Monthly Meal Plan - January

Ok, this is something I have been working on!  The first image is just that an image to view or print.  Scroll down for the excel file that has attached grocery list and you can edit.

Still tweaking a bit but posting for those that asked.  You should be able to download a copy in excel and edit to suit your family's favorite meals.  The second sheet has an ingredient list and although setting it up may take a bit of time.... once you do it you can save and quickly update next month without having to enter everything in again!   You can then print the recipe list each month prior to your grocery trip.... This is my first month doing it this way.... And really I have already shopped for my January meals for the most part.... I will tweak the list as I go, adding or reformatting if needed.  I am in the process of posting my recipes to this blog too for reference....

I shop the bulk of my items by month.... Meats, canned goods, dry goods, cleaning products, etc.  In between I grab produce, milk, and bread as needed.  We also have spaghetti of some sort every Tuesday.... Sometimes it's spaghetti and meatballs, sometimes meat Sauce... sometimes with salad, and different breads.  Wednesdays we eat at church.  And most weekends I don't "cook", per se, but we eat up the leftovers from the days prior, or if there are none it's Soup/sandwich or pull something from my freezer stash.  Many Sundays we will eat out as well....

My goal for 2017 is to do this each month and then in future Years it won't require much to adjust for new dates! I am also starting something new in my little family assigning a cooking night to the kids.... They were excited about this and wanted to work in pairs.  So my boys are teaming up and my daughter is pairing up with daddy!  Hopefully this will help them all be more proficient in the kitchen, give me a break once a week from the cooking part at least!.... and perhaps they will gain a new appreciation for all my efforts!  I have printed the monthly page for the fridge and also keeping a copy in a binder that I am keeping as reference!  I am also highlighting the kids cooking night!

Anyway I hope this may provide some inspiration to you!  Feel free to copy and use/amend to suit your family, etc.  My kids won't be cooking at your house though LOL!

Menu Plan Monday

Here is our weeks worth of meals.  Lunch is usually leftovers (if there are any), pasta, wraps, or sandwiches.   I usually try to bake a sweet of some sort towards the beginning of the week to include in the kids lunch boxes and for snack time.  And forgive me for the reverse order of breakfast and dinner... this is copied from my app that I do my meal planning in and I am too lazy to reverse it!  Promise we do eat breakfast first though! Lol

Monday (8/20/2012)
  Dinner: Spaghetti, homemade bread

  Breakfast: Biscuits and gravy (w/sausage)

Tuesday (8/21/2012)
  Dinner: Tacos

  Breakfast: French toast bacon

Wednesday (8/22/2012)
  Dinner: Sticky chicken crock pot, rice, green beans

  Breakfast: Oatmeal fruit

Thursday (8/23/2012)
  Dinner: steak, butter noodles, peas, yeast rolls

  Breakfast: Eggs toast

Friday (8/24/2012)
  Dinner: Pizza party (homemade pizzas)

  Breakfast: Blueberry muffins

Saturday (8/25/2012)
  Dinner: Shrimp scampi

  Breakfast: Cinnamon rolls

Sunday (8/26/2012)
  Dinner: Hamburgers, potato or pasta salad, baked beans

Cheesy BBQ Chicken with Bacon

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
Oil (olive, canola, or vegetable)  OR cook in bacon grease*
BBQ sauce
Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
bacon (cooked crisp) about 6-8 pieces
green onions (optional)

There are several ways you can cook and assemble this yummy dish!  My kids absolutely LOVE when I make this!  Here is how I do it.

Decide how you are cooking your bacon.  You can cheat an use real bacon pieces that you can buy.  or cook in the microwave.  I like to cook my bacon in an iron skillet... Then use that grease to brown my chicken.  I know, I know... I am in the south and well bacon grease is not wasted down here LOL!

So cook your bacon or heat a few TBS of oil in an iron skillet.  Set bacon to the side...

Pound chicken thin...  (Again this is a preference, but I find it cooks quicker & makes my chicken go farther for my family of 5... and I won't lie I get to take my frustrations out while pounding away :)  To avoid any mess I like to lay a piece of plastic cling wrap on the counter, then put a couple pieces of the chicken... and another piece of plastic wrap on top... then proceed with the pounding!)

Brown each side of the chicken breasts.  Transfer the chicken to a baking dish or cookie sheet....  brush a little bbq on the top of each breast and bake on 350 about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Depending on the thickness of your chicken will determine how long it needs as well.

Once cooked through flip each piece over... add BBQ to that size along with bacon.  You can a couple on each piece or break the bacon to fit... It usually just depends on how much I have on hand HAHA!  Top each piece with shredded cheddar and return to oven on broil.... just to melt cheese and lightly brown...

