And now? The process. (Somehow, I am forever reminded of Strong Bad's email whenever I say or think "the process")
I always create our meal plans on Saturday morning (oddly enough, I have "Sunday Morning" by No Doubt playing in the background). I start by transferring the past week's plan into my book. I used to keep all our previous meal plans in a little binder, but I have graduated to a book which has all our meal plans for the past two and a half years...ish. Next year will be three years, I know that much!
I write our plan for the week on a little sheet of paper, and I put the days of the week in. If I feel like trying something new, that will be added to the plan first (this week, I have two new recipes I'll be trying on Sunday). Also, if there are any special dinners or late nights that either of us will be having (ie staff meetings, family dinners), I put those in right away or I plan accordingly. For example, I try to pick a meal that won't be as taxing to prepare if I have a staff meeting or a late night at the school.
Then, I look through our previous meal plans to fill in the blanks. As a general rule of thumb, I usually wait about four weeks before making something again (this week, that would be the penne). I also try to balance the food in terms of type (chicken, beef, pork, pasta, etc). We tend not to have the same type two days in a row (but there have been the occasional plans where that did occur). I also consider how much leftovers we end up with for each meal (as those are our lunches for the week).
Once the plan is finished, I create our grocery list. I look through the recipes in order they are being made and add items to the list. I also check the cupboards or the fridge as I'm going through, as there are certain ingredients that tend to always be in our house (onions, garlic, chicken stock cubes, most spices) or even to check to make sure I still have certain ingredients. Sometimes I'll have ingredients leftover from previous meal plans, and I try to incorporate those into the week's plan (Fresh cilantro is one ingredient in particular where I try to plan future meals around any leftovers I might have). Once the list is finished, the meal plan goes up on our bulletin board. I always make sure to check it in the morning to see if there's anything that I need to take out from the freezer and just to remind myself what dinner will be. Voila! The process.
Here's the meal plan for the coming week and as always, links have been provided for recipes available. Happy cooking!
November 28-December 3
Sunday: Pork chop bake with sweet potatoes and apples, gratin (two new recipes)
Monday: Slow-cooker stew
Tuesday: Perogies and sausages
Wednesday: Chicken Jambalaya
Thursday: Creamy carrot orange soup
Friday: Baked penne with Italian sausage and sweet peppers