This week's menu... 9/30/13-10/6/13...

...keepin' it short again this week...  lots to do, so I'm sticking with our go-to recipes.

How I go about my menu planning....

I got to thinking recently that I share my meal plans pretty regularly, but it might be useful for someone new to menu planning to understand my process...  So.  This is how we do.

There are a few things that I consider before I start willy-nilly picking out recipes for the week:

• What to we have that needs to be used?
• This means checking the fridge, freezer and the pantry
• What is on sale and/or in season right now that I'd like to take advantage of?
• This covers seasonal cravings like pot roast, too...
• What does my family's schedule look like this week?
• ...do either of the girls have Girl Scouts?  Do I have any meetings about school functions?  What does my husband's work schedule look like this week?  ...soup and salad or leftovers are usually on the menu on these nights.
• What will my family want to eat this week?
• I usually give my husband a few choices (i.e. pork chops or chicken legs?);  the kids are easier --pizza night is mostly for them

...So, this is what it might look like when I'm getting started:

Monday:  me- daytime meeting (this one really wasn't a big time-eater, but it's good to be prepared and avoid planning something huge that could require a lot of prep)
Tuesday:
Wednesday:  husband closes (my free night!!!  I can make anything I want to because the family's picky eater wont be here to complain about it!)
Thursday:  Moo Girl Scouts (when either of the girls have scouts, they need to eat early...  this could mean a sandwich before scouts and a snack after)
Friday:  pizza night (every Friday)
Saturday:  husband closes (another free night!)
Sunday:  husband off (I usually do my best to make something he won't hate)


...Now, I start filling in with our "usuals":


Monday:  me- daytime meeting
Tuesday:
Wednesday:  husband closes
Thursday:  Moo Girl Scouts
Friday:  pizza night
Saturday:  leftovers (having leftovers on Saturday gives us a little more time to play as a family)
Sunday:  soup and salad (same idea as above...  soup and salad=easy meal)



...Next, I check out Pinterest and choose from my recipe boards based on what we have and what we want to eat and fill in the blanks...


Monday:  Honey mustard pork chops (we had chops in the freezer, and the honey mustard chop recipe is one of my family's favorites)
Tuesday:  Roasted chicken (I had enough time to make my go-to chicken recipe)
Wednesday:  Quinoa chili (husband is working, which means I can make chili [that he's not a fan of but the rest of us love])
Thursday:  Curry chicken salad (made with leftover chicken, and nice and easy for a irl Scout meeting night)
Friday:  pizza night
Saturday:  leftovers (having leftovers on Saturday gives us a little more time to play as a family)
Sunday:  soup and salad (same idea as above...  soup and salad=easy meal)



I know that this looks wordy, but it all makes sense in my head...

Please, let me know what you think...
Did this help you?
Do you/will you menu plan?

This week's menu... 9/23/13-9/29/13...

It's late...  I'm catching up on "Dexter"...  this is our menu for the week:

This week's menu... 9/16/13-9/22/13...

Good Monday morning!  I'm feeling exhausted after a busy and chilly Midwest weekend.  Fall seems to be in full swing here...  so much that I'm thinking I need to make some pumpkin spice coffee today. 

It's also time to start my fall/winter craft projects.  This means Halloween costumes, slippers and hats!  (Oh, my!)

This week's menu looks kind of autumnal, even...  meat, slowcooker meals, stews...  Mmmmm....

This week's menu... 9/9/13-9/15/13... and Roasted Garlic Aspargus and Brussles Sprouts with Sriracha Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce recipe

I know, I know...  I'm late...  again...

I don't have a good excuse this time, either.  I realized that I didn't do it last night, so I did my planning then, and wrote out the recipe today.  But the pictures to go with the recipe had to wait until dinnertime (for obvious reasons).

...A little bit about where I'm at...
     I'm back to watching my calories and *really* trying to hit my weight loss goal.  In less than a week, I'm back down to where I was when I quit trying  a couple of months ago (score!).  I've hit my first fifteen lb. goal (that I set for myself at the beginning of the year), and I'm halfway to my ten lb. goal that I set for myself for the month.  Here's to staying motivated!  ...and exercise  ...and portion control.

Anyway.

Punch card reward system...

In a recent post, I mentioned another reward system for big jobs that they don't complain about and jobs outside of the house (like helping Kitty Gramma clean up around her house or emptying Miss Nikki's dishwasher).  The funny thing is, a few days after introducing this system, I saw basically the  same idea on Pinterest!  I didn't pin it since I had already done it, but I thought the coincidence was pretty funny...  great minds think alike, I suppose... or, you know, take inspiration from the eyebrow threading booth at the mall.

So, what is it?  

It's a punch card system!

They get ten punches and they get to pick something from the bucket!

The rewards!!!

(Don't tell the kids that most of it is from the dollar store.

What isn't is stuff that I've come across while cleaning)

The kids LOVE it.  *And* they get to choose from a prize bucket at home or one at my best friend's house.  HUGE motivator.

Try it.  It works on my kids, let me know if it works on yours.

This week's menu... 9/2/13-9/8/13...

I'm not feeling very wordy this morning...  frankly, I'm just happy that I managed to get this post done.  Today is that last day of the kids' four day weekend...  Should I feel bad that I'm ready for them to go back tomorrow?  (...well, mostly just the big one...)

(continue reading after the jump)