Menu Planning Help – Create a List of Favorite Meals

For years, Hubby and I have had a great system for getting dinner on the table.  I would get home and cook dinner.  Or I would put food in the slow cooker before work.

This year, my schedule has changed.  I begin work 20 minutes later and as a result I get off of work 20 minutes later.  I won’t be home until almost the time I would typically have to have dinner on the table so that Hubby could leave for work.  (He works evenings.)  He’s going to be in charge of getting the boys’ dinner which is going to be an interesting experience.

I’m going to continue planning out their meals.  If I don’t put the food in the crock pot, he’ll be in charge of making sure the dinner is made.

A piece of advice for planning out your meals is to create a list of your family’s favorite meals. That way when you get stuck on creating a menu, you can refer back to the list.

Not only will it help you menu plan, you can also make certain you have the ingredients for some of the meals on hand if what you had planned for dinner does not pan out.  I know there are days I don’t feel like cooking. If I had meals ready to go, I would less likely stop at a fast food restaurant on the way home from work.

I’m going to share my list of 20 meals that my hungry boys and Hubby enjoy eating.  Some of my meals can be frozen or portions can be frozen ahead of time which helps.

1.  tacos (the Wee One’s favorite)
2. sausage and mac & cheese – A very inexpensive meal and one I can keep on hand.
3. chicken nuggets and French fries – If I get both of those items at Aldi’s, it’s a budget friendly meal.  I can keep the food on hand.
4. Quesadillas – These are quick meals to eat on busy nights.
5. Hamburgers or hot dogs – The Imaginative One loves hamburgers.
6. Grilled cheese
7. Spaghetti
8. Soy Sauce Pork Chops – Marinade them while at work – Cook them on the indoor grill in the evening
9. Steak – A very rare occurrence do I serve them steak.
10. Roast and then hash – Roast would be more for Sunday dinner.  Hash would be later in the week.
11. Breakfast for dinner – We don’t eat a lot of breakfast foods in the mornings.  We prefer it in the evening.
12. Meatloaf or meatloaf muffins
13. Sloppy Joes
14. Brown sugar ham – The boys absolutely love this dinner.
15. Ravioli
16. Roast chicken in the slow cooker or rotisserie chicken
17. Chicken noodle soup
18. Potato Soup
19. Chili
20. Pizza
21. Pulled Pork
22. Pork Roast

Now that I have my list, it will help with planning out their meals. Since I’m a vegetarian, my meal list is going to be different.  As I continue the journey, I’ll create a list for myself so that it will be easier for me to plan my meals.

I have another idea to help with menu planning which I’ll share later.

Here is a form that will help you make a list of family favorite meals. The form is very simple and allows for 10 meals to be listed. There is also an area for 5 meals that can be easily frozen.

Happy eating and meal planning,
Traci