Another Month, Another Plan

I'm running behind this month and it's only the 3rd.  I did some catch up today, and hopefully I can be ahead of the game.  We had a BBQ this weekend and I spent most of the week planning for it.  We hosted about 16 people in our tiny yard all day Saturday.  I was up at 7:30 in the morning setting up and for those of you who know me well or even just a little know that I don't do mornings.  Lance was chosen by Crowdtap to host a McCormick Grill Mates party.  (see my other blog for details about Crowdtap and the party)  I tried two new recipes for the party.  I really liked both, but from the feedback I think the punch was a hit.  Click here for those recipes.

This morning I spent working in the coffee bar at church and finally was able to work on my meal plan for the month this afternoon.  I love the summer months because I grill a lot more and can eat lighter.  Yet I can still throw in a few hearty meals here and there.  So for this month our menu is as follows

June 4 - 8
Tacos (I needed something easy after a big weekend and being late in planning)
BBQ Chicken Salad - I just grill chicken, brush with bbq sauce, shred, and put in a salad.
BLT's
Skillet Lasagna 
Burgers

June 11-15
French Dip Sandwiches
Fresh Take Cheese & Breadcrumb Chicken - this is a Kraft product to bread chicken with.
Skillet Sausage & Rice
Chicken Pasta in Garlic Butter Sauce
Pizza

June 18 - 22
Chicken Fried Steak & Mashed Potatoes
Chicken BLT Taco Salad
Creamy Chicken Bacon Pockets
Tortellini & Alfredo Sauce - I'm just going to buy frozen or refrigerated
Burgers

June 25 - 29
Steak & Sweet Potatoes
Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Lime Sauce
Grilled Chicken Pesto Farfalle
Pizza

It's A Plan

3 months ago I began planning out a month's dinners.  At first I wasn't sure how it was going to work for me.  But I LOVED it.  It gave me such freedom.  I didn't have to try to figure out every night what I was cooking for that night.  Now I just need to make sure I get the meat out to thaw for each day, and I go shopping Monday morning for any items I need for the week.  I have also felt more freedom to try new recipes.  As we find recipes we really like we put them into the rotation.  Last month we discovered we love baked ziti.

I was sharing with a close friend that I had started doing this, and she loved the idea.  But she doesn't really have the time to sit down and plan out a month.  So the next month, I sent her the menu and all the recipes to go with the meals.  She was excited that her month was planned out.  Because her girls don't like everything that Lance and I do, I'm sure she switched up some of the recipes, but she was for the most part planned out for the month.

After reading another friend's blog, I realized I could share my meal planning with all of you.  You may not want  to have all the meals we will be having, but it may give you some ideas to help with your planning.

Before I give you our plan for the last two weeks of May, I want to share with you how I plan the month.  It may also help you plan.  When I began planning, it seemed big and overwhelming, but I realized if I had a plan of attack it would help.  So I decided we would have a beef dish on Mondays, a chicken dish on Tuesdays, fish or pork on Wednesdays, whatever on Thursdays, and pizza or burgers on Fridays.  Saturdays & Sundays are wing it days. For sides, I buy what is on sale that week and split them among the days.  This helps us eat what is in season because the sales usually follow what is in season.

Now for our menu:
May 21 - 25
Monday: Cowboy Casserole (see below for recipe)
Tuesday: Easy Garlic Chicken
Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner
Thursday: Steak & Potato
Friday: Burgers

May 28 - June 1
Monday:  Steak Quesadillas
Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken
Wednesday: BLT's
Thursday: Spaghetti & Caesar Salad
Friday: Pizza


Cowboy Casserole
Brown:  1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef with 1/2 diced onion and optional 1/4 lb. bacon cut up.  While that is browning in a skillet, get a crock pot and add: one can each of Lima beans, butter beans, pork n beans and jalapeno pinto beans (drain all juices except pinto beans). Then add: 1/2 cup each of brown sugar, ketchup, BBQ sauce, 2 TBSP. vinegar, 1 tsp. garlic salt and some salt and pepper.  Drain the meat and add to crock pot.  Stir all together well.  You can serve immediately, or wait a few hours for flavors to meld together.  Serve with cornbread.  Add jalapenos if you like, too.  This can be ready in about 15-20 minutes.  Very hearty meal-sticks to ribs.   (I can't always find the beans that are listed so I find something similar.)