Monday, November 05, 2007

October '07 Menu Planner

I just wanted to share our menu planner for the month of October. This was the first month (in quite some time) that I have menu planned and shopped for one month in one day. I decided to come up with 24 menu choices, which would leave nights available for leftovers and other dinner engagements, and plenty of snack choices.

We ended up making 22 out of the 24 meal choices so I felt like we did really well with staying on track. The two dishes that didn't get made got carried over to our next month.

Let me know if you would like me to continue sharing these and I hope it gives you some ideas for meals around your own dinner table.

October Menu Choices

1. Cheeseburger Ring (We ate this Saturday evening and it was so delicious! It does taste just like a cheeseburger.)

2. Chicken Tacos & Tortilla Chips

3. Ranch Pork Chops (I used this recipe but subbed with Ranch Dressing), Chicken Rice, & Baby Peas

4. Roast Turkey Sandwiches (Scroll to Meal #7) & Oven Fries

5. Leftover Roast Turkey Sandwiches & Panera Bread Cheese & Broccoli Soup

6. Clam Chowder & Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

7. Oatmeal Waffles With Honey Butter

8. Herb Baked Tilapia, Chicken Rice, & Microwave Corn in Butter Sauce

9. Apple & Cinnamon Pancakes With Orange Juice

10. Chicken Italiano Over Pasta

11. Pizza Night

12. Meatball Subs (I use the meatball recipe and jarred sauce for the subs) & Oven Fries (see above for Oven Fries recipe)

13. Chicken Lo Mein & Fortune Cookies

14. Parmesan Sage Pork Chops & Orzo

15. Baked Salmon, Mashed Potatoes & Baby Peas

16. Chicken BBQ Sandwiches With Oven Fries

17. Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo (served with chicken & broccoli for topping)

18. Honey BBQ Chicken Wings, Cheese Quesadillas & Tortilla Chips

19. Pumpkin Waffles & Scrambled Eggs

20. Calzones With Dipping Sauce

21.Roasted Chicken, Rice, & Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

22. Sarah's Tilapia and Mashed Potatoes

23. Penne & Sausage Skillet Supper

24. Yeast Waffles & Orange Juice

Snacks:

1. Almost Nutra Grain Bars
2. Rice Krispie Treats
3. Apples With Dipping Sauce
4. Air Popped Popcorn
5. Brownies
6. Pumpkin Muffins

***Please visit I'm An Organizing Junkie for more great menu plans for the week***

Labels: Grocery Shopping, Menu Plans

9Comments:

"Thanks for all of the wonderful menu ideas - and the recipes! I'll definitely be adding some of them to my menu."

Lu

"Wow! You did awesome! I am so impressed... We do grocery and meal planning twice a month. My hubbie and I would love to do once a month shopping and planning... You have given me hope that it can be done! Your menu looks great!"

"Amy,

I hope you're feeling better :) Great job with sticking to your menu plan. Please, please keep posting your menu and recipes! As I've said before, you saved dinner in our house.

Thanks!

Sheila"

"ooh, wow, what great links you provided and wonderful meal choices!! A great plan!"

Anonymous

"You taking the time to do this really does help me. Although I am still working with a weekly menu - I find it works best for us in terms of using up fresh veggies and fruit without a lot of waste, I am interested in the monthly overview sort of meal planning that I hope to move towards, at least in terms of what I have available meat and main course-wise in the freezer.

Doing a weekly menu is the *only* thing that has prevented me from throwing fruits and veggies out due to spoilage - I am now doing things like making muffins or quick breads or nixing a previously "scheduled" meal to make a quick stir-fry.

I can shop all the sales and pick up all the loss leaders I want, but if I pay careful attention I waste, waste, waste....and that ain't good. Part of the reason I've been able to get our monthly grocery budget down to $320 is because of this.

Jenn"

"Mmmm. Thanks for sharing your menu, Amy!"

Lynn Marie

"Thank you SOOOOO much for this. I just plane run out of ideas for meals and this helps me so much. Right now we are eating the freezer empty so that we can defrost it and then repack it so our meals are what ever we can put together from the freezer! Some of them are very creative so that is a good thing. Great use of menu items."

Jen @ JenuineJen

"Wow! Your month of menus is impressive and looks yummy. I espeically like the pumpkin waffles. Enjoy!"

thehomespunheart

"Ok, my tummy is growling! I printed off the Olive Garden recipe - you know how I love those?!

Hope you're feeling better!

Monica"

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