I love menu planning. I usually do it for a whole month at a time, and make a big Sam's run the first week of each month. We keep a calendar on the wall of the kitchen, and the kids love checking it to see what's for dinner. I start by putting night time activities on the bottom line. This helps me decide if a particular day needs a quick and easy meal, or if we can try something new. Really, we tend to eat the same things over and over! Next I put the "title" of the meal on the top line and the ingredients fill the rest of the space. That makes checking my cupboard and compiling a shopping list quick and easy! I'll also include the rough cost of what I've paid for the meals we'll be eating. (I have some great cheap/free food sources, so your price may be higher than mine.)
Breakfasts: cereal, bagels, cottage cheese, cantelope, milk ($5/week)
Lunches: PB sandwiches, pretzels, fruit (apples, cantelope, watermelon), milk (yes, we eat the same thing every day!) ($5/week)
Dinners:
Monday- Hot dogs, fried potatoes, broccoli, juice ($2)
Tuesday- Fried Rice, juice ($2-3)
Wednesday- Pizza Pasta, juice ($2)
Thursday- Homemade pizza, juice ($2)
Friday-Sunday- the kids and I are visiting family while Daddy goes on a men's retreat.
Estimated cost of our meals for the week: less than $20 for a family of 6!
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I'm so excited to try to plan out my weekly meals now! I've always wondered if I could actually do it, but I plan on checking out that website and creating a plan today! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to MPM! Sounds as though you're new to MPM but not to menu planning in general. It really does help to save money and reduce stress, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteHow do you make pizza pasta?
I'm looking forward to you joining me at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com for Crock Pot Wednesday this week. It's easy, fun and economical...can't beat that. Mister Linky is already up and waiting for you.
ReplyDeleteSince I buy most of my ingredients in bulk, the amounts are approximate. I tend to just dump when I'm cooking, which makes it easy for me to modify a recipe to the size of the group, but difficult to share with others. We made this up one day when we wanted pizza, but didn't have the time to wait for a crust to rise. Now it's a favorite to bring to potlucks. Hope you like it!
ReplyDeletePizza Pasta recipe
1 lb cooked pasta (penne, rotini)
1 can pizza sauce (or leftover spaghetti sauce)
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, etc
Mix all the ingredients together, pour into a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle some extra cheese on top, bake at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted