Well I must admit that I never get all that excited about menu planning. I'm not big on having to decide what to have for dinner. Although menu planning does help in that I can get it over and done with for the month in one session. But this month seemed to be worse than usual. Not sure if leaving it until the start of the month had something to do with that (given I *had* to decide at least what to have for dinner last night). I thought having less meat in the freezer to choose from may have made it easier to decide - but perhaps that also made it harder. Or maybe I'm just a little bored with things and need to try something a little different.
Anyway, the plan is now done and I've even planned right through to the 1st of next month in the hope that I won't be in this predicament again (or running out of menu plan before the next months is done).
Do have a couple of new dishes in this months plan so it'll be interesting to see how they go.
1st Fried Rice
2nd Lentil Patties (new recipe)
3rd Chicken Tortillas
4th Lasagne
5th Pancakes
6th Leftover Lasagne
7th Roast Chicken
8th Chicken Pasta Bake
9th Pumpkin Soup
10th Pizza
11th BBQ lamb chops
12th Quiche
13th Tuna Mornay
14th Roast Lamb
15th Leftover Lamb in Gravy
16th Macaroni Cheese
17th Hot Dogs
18th Sausages
19th Toasted Sandwhiches
20th Fish
21st Corned Beef
22nd Corned Beef Hash
23rd Fried Rice
24th Hamburgers
25th Lamb & Potato Bake
26th Yellow Bread (French Toast)
27th Tuna Patties
28th Beef Rissoles
29th Sausages
30th Rice & Beans (need to look for a recipe for this)
31st Fish & Chips
1st Turkey Rissoles
So there you have it. Typing it out, I'm feeling quite satisfied that there are enough different dishes in there to make it interesting. It's so easy to get in the rut of cycling the same food items isn't it.
Most dishes, including things like macaroni cheese, lasagne and tuna mornay I tend to serve with 4-5 different vegetables. Friday nights we're more likely to have salad as the kids enjoy salad more than they do vegies (and it's our "fake take away" night). Sunday nights are usually a "scratch" meal so often not so healthy (other than they often include an egg dish so not completely unhealthy either).
We're currently getting a couple of sheep killed so I have several meals of lamb planned for this month. It's always the nicest when it's fresh. With the prices I'm having to pay for vegies at the moment - my cheap lamb may be the only way I'm going to achieve the $100 challenge. Nearly wanted to cry this morning when I read Aldi has carrots for 69c kg while I'm paying $1.89kg! I think you have to take whatever advantages your current location might give you when it comes to battling the ever increasing grocery prices.
Happy Cooking (and eating) everyone!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Menu Planning - August
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3 comments:
That looks like a yummy and varied menu plan. I got all excited at paying $1.88 for carrots today, so you're not alone there. I was stoked at the special on capsicum - $2.98/kg. They're not the greatest quality but great for soups.
I am lucky that the main vegetables that feature in our diet are frozen or tinned, thus seemingly cheaper than fresh, and long lasting.
I also scored a few freebies this week. A butternut pumkin and 1kg of beans, topped and tailed and frozen by MIL. VERY chuffed with that. It will help a lot. I'm planning on making lots of soup this weekend.
We don't have Aldi here in SA so I can't get excited by cheap veggies. Having said that I do have a few decent local fruit and veg shops who often have reasonable specials. I paid $1.49 for carrots and managed to get 2 large pieces of what they call "bunch" broccoli for $3.80 - tht is stems, leaves and all. I use the stems either grated or peeled and sliced in stir frys.
Oh and the menu plan looks good. Hope your lentil burgers turn out well, sorry can't help you with a beans recaipe :(
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