Menu Monday: 5/11-17

Ah, menu. Last week's menu went remarkably well. Only 2 changes mid-stride, one of which being a substitution of pork chops instead of pork roast because I may have thought we had a roast in the bottom of the freezer when in fact it was a giant stack of chops instead. Er ... oops?

This week's menu is as follows ...

M: Spaghetti w/meat sauce, garlic breadsticks

T: Grilled Italisoy marinaded chicken (with a recipe coming Tuesday), sweet potato fries, broccoli with carrots

W: Glazed ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, veggies, biscuits

R: Fried chicken salads

F: Homemade pizza, green salads

S: Popcorn chicken & fries

U: Grilled fish, rice de Provence, mixed veggies

The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
auce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

... and that means we used them all up perfectly! Hooray!

It took us an extra week to make it through 30 meals because of the few course changes along the way, and because I didn't calculate planned leftover meals in the mix. My family is hit and miss as far as leftovers go sometimes. One meal when I think there will be plenty left for another go, they will eat every bite. Other nights, there are tons of leftovers when I didn't plan for anything. I cannot seem to nail them down, and in the next month of menus I will try to better accomodate the leftover conundrum. Overall, I liked having the month-long list to plan from. It limited down my choices so I didn't stare blankly at the menu with an entire world of possibilities, and it helped us use up a bunch of the freezer stash so there will be room for the summer and fall harvests. All around, it worked marvelously.

Is your menu planned? Do you use a month-long, a 2 week plan, or a week at a time? Whatever it is, if you're in need of inspiration, head on over to The Organizing Junkie for about a million ideas.


Simply,

Em.