Menu Plan Series - Part VIII

This is the shopping list for the 20-day menu. I know it looks really long, but that's because I included everything you'll need for the whole month, for all 20 dinner ideas plus the extra food items I listed. You may already have all the spices or some of the canned goods. If you do, that means you'll have less to buy. It just depends on what you have. If you don't have many of the spices and don't want to buy a bottle of the spice, I would suggest going to a bulk foods store {like Winco} and buying just a little of the spices. It won't cost you much and you can decide whether or not you like the recipe and want more of that particular spice. Also, some of the items you can make from scratch {like the tortillas, shredded hash browns & spaghetti sauce} if you want.

Produce:
25 potatoes {I’ll probably do about half that since I’ll cut the recipes in half}
13 clove garlic
7 onion
2 bags Spinach
1 jalapeño pepper
2 bell pepper
2 stalks celery {optional}
6 tomatoes
Green onions
cilantro
1 head romaine lettuce
1 large avocado
2 limes

Dairy:
5 cup butter {approx}
2- 16 oz container sour cream
1 container cottage cheese
7 ¼ cup milk
12 eggs
4 ½ cup parmesan cheese
2-3 lb. cheese {half cheddar & half mozzarella}
1 ½ cup shredded Swiss cheese

Canned goods:
½ cup maple syrup
2 cans Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
5 can black beans
3 cups Rice
1 can Sliced pineapple
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
Cornflakes
2 can mushrooms
3 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can pizza sauce {or a can of tomato sauce seasoned with basil & oregano}
½ cup ketchup
Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg Saltine crackers
2 can chicken broth
1 can tomato sauce
3 lb pasta {any kind}
12 jumbo pasta shells
Casear salad dressing
Croutons {optional}
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

Meats:
3-4 lb pork shoulder roast
10 pcs Sliced Ham
14 chicken breasts
3 lb ground beef
1 pkg pepperoni {or other pizza topping}

Frozen:
1 pkg frozen shredded hash browns
2 pkg corn

Baking Goods:
Sugar
Yeast
Oil
33 cup flour
2 1/2 cup shortening
4 cups granulated sugar
2 pkg powdered sugar
1 pkg brown sugar
Lemon juice
1 cup quick oats
1 cup walnuts, almonds or pecans
1 ½ cup coconut {optional}
2 cups wheat germ
12 cups rolled oats
1 cup cornmeal
Olive oil
Cider Vinegar
Balsamic vinegar {do not substitute}

Breads:
8 tortillas
Tortilla chips

Spices:
Powdered Parmesan Cheese
Kosher Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion powder
Curry powder
Oregano
Italian seasoning
Chili Powder
Basil
Marjoram
Parsley
Cumin
Vanilla
Baking powder
Baking soda
Dijon Mustard {optional}
Lemon extract


Thanks for following along on this journey of the Menu Planning Series! This is officially the end of the series. If you want to read through it again or need a refresher, here are the links for each part of the series:

Menu Plan Series - Part I
Menu Plan Series - Part II
Menu Plan Series - Part III
Menu Plan Series - Part IV
Menu Plan Series - Part V
Menu Plan Series - Part VI
Menu Plan Series - Part VII
Menu Plan Series - Part VIII {this post}

Thanks again!

Menu Plan Series - Part VII

First of all, I'd like to apologize for being MIA for the last while. My reasoning is that I spent pretty much all of December feeling super sick and the last thing I was thinking about was food. {You can find the reason I was sick here and here.} Anyway, I am finally back on track I think. I'm creating my menus again & I finally have a menu & shopping list for you! Actually, the 20-day menu I'm going to share is the same 20-day menu I'm using this month. I'll try to hyperlink the recipes if I've already posted them or if they can be found elsewhere, but if not then I'll post the recipe here as soon as I make it this month. Thanks for understanding about that. Also, tomorrow I'm going to post the shopping list {I promise!} for this menu so you can know what you'll need for the whole month. So here you go with a 20-day menu.


