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!

Boston Market Copycat MeatLoaf Recipe

3/4 cup ketchup

2 1/2 TBS BBQ sauce 2 TBS sugar

3/4 tsp onion powder 3/4 tsp garlic powder

2 1/2 lbs ground beef

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs

1, Preheat the oven to 400 F
2. In a large bowl, stir together the ketchup, bbq sauce and the sugar; set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture.
3. With your hands, mix in the remaining ingredients in sauce mixture.
4. Form the mixture into a loaf and placed into a greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. (If you don't have a loaf pan, that's ok - I use a rectangular pan and that works fine)
5. Bake, COVERED, for 35-40 mins.
6. Uncover and drain the fat from the pan, then slice the meat loaf while still in the pan.
7. Drizzle the reserved tomato sauce mixture evenly over the meat loaf.
8. Bake, UNCOVERED, for an additional 30 mins or until cooked thoroughly.