If you guys are anything like me, you might be sick of picking out what to make for dinner each night. I have a Pinterest full of great recipes and I actually enjoy cooking, but I felt like we are making the same things over and over. I have a few things that have worked for me over the last few months:
Give each child a piece of paper, and let them pick 7 dinners (or 6 with a takeout or going out). Then you take those dinners “their menu” and you pick what days of the week those dinners work best for, and BAM, there is your menu for the week!
At the end of the summer, went to Board and Brush and made this menu board, that now hangs in our kitchen 😍
This has helped! I pick the dinners, or have the kids pick and I write them on cardstock (that I just rip) I post on the board based on what we have going on that week, and then grocery shop. Sometimes it is the other way around, and I pick up a bunch of dinners at the store, and then come home and post on the board. This has helped me out so much! I never have to think about what we are having, because if it is on the board, it is THE REAL DEAL!!!
A few weeks ago, I started throwing the cards into a kitchen drawer, instead of in the garbage. And if you follow me on Instagram, you know I recently cleaned out all my cabinets and drawers, so plenty of room, and even a spot to keep them altogether. One day, I might just take them, mix them up and put on the board! Or if I have a night to fill, just pull a card out.
Any whooooo… the point of this post is to list what we have on the cards (including what the kids have picked too), and continue to add to this list. Hopefully it will help at least one of you when you are on the dinner planning struggle bus!
Let’s do it!!!
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches (pork in the crockpot) with tater tots (veggie tots for me)
Hot Meatball Subs with chips and pickles
Eggs (whatever way everyone likes) with sausage, english muffins and orange slices
Pot Roast, potatoes, carrots and celery
Chicken Cordon Bleu with corn and Alfredo noodles
Steak and Cheese Wraps with home fries and a veggie
Chicken Noodle Caserole
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Bacon Blue Burgers with onion rings
Meatloaf, mashed and green beans
Steak on the grill, mashed potatoes and green beans
Shrimp Alfredo with Angel hair (homemade or store bought, we mix it up)
French Toast with bacon and cut up melon
Chicken wings with carrots and celery
Shake and Bake Chicken thighs with stuffing and spinach
Steak and Waldorf salad (some add the steak right on their salad)
Beef Tacos/ Chicken Tacos, Walking tacos, literally all the tacos with Rice
Garlic Parm Chicken thighs in the crock pot with sweet potatoes, baby red potatoes, and carrots
Shrimp, Scallops with pasta (I will have a salad instead of the pasta)
Homemade chicken tenders with homemade honey mustard, or BBQ and greens
Pork Loin with noodles and a veggie
Chicken Marcela with broccoli and rice
Veggie Omelets with home-fries
Chicken Crack (making this week for the first time, check it out on Pinterest!) In the crockpot with mashed and corn
Steak with twice baked and greens beans
Whole chicken with squash and rice
Baked ham, homemade mac and cheese and mixed veggies
Prime Rib (which sounds fancy, but it is sooo easy, just season and put in the oven, slice when ready, so simple and cheaper then when I buy steaks for everyone!) with roasted veggies or broccoli/cauliflower and cheese
Scrambled eggs with left over ham and cheese with toast
Ham and Cheese Paninis with onion rings
Updated:
Parmesan crusted tilapia with a side salad and rice
Avocado toast with over easy eggs on top, with fresh strawberries
Walking tacos (see post here)
Beef Stroganoff with egg noddles
We buy 10-15 chickens at a time, a few whole and the rest cut into pieces (thighs, breast, wings, tenders) so we might eat more chicken then others, but we have it and it is as fresh as it gets (from my friend who does it all at her house, butchering in all).
I often switch out the potatoes for sweet potatoes. I will roast a bunch at the beginning of the week and then just pullout and warm up with dinner. Same for tater tots, I will switch mine for veggie tots and the kids will even have a few.
Let me know if this is helpful in the comments and I will continue to add to the list each week!
Happy Dinner Planning!
Leandra
XOXOX
My view while typing right now 😍
