As part of my June project of getting organized and thinking through new schedules and ideas for this fall as we start homeschooling, I decided to do a little shifting with how I plan our meals. For several years now, I have planned for a full month a time - making one big shopping run per month, and then supplementing with fresh produce and milk as needed throughout the month.
As we switch gears to add kindergarten into our daily routine, there are some things (food-related) that I want to be able to do with the girls that would be tricky to plan out a month in advance. We are going to be meandering through early American History this year and with that, I want to have some special treats and meals that go along with what we are studying. That said, I'm going to try and plan two weeks at a time and see how that works for us.
One of the things that I am most excited about reinstituting into our week is our Thursday Tea. The idea is not mine - I got it from Dawn's excellent blog. But, I loved how the girls looked forward to getting out the special cups having a "special" snack one day a week. Last year, we used the time to start our Awana lesson for the week. I'm not sure how well that will work this year as the girls will be in two different groups now (N1 has aged out of Cubbies), but regardless, I'm looking forward to using this time to do either a seasonal craft project or listen to a story that ties with our lessons.
That said, here's the next two weeks of meals around here ... always subject to change. :) I really struggle in the summer coming up with stuff to make for dinner. After we've spent the day outside, I always want something cold to eat (i.e., pasta salads, big green ceasar/taco/southwest salads, etc.) but that doesn't always work so well with the munchkins. What do you feed your family in the summer when it is too hot to cook? I love my crockpot and know that's a great idea for summer cooking so I'm not overheating in front of the stove, but I just don't like to eat hot food when I'm hot. :)
Monday (yesterday): Ranch Chicken & Bacon Pasta Salad, watermelon, sliced fruit
Tuesday (6/30): chicken spaghetti (from the freezer), salad, bread I'm trying to make a double batch of chicken spaghetti once a month - for us, that makes two 8x8 pans/meals for our family, and one 9x13 to use for a company dinner or to share with a family that needs a meal.
Wednesday (7/1): ham & cheese roll-ups, chips, broccoli salad, strawberry trifle (for both my family and a homeschool meeting I am hosting tomorrow night).
Thursday (7/2): chicken enchiladas, salad, green beans
Friday (7/3): pizza night
Saturday (4th of July): grill steaks and/or chicken, grilled veggies, berries & cool whip for dessert
Sunday (7/5): extended family lunch; Sunday dinner is usually something snacky.
Monday (7/6): southwest taco salad, corn chips
Tuesday (7/7): fried chicken, salad, peas, roasted veggies
Wednesday (7/8): ceasar chicken pasta salad (using leftover chicken from Tuesday)
Thursday (7/9): breakfast dinner - eggs, hashbrown casserole, fruit
Friday (7/10): pizza
I'm also going to make a batch of chunky monkey muffins and breakfast muffins for the next two weeks to pull from the freezer. Yum!
Stephanie...I love planning/shopping two weeks at a time! It's more manageable for me than once a month!
ReplyDeleteI struggle big time with meals in the summer. Our kitchen gets the HOT afternoon sun and I just really hate heating it up even more by turning on the oven. I do tons of skillet stuff and last week during VBS I used my crockpot twice. We also grill a LOT!
now that i'm in my apartment i am struggling big time with groceries/cooking! cooking for one person is hard, eating all my food before it goes bad (esp the produce!!) is also hard!
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously impressed by your ability to plan out your meals monthly. I'm doing good if I actually plan out a week (and stick to it!). I'm trying to improve a little in that area because when I DO plan I've noticed we waste less food because I'm planning out what to do with leftover ingredients, etc., and planning many dishes WELL.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the tea idea. I BET your girls do also! (Tucking away that idea...)
I love your new bloggy look! (it may be old--i don't know. I am coming back to reading my fave blogs)
ReplyDeleteI'm DEFINITELY trying those breakfast muffins/ biscuits.
Meal planning is one of the things I plan to do to help me stop always feeling rushed and harried. To answer your question of "how" for the rest....the answer is: I don't know for certain. But I am working on it little bit by little bit. I'll be sharing what works and what doesn't.