Kitchen & Cooking Menu Planning Strategies | Menu Planning Strategies |
| Written by HFPE Group | |||||
| Sunday, 05 April 2009 | |||||
 1. Make a list of all your family’s favorite foods, listing by categories: Chicken, ground beef, pork, fish, meatless, soups. Ham- etc. Choose l or 2 from each list for a menu for a 1-4 week period.
3. Look at your family’s schedule. Determine which nights all of you are coming and going at different times and then plan your menu accordingly. For example, my husband teaches a night class and arrives home about 6:45 or 7:00. I plan something for that evening that can be kept warm or warms up easily. This is a good way to approach the holiday season, with every child who has concerts on various nights. 4. Make a list of main dishes that are one-dish meals, or take a brief time to fix. List those that can cook while you are at church. Make a list of meals that you can pull together with just basic ingredients you would always have on hand. Make a list of meals that don’t require heating up the kitchen or can be barbequed. Make a list of ways to use left over turkey or chicken. 5. One lady I know provided variety while not being locked in with this schedule:
7. For variety, make a list of different salads you could serve: tossed, carrot, cottage cheese and fruit, fruit and vanilla yogurt, apple and raisin etc. Do the same with vegetables: canned corn, beans, beets, raw veggies with ranch dip, sliced tomatoes, steamed or baked vegetables, or stir fried. Make a list of breads: muffins, biscuits, breadsticks, garlic bread, rolls etc. You now have a good list to choose from for variety in your meal planning.
8. On a four-week menu, list the major ingredients so that when you do the shopping list you will be sure to include those. Also, if you change your mind, you can see at a glance what you might need for a different dish.
9. Plan your menu by cooking in bulk. Plan three dishes that use ground beef and cook it all at once, then divide into freezer dishes. Cook twice as much chicken as you need and cut up half of it for a later meal. Make soup or a casserole once, but make twice as much and freeze the second one. Plan another meal to use up leftover roast beef or chicken. Make meat balls or meat loaf and bake in the oven. Freeze half for another day.
10. Keep a separate book or file for recipes you want to try when you are in a rut or feel adventurous or need something special.
11. Make a list of foods you buy in bulk at Costco, then plan meals around those foods. For example, sliced ham can be used in grilled ham and cheese, stuffed potatoes, pizza, quiche, navy bean or split pea soup or plain with cheesy potatoes. A large jar of spaghetti sauce can be used in spaghetti, pizza, lasagna, or tortilla pizzas. Mozzarella cheese can be used in pizza, lasagna, pasta dishes, veggie sandwiches, etc.
Other resources:
Books:Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month Deborah Taylor-Hough
Other Articles in our Deluxe Edition
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