so what is menu planning? it starts with me checking my grocery store flyer every week. then, based upon what is on sale, i plan what i'll make throughout the week. i write down all the items i need for each meal, making sure to check what i have in my food storage pantry, and then any items that need refilling- ketchup, mayo, kids' lunch things. my list is crucial. if i lose it, i lose my brain. i always shop saturday morning and i only shop once a week. saturday morning shopping, or as my kids call it "breakfast at fortinos," means i get the pick of the produce and not the leftovers, and everything that is on sale is in the store and not sold out. i start menu planning by selecting my main dishes, based on what meat is on sale and then move on to produce and select which vegetables will accompany my main dishes. for example, if ground beef is on sale, then i know i can make spaghetti, hamburgers, taco soup, chili, tacos, enchiladas- anything where ground beef is the meat. then i plan my side dishes. what will go well with the main? i have a continuing list of my family's favorite dinners and i'll often have the kids chose meals. this guarantees that they will actually eat what is put in front of them. i also make enough to last two evenings. yep, we eat the leftovers. i cook mondays, wednesdays, and saturdays, and we eat the leftovers on tuesdays, thursdays, and sundays. fridays are what we call "fun fridays" in our home, where we eat something fun, usually breakfast for dinner. this came out of necessity since my fridge is always bare by friday.
do i use any fancy programs? nope. it's just me, my calender, and my trusty sharpie. i'm old school. and too lazy to use a computer for something as easy as this.
i block off the cook days with arrows and write in the meal for those two nights. it's not set in stone. it's flexible. if i have spaghetti down for dinner monday/ tuesday evening and roast beef down for wednesday/ thursday evenings' dinner, and there's an appointment monday morning that will cut into my cook time, then i'll pop the roast in the slow cooker overnight on sunday and only make the sides monday. side dishes take no time at all. i cook in the mornings and reheat dinner in the afternoons, before dinnertime. with the after school rush, there's no point in even attempting cooking right before dinner time.
what else has helped me with having more time? knowing kitchen vernacular and having basic knife skills are essential to spending less time in the kitchen. if a recipe calls for julienned vegetables, knowing how to do that and not needing to look it up cuts back on time. knowing what sear, caramelize, broil, and other basic cooking terms mean will help you cook faster and not have to deal with the hassle of a dictionary or wonder if the meal is going to turn out all right.
what else is there? oh, having a basic knowledge of herbs and spices and knowing what you tastes you prefer helps too. i don't cook from a cookbook, unless i'm baking but that's more for the flour to baking soda/ powder ratio, and i don't measure my seasonings. i use my fingers. i pinch in my seasonings, and i season each ingredient when it's added to the pan, building the layers of flavor. i know which herbs i love and which i cannot stand the taste of- fennel i'm looking at you. this means i don't need to pull out measuring spoons every time and make absolutely sure everything is exactly how it is in the recipe. once again, baking is different; there's a chemical reaction there and something else science-y that my brother and alton brown could explain far better than me.
i'm also a huge fan of my slow cooker. i bought my professional grade slow cooker a couple years ago and it has simplified my menu planning and made my life so much easier. i always use it overnight for two reasons- #1- dinner is ready when i wake up- the house smells amazing- and i don't have to do much other than make a side dish, and #2- i don't have that much counter space, so i can't keep it out all day. my kingdom for more counter space.
that's pretty much it. are you tired of reading yet? sorry this was so long. i think i covered everything i do for menu planning. it's different for everyone. what works for me may not work for you, and you might want to use a program or app, but i know this...menu planning will help you use time to your advantage and that free time can then be used for something really important, like making chocolate chip cookies, which is my preferred way of spending free time. because, as everyone knows, dessert is truly the whole point of a meal.
thanks for reading! comment below if you have any questions or need me to clarify or if you just want to tell me that i'm a blabbermouth:)
until next post- maggie
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