything (except your side veggies/salad) is ready to cook.

 

It does take a bit to get the hang of assembling the meal kits, but it is WELL worth that time. I keep a list of what "kits" are in the freezer, so all I have to do is pick one the night before, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and cook it the next day.

 

I also try to plan for the coming week by choosing a kit for each night depending on our activities that day. For instance, Thursdays are really busy here, so on Thursdays I choose a crock-pot meal that I can thaw on Wednesday night and dump into the crock pot Thursday morning.

 

Hope this helps you out! :)

[Marsha Lynn]

I shop every two weeks. I look at the schedule for those two weeks and see if there is any scheduled gatherings where food will be served or if there are extra guests for dinner at our house (i.e. our small group from church eats together every time we meet and my brother in law has dinner here once a week).

 

Then I look at the other activities - baseball, soccer, music and determine how many "quick meals" I need. Then I make a list - I do put a meal down for each day; however, we do not always eat them on the assigned day.

 

I see what we have at the house and then plan. It is not that those 10-14 meals have to be on the days I wrote them down on - but it lets me purchase only what I need. When we have used that meal it gets crossed off. At the end of the two weeks whatever is not crossed off becomes the starting point for the next two weeks.

 

HTH

[JudoMom]

I sit down and make a menu for the coming week right before I go to the grocery store. Then I put everything I need for those meals on my list. I add everything else I need and only buy the things on my list.

 

HTH

 

Yep. This is what I do as well. Except I never put ice cream on the list, and sometimes it jumps into my cart and I end up bringing it home.

[MamaAkins]

I sit down and make a menu for the coming week right before I go to the grocery store. Then I put everything I need for those meals on my list. I add everything else I need and only buy the things on my list.

 

HTH

:iagree: This is what works for me, as well! I make my menu in an excel spreadsheet and include everything we need for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including side dishes, etc.

[OrganicAnn]

We are not vegetarians, but we don't eat much meat. We also try to eat organic and local. We aren't fanatically about it, but we try. So I start by deciding about what meat we will have. There is a great market where I can buy good fish, but it is about 25 minutes away. So I have to decide if I'm going to make the trip and which day. Then at most one chicken meal and one beef meal. Usually one tofu meal and one rice/bean meal. Then usually we do one mexican meal, one pasta and one asian. So then I have to decide if the chicken will be the asian meal or the mexican etc. I know it sounds complicated but it isn't. We have certain meals that we make often. Spaghetti and meatballs is an example of the italian/beef. Sweet and sour chicken is a asian/chicken meal. Stirfry rice with tofu is asian tofu meal. Bean tostadas with spanish rice is bean/rice mexican meal. You get the idea. The fish meal is based on whatever fish I buy. We always have frozen corn and peas on hand and baby carrots. Then whatever fresh/organic veggies I can buy on sale. We also shop at Farmers markets and grow a big garden so summer is a whole different meal planning treat.

 

We have about 5 meals that we (I say we because my DH likes to cook too) can make in a pinch or if our original plans falls through (scramble eggs, grilled cheese and tomato soup, boxed rice/beans, cold asian noodles with we call it peanut sauce, spaghetti and sauce).

 

Also we usually have homemade pizza every Friday night. Toppings vary.

 

I shop on Monday morning based on what I've decided (also using coupons and store ads).

Edited May 22, 2009 by OrganicAnn