I haven't attacked anything around here in a long time, and woke up early to sleeping children, so I decided to try to put together an organized meal planning/grocery shopping binder.
You would think I would already have this, wouldn't you, given my detailed menu planning algorithm? I don't. I have all the necessary stuff, but it's either saved in files on my computer or scattered around the house. Let's pull it together today.
First thing I did was print off my aisle-by-aisle grocery list and stick it in a page protector for reference and as a photocopy master. (Here's a file so you can see what it looks like: Grocery list.ods – Warning, it's probably not useful to you as is unless you shop at the same South Minneapolis Cub Foods that I do)
Next thing I did was to get out the box in which I have been saving weekly menu plans for a long time, and sorted them out from the other random stuff I've tossed in there (printed recipes, receipts, junk) along the way. I counted them: I have about 30 weeks of menus.
The next step is to mine data from the menu plans. More later…
11:11 AM. I have mined data from my menu plans.
It is interesting to see which meals repeat frequently. In thirty weeks of menu plans, we saw repeats of
- Some kind of meat or burgers on the grill (8)
- Emergency chili (6)
- Homemade pizza of some kind or another (5)
- Spaghetti and meatballs (5)
- Rice-cooker rice and beans (5)
- French-style split pea soup with ham in the crock pot (5)
- Embellished scrambled eggs (5)
- Taco salad (4)
- Chile-cheese egg puff (4)
- Vegetarian Mexican-flavor lasagna (3)
- Salmon patties (3)
- Ground beef gyros (3)
- Egg salad sandwiches (3)
- Spicy tomato soup (3)
- Chicken mole enchilada casserole (2)
- Skillet chicken fajitas (2)
- Pasta salad with tuna, capers, tomatoes, mint (2)
- Minestrone soup (2)
- Green fettucine with squash, sage, chickpeas, onion, parmesan (2)
- Judy's taco soup (2)
- Stuffed peppers (2)
There are a few other obvious-to-me family favorites that didn't appear on the list at all, don't know why. Calzones, for one thing, and spinach-ricotta pie, and chicken-and-noodles; hummus and cut vegetables, and chicken-pepper-cashew stirfry with hoisin sauce. But this sampler should help. I printed it out. And then I threw away the piles of meal plans!
11:43 AM. Actually, before I threw them away, I also mined a list of lunches I've brought to feed 6-10 kids and 2-3 moms with minimal fuss and complaining. That list (for the 30 weeks) is shorter.
- Taco soup
- Tuna, pasta, olives, tomatoes, peas (assemble your own)
- Summer sausage, pickles, fruit, salad greens
- Seasoned cooked ground beef, pitas, sliced cucumber, yogurt
- Canned Amy's alphabet soup, served variously with crackers, pretzels, or homemade bread
- Mini bagels with cream cheese, olives, salami (assemble your own); lox for the moms; grapes
- Pasta with chili and cheese or just cheese; fruit
- Hot dogs baked in sauerkraut, served with or without sauerkraut in buns; fruit
- Mini pizzas with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, olives (assemble your own); applesauce
- Baked potatoes with yogurt, ham cubes, and cheese (assemble your own); canned beets
- Sloppy joes, English muffins, canned fruit
- Salad with choice of toppings from salsa, cheese, corn, beans, chicken, yogurt, tortilla chips
- Tuna salad with mayo, pickles, and olives, served with crackers
- Pasta with red meat sauce and cheese or just cheese, green beans
- Frozen pizzas and applesauce
- Plain rice, chicken, and soy sauce with frozen mixed vegetables
Hannah has perfected a crispy salmon loaf that all ten children love, but that's her territory…
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