This works for me… master menu plan

I’m putting this out here, at the risk of seeming a little crazy, over-the-top, psycho about organizing.

I hate figuring out what to make for supper. I enjoy cooking; as long as you tell me what to cook I’m quite happy to do so. Deciding, on a weekly basis, or worse, on a nightly basis, wears me out. I tend to choose an entree and grab a can of green beans. So I decided to take whatever block of time was necessary and plan a huge chunk of meals.

Here’s what I came up with: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AtPdtkCEDhHSdGVfaHZIenYtdXM0dzBVYXhmcFcwMFE&hl=en

I started with a basic menu plan: Sunday night – pizza, Monday night – soup, Tuesday – fish, etc. then made a spreadsheet with those categories. I started filling the blanks in with food we like to eat, then pulled out my favorite cookbooks to match recipes with menus. I also spent some time browsing recipes for foods we would enjoy, but I don’t usually think to prepare. I have the most wonderful manicotti recipe, but rarely make it, and it’s actually pretty easy. I just don’t think about it.

When I realized I would be referring to about six cookbooks, yet I owned at least forty, I set those aside. I’ve got a few to give away to kids, and I’m taking the rest to Wednesday night Bible study for the women there to go through, and hopefully take home.

I noted a few recipes that are well suited for having company over. The appetizer section isn’t filled out yet, but I’ve jotted down some ideas – cheeseball, spinach-artichoke dip, pinwheels, etc. The bread section at the bottom will be filled in with quick breads, coffee cakes, rolls and such. I’ll be using those for brunches, Sunday morning breakfasts, holiday baking, or filling the freezer with made ahead breads I can take when we visit the kids or someone drops by.

It took me a good block of time to get this done, but already in the first week it made planning my weekly menus a snap. I think we’ll eat a bigger variety of foods, not to mention the shelf space I gained cleaning out all those cookbooks I wasn’t using.

If I saved the Google document right (and it’s my first Google document ever!), you should be able to modify it to fit it to something that will work for your family. Let me know if it helps you any, or if you just think there’s medication for this type of thing!