20-Day Menu

1. Beef: Crumbelievable Chili
2. Beef: Curried Black Beans & Rice
3. Beef: Meatloaf
4. Beef: Pizza Bread Loaf
5. Chicken: Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad
   
6. Chicken: Crock pot Sunday Chicken
7. Chicken: Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach
8. Chicken: Mexican Chicken Skillet
9. Chicken: Ranch Chicken
10. Pasta: Cheesy Stuffed Shells
11. Pasta: Italian Pasta with tomato and Basil
12. Pork: Carnitas Soft Tacos
    
13. Pork: Hawaiian Ham
    
14. Potatoes: Now that’s a baked potato
    
15. Potatoes: Swiss Potato Pancake
16. Soup: Chicken Corn Chowder
17. Soup: Minestrone
18. Vegetarian: Bean & Spinach Burritos
19. Vegetarian: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
20. Vegetarian: Swedish Pancakes

Other recipes to make in addition:

1. Avocado Relish
2. Corn Bread {to try}
3. Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4. Delicious Indian Naan Bread {to try}
5. Garlic Bread Seasoning
   
6. Grandma’s French Bread
7. Granola
8. Maple Oat Bread
9. Marinated Chicken (to try)
10. Orange Rolls
11. Sugar Cookies

Menu Plan Series - Part VI

Important Things to Remember:

• There are certain things I always make sure to have on hand and hence rarely have to buy. I’m going to list them here and you can add or delete ingredients that fit to your tastes and needs (this is an example of ingredients I notice that I use frequently):

• o Flour
• o Sugars
• o Yeast
• o Salt (of course)
• o Garlic Salt or powder
• o Onion Salt or powder
• o Basil
• o Parsley
• o Oregano
• o Italian Seasoning
• o Season Salt
• o Chili powder
• o Garlic
• o Onions
• o Potatoes
• o Beans (black, pinto and kidney)
• o Veggies (any kind – if I have them, I can fix them)
• o Cheese
• o Sandwich meat (unless you are pb&j kind of person)
• o Milk
• o Eggs
• o Butter

• I rarely plan lunch and breakfast menus. For the most part, we eat cereal for breakfast, including homemade granola and oatmeal. Occasionally (usually just the weekends because I value my sleep more than fixing something grandiose during the week before my DH has to go to work) we will have something different for breakfast, but it’s always flexible and I always have the ingredients on hand (muffins, pancakes, toast, eggs, hash browns (potatoes), etc). For lunches we typically eat sandwiches or leftovers from the meals during the week. This helps assure that the leftovers won’t go bad and it saves me the stresses of planning three times the meals every week.


Check back on Wednesday for the 20-day menu I'm sharing as Part VII of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series - Part V

Important Things to Remember:

• Pretty much any recipe can be modified. If it calls for an ingredient you wouldn’t normally buy and will never use except for that recipe, it can possibly be left out. For example, a lot of recipes will call for a spice that I never use – I just leave it out OR substitute that spice for something I know I have and will like (for main spices this is not recommended). If the recipe calls for some kind of meat you never use, just substitute something different (for example, one of the recipes I have calls for shrimp – I don’t like shrimp and won’t buy it; I’ll use chicken instead). Cheeses are the same way (why buy 5 different kinds of cheese when 2 or 3 works just well and will save me money?), as well as pastas. I also modify amounts. If a recipe calls for a pound of ground beef, I often use half. If a recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts, I’ll use 1 or 2. If I want more protein than what I’ll get by modifying the amount of meat, I’ll add beans to the recipe (and believe it or not, it’ll still taste good!).
• I almost never buy a name brand or ready-made product. If a recipe calls for Kraft dressing, I’ll either buy the off-brand or make my own. If a recipe calls for ready-to-eat bacon or chicken strips, I’ll buy it raw and cook it myself. Yes, it might save you a little bit of time to buy ready-cooked, but you’ll save more money going the “old-fashioned” route. There are occasions when buying ready-made is best but not very often.
• Almost everything is cheaper frozen, meats included. Some people really don't like to buy frozen meats and that's fine. Juices and Vegetables are also cheaper frozen. Of course, produce always tastes better fresh, but especially in off-season times anyway, you may as well go with frozen.
• There are some things that will freeze and keep just fine that most people don’t think about. I have frozen cream cheese many times and it always turns out fine (just defrost it in the refrigerator), any cheeses (they usually thaw better if they are shredded before freezing), milk (just pour a little bit out first so it doesn’t explode when freezing and then be sure to shake it up when it’s thawed), and egg substitute (which we always buy because it’s healthier). If you see something on sale that you will probably use a lot of (but not before it all goes bad), buy a bunch and freeze it (assuming, of course, you have freezer room). Just remember that if you freeze anything to use containers and packaging that is "freezer approved". You wouldn't want to buy extra things and then have it all go bad just because you didn't put it in the right kind of container.
  
