Menu: Nov 4-11; updated white board system again!
After a couple weeks of menu planning but not posting it, I'm back to blogging and excited about the new white board set-up.
The white board has been working great for Mr. Moon and myself, but we were running out of space to get our WHOLE to-do list onto it. The 'Rents still don't really look at it, but having to communicate with other people in the house while they're not there isn't exactly something they've had to do for years. Organizing meal plans and chores, from the look and sounds of it, isn't anything they've ever done. So it's definitely an adjustment for them.
We rotated the board! We had a lot of wasted space in the shopping list section, removed the project list. It's now a piece of paper in a sleeve on the back that we slip out for project planning, but right now the focus is pretty much all yard and garage work anyway. We added a section for things that need to be retrieved from the garage (which was actually ages ago, I just haven't posted about it).
New this week is a list of food to prep on two prep days throughout the week, so we can save on time and dishes by, say, not chopping an onion every day and having to wash the cutting board and knife 5 times. Plus it will give us a day to set up things like pasta salad for lunches, and chop up fresh veggies for lunches and snacks. A little forethought should help make the rest of the week go more smoothly. That's the basis of meal planning, now it's time to extend that a little further with the planning ahead.
Here's a little closer look at that to-do section. You'll notice we still have two Sundays, so that we can update "today" and still plan through next week. The weather plays a more important role in our to-do list than the menu plan, so we put them together. We ended up with so much more space, so now I can include things like phone calls that need to be made, or errands to run. If you notice the little "A" on the first Sunday, we switched some of the chores to be alternating weeks, to save some time. The every-week to-dos have both listed, and I just star the appropriate one each week.
---------------------
But what's for dinner?
The focus on breakfasts and lunches this week is "fast." We cooked up bacon today for "Bacon Cucumber & Tomato" sandwiches a couple times this week. Smoothies are a frequent breakfast feature. Pasta salad will be a side and a meal a few times. Cheese will be grated ahead of time for quesadillas so they're still fast but a warm-meal option.
Dinners is all about using up what we've got.
Sunday: Leftovers! We've got a few things that won't freeze well for later, so they're going to have to get eaten sooner rather than later. [leftovers]
Monday: Salmon has gotten bumped the last couple weeks, and I think this uses up the last of our stock of salmon steaks. I'll be having herb-and-mustard salmon, and making it more plain for the 'Rents. Side of couscous, using up some lackluster leftovers of broccoli and cauliflower, covering up the lackluster-ness with a bunch of cheese. [leftovers; freezer; fish]
Tuesday: Pops is out for dinner, Mr. Moon works so a crockpot meal was the best plan. Mum requested bean soup, and we'll make some venison (from the freezer) meatballs for it for Mr. Moon and myself. [freezer; crockpot]
Wednesday: Date night, so the 'Rents are on their own for dinner. Mr. Moon and I will be having haggis and roasted potatoes, should probably have some sort of veggie with that. [freezer]
Thursday: "Veal" parmigiana. We have leftover breaded mystery meat that could be veal or chicken cordon bleu, and both are fantastic as parmigiana, so we will have that with some whole wheat penne, homemade marinara and fresh mozzarella. [freezer; meat; chicken]
Friday: Mr. Moon and I will be out or eating a late quick meal, so Mum and Pops are on their own. We have a whole Tilapia in the freezer that isn't enough for all of us, so she's going to make something with that for her and Pops, with stashed rice-a-roni and peas. [freezer; backstock; fish]
Saturday: We've all been craving a nice, hearty cheddar broccoli soup, so that's definitely happening Saturday when Mr. Moon has to work. [vegetarian; crockpot; batch?]
Sunday: Pops' 70th birthday! We will be having our usual Sunday Football Brunch, I'll make some quiche for everyone else and probably just a fried egg for me (although I've been craving eggs benedict...). After our football crowd leaves, it's family dinner night with pork roast, chicken roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans almondine. Sherry's pies for dessert. [meat; chicken; freezer]
---------------------
I'll be linking up to orgjunkie.com at Menu Plan Monday. If you need menu ideas, head over to the link-up page!
