March Menu

I did NOT forget to do a menu. Actually, it was finished in February. However, I DID forget to post it on here. SO....here ya go!!

1) m- leftovers
2) t- beef stroganoff, egg noodles & carrots
3) w- (gs cookie pick-up & derby car cutting))ham steaks, juliene au gratin potatoes, rice a roni & creamed corn
4) th- (dance)pork carnitas, rice & beans (and OMG...these were so freakin good and SPICY)
5) f- fried catfish, mac salad, pot salad, mac n cheese & frozen mixed veggies
6) s- breakfast for dinner: bacon, sausage, egg n rice, & mamas homemade fries
7) s- stuffed pepper with rice
8) m- STL (leftovers)
9) t- crunchy onion chicken, baby dutch yellow potatoes & corn w/butter sauce (OMG, this is one of our new favorites recipes...SOOOOOOOO good!)
10) w-(girl scouts) beef tips, mashed potatoes, rice & mushrooms
11) th- (dance) crock pot recipe chicken in honey suace, rice & broccoli
12) f- shrimp kebabs(shrimp, red pot, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, pineapple & corn), angel hair pasta
13) s- (pinewood derby) filet mignon (teppanyakis style), rice & sweet green beans
14) s- PIE DAY.....PIES, PIES, PIES AND MORE PIES
15) m- chicken & peppers OR leftovers
16) t- (dom appt) pasta w/meat sauce & green beans and peas
17) w- crock pot roast, red pot & carrots
18) th- (dance) left overs
19) f- homemade clam chowder with french bread
20) s- ribs, yellow rice, pasta salad & veggies (not sure, either corn cob, carrots or sweet green beans)
21) s- enchiladas (chicken & cheese, both corn & flour), rice and beans
22) m- (appt springfield) leftovers for adults and frozen food for kiddies
23) t- italian chicken with peas over rice
24) w- (girl scouts) beef with peppers over rice\
25) th- (dance) shredded apricot pork roast, sides TBA
26) f- shrimp & crab fettucine (maybe lobster if on sale) & salad
27) s- bugolgi, rice and broccoli
28) s- pepper steak, baked potatoes & mushrooms
29) m- paula deans smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes & green bean casserole
30) t- chicken adobo, rice & brocolli
31) w- jambayala

FEBRUARY MENU

1)m- (girl scouts)pasta & mini meatballs, meatsauce, peas and homemade garlic bread
2)t-lemon chicken, red potatoes w/buter and parsley, and broccoli
3)w-(boy scouts)pork chops, au gratin potatoes, egg noodles w/butter and mixed veggies
4)th-(dance) beef & peppers with rice
5)f- (family night) homemade pizzas
6)s- (date night)....FUJI!!! kids-frozen foods...chicken & fries
7)s-(superbowl) apps....mini sweet & spicy meatballs, bbq mini hot dogs, layered bean dip, mozz sticks, crab/shrimp dip
8)m-TDF roast w/carrots & potatoes and rice
9)t- tilapia, wild rice and basil carrots & beans
10) w-chicken N peppers w/rice (kids chicken & fries)
11)th-(dance) crock pot night- pork carnitas, with rice & beans
12)f- spicy chicken casserole, and peas
13)s-costco.....fast food night
14)s- seafood lasagna (new recipe)
15)m-(no school) red beans & rice (shanks & links) cornbread
16)t- (mardi gras) leftover RBR, jambayala
17)w-(ash wednesday) tuna casserole, green beans and peas
18)th- leftovers
19)f- italian shrimp, rice and corn
20)s- bulgolgi, rice and broccoli
21)s- pork steaks, yellow rice, sweet green beans w/cranberries & almonds
22)m- breaded chicken tenderloin w/vidalia sauce, rice and carrots,cauliflower &broccoli
23)t- breakfast crepes (peach & strawberry)
24)w- (girl scouts) crockpot taco soup w/rice
25)th- (dance) left overs
26)f-lemon pepper salmon, red potatoes w/parsley, rice and broccoli
27)s-ranch chicken, smashed potatoes and corn
28)s-(new recipe).....still looking........send me your ideas!!