• As much as possible, I try to make my own breads. This doesn’t always happen, but it is so much cheaper to make your own rather than buy and they always end up tasting better. Most “bread” recipes that call for a bread machine can be made just as easily by hand and really are not as time consuming as we assume. If you make more loaves of bread (or any other bread product) than you can eat very quickly, you can always freeze it and just pull it out the night before you use it and let it thaw on your counter (doughs can also be frozen: just be sure to add extra yeast to help be sure it won't all die and then thaw it in the refrigerator). Also, bread keeps for a little longer than normal if you refrigerate it. And remember that proper packaging applies to breads too!

Check back on Monday for Part VI of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series - Part IV

• Each week, usually a Saturday or Sunday, I plan the meals for that week, taking the meals from the 20-day menu. When I make that plan, I review the ingredients I need for each meal and check to see if I need any perishable items that I don’t already have. If I do need other items then I’ll go to the store and buy only those items to make my meal. Everything else I should already have. This part of the menu planning is really easy and fast.

• Some of the biggest excuses I hear about not wanting to menu plan are:

1. Things might change and I may not get to all my meals

What I say to that: So what? For one thing, this is why I only plan for 20 meals. For another thing, if you’ve already planned the meal and have most of the ingredients on hand, it will just make next months, or even next weeks, menu planning that much easier.

2. What if I get to that day and I’m not in the mood for what I planned?

What I say to that: Have something that’s specified for another day. Just because it’s written down, doesn’t mean you have to have it in the order it’s written.

3. I don’t like to be tied down to specific things I have to eat.

What I say to that: You don’t have to be. I make my menu as you’ve seen listed in my Menu Plan Monday posts. However, it can be just as easy to simply say, “these are the meals we’re eating this week” and then when each day rolls around, choose which of those meals you’ll fix. Or simply choose daily the meals you want from the 20-day menu. There really isn’t an obligation – it’s entirely up to you!

Check back on Friday for Part V of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series - Part III

