30 Meals and How I Menu Plan Backwards

Let me start with the menu planning.  Backwards.  Makes complete sense, right?  Allow me to explain.

Sometimes I grab my recipes (see below), look into my cabinets to see what we have, and then write out what we’ll be having for the next 2 weeks in a list form (not a calendar day-by-day type that I tried before).  On the same page I make a grocery list, going meal-by-meal seeing what we need to buy.  This is one of my old lists I just happened to find.  Not pretty, but functional.  Notice I marked how many or what size of each item before going shopping (because I have no ability to think when I’m in the store with a bunch of sweet hooligans).

After shopping sometimes I post the same list, marked on and all, on the fridge.   That’s my normal menu planning.

But sometimes Matt shops (can I get a woo hoo! ?).  We shop vastly differently.  Viva la difference!  He’s not so much a plan aheader.  Nor is he a list taker.  I never make a list for him.  I love a list, he hates a list, what can I say?  So I quit fighting that long ago and rejoice in the fact that I’m not shopping this time.  Who cares what he comes home with, right?  It’s food and I didn’t buy it.  This was a life-saver and how we lived the whole time I was pregnant last time.  I not only couldn’t bring myself to think about food without throwing up, there was that whole swine flu debacle, not to mention my inability to walk by the end of the pregnancy.  He shopped.  I loved him for it.

But it’s hard to know what to cook when you’re not the one shopping, right?

Here’s the backwards part.  So, he comes home with all this food and I assess it.  Hmm, what I can make with this and this?  I make a list of what all he bought.  I put that list on the fridge with a number of how many meals I can get out of it (not leftover meals, mind you.  Completely separate days.)  Then I brainstorm and hit up my recipes and ask Matt what all he planned when buying (note the Hawaiian Chicken – he came home with a bottle of marinade which I poured over the chicken in a freezer ziplock and labeled – now it’s premarinated, ready to thaw in the fridge, and use in a Chinese meal).  Then I proceed to cook ahead like normal (ground turkey this time instead of beef).  I leave the list on the side of the fridge and as I use a meal I mark it off.  There are even snacks on there that I might forget are in the cabinets.

The arrows are to let me know the ones I need to use first before something goes bad, ie. uses produce or fresher bread that will go bad, etc.

And here’s where I discuss why I don’t use the day-by-day plan.  It didn’t work for us.  Somebody mentioned this in my comments or Facebook fanpage recently (I can’t remember which).  They said they might want one thing one day and it not be what’s for that night on the schedule.  Amen, sister girl!  Plus, we’re fly by the seat of our pantsers.  I might plan to be home Friday night and schedule some fancy meal.  And Matt might come home and say “Let’s go to town tonight!”  And then I have to make elaborate switcharoos.  Not my thing.  Or I might forget to pull out from the freezer to thaw one night for the next day’s meal and now I’m back to the switcharoo.  Ugh.  Or I might plan to make a crockpot meal and have fifteen kid emergencies right off the bat (can you say last Monday?!) and forget to start the meal until it’s too late.  This way I’m not bound by a schedule.  I can go to my list at any point, assess how much prep work any one meal will take and pull the stuff out to make it – make-ahead is great for this – last minute craziness?  I need a meal in the next 15 minutes?  I already have ground turkey browned – it’s going to be a spaghetti night!   I actually have my wits about me at the kids’ bedtimes as I pass by the fridge?  I set the boneless ribs in the fridge for tomorrow.  No schedule, just easy peasy.

30 Meals

I found the 30 Meals idea from Brenda.  Here is the official total 30 meals idea.  I love it, I plan to implement it a little at a time.  These are the ones that are already in rotation in my house.  Even though we’ll use this list most of the time, we’ll continue to always try new stuff – we like variety!  I hope y’all will post your list of 30 and link ‘em up (or put them in the comments) when I post a McLinky later.  I also eventually plan to put every recipe for these on here.  If you’ll let me know what your favorites are I’ll write the recipes in order of popularity!

1. Fajitas
2. Meatloaf
3. Chinese
4. Spaghetti
5. Chicken and Rice
6. Sour Cream Chicken
7. Mexican Chicken
8. Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits
9. Bacon Lettuce Tomato Sandwiches
10. Pancakes and Sausages
11. Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
12. Frozen Burrito with Enchilada Sauce and Cheese Bake
13. Egg Casserole
14. Beef Stroganoff (with beef tips)
15. 7 Layer Dip
16. Homemade Burritos
17. Salisbury Steak
18. Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes
19. Black Beans – Crockpot, Salsa, Sour Cream served on Garlic Bread
20. Roast with Veggies – Crockpot
21. Roast Beef Sandwiches
22. Creamy Pork Chops – Crockpot
23. Hamburgers
24. Melty Ham Sandwiches (with or without fried eggs)
25. Lasagna
26. Tacos
27. Barbeque Sandwiches – Crockpot
28. Chicken and Dumplins
29. Porkloin
30. Swiss Steak – Crockpot
31. Chili – Crockpot
32. Chilitos
33. Chicken Taco Soup – Crockpot
34. Lemon Pepper Chicken – Crockpot over Salad or Rice

Sides and Extras I’ve included these because they are (for the most part) staples we keep and will need to buy each time we go

1. Sweet Potato Casserole
2. Salsa
3. Twice Baked Potatoes
4. Drop Biscuits
5. Steamed Veggies
6. Granola
7. Muffins
8. Quick Breads – Banana, Pumpkin, Apple Spice
9. Devilled Eggs
10. Seasoned Rice
11. Noodles
12. Fruit
13. String Cheese
14. Yogurt
15. Instant pudding and Jello
16. Chocolate Chips