MPM ~ May 4th + My top 10 list for selecting recipes

Hello! We had such a busy week and weekend here with piano festival activities and I must say I’m looking forward to bringing things down a notch or so this coming week. I much prefer a slower paced lifestyle that is for sure.

As you can tell each week I love to try new recipes. It keeps me on my toes and excited about cooking dinner. I get bored easily so if I was making the same things for dinner over and over, I just wouldn’t look forward to it at all. Chances are I wouldn’t commit to what I had planned. So each week I include at least three new recipes into my menu plan to help avoid this. I love wondering how each new recipe will taste and because I’ve been doing this now for awhile I have certain criteria that must be met with each recipe to hopefully ensure its success. Here is a list of some of the things I consider.

My Top 10 List for Selecting New Recipes

1. I look for recipes with preparation times of 30 minutes or less.

2. I look for recipes with simple uncomplicated instructions.

3. In an effort to save money, I look for recipes that don’t require hugely expensive ingredients.

4. I almost always pass on recipes with long lists of ingredients because generally the longer the list of ingredients the longer the preparation time and expense.

5. Ingredients have to be available at my local grocery store. I do not have time to go hunting down ingredients at specialty shops.

6. I prefer recipes that are healthy and not high in fat although if necessary I will substitute lower fat ingredients on my own. In addition, while I love recipes that are quick and easy I don’t want to use a lot of processed ingredients to make it happen either.

7. I particularly love recipes with big, colorful pictures of how the dish is suppose to look. Somehow this is very comforting to me :)

8. I pass on all fish/seafood recipes as my husband is allergic to these.

9. I also prefer to make recipes that are already gluten and dairy free to accommodate my son however I’ve gotten pretty good at making the required adjustments needed to convert a recipe.

10. I love when a recipe comes to me from someone else that is recommending it. If a recipe meets my above criteria and is tried and true how can it possibly go wrong :)

Using the above criteria allows me to quickly assess whether or not a recipe is a contender. If it isn’t I simply move on. There are so many delicious recipes out there that I don’t think in my lifetime I’ll ever run out of choices.

What is your recipe selection criteria?

It’s Frugal Being Green has compiled a great list of fabulous menu planning resources that I think you might find helpful: 30 Quick, Green and Frugal Meal Planning Resources.

So here is what is on my menu this week:

Monday: Meatloaf Sandwiches (carried over from last week)

Tuesday: Spinach and Black Bean Lasagna

Wednesday: Asian Peanut Chicken Wraps

Thursday: Leftover buffet

Friday: Teriyaki Sirloin Steak served with baked potatoes and grilled peppers

Saturday: Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Lime Chicken served with rice and carrots

Simple Supper Sunday