• Each month, I go through my lists and my cookbooks (occasionally – honestly, I don’t go through those as often as my lists) and pick 20 mail course meal ideas from both lists. These recipes go into a new document titled “20 Day Menu.” At the beginning of each meal idea, I list it’s main ingredient (much like the column headers I mentioned above) and then alphabetize them so I can see how my balance is (for example, I’d list a meal idea like this: “Pasta: Cheesy Stuffed Shells (to try)” – the “(to try)” at the end tells me where to find the recipe and the “pasta” at the beginning tells me what the main ingredient is). I’ll share a 20-day menu with you later {and I’ll include the shopping list and try to include as many recipes as possible}!
• After the 20 day menu is planned, I create a shopping list. This is perhaps the most tedious part of the process, but I promise it’s really not that bad. I take each meal idea and write down its ingredients {or just copy & paste them since all my recipes are typed up on my computer}, separating them into columns that make my shopping easier (my columns are: Produce, Dairy, Canned Goods, Meats, Frozen, Baked Goods, Breads, and Spices). Then I consolidate all the ingredients (for example, if I have 3 recipes that each call for 2 cloves of garlic, instead of writing “2 cloves of garlic” 3 times I will write “6 cloves of garlic”) and I then have one big shopping list. I do this whole process on a word document which helps prevent lots of writing and erasing and it makes consolidating the ingredients really easy.
• After I make up both lists, I’ll print out my shopping list and make one big shopping trip each month. On this main shopping trip I’ll purchase all the non-perishable items, and some of the perishable items I know I’ll use within the next week. I usually make this main trip to Winco, though you could shop at any store. I just found that many of the prices at Winco are much better than at my local grocery store or even Wal-Mart (though you should always try to price compare if saving money is your goal – sometimes you’ll think you’re getting a deal when you really aren’t). You could easily shop at Costco or Sam’s Club for this monthly trip.

Check back on Wednesday for Part IV of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series - Part II

{note, this part is a little longer}

• Have some lists and systems that make menu planning easier (in addition to cookbooks you use frequently). I’m going to tell you all the things I’ve done with my recipes and how they are useful for menu planning, including the two types of lists I have that make my menu planning so easy.

• First: I don’t have very many cookbooks. I have a couple of reasons for this: one, I find recipes mostly online and through friends & family so I don’t need an extra cookbook that just takes up space in my house; two, I used to have like 5 or 6 different cook books but I discovered after having them all for about 3 years I only had a recipe or two in each book that I used. I copied the recipe (making note of where I found it, of course) and gave the books away.
• Second: As I said, I get most of my recipes from family, friends and online from food sites and blogs. I like to have physical copies of my recipes rather than just on a computer {online} so I have two binders full of these recipes. Each binder has tabs separating different categories so that I can be organized about my recipes. These binders replaced my old 3x5 cards (I typed up all my recipes that were on 3x5 cards and then printed them and placed them in the binders). Included in each binder is every recipe I get a family member or friend that I like {tip: never save a recipe you don’t like. It’s kinda pointless} and when I see one online that I want to try, I print it off and put it in the binder.
• Third: I have a couple of lists that are very important to my menu planning.

1. List #1: This list is called “Meal Ideas”, which is a Word Document so I can easily make changes to it when necessary. This is the list where I keep ideas for meals that we have tried and which have been designated “keepers.” I organize this list by placing each meal idea under a column header which designates its main ingredient (my column headers are listed as follows: Beef, Chicken, Pasta, Potatoes, Vegetarian, Seafood, Other, Crock-pot). This method of organization helps me to be sure I don’t plan 15 recipes each month with beef, making it easy to create a balance. This list is what I use to help me remember the recipes I’ve put in the Recipe Binders and it comes in very handy when I meal plan.
2. List #2: I love trying new recipes. I follow numerous cooking blogs and meal sites (allrecipes.com, kraftfoods.com, etc) where I get lots of meal ideas. Whenever I find a recipe that I think we would like, I put its title on a Word Document list I have called “To-Try Recipes List” under the category header that would be most appropriate (categories are similar to the List #1’s categories)
3. List #3: After writing the title of the new recipe on the “To-Try List”, I will copy the recipe and paste it (along with the URL of where I found it – giving proper credit is a very important thing) into another Word Document titled “To-Try Recipes”. Then when I decide I want to try one of my new recipes, I use the search option available with Word to find the recipe. After I’ve used a recipe and if we decide we like it, I move the title from List #2 to List #1 and I put the printed copy of the recipe in it’s respective binder, where it will forever have a home.

Note: If I find a new recipe that is not online (i.e., received it from a friend or a cooking group and it’s already in print), I put it in my binders and put the recipe name on the “To-Try Recipes List”, along with where exactly I put it.
This system may not work for you. Figure out a system that will work for you and get it in place and organized. If your system isn't organized, your menu planning will be a real hassle.


