Okay, here are a few of the recipes I have ready to link. In the comments it was mentioned that some husbands would not put up with such a meal plan (my dad is one of them :). As I said, it's not for everyone. I have always planned our meals a week or two in advance, and used to plan them monthly. That worked well for a long time. As children and homeschooling slowly consumed more of my days, I began to look for ways to eliminate daily decisions. I think it is Fly Lady that often talks about how the most exhausting thing we do in the day is make decision after decision. My menu plans have removed a lot of decisons. I also tend to cook multiples of certain dishes to freeze. Pot pie is a great example of that. I can make 3 pot pies just as easily as one, so the other 2 go in the freezer and are used as meals for new mom's or those in need, or babysitter meals. My kids have learned that having a babysitter means getting chicken pot pie for dinner. Since it is one of their 3 favorite meals - it works great for everyone! As for the getting tired of the same thing, that does happen during a fast, but I am not sure variety would help that, there are only so many dishes you can make during Lent! When not fasting, the key to success in my house is several things. First, my husband misses several dinners a week due to his work schedule, and only has breakfast and lunch with us when he has a day off. Second, on days where I specify a meat, I have several recipes for that particular meat, so at a minimum it is 2 weeks before a dinner is repeated, and often times it is more like 3 or 4. We eat venison a lot since I live with two hunters, and my husband's hunting philosophy is that you don't kill just for fun, what is killed should be consumed. So, I have a number of ways I cook venison, and I like to pick dishes that are seasonal (venison stew is a great winter dish!) A decade ago, I would have thought it was crazy, and a decade from now I am sure I will be doing something different, but for this season of my life, it works.
I think that is great that you use a menu. I think I would do well to have this as well. One thing at a time! :) ... I used to do this but life is not always easy but God will help us! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the recipes!
ReplyDeleteI have come to love the weekly menu plan too! And I am lucky to have a husband who literally doesn't notice that we're having the same thing from week to week unless I tell him.
ReplyDeleteOf course, some days we have leftovers (or morph leftovers into something else) or some other mood strikes or we haven't been to the store. But I LOVE the plan. I can buy multiples of things and KNOW we will use them in the next few weeks. I can batch cook for a purpose instead of to nebulously stuff our freezer for "whenever." There are some dishes that are too time-consuming or rich or that I just get tired of, and I just change those. We switch about every 4 to 6 weeks depending on the season of the year, so we get a lot of seasonal variety. :) I'll stop now, but I can't say enough about how much I love the weekly menu and not having to spend several hours every week coming up with a menu!
I have never been able to incorporate a menu system into my home. I don't know why I have such a difficulty with it, but I do.
ReplyDeleteOk, easiest potpie recipe I've ever seen there. My family is about to become chicken potpie eaters. I think I'll make four next weekend. Seriously.
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