Happy 2013! Hope you all brought in the New Year in a fun and safe way with some fabulous people!
So...here it is! My fabulous Menu for January 2013! (yeah...we're gone a lot this month...) Sundays and Wednesdays are family days so I don't cook on those days because we are usually with family. As for Fridays, it's a free day. =) Pizza or wings are a must-have to celebrate surviving another busy work week!
A lot of my recipes I have saved on Pinterest, check them out on my boards and follow me here ! But if you can't find them just let me know! Eventually, I hope to have them all under my Recipes tab, but that's going to take some time that I just do not have right this minute...plus I want to upload my OWN pictures with the recipes. So be patient, but until then..droop over THIS January goodness!
SU
|
M
(CP)
|
TU
|
W
|
TH
(CP)
|
F
|
SA
|
1
Lemon/
Garlic Tilapia
|
2
NOT HOME
|
3
French Dip
Sandwiches
|
4
Lettuce Cups
|
5
Steak w/
mushrooms & caramelized onions
|
||
6
NOT HOME
|
7
Chicken Parmesan
|
8
Roasted Garlic
Pasta Salad
|
9
NOT HOME
|
10
Terriyaki
Chicken
|
11
PIZZA/
WINGS
|
12
Rotisserie
Chicken
|
13
NOT HOME
|
14
Smothered Beef
Burritos
|
15
Chicken &
Green Bean Stir Fry
|
16
HMB
|
17
HAWAII >
|
18
>>>>
|
19
>>>> |
20
HAWAII
>>>>
|
21
>>>>
|
22
>>>>
|
23
>>>>
|
24
COME HOME
TODAY
|
25
PIZZA/
WINGS
|
26
Chili-Cornbread
Bake
|
27
NOT HOME
|
28
Mexican Chicken
<P-CP>
|
29
Creamy Chicken
& Broccoli over Rice
|
30
NOT HOME
|
31
Mexican Pizzas
<P-Recipes>
|
As for my shopping lists, they are a bit...organized..well, I try to organize them. I hate wasting time having to back-track in the store so my list is organized, roughly, by aisle, or at the very least, category.
PRODUCE
|
MEAT
|
DAIRY
|
BOXED/
CANNED
|
BREAD/
SNACKS
|
Garlic
Cherry tomatoes
Parsley
Grn onion
(x2)
Ginger
Broccoli
Butter
lettuce
Lg
tomatoes
WEEKLY:
apples
bananas
peaches
strawberries
spinach
blueberries
romaine lettuce
|
Chicken (x5)
Whole
chicken
-3 ½+ lbs.
chuck roast
-Ground
turkey (x1)
-Ground
beef
FROZEN
-tilapia
(x1)
|
15 oz.
ricotta
mexican
blend
cheddar
monterey
jack
provolone
fr.
mozzarella
Milk
Eggs
|
-sm pasta
shells (x2)
Black
olives
Green
olives
Marinara
Chili
Refried
beans (x2)
Beef
bouillon cbs
Enchilada
sauce (19+ oz)
Picante
sauce
Hoisin
Teriyaki
Cornbread
Ital.
seas. Crumbs
Cornstarch
Cider
vinegar
Condensed
french onion soup
|
Tortillas
Wheat bread
French
rolls
Salsa
|
Notes/Tips:
* "CP" indicates CrockPot recipes. I'm obsessed with my CrockPot. Yeah...let's just leave it at that.
* "(x2)" or any other number indicates the number of meals I need that ingredient for so I stock up. I am not very good at writing down exact amounts of what I need because I try to over-buy and stock up when I can so I have it for next time.
* "(x2)" or any other number indicates the number of meals I need that ingredient for so I stock up. I am not very good at writing down exact amounts of what I need because I try to over-buy and stock up when I can so I have it for next time.
* Freeze, freeze, freeze! There isn't really anything I haven't had luck freezing, yet. Frozen leftovers are great for mid-week lunches or "leftover" days.
* While I do knock out all of the canned/boxed shopping once a month, I do still make weekly trips to the grocery store for the fresh stuff - fresh fruits and veggies are essential for my sanity. Can't get enough of them!
I hope you have success using this Monthly Meal Planning! It's a bit difficult to get yourself started, but I promise it makes life SO much easier when you get in the routine!
Have you Monthly Meal Planned before??? I'd love to hear more tips, tricks or anything ya'll have to offer!
I totally need to try this! I just never plan out dinner for a whole month at a time! How did you get started with it?
ReplyDeleteYou totally should! It is so worth it, and in my opinion, saves a lot of time and money in the end. We all make those last-minute shopping trips where we end up with a lot more than what's on our list thanks to impulse purchases and/or shopping on a hungry belly! With Baby on the way I think it will save you a lot of stress too because your month of meals is ready to go...it's just braving the grocery store once a month for your "big trip" that could be the scary part and also weekly "quick trips" for produce/fresh stuff (but **spoiler/tease alert!!** I have a secret to solve even THAT problem coming soon in a future post!). One of my favorite things about monthly meal planning is that you're not completely bound to the menu...like for New Year's, for example, we decided to go out to dinner instead of the Lemon/Garlic Tilapia that is on the menu...oh, well...BAM...I've got my first meal for my February Menu already because I buy my tilapia in the frozen bulk bags at Safeway so it doesn't go bad quickly so it's already one less meal planned and one less item on my shopping list for next month. =)
ReplyDeleteAs for how I got started, I honestly just got tired of the stress of coming home at 7pm and rummaging through cookbooks and figuring out what to make for dinner and not eating until 9pm, if not later, when I'm ready to SLEEP by that time! Planning is easy once you get used to it and can budget for the "big trip" at the beginning of the month. So, here's my process:
*The last week at the end of the month I spend my Monday lunch break (only 45 min!) and I take to work with me one CrockPot cookbook, one regular cookbook and have Pinterest handy on my phone. I first designate my "Crock Pot Meal Days" (Tuesdays and Thuursdays) and "No Cook" days (Sundays and Wednesdays when I/we are with my family), and Fridays are "Easy Days" of either ordering pizza or wings or having leftovers.
*After that, I plug in the meals and for each meal I plug in I write the ingredients needed on the back of the page and organize that the next day.
*Tuesday I organize my shopping lists...1 for the "BIG TRIP" and one for each week for the rest of the month. My "BIG TRIP" list is EVERYTHING that won't go bad in the next few weeks for every meal (boxed/canned/bottled items, as well as milk and eggs which will typically last for the month or at least most of it), also included is ALL meat for the month (I will get to that in a minute), any snacks for the month, and all produce for Week 1. Lists 2-4/5 will have all the produce you will need for meals for each of those weeks. It's nice to have these separate lists because you can add to them, if need be. Like, for example, if during the end of Week 2 you know you'll have enough milk to get you through Week 3, but will need it for Week 4 you just flip to your Week 4 list and add milk...or whatever you might need. =)
Getting home from the big trip can be a bit overwhelming the first few times so I make sure to clean/organize the fridge and freezers the night before I go! When I get home I start with the meat...I portion it out into the individual meals, put each portion into a Ziploc, label each one with the meal name and date and freeze it all. The night before you plan on using it just put it in the fridge. Produce all gets washed and put away to make one less step for the day of cooking/using it. Cans/boxes/bottles organized next...inside cupboards for Week 1 items, all others go to outside pantry shelves. It all sounds like A LOT, but once you get used to it it is SO worth it and it makes you feel all organized and prepared! =) Hope this helps! Sorry it's SO long but I love this whole meal-planning thing and love to share the idea with others!!! Let me know if you decide to do it/how it goes or if you have any other questions!! <3 <3 <3