JANUARY MENU

JANUARY 2010

1)f- left overs appetizers from NYE & black eyed peas & rice
2)s- hamburgers, homemade fries, homemade macaroni & cheese, corn
3)s-(basketball) breakfast 4 dinner, sausage, bacon, homemade fries, eggs/rice, biscuits & gravy
4)m- pork steaks, au gratin potatoes, cream corn & carrots
5)t- mushi chicken w/flour tortillas kids frozen chicken & fries
6)w- pasta, meat sauce, green beans, peas and homemade garlic bread
7)th- crock pot night (dance) bbq pork roast sandwhiches
8) f- home made clam chowder
9) s- tilapia, wild rice & my sweet green beans with cranberries & almonds
10) s-(basketball) ham steaks, mashed potatoes, frozen veggies
11) m- beef stroganoff, egg noodles, peas and green beans
12)t- chicken N peppers w/rice (frozen chicken & fries for the little ones)
13)w- (anniversary & girl scouts) t-bones, rice & garlic mushrooms/carrots/red pot
14)th- (dance) hot dogs, boxed mac & cheese, baked beans & peas
15)f- tri-tip (japanese w/teriyaki), rice a roni, home made fries & corn
16)s- fajitas, tacos & burrito bar (rice, beans, beef-ground & strips, chicken, corn & flour tortillas & all the fixings)
17)s-(basketball) left overs
18)m-(no school)homemade chinese food-fried rice, broc/beef, generals chicken, s&s shrimp, mongolian beef
19)t-pork chops, hashbrown casserole & veggies
20)w-links, potatoes, peppers and rice
21)th-(dance)crock pot night cream cheese chicken & rice
22)f- date night (movie & dinner) kids frozen
23)s-date night (qnd trivia night) kids frozen foods, apps...crab/shrimp dip, mini sweet & spicy meatballs, layered bean dip, mini cheesecakes
24)s-(basketball) chicken casserole
25)m-italian shrimp, rice & corn
26)t-red beans & rice & cornbread
27)w- (girl scouts) country fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy & cream corn
28)th-(dance) crockpot night (new recipe night) pork roast, carrots, & potatoes
29)f-swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas & green beans
30)s- bulgogi, rice and broccoli
31)s- (basketball) appetizer night....mozz sticks, crab cakes, fries, popcorn chicken

several things changed due to boy scout events that were not listed above. this was the initial plan. It worked pretty well.

MONTHLY MENUS

THE DILEMMA

How many times a month do you eat out??? What are your reasons for eating out?? Convenience.....too many evening activities....forgot to thaw something out for dinner.....tired of the same ole recipes??? Is your grocery bill too high?? Are you wasting money on fruits and veggies that you are throwing away? Have you ran out of dinner ideas?? Are you working on trying to organize your life with simple ideas??

WELL......a monthly menu can solve ALL of the ABOVE!!

THE SOLUTION

I listened to several of my friends talk about their monthly menus. I thought they were all full of shit. LOL....there was no way that anyone could plan a whole month of dinners and actually follow it. BOY...OH BOY, was I wrong. Honestly, it is a lot easier than I thought.

First of all, I LOVE to eat! I love to cook! I love to save money (really, I do!) I hate spending tons of money on fruits and veggies just to throw them out because they are not being used. My life is totally overscheduled. Thus....the importance of a monthly menu.

THE BENEFITS

There really are so many benefits to a monthly menu. First and foremost...you can save a TON of money. If you are following a menu...you are eating out a lot less. You save money, because there is less waste. You buy what you plan on cooking...NO EXTRAS!! You also can cook around your coupons and grocery ads. Another great benefit is that you will eat healthier. You are no longer making those drive-thru runs or pizza stops. When you plan ahead, you are more prepared. More prepared by having a variety of different meals, no more forgetting to thaw food out, no more looking at the clock at 6pm and wondering..."hmmmm...what's for dinner?" (not only prepared, but saving money because in the past it was so much easier to just pick up some take-out at 6pm). And FINALLY...you are on your way to a more scheduled and organized life. Yes, even a little tiny menu, can make a world of difference.

