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I’m sure most of you would agree, family life is busy. Even when we try to slow down, between our homeschool work, meals and just keeping up the house our schedule fills up pretty fast. I’m big on taking time out for crafts, ice cream dates and family dinners though. Those are the moments that we treasure as a family!
There are lots of reasons why I love planning out a week’s menu in advance. I don’t buy things that will go to waste, we always have leftovers for lunch and in a pinch we can always have a few extra folks over for dinner without having to run to the store. Now I’m learning that I can also prep ingredients in advance AND use less dishes in the process. (My husband is pretty happy about that one).
Here are some tips if you are new to the menu planning concept:
- Use on-sale ingredients or items you have on hand from past sales
- Choose simple recipes that have a few ingredients in common
- Chop & prep as much as you can ahead so that there’s less to do at dinner time & less dirty dishes
- Choose one-pot, oven roasted and crockpot style dinners to save on active cooking time
Do you have tips for how to make menu planning and weeknight meals more efficient? I’m always up for new ideas!
*These prices are based off of averages and are subject to change weekly
Weeknight Menu Plan
Turkey Burgers – Recipe
(form half into meatballs for later this week)
Ground Turkey, Butterball 93% Lean, 16 oz, $1.98 (Ingles)
Bread Crumbs (pantry)
Onions, 69-99¢ lb (almost everywhere) – prep enough for the week
Egg Whites, Crystal Farms All Whites, 16 oz, $1 (Publix)
Parsley – (not on sale but inexpensive) – prep enough for the week
Garlic (not on sale) – prep enough for the week
Simple Roast Chicken – Recipe
(make (2) & use leftover chicken for pasta salad later in week)
Onions, 69-99¢ lb (almost everywhere) – already chopped
Garlic (not on sale) – already peeled & chopped
Whole Chickens, $1.28-$1.99 lb (Ingles, Safeway)
Spices & Olive Oil (pantry)
Baking Potatoes, 59¢ ea. (Ingles)
Green Beans, Birds Eye Steamers, 10-16 oz, 34¢-$1.17 (Kroger, Ingles, Harris Teeter)
Turkey Meatballs – Recipe
(made in advance, bake at 350 for 15 minutes)
Pasta Sauce, Barilla, 24 oz, 90¢ (Harris Teeter)
Pasta, less than $1 (almost everywhere) – make double and save half for pasta salad
Salad
Roasted Chicken & Bow Tie Pasta Salad – Recipe
Pasta, less than $1 (almost everywhere) – already cooked
Orange Juice, 59 oz, $3
Whole Chickens, $1.28-$1.99 lb (Ingles, Safeway) – already cooked
Red Grapes, $1.99 lb (Bi-Lo)
Celery, 1 lb, $1.89 (Food Lion)
Onions, 69-99¢ lb (almost everywhere) – already chopped
Walnuts or sub Almonds, 6 oz, $1.14 (Winn Dixie)
Chives (not on sale)
Parsley (not on sale) – already chopped
Asparagus & Swiss Cheese Frittata – Recipe
Asparagus, $2.49-$2.99 lb (Food City, Bi-Lo)
Egg Whites, Crystal Farms All Whites, 16 oz, $1 (Publix)
Swiss Cheese, Kraft, 6-8 oz, $1.94-$2.50 (almost everywhere)
Shallots or sub Onions, 69-99¢ lb (almost everywhere) – already chopped
Parmesan, 8 oz, $1.89-$2.50 (Food Lion or Lowe’s)