What's on your menu this week? Any fun projects ahead? Battling down the hatches for winter, or just gearing up for summer? Chat with us!
The white board has been working great for Mr. Moon and myself, but we were running out of space to get our WHOLE to-do list onto it. The 'Rents still don't really look at it, but having to communicate with other people in the house while they're not there isn't exactly something they've had to do for years. Organizing meal plans and chores, from the look and sounds of it, isn't anything they've ever done. So it's definitely an adjustment for them.
New this week is a list of food to prep on two prep days throughout the week, so we can save on time and dishes by, say, not chopping an onion every day and having to wash the cutting board and knife 5 times. Plus it will give us a day to set up things like pasta salad for lunches, and chop up fresh veggies for lunches and snacks. A little forethought should help make the rest of the week go more smoothly. That's the basis of meal planning, now it's time to extend that a little further with the planning ahead.
---------------------
But what's for dinner?
The focus on breakfasts and lunches this week is "fast." We cooked up bacon today for "Bacon Cucumber & Tomato" sandwiches a couple times this week. Smoothies are a frequent breakfast feature. Pasta salad will be a side and a meal a few times. Cheese will be grated ahead of time for quesadillas so they're still fast but a warm-meal option.
Dinners is all about using up what we've got.
Sunday: Leftovers! We've got a few things that won't freeze well for later, so they're going to have to get eaten sooner rather than later. [leftovers]
Monday: Salmon has gotten bumped the last couple weeks, and I think this uses up the last of our stock of salmon steaks. I'll be having herb-and-mustard salmon, and making it more plain for the 'Rents. Side of couscous, using up some lackluster leftovers of broccoli and cauliflower, covering up the lackluster-ness with a bunch of cheese. [leftovers; freezer; fish]
Tuesday: Pops is out for dinner, Mr. Moon works so a crockpot meal was the best plan. Mum requested bean soup, and we'll make some venison (from the freezer) meatballs for it for Mr. Moon and myself. [freezer; crockpot]
Wednesday: Date night, so the 'Rents are on their own for dinner. Mr. Moon and I will be having haggis and roasted potatoes, should probably have some sort of veggie with that. [freezer]
Thursday: "Veal" parmigiana. We have leftover breaded mystery meat that could be veal or chicken cordon bleu, and both are fantastic as parmigiana, so we will have that with some whole wheat penne, homemade marinara and fresh mozzarella. [freezer; meat; chicken]
Friday: Mr. Moon and I will be out or eating a late quick meal, so Mum and Pops are on their own. We have a whole Tilapia in the freezer that isn't enough for all of us, so she's going to make something with that for her and Pops, with stashed rice-a-roni and peas. [freezer; backstock; fish]
Saturday: We've all been craving a nice, hearty cheddar broccoli soup, so that's definitely happening Saturday when Mr. Moon has to work. [vegetarian; crockpot; batch?]
Sunday: Pops' 70th birthday! We will be having our usual Sunday Football Brunch, I'll make some quiche for everyone else and probably just a fried egg for me (although I've been craving eggs benedict...). After our football crowd leaves, it's family dinner night with pork roast, chicken roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans almondine. Sherry's pies for dessert. [meat; chicken; freezer]
---------------------
I'll be linking up to orgjunkie.com at Menu Plan Monday. If you need menu ideas, head over to the link-up page!
What's on your menu this week? Any fun projects ahead? Battling down the hatches for winter, or just gearing up for summer? Chat with us!
I’m stopping by for a visit from Organizing Junkie, Menu Plan Monday.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have some meals already prepared for those rough pain days. I can just ask the hubby and son to heat it up.
This time of year can definitely add up. I’m working on my shopping lists for this week, looking for sales. We’re not having turkey this Thanksgiving. The choices are pizza or homemade lasagna. We’re turkey’ed out!
Everything looks so delicious.
I hope you have a wonderful week.