Hey all! Welcome back. I’ve got some great menu planning/kitchen resources for you this week to keep life interesting.
Resources:
How to Use Google Calendars for Menu Planning ~ @ Maniak Madness
Download three different fun printables for your kitchen ~ @ Over the Big Moon
Free printable menu planner ~ @ Creative Thoughts of an Ordinary Mom
Great DIY menu planning board ~ @ Once Upon a Chocolate Chip Pancake
Stumbling Block:
Menu Planning when you’re in a recipe rut:
I hear this one over and over again. We find ourselves cooking the same things over and over again. This use to me until I started menu planning. Menu planning allows me to take some time each Sunday to go through my recipes to find one or two new ones to try each week. Some might find that crazy but I get bored easily and trying new recipes keeps cooking fresh for me. Now I know searching for recipes can often be a time-consuming task that many don’t have the time for. So one of the ways around that is to keep a running list of “recipes to try”. I do this by keeping a recipes folder in my browser bookmarks with sub-folders for beef, pork, chicken, desserts, etc. However there are many other ways online to easily keep track of recipes including Pinterest, Evernote, Delicious. Blogs are a great resource for finding “tried and true” recipes. I have a Recipe Index Round-Up which makes it easy for you to go straight to a blog’s recipe index (feel free to add yours!). For recipes you find from magazines and cookbooks, keep yourself a journal with the recipe title, source name and page number or create yourself a recipe binder.
Don’t forget to sit down and write yourself up a recipe criteria so that when you are looking for recipes you can quickly determine whether or not it will work for you and your family. Here is mine.
Don’t be afraid to try something new!
My Menu:
Monday: Black Bean Quesadillas
Tuesday: Spaghetti Ham Bake ~ this recipe makes two casseroles – one for us and one for friends that just had a new baby. I’ll also be making these favorite and easy treats for desserts – No Bake Cookie Bars
Wednesday: Slow Cooked Baked Potato Soup served with Homemade Bread Machine Garlic Bread
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken served with perogies and broccoli
Saturday: Fuss-Free Ravioli Bake (I’ll also throw in any leftover chicken) – family favorite!
Sunday: Church Potluck ~ Cinnamon Roll Cake
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
Have a great week everyone!
Miz Helen says
Good Morning Laura,
Your meal plan looks great and I am going to try your Ham and Spaghetti Bake that looks very good. Thanks for hosting and have a wonderful week!
Miz Helen
Kelli Miller (@momof3boys3702) says
Um, dearie.. you are having major site issues today! It took me 12 minutes to get your site up (error establishing database connection) and get my link on. Thought you might want to know so you can let your host know. 🙂
Kelli Miller (@momof3boys3702) says
and it took me right at 3 minutes to get that comment posted 🙂 Good luck!
Michelle @ Getting Through the Day says
Kelli, the same thing happened to me in posting my meal plan and commenting!
Raine @ Mama Rants says
Same here. I has getting a database error just trying to access the page.
Laura says
Sorry gals, it seems my current server can’t handle the Monday traffic. Will be switching soon. Sorry about that.
April @ Angel Foods Kitchen says
Lord, I never get in a rut since I started weekly menu planning. Plus, what with the blogs I follow on my Google reader, coming here, and Pinterest, there’s no way of running out of new ideas! Thanks for hosting Laura and have a great week!
Lynn says
The cinnamon roll cake looks so good! And great tips for menu planning. I agree about the recipe binder. I have several recipe binders and love having them when I need ideas. I hope you have a great week.
Michelle @ Getting Through the Day says
Asking friends for some of their favorites helps me get out of a rut. And of course, checking here to see what other bloggers are making is a great way to find something new!
Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
Menu planning has been a lifesaver in so many different ways…one of them being that it helps offer variety every week. It also helps in making sure I am eating enough fruits and vegetables.
With my menu plan this week I added calories for everything and also make ahead/freezer cooking instructions. I hope everyone finds it helpful.
Ryder says
This week is way less crazy than last week, so there’s more time for cooking. I hope you all have a great and delicious week!
Sunday: Broccoli and cheese quiche, roasted brussel sprouts, salad w/ white balsamic and garlic vinaigrette
Monday: Black bean and brown rice casserole (didn’t get to it last week), chips and salsa, salad
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2011/06/black-beans-and-brown-rice-casserole/
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Veggie, white bean, and noodle soup, as well as, beer braised beef chili, cornbread
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: more leftovers
Saturday: more leftovers or out to eat
Tiffany says
Thanks so much for hosting! This is a busy, busy place on Monday mornings!
