I’ve been asked for some tips on how to plan a weekly menu. One of these days I should write an in-depth post on the subject but for today how about a few quick tips?
1. Take a look at your family’s schedule for the upcoming week. Any evening activities? Extremely busy days? I plan easier meals on the days I know I’ll be out of the house or have a lot of household activities planned. For instance, this week I have an evening meeting on Monday (tonight) so I already have spaghetti sauce simmering in the crockpot and just took a cobbler out of the oven. On Wednesday I will be doing my monthly major shopping out of town with my daughter. We may or may not be home in time for dinner so I’ll pull out some jambalaya from the freezer and will make potato salad the day before.
2. What perishable items do you have on hand that need to be used soon? I have quite a few potatoes so I’ll not only make twice-baked potatoes for our dinner on Tuesday but I’ll use up the rest for potato salad – enough for two dinners plus a lunch or two. I also overdid the fresh fruit purchases at the farmers market last week which accounts for the blackberry cobbler today and fresh fruit with meals later this week.
3. Consider seasonal foods. It’s summer – my favorite! – so we are enjoying all the fresh produce currently available. If you’ll notice, Tuesday’s dinner is all vegetables and will feature some delicious scalloped squash.
4. Check the weather report. I’m actually taking a chance putting grilled hot dogs on the menu for Thursday as we do have a chance of rain. However, Oklahoma weather is pretty unpredictable so I’m hoping for at least enough clear weather to grill that evening. If not, I can always pan-fry them in my cast iron skillet.
Soon, I’ll write another post about menu planning in which I discuss nutritional concerns, complimentary flavors and textures, and aesthetics. Remind me if I don’t get around to it soon!
Monday:
- slow cooker spaghetti sauce (with plenty extra to freeze)
- angel hair pasta
- fresh green beans
- garlic bread
- blackberry cobbler (I’ll share the recipe if it is good.)
Tuesday:
- twice-baked potatoes
- summer squash
- candied carrots
- salad
Wednesday:
- jambalaya (from freezer)
- potato salad
- fruit
Thursday:
- grilled hot dogs (I use organic, uncured hot dogs from Applegate Farm)
- leftover potato salad
- fresh fruit salad
Friday-Sunday: We will be in OKC to celebrate David’s birthday, our 31st anniversary and Father’s Day!
For a long time I’ve been linking up with I’m an Organizing Junkie for her Menu Monday feature. That’s where the link under the picture at the top of this post will take you and I encourage you to check it out. This week I’m also linking to Stone Gable‘s “On the Menu Monday” feature. Be sure to check this one out, too!
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