I like green onions on top, my kids don't.  do what you like :)

Great served with buttered noodles or rice and a veggie!

Menu Plan Monday, My Weeks Worth!

I generally make my menu for a month at a time.  I do my grocery shopping by the month also....  I usually shop between the 10th and 15th of each month... I know I am weird LOL... It works for my family of 5 though!  I try to limit eating out to once a week... Usually this is on Sunday after church.  I stock freezer, pantry and produce/dairy all in my monthly trip.  Then usually 2 weeks later I stock milk/produce again... and dire necessities that can't wait for the next monthly trip.   I love to bake breads of all sorts.... and usually bake it 3-4x's per week in some manner :) More on my shopping habits later though LOL.

Monday - Sausage, Field Peas, Cheesy Potato Soup, Homemade Yeast Rolls
Tuesday - Spaghetti, homemade French Bread
Wednesday - Church
Thursday - Stew
Friday- Hamburgers, french fries
Saturday - Cheesy BBQ Chicken w/ Bacon, Broccoli, rice
Sunday - Dinner: Fettuccine Alfredo w/ chicken, homemade garlic bread

Here is a fun little dessert to make with the kids too: 

Cake Batter Waffle Sundaes

A little behind my methods of Meal planning....
With 3 kids, 2 of which are in school (1st and 4th grade) I try to keep school nights simple and quick because our nights are usually hectically filled with homework, baths, showers, bedtime... Well, it can get crazy without a plan!  One thing I found that helped me from getting overwhelmed when I began menu planning was assigning "spaghetti night"... For a while it was every Monday... then I got all crazy and switched it to Tuesdays :)  Sometimes I do spaghetti with meatballs, sometimes it is spaghetti with meat sauce, sometimes it is spaghetti with marinara sauce :)  I also try to do something in the crockpot once a week, and rotate chicken, beef, etc etc.  And if I am not in the mood for something I will switch up the day that I make it... point is, I have a plan and have the ingredients to make everything.  This saves me time, money, and stress!

Do you meal plan?  If not I encourage you to do so... Really does take the stress of "what's for dinner?" out of my day!


For more Menu Planning Ideas:

Sourcream Apple Pecan Pie

Sour Cream Apple Pecan Pie

favorite pie crust... I cheated :) place in pie dish then chill

Mix:
1 cup sourcream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Peel core and slice 4-6 apples.... slice thin... then mix with the sourcream mixture.

Dump in pie crust.... bake on 400 for 30 minutes.... then kick the oven down to 350... bake 20 minutes longer....

Meanwhile mix:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 sugar
6 Tbs melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans chopped

Crumble the topping on the pie and bake another 20 minutes... allow to cool... serve warm... delish :)

Easy (& YUMMY) Pancakes

1 1/2 C flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Salt
2 TBS Sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
4 TBS butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients, then add wet and whisk together... cook on a griddle turning only once when bubbles appear.  I like to make several batches up in Mason Jars of the dry ingredients so you can just dump, add the wet and make quicker! 

My FAVORITE cornbread

I like it sweet... (You can decrease the sugar if you don't)

1 C cornmeal
1 C flour
3/4 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 egg
1/4 C veg oil

Mix all together... pour in a greased iron skillet and bake on 425 about 20-25 minutes until golden brown :)

Reese's Layered Pie

Oreo Crust

1st Layer... Melted Reese's cups...(I didn't measure, you can't go wrong though)

2nd Layer: (Mix together then layer on the 1st layer)
1/2 C Peanut butter
4 oz cream cream (softened)
1/4 C sugar
1/3 tub of cool whip (Large container)

3rd Layer (again mix these together and then layer)
package of chocolate pudding mix
1/3 tub of cool whip

4th layer
1/3 tub cool whip (this should be the remaining if you did it right :)

drizzle the top with melted chocolate for a pretty effect or garnish with reese's cups :)

refrigerate about 4 hours or overnight before serving

a cup, a cup, a cup Cobbler :)

This is a basic recipe you can use for most any fruit, fresh, frozen or canned.... Our favorite is blueberry & blackberry... The kids call this "pie"...

preheat oven to 350...

I don't measure but probably use around 2 cups of fruit... put it in a baking dish of your choice... I have a great dish that is smaller than a 13x9 that I love for this...

1 cup flour (if you use self rising great... if not add 2 tsp baking powder)
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 stick butter

melt butter, mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over fruit....

Bake til browned and batter is cooked... about 30 minutes, give or take...

Serve warm, serve with ice cream...