Dianna says
Thank you so much for what you do with your blog. Loving the stumbling block ideas as well. I am already so addicted to Pinterest that I should not look at anything else…but of course I will.
I have a file folder system for my recipes and menu plans. I posted to my blog about my way of organizing.
http://blairblogproject.blogspot.com/2012/01/exciting-friday.html
Your bread machine garlic bread sounds good, I had actually had a similar recipe planned for this past week, but still haven’t gotten the bread machine moved back in the house from the garage. That is actually first thing on my “to do” list for today. I am doing some major cleaning and purge this week since I’m not keeping the baby this week.
Cindy says
Hey Laura,
Your menu looks wonderful this week. I bookmarked that sweet and spicy chicken….. Yowza, LOL. Thanks for hosting and I hope you have a fabulous week!
Jami @ An Oregon Cottage says
Oh, yeah- I agree with Cindy, that bacon chicken got pinned right away! My family will love it. 🙂 There are so many meals my family likes that I find if I aim for one new recipe a week I’m good. I guess we’re creatures of habit, though I try not to repeat a meal in the month.
Thanks, too for the resources- I love exploring what you’ve found! Thanks!
Kelly B says
I am definitely going to look into the spaghetti ham bake. I am always looking for ways to stretch ham. Thank you for all the resources. You are so dear!
alisonwonderland says
Using Pinterest has really helped me to try new recipes. It’s easy to “pin” recipes on to my board – and then I know where they are when I’m thinking about meal planning. So much better than bookmarking them on my computer or – worse – tearing something out of a magazine and never being able to find it again.
Happy eating! Thanks, Laura, for all you do!
Joanna says
One of my goals for this year is to establish a budget, including a very specific food budget…which led me to create a food inventory…which led me to start meal planning. This is only my first week, but I love it. I’ve got meals planned for the entire month. I feel like a load has been lifted. Somehow the burden of cooking is much lighter, and I actually look forward to checking the meal plan to see what’s coming up. And I know there is way more variety in the plan than there would be if I were just picking something to cook every night. I love it! I agree with alisonwonderland. Pinterest is great for new recipes. And I do actually make them 🙂
Kelly @ Dysfunctionally Functional says
Well, better late than never, right?
Happy Monday, everyone! Have a great week!
Austin says
Thank you so much for this! Even my weekly menu planning had gotten stale!
Raine @ Mama Rants says
I’ve been using Pinterest for a lot of meal planning lately. The bad thing is I just had to create another board just for desserts, because of all the yummy stuff I was adding.
Michelle @ Life with Mrs. Ecky says
I’ve been menu planning for so long and have been made fun of relentlessly by family, friends, etc. Luckily my husband was a chef for 14 years and he gets it. I’m looking forward to becoming a regular poster for MPM!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says
Oh, I had forgotten about your recipe index round-up! Thanks for the reminder; I will definitely be going back there when I make my next menu plan!
Trish @I_am_Succeeding says
Hi first time posting. Look forward to getting meal plan inspiration!
Amy says
Thanks for hosting. Love the ideas
WorkingMom says
I have heard great things about Pinterest, but I’ve sworn to not even look at the site until I’ve decluttered the file box full of recipes that I already have. New plan is to sit in the kitchen this weekend with a fresh pot of coffee and the whole family and use a “Clean Sweep” technique – everyone gets chance to pick out 5 recipes they want to try. The rest get tossed. Should help with the menu planning and shopping list.
Renee says
Don’t forget http://www.ziplist.com! I love this because as I run across recipes I can just add them to my recipes and then as I plan I can just pick the recipes and ziplist will make a shopping list for me.
Jennifer says
I keep trying the link to the printable menu planner on Creative Thoughts of an ordinary mom and it links to the over the moon blog. Can you repost the correct link please? I can’t even find her blog to just look it up. 🙁
Laura says
Sorry about that, it’s all fixed now. Here is the link:
http://www.ordinarymom.ca/create/index.php/2012/01/free-printable-meal-planner-groceries/
Bridget says
Laura,
1. You are amazing
2. Thank you for allowing me to join your linky party
3. It now gives me something new to look forward to every week 🙂
Thanks for sharing this awesome linky party! What a great idea 🙂
Laura says
Ahh thanks Bridget!!
Leigh Anne @ Your Homebased Mom says
So glad you liked the Cinnamon Roll Cake – now you’ve got me craving it!!