BUT
I HATE asking "what's for dinner" - the question that plagues most households, especially now that our family contains a toddler who could give a flying fig about the new artisan cheeses at HEB. So, together with a friend, I created a monthly menu plan. I planned a meal and side every day for four weeks. Like most of you, I don't cook every night so my planned week of seven meals gets me through a week and a half to two weeks. My month plan ends up lasting close to two months which saves me tons of time AND more importantly, money!!
The first time I did this, it took me a while because I created a spreadsheet for the menu so that I could see a month at a glance. Then, I had to pick the recipes to fill the menu. Finally, I created another spreadsheet (within the same workbook in Excel) for the shopping lists for each week. The planning, now that everything is set up, is much faster. I can get it done in less than two hours. That might sound like a lot to some of you, but remember this is for almost two months of meals!
Let me go into a bit more detail on the recipe selection. As I mentioned above, I enjoy trying out new recipes and have subscriptions to a couple of cooking magazines. I also watch Food Network a little more than I probably should (staying at home has its occasional privileges). Anytime a recipe catches my eye, I try to mark it in the magazine or bookmark it on my computer. Then, I scatter these throughout my month - typically three a week. I also put in a no-brainer for each week (think spaghetti, chicken and rice, steaks, meatloaf...) where I typically don't need a recipe. I also try to include one fish meal a week and the rest I balance between poultry, pork, red meat, and vegetarian.
Once I've gotten all my recipes compiled and chosen for particular days, I scan them all in and keep them saved in a folder (I'm on month three of doing this, so my most recent plan is titled plan three - creative, I know). I also print the recipes out and they are hole punched and put into a binder.
Finally, I create my shopping lists for each week. Each list is divided into categories like produce, dairy, meat... for quick shopping (remember that toddler). I print out each week's list and it goes in the binder along with the menu for the month.
The beauty of this plan is its flexibility. I rarely go in order that I've planned the meals for any given week, but rather pick what sounds good for that night (out of my seven choices). At the grocery store a few days ago, I purchased all of my shopping list items for week two. I spent $122 and that included wild salmon, specialty spices ($10), and a few other items not on the list. I feel pretty good that this will cover our dinners for around the next week and a half. If I'm cautious, I can easily spend $300 or less on our groceries for the month and know that those meals are balanced and nutritious.
The other great perk about having a monthly plan with the shopping lists is that you can buy all the non perishable items and meat that can be frozen for the whole month in just one shopping trip! This is such a great time saver! Even though you still have to get your fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items on a weekly basis, those trips take less time.
I love doing this because I NEVER ask "what's for dinner?" anymore! I feel more relaxed about meal times and have found that in a free minute I can chop some vegetables that I need for dinner in the next few nights or just prep a recipe (measuring out ingredients or just gathering what I'll need on the counter). Then, at 5:30 everything falls into place and I can pretend that I'm just that good!
