New Year - New Meal Plan

I know, I know, it's been the new year for two weeks and I'm just now posting this. I'm sorry, but you'll notice "stop procrastinating" was not one of my resolutions this time around. I tried it before, I just never got around to it. But hey, at least it's still January.

 

 

I like organization. I like calendars. I like schedules. I like knowing what we're having for dinner three Wednesdays from now. Maybe it's because I don't like surprises. Maybe it's because I am a control freak. Maybe it's because I hate staring into the freezer at 5:37pm, completely clueless, when dinner is at 6pm.

 

Enter: the meal plan. Love, love, love meal plans. It works like this - I put a HUGE calendar on the front of the fridge (freezer actually, and it takes up almost the whole thing) and it has everything important on it. Bills, appointments, sports practice, and dinner plans for every night.

 

It follows a set guideline for each day, and then when I find something I really want to make, I just fill it in on the corresponding day. Before I know it, the whole thing is filled up and I didn't even have to try. It just makes everything so much easier when you know which meat to take out of the freezer and what items you need for a meal. It goes like this:

 

Sunday - Homemade Soup and Bread (I make a big pot to serve for dinner on Sunday and lunches throughout the week; I make bread to go with it [Italian, French, breadsticks, rolls] as well as loaves of sandwich bread)


Monday - Meatless (spaghetti with pasta sauce, big salads, bean burritos)


Tuesday - Poultry (roast chicken, turkey burgers)


Wednesday - Pork (chops, ham, sausage)


Thursday - Beef (steaks, meatloaf, tacos)


Friday - Seafood (shrimp, fish, crab)


Saturday - Leftovers (all of the leftovers from the week become lunch, dinner, and lunch on Sunday)

 

Then on Monday, as part of my house cleaning routine, I clean out the fridge. Whatever is left (if there's anything left) from the week before gets tossed and we start all over again.

 

How does your family do dinner? Do you have an elaborate month-long plan or do you just wing it?