Menu Planning Guest Post- from Betsy

Hello Everyone,
While your reading this I will be having surgery/recovering. I have some amazing friends who have stepped up to help me out. This guest post is from Betsy a friend of mine. We met years back in a Homeschooling group in my community. We seemed to hit it off, and lost touch with each other. That was until Facebook came along. I ended up finding her on there, her mom and her sister. I was so excited to get back in touch with her. Shes an awesome mom to 4 kiddos, home schools, and has organizational talent that I wish I had. So please welcome her to this blog, as I'm so thankful shes back in my life. Sometimes Facebook can be a pain, but then again it brings back old friends.

She is here to share with you about Meal Planning. I hope you enjoy it and learn something from it.

Thank you
Alyssa
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Dinner Dilemmas


There are two very common frustrations I think every wife and/or mother can relate to:

1) I have nothing to wear.
2) We have nothing to eat for dinner.



The only reason I am listing the dinner dilemma as number 2, is because there is always the trusty pizza delivery guy. I'm pretty sure the concept of pizza delivery is biblically based (ever heard of manna?). Until there is a man who will deliver a perfect outfit straight to your door in 30 minutes or less, "Nothing to wear" will always be the bigger problem.

While I am still working on a solution to common wardrobe issues, I can share my learnings in the dinner planning department. It's a very simple and un-spectacular system, but it's easy and it works.



First, categorize various types of dinners. Example:
Hamburger
Roast/steak
Chicken
Pork
Fish
Vegetarian
Breakfast foods
Soups/Stews
Pasta
Pizza
Salads
Casserole




Second, assign one category listed above to a specific night of the week. This is what I have chosen to use for our current dinner menu:
Monday-Hamburger
Tuesday-Pasta
Wednesday-Pork
Thursday-Home made pizza
Friday-Chicken
Saturday-Mexican
Sunday-Roast



Third, plan 4 meals for each separate category. Example:
The 4 meals I have planned for our Tuesday night/Pasta category are:
Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo
Lasagna
Chicken Parmesan
Baked Spaghetti



Fourth, after you have planned out 4 meals per category, go line by line and add in side dishes. This is what I have planned for this month:

Th/1- Veggie Supreme Pizza
F/2- Honey marinated chicken, Cole slaw, Corn bread
Sa/3- Chicken Nachos
Sn/4- Italian beef sandwiches, Hashbrown casserole

M/5- Meatloaf, Seasoned rice, Green beans
T/6- Roasted red pepper alfredo, Spinach salad, French bread
W/7- Zesty marinated pork chops, Macaroni and cheese, Steamed Broccoli
Th/8- Garlic chicken pizza, Caesar salad
F/9- BBQ Cheddar chicken, Baked potato, Grilled yellow squash
Sa/10- Grilled Burrito, Chips and Salsa
Sn/11- Eat out

M/12- Chili
T/13- Lasagna, Tossed green salad
W/14- Pulled pork sandwiches, Sweet potato fries
Th/15- Ham and Pineapple pizza
F/16- Grilled chicken chef salads
Sa/17- Fajitas, Rice
Sn/18- Beef stew

M/19- Quesadilla burgers, Seasoned fries
T/20- Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Garlic bread
W/21- Herb rubbed pork roast, Mashed potatoes & Gravy, Asparagus
Th/22- Sausage pizza, Pasta salad
F/23- Chicken gumbo, Rice
Sa/24- Tacos, Chipotle bean dip
Sn/25- Eat out

M/26- Dirty rice, Okra
T/27- Baked spaghetti, ciabatta bread, Bruschetta
W/28- Oven fried pork chops, Twice baked potatoes, Steamed california vegetables
Th/29- BBQ chicken pizza
F/30- Sesame ginger chicken stir fry, Rice
Sa/31- Quesadillas, Guacamole, Chips