Menus

Inspired by Emily's post on menu planning, I thought I would start sharing our menus. They are nothing fancy, and I am always learning on this front, but I like seeing such things on other blogs, so I thought I'd share. :) I have a few things that I try to keep in mind when menu planning...

What do I already have?

What sorts of local produce will we be getting in our CSA share?

Add least two new recipes

The other important things to mention are that I plan for two weeks at a time, sometimes 10-12 different dinners, sometimes 5 or 6 that get rotated twice. I try to factor in snacks so that we keep everyone's blood sugar levels up and friendly, and try to balance frugality, healthiness and yumminess. :) We've just started doing family night on Saturday, and we try to fit in a date night or two over the two weeks. This is probably the lamest one we've had in a while, in terms of healthiness, but I felt the early stages of a fever/cold while making it and I needed simple things

Menu~ August 15-28

Breakfasts~ Bagels or oatmeal, OJ (coffee!!)

Snack~ pretzel sticks

Lunch~ pb&j/grilled cheese/turkey & cheese, milk, "finger cookies" maybe raisins etc.

Snack~ animal crackers & raisins

Dinners~

Spicy Spaghetti Pie

Cheeseburgers & french fries

Fried Rice

Stuffed Peppers, flavored rice

Chili & cornbread

Pizza (family night), Banana splits/Sundaes

Date night or leftover night (in a pinch we'll do eggs and pancakes)

Desert/Snack~ (mostly for grown ups after babies are in bed!) Ice cream/Oreos/Chips

So there it is! My new recipe this week is spaghetti sauce, I'm starting with whole tomatoes, so we'll see what happens! So how do you menu plan? What's on your menus right now?