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What's for Dinner, Part 1 One question that pops up frequently in women’s workshops and in emails is about organizing family meals. Meal planning requires, well…planning ahead! But it doesn’t have to be hard or take up a great deal of time. Having control over your meals goes hand in hand with being in control of your finances. Eating out is the quickest way to wreck your spending plan! A meal out costs my husband and I an average of $25. Do that once a week and we have spent $100 a month. Do that twice a week and we have spent $200 a month. Set aside 15 minutes each week to plan your meals for the next week. You will need the following: Note Pad/Pencil Grocery ad for your favorite store Recipes computer file/book, binder/box (depends on how you store your recipes) Scan the grocery ad and see what is on sale that your family likes and you have recipes for. For example Super Duper grocery store has bone-in chicken breasts, chuck roast, ground turkey and tilapia (fish) on sale this week. Jot those down on your grocery list. From the six chicken breasts in the package, cut chicken tenders off two of the breasts to make Chicken Poppers. Cut two breast filets from two more breasts for Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken Breasts. Put the bones from those four breasts in the crockpot with some water and a little salt to pick the meat off the bones to make Chicken Salad. Strain the bones out of the broth and freeze the chicken broth for a later meal. Cut 1 ½ lbs of the 4 pound chuck roast can be into cubes for Fresh Veggie Beef Soup (the rest put in the freezer for future meals) and the other 2 ½ pounds browned and simmered in the crockpot for a future roast beef meal and roast beef sandwiches for lunches. The ground turkey can be made into Turkey Chili, another crockpot recipe to be served with a bit of green onion and cheddar cheese on top along with tortilla chips left over from last week or a pan of hot corn bread. Double this chili recipe and put several cartons in the freezer for future meals. Grill the tilapia on the indoor grill (only takes eight minutes) and serve with microwaved corn on the cob (four minutes) and steamed broccoli (5 minutes) seasoned with a sliver of butter, a dash of garlic powder and a dash of salt. So…your menu plan would look like this: Chicken Poppers Cherry tomatoes Cucumber slices Baby carrots Ranch dressing for dipping poppers & veggies Watermelon
Chicken Salad on a bed of baby spinach Whole grain crackers Bananas
Fresh Veggie Beef Soup Crusty Bread Watermelon
Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken Breasts (can be grilled outdoors or in) Oven-roasted squash, cauliflower & broccoli (If you are grilling chicken outdoors, grill the veggies, too) Cantaloupe
Tilapia Steamed Asparagus Corn on Cob
Turkey Chili Tortilla chips or corn bread Cantaloupe
Catfish (already in freezer) Tartar Sauce Baked potato wedges Cole Slaw Part 2 of What’s for Dinner will explain how to finish up the grocery list and how to plan meals around your schedule. |
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