How do you organize your meal planning?
I love just about everything about food. I love reading about it, shopping for it, writing about it, talking about it, and of course, eating it. That said, I do NOT like planning it. I do think that good meal planning is one of the most important weekly household chores. It saves you money, time, and calories - so how could it possibly be objectionable, right? But facing a blank page on Sunday night when I'm already wiped out from the weekend can be awfully intimidating and can squelch the creative juices in the best of us. (Side note: I am aware that in certain cultures weekends can actually be relaxing and rejuvenating experiences. Sadly, this is not the case in the Land of Preschoolers and Toddlers).
I read a tip once that one mom always served the same thing each day of the week (e.g., spaghetti and meatballs every Monday night), to take the hassle out of menu planning. I can't do that - I need more variety in my life. But it did get me thinking that I could at least narrow the categories for myself. So, for the past year, I've planned weekly menus that include one pasta dish, one red meat dish (sorry pork industry, that includes you, no matter what your commercials say), one poultry dish, and one seafood dish. If I need an additional meal, I make it a breakfast-for-dinner night, though I usually only need 4 planned meals in any given week.
Here's an example of next week's meals (and what a favor I'm doing for myself, to do this on Friday instead of Sunday night!):
Monday: Shrimp pizza, salad (Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan, add pinch of pepper, dried cilantro, juice from one lemon, 1/3 cup of good white wine, and 1 chicken bouillon cube. Cook over medium heat until bouillon cube is completely dissolved and mixture is slightly reduced. Spread over pizza crust - Boboli works great. Top with mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced white onion, and 12 peeled and deveined shrimp that have been cut in half length-wise, giving you 24 shrimp halves for the whole pizza. Bake directly on oven rack at 350 for approx 8 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and cheese is melted.)
Tuesday: Cheese tortellini and veggie salad (toss cooked cheese tortellini with sundried tomatoes, lightly steamed asparagus, fresh herbs, any other veggies that strike your fancy, and whatever vinaigrette salad dressing you have on hand).
Wednesday: Oven-fried chicken thighs, mac and cheese, green beans (Take 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, rinse well and pat dry. In a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, 1 cup buttermilk. In another bowl combine 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese and 1 cup breadcrumbs. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture, then breadcrumb mixture. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Bake chicken in oven for approx 25 minutes.)
Thursday: Grilled steaks, baked sweet potatoes, caesar salad.
Happy eating!
