Meal plans?

GalLaura

Do you have a meal plan? Is it weekly, monthly, etc?

Anyone want to share their meal plans?

I'm finding the hardest part of being a stay at home mom is the cooking. The little time that I have to cook is usually spent trying to find a recipe, and then execute it! Any advice?

lioness13

I used to be really good at doing this but I have been slacking. Basically I just planned in advance. I made a menu then a list of ingredients I needed to buy. I would go grocery shopping on Sundays then spend about 2 -3 hours prepping and/or cooking everything. I would make a meal in the crock pot, something in the oven and something stovetop. During the week I would spend a few minutes making sides and pulling everything together each night.

GalLaura

@lioness13‌ that sounds awesome and efficient! I so want to do that! I never have any idea what to cook.

ConnieRob

I meal plan 2 weeks at a time since DH gets paid twice a month. I try to avoid shopping between then otherwise I blow my budget! I just shopped today, my parents are visiting and we are going away for a few days so this one is kind of odd....
Homemade pizza
Out to eat (2)
Gone (2)
Teriyaki chicken sandwiches with pineapple
Crispitos
Hamburgers and onion rings
Pasta carbonara
Chicken lettuce wraps
Stuffed sole, rice pilaf and veg
Denver omlets and home fried potatoes
Hamburger enchiladas
Tuna melt
Tacos
Steak and baked potatoes

I use Pinterest a lot for inspiration. I kind of keep a running list in my head of meals I see and want to fix. Before I make my grocery list I go through the freezer, fridge and pantry to see what I can use up for the coming weeks. There's always a meal or two or some meat leftover in the freezer. Use up what you have first and them fill in the rest

Cricket81

I meal plan one week at a time. I use the sale circular as a starting place for what I am going to make to try to keep our budget low. I get new recipes from magazines and Pinterest mostly, but I have a base of about 20 recipes that I make a lot. This week chicken was on sale, so we are having it a lot of different ways. In fact I cooked a bunch on the crock pot last night and shredded it up to make the rest of the week easier. Dinners this week are;
Chicken tacos with Spanish rice
Panko pasta with sausage (magazine)
Grilled chicken with corn salad
Pasta with pesto, tomatoes, and shredded chicken
Buffalo chicken wraps with cheesy broccoli
Bbq ribs (also on sale) with smashed potatoes