HOW TO MAKE A MONTHLY MENU

I have been making a monthly menu for almost a year. It really has made my life so much easier.

To start off, you need a calendar. You can print up calendars off the internet to make things easier. You can use your pretty frou frou calendar that you MIL bought you for Christmas, your weekly planner (aka my mommy bible), a spreadsheet (I am not smart enough for one of those)...whatever you want. What I did was buy a large tear-off desk calendar from the dollar spot at Target. It is large enough to add your activities as well as the menu and ingredients. There is also a large section for notes...perfect for your grocery list or the "extra meals" section. I keep my menu in the laundry room on our activities bulletin board (this will be in another blog when I am finished redecorating the laundry room) Use a pencil! The first few times you make your menu,you will be making a lot of changes.

If you think a monthly menu is too much.....I KNOW....I KNOW....you are thinking "umm freak....I do not know what is happening tomorrow, let alone the rest of the month!" Yep, I said the same thing. SO try a weekly menu to start. Then slowly move up to 2 weeks...then 3 weeks...then finally a whole month. Really, you will be amazed at how this can work out.

Usually a few days before the beginning of the month, take a couple of hours to go over your cookbooks, recipes, magazines, the internet, the grocery ads (present and upcoming) and in my case, my last months menu. Last months menu is very important (actually, I save all menus) because you can look and see what meals worked for your schedule, what are your monthly staples (the meals that are MUSTS in your house), what new recipes sucked or were total hits, etc. Then look at your work, school and family calendars and work around those. For instance, thursday nights are dance nights, therefore I make a crock pot meal. If I know that Jason and I are having a date night, I plan on frozen food for the kids and add our "dinner out" to the menu. I try to add meals that will correlate with our activities. I am not going to make a huge turkey dinner with all the fixings when I know we have a boy scout meeting. Instead, I either make sure the night before was a large meal where we can have leftovers the next day(yes, I add leftovers to my menu, with time you will know what meals are large enough for leftovers or what meals your kids will scarf down in minutes), make a crock pot meal, something quick and easy like frozen kids food (popcorn chicken/fries) or pasta or make that our take out night. Usually I save more extensive menus for the weekend when we are home or planning on having guests.

Once your menu is made and your week or month is about to start, look at the menu, see what fresh fruits/veggies that you need and what other ingredients that you might be out of and write out your list for the grocery store. Make sure to take out what ever meats need to be thawed 2-3 days before your meal and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. When you are at the grocery store...STICK to your list. If possible, make a couple of trips to the grocery store a week. If a meat that is NOT on your menu is on sale at a super duper price...go for it...freeze it...you just started your next months menu.

You are probably thinking...."ummm...my life is not as perfect as yours (totally LMBO), and things change. Don't worry...at the bottom of your menu put a couple of easy meals. Meals that take little to no thawing, with ingredients that are staples in your home. For an example check out the bottom of my menu. Some of my extra/easy meals are pasta/meat sauce, chicken/peppers/rice......quick 15 minute meals. Also, if things get really hectic, you can always switch things around during the month. If your den/troop leader decides on tuesday to have an unplanned meeting on thursday....the day that you planned a large steak dinner, switch it around. Trade a difficult meal for an easy one, switch nexts week take out, whatever will work for you. This menu is NOT written in stone....hence the PENCIL above. Seriously, I am a mom 3 VERY busy kids and a wife to a work-a-holic.......nothing ever goes as planned........

My life is completely over-scheduled. My monthly menus have been a life-saver, one less thing that I have to worry about each day.

Trust me....this can be life changing!



Stay tuned....January and February menus coming VERY SOON!