Menu Plan Monday

I am going to start doing my menu planning again.  I do this for so many reasons…

·         Saves time during the week when I get home from work and answering the “what’s for dinner?” question

·         I remember to thaw out the meats I need to use

·         Makes grocery shopping and sticking to my budget much easier

 

How I menu plan…

I bought this cute little notepad at the craft store (Michael’s I think) and it has a spot for each day of the week.  It has a magnet on the back to stick to the fridge and the best thing ever… it was only $1!!  Since my husband’s work schedule is until 6:00 p.m. on the days he works and some nights we have other things going on (dance, family stuff, etc.) I write those on those days so I know to plan easy meals on those nights.  Then, I try to make the complete menu out of what we already have at home just so I don’t “have” to buy certain things at the grocery store and can commit to primarily shopping for the deals only.  Then, I fill it out and put whatever we have to have for that week’s menu on my shopping list.  This really helps to keep my grocery budget to a minimum. 

 

This week we have the following…

 

Monday – Chicken stir fry with brown rice

Tuesday – Chicken casserole

Wednesday – eating out (dance rehearsal)

Thursday – Turkey lasagna

Friday – Chicken tacos/fajitas

 

I don’t make plans for Saturday or Sunday because Sunday we normally eat at the in-laws house and Saturday can vary depending on what happens during the week but Saturday’s I cook whatever we have on hand.  This is also the night I might recycle left over’s (more on that later).