Check back on Monday for Part III of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series - Part I

Now, I do understand that this is just my method of planning. I do it because it works for me. I’m sharing it with you because it works for me! And it’s really not that bad – when I first started thinking about monthly meal planning it was a bit too daunting for me and I was afraid. And honestly, the first couple of months were a bit of struggle, mostly just getting my lists all made up and remembering to make the menu! But now that I have the system in the place, it is really super easy and I hardly spend any time on the planning each month. Also, I know that some people will make their menus based on weekly sales adds from grocers in the area. I don’t really do this because I hate sales adds - I really hate looking at them and trying to find things that are buried under a massive number of pictures. However, this can be a good way to also save money, and it would still be easy enough to make all the plans – just make the 20-day menu as you want and then each week plan meals that include ingredients from the sales coming up.

• I do monthly meal planning. This can sound overwhelming. However, I’ve found that it works really well for me. Allow me explain a few reasons why and then, in the next part of this series, I’ll go into my method for my menu planning:

1. Menu planning in general saves me a lot of time and money. I don’t have to sit in the kitchen for an hour every night trying to decide what to fix; everyone is happy because we don’t get “grumpy” waiting for food since I already know what to fix; and if I have meal ideas ready to go, we are less likely to go out to eat or order in.
2. I only actually plan dinner meals for 20 days. This gives me a little wiggle room to make other plans – like go to a parent’s or friend’s house for dinner, go out on a date, or have leftovers (which we always do because there are just two of us). Planning 20 meals at one time may sound like it takes a lot of time, but once you’ve done it a couple times and you have the lists below I’m going to suggest you make for yourselves, it’ll be a cinch (and you only have to do the planning once a month – or as I’ve started doing, every time you think you’ll like something for the next month, add it to your next list right away; you’ll have less to plan all at one time that way).
3. I do almost all my shopping at once (minus some perishables that have to be purchased on a more frequent basis). I’ve learned that the less frequently I’m in the store, the less often I’ll buy things that aren’t on my “list” and really aren’t necessary. It saves money. I promise.
4. I almost always have leftover meal ideas at the end of the month. Even if I only have a couple of meal ideas that I didn’t get to use that month, that’s still a couple meals I won’t have to buy ingredients for or plan.

Check back Saturday for Part II of the Menu Plan Series!

Menu Plan Series

This completely new territory for me and, I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous! I've never really done such an involved series before and so I hope I don't bore you all to death!

I've noticed over the last few weeks that a lot of people I know who want to menu plan but they don't know how or the idea scares them.
I'm sharing this because I don't want anyone to be afraid of menu planning. Really, it's quite easy and it helps me a lot.
As I share, I ask that you remember that this is just the way I do things. There are a lot of different ways to do this, and in fact, I challenge you to come up with your own way of menu planning. It will be more rewarding (and make more sense to you) if you do.
So anyway, you can consider this the official announcement of the Menu Plan Series starting tomorrow!

Note: The Menu Plan Series contains 8 parts. I know that is a lot, but I do have a couple reasons. 1) I tried to keep each part as short as possible without adding too many parts. I don't like extremely long blog posts to read and I'm sure you don't either; 2) I tried to be as detailed as possible so there isn't any confusion. But if there is, please let me know!; and 3) two of the parts contain the actual menu and the shopping list (more details on that in the series!) so, technically, parts 7 & 8 can go without being read!

For all the posts on this menu planning series, see below:
Menu Plan Series - Part I
Menu Plan Series - Part II
Menu Plan Series - Part III
Menu Plan Series - Part IV
Menu Plan Series - Part V
Menu Plan Series - Part VI
Menu Plan Series - Part VII
Menu Plan Series - Part VIII

PS - I made that little "button" above just for this series ... isn't it crazy fun? I'm certainly not a designer, nor do I have the kind of program that would actually make it good, but heck, I had to have something! :)