Do you ever find it tiring to try and come up with ideas for dinner? Every. Single. Night?
I know I do.
So I've come up with a plan that has really lifted that nagging question off my shoulders and made things a whole lot easier. Grocery shopping is easier, and I always know what to pull out of the freezer each morning.
Meatless Monday
Taco Tuesday
Wing-It Wednesday
Throwback Thursday
Fun Friday
Sizzling Saturday
Soup 'n Sandwich Sunday
Meatless Monday makes sense in a world with meat shortages and rising prices. It's also healthy! An easy recipe is beans and rice. I cook the (brown) rice and mix it with a can of drained black (or any other kind) beans. I add sautéed celery and onions, chopped tomatoes. You could add corn. I sprinkle the top with cheese, bake, and serve with salsa and/or sour cream and fresh cilantro. There are many variations to this simple and tasty dish.
Taco Tuesday is anything Mexican. I make my own taco seasoning (cheaper and much less sodium) and use ground turkey instead of ground beef. We usually make some kind of taco salad, with cassava chips (for me) on the plate first, then topped with meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.
Wing-It Wednesday (coined by my daughter) is not wings! My husband plays golf on Wednesdays and is home late, so it's leftovers or he'll grab a burger. For me lately, it's been a big bowl of stove-popped popcorn with butter and a movie for dinner!
Throwback Thursday is any kind of comfort food from yesteryear. Spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chicken broccoli casserole, etc.
Fun Friday was going to be Fish Friday as that seemed traditional, but I don't happen to like fish, haha. So "fun" = pizza. Homemade pizza. I've been experimenting with cauliflower pizza crust and spelt pizza crust. I'd like to try making pizza on the grill this summer, too.
Sizzling Saturday is anything on the grill. Hamburgers, brats, steak, BBQ chicken.
Soup n' Sandwich Sunday. Sometimes Sundays are a feast day with family and friends and a ham or a roast. But more often than not, it is a quiet day for us. BP (before pandemic) we usually went out for brunch after church (this is the only time during the week we eat out). So we're not too hungry for dinner. Homemade soup, made in batches and frozen, or a sandwich, is simple and easy for a quiet restful day.
So there you have it. We've been doing this for four weeks now and I'm sold!
A glittery notebook and a unicorn pen, a birthday present from my daughter. Isn't this fun? |
How do you plan your meals? Do you have a weekly plan?
xo Deborah
Thank you for the ideas🌺
ReplyDeleteI always planned meals based around what was seasonally available but these days we have reverted back to what we fancy. Not ideal but OK for the short term.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a weekly plan, but if I did this would be the one. It allows for creativity and spontaneity. I was never a fan of Spaghetti on Tuesday, Fish on Friday, etc. I do some loose planning in my head at the beginning of the week and try to incorporate one meatless day in there, along with seasonal produce.
ReplyDeleteEvery day is wing-it Wednesday here! 🙂 I only have myself to please.
ReplyDeleteDearest Deborah,
ReplyDeleteWell, since I've been working on the manuscript, I've not been able to mix my own taco spices (for the very reason as you do!) and have no ground turkey at hand. This recipe just requires too much time right now, but it will be in view very soon. We buy the ready made tacco shels at Trader Joe's and I got the fabulous tacco holders. https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2018/10/easy-oven-baked-taco-recipe.html
Since I had to wait a couple of days for my final batch of Pdfs from my graphic designer, I became active in my kitchen by preparing all of the Costco Tilapia Loins and made also an entire package of mashed potatoes (18 portions). Easy for freezing to have every day a different meal on hands!
Long for baking again waffles... have missed them for several weeks.
It makes cooking more fun this way and for eating always at home for health reasons can be a lot easier.
Hugs,
Mariette
PS Tomorrow we will manage our final Proof - the last and also biggest chapter of 12. Feels so good. Then of course I need to approve if she's corrected the sticky note messages for slight changes. It will feel great tomorrow for arriving on page 433! Then only the front matter and such and we're ready to upload for POD.
What a great weekly plan. I especially like "Wing-it Wednesday".
ReplyDeleteMy eagle eyes spotted a red transfeware plate under your planter.
I tried that but it didn't work too well so I now sit down mid-week and plan out the next week's meals based on what is in the freezer and what is on sale in the grocery flyers. It then gets posted to the fridge door. It also varies by season; soups and stews in the winter and lighter fare in the summer. We always BBQ on Sunday and sometimes we will have enough left to use as a base for another meal. My dear grandmother had a seven day menu that never varied, but then she was raising nine children on a limited budget.
ReplyDeleteTheresa in Tucson
We usually plan our meals in the beginning of the week and then for Saturday and Sunday we do take out food. It really does help with meal planning in advance. I like you fun method!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteYour plan is ingenious!! LOVE it! It is so easy to remember, which is what I seem to need these days! LOL! I usually plan out our meals one week in advance based on what we have on hand, and I stretch them for all they're worth. Like I made a huge pork roast in the crockpot, and we literally ate off that for close to a week! At first we had it with mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and some amazing homemade gravy (using the broth from the roast as the liquid) - then it morphed into pork BBQ sandwiches on buttered/toasted buns with homemade cole slaw - my husband took a pork sandwich for lunch - I made pork nachos for our son (cool ranch doritoes as a base, with smashed chili beans, shredded cheese, pork roast, sour cream, tomatoes, then all of it is slathered with criss-crossed ranch drizzled over it and BBQ sauce at the end!) - and as a snack, my husband likes a bowl of the pork roast heated just to munch on, etc. So, that is how we roll (and how I have WAY too many rolls, ha!) around here! Frugal is always on my mind, and what can I cook that will stretch into as many meals as possible. I also make "must-go" soup often. The key being "everything in the refrig must go!" Leftover mashed potatoes mixed with gravy makes a wonderful base for a rich, creamy soup of many different sorts. NONE of this is diet-friendly, and I am trying to rein in my own portion sizes and also fasting multiple times a week (mostly for spiritual reasons), and working hard to get my excess weight off. Sorry this is so long - you got me on a roll! LOL! Much love to you, sweet friend - I love visiting with you here.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas sound really yummy! I try to make meal plans but they always seem to be a disaster. I love beans and rice but unfortunately my family doesn't but I think I will try your idea of baking it instead.
ReplyDeleteVery fun approach to what is often a tedious decision making process!
ReplyDeleteWell, back in March and April I did so good with my cooking but as time has gone on it's not all that great. We eat a lot of sandwiches and tonight I made pizza. I do make a great Mexican salad and we had that last Sat. Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've got your meal planning well in hand. Glad it makes it simpler for you. I enjoyed learning about your categories. Our meals are usually pretty simple; we had chicken caesar salad the other night (chicken strips sauteed in butter and rosemary added to caesar salad, topped with fresh cheese, no croutons).
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful weekend, Deborah.
Brenda xox
Great post! Sometimes I get the kitchen cleaned up at night after dinner and sigh and realize it has to happen all over again tomorrow. This is a great way to inspire me to plan, as I'm not much of a meal planner, but am forced to do better at this since I'm not running out on a whim to a nearby store anymore. I also was thinking just this morning that I would try a cauliflower pizza crust again. I found a recipe that looked a little better than the one I tried years ago.
ReplyDelete