Domestically Challenged – Parenting Tips from Author Alana Morales

Happy Monday (what a misnomer!)!!

For this week’s Menu Plan Monday, I wanted to post an updated list of my potential dinners for the week.

Why bother?

Here’s why – as I have stated many, many times, menu planning is one of the easiest and most important things you can do to save yourself time. And as a parent, we are ALWAYS about saving time.

The steps:

1. Make a master list of dinners. List anything that your family will eat.

2. Decide how to rotate meals. Will you go straight down the list? Put them on index cards and pick at the beginning of the week? Use a random number generator to choose?

For me, all of these are a bit too complicated (although, I am a nerd at heart and am more likely to use the random number generator). When we menu plan, we basically think about how busy our week is, the ingredients we have on hand and the flavors we want for the week (right now I am off anything resembling Mexican food, which is weird for me).

3. Make a weekly plan and shopping list.

My husband does all of the grocery shopping and he HATES the way I make lists. Therefore, I created a shopping list that goes in order. I can just write in what we need and he can go in order through the grocery store. Anal retentive much?

So, once you have this, you are all set! For more ideas about menu planning, check out Organizing Junkie – lots of great info!

THE List:

1. Mac and Cheese
2. Grilled Chicken
   • Grill with bbq sauce or marinate it for a fuller flavor.
3. Spaghetti
   • To add variety, make different types of noodles or put it over squash.
4. Ribs
   • These can be cooked in the crock pot, broiler or grill.
5. Turkey Burgers
6. Grilled Turkey Legs
7. Beef Stroganoff
8. Slow Cooker Chicken
9. Slow Cooker French Dip
10. Pot Roast
11. Baked Chicken
12. Chicken Parmesan
13. Albondagas
14. Tacos
15. Enchiladas
16. Tostadas
17. Taco Salad
18. Pork Chops
19. Sausage
20. Bratwurst
21. Red Beans and Rice
22. Fetticinni Alfredo
23. Chili – we make it healthier by using ground game meat (deer, antelope, elk, etc)
24. Fajitas
25. Stir Fry
26. Lasagna
27. Tuna Casserole
28. Enchilada Casserole
29. Eggplant Parmesan
30. Ham with Greens
31. Tostada Goop – sooooo yummy! Make extra and you can use it for enchiladas or tostadas or taco salad or…
32. Neat Sloppy Joes
33. Chicken Fried Rice – don’t use oil (I just use water) and save on the fat content.
34. Steak
35. Kabobs – super easy to make
36. Meatballs – add bbq sauce and let the kids eat with toothpicks for extra fun, provided no one gets poked in the eyeball
37. Meatloaf – we make ours with bbq sauce. And bacon. Can’t forget the bacon.
38. Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
39. Sub sandwiches – use mini rolls and make them custom for everyone
40. Nachos
41. Stuffed Peppers
42. Shrimp Tacos
43. Gumbo
44. Jambalaya
45. Potato, Green Beans and Hamhocks – some good ole soul food that is also super healthy!
46. Baked Fish – we like halibut, catfish and tilapia
47. Ceviche – surprisingly light
48. Rotisserie Chicken/Turkey – pair with a bag of steamer veggies to make a complete, healthy meal
49. Pulled Pork – with my husband’s homemade BBQ sauce…YUM!
50. Carne Asada – we have yet to find good asada out here in Colorado, but we will keep searching.

So, here you go. Now my question for you is this – do you have a list? If not, will you do one? Let me know in the comments! And if you do a blog post about it, let me know so I can link up!