Menu Plan Monday

I've been in a menu planning slump the last several weeks. Nothing sounds good, everything is too much work, we eat the same things over and over...sound familiar? I'm sure we've all been in this position at one point or another. Well, I'm taking the advice of a friend and am in the process of creating my "master menu." (Check out her blog post here.) This will be a compiled list of all the recipes we use consistently. Mine's almost completed. I have a huge list of about fifty items, now I just need to figure out what makes sense for organization- by meat type? by carb type? by meal "genre"? I may just set my husband loose to build me an excel spreadsheet. I could type the info into various columns and print lists according to all those methods. I could easily add and reprint as we find new family favorites. Then I can look at my list when I'm in a slump and remember the meals that we like and haven't had for awhile. This should enable me to put some variety back into our menu and maybe even have enough time and energy to pull out my cookbooks and try some new recipes! What do you do when you're in a menu slump? Do you have old favorites you go back to? Do you pour over the cookbooks?

Breakfasts- cereal, bagels, oatmeal, muffins, fruit, milk

Lunches- pb&j, pretzels/popcorn, apples/carrots, cheese, milk

Dinners-

Monday- Grilled Chicken, Fried potatoes, broccoli

Tuesday- Fish and rice

Wednesday- Bread and dip, cupcakes

(appetizers and desserts with friends)

Thursday- Venison Stew

Friday- Pizza Night

Saturday- Birthday meal (still planning)

For more great menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday and see what other folks are cooking up this week.