March Menu & My Methods

Ok, ok, I know it's been....like... forever since I've blogged. I have been texted, emailed, called & just generally chewed out for it. I don't really have an excuse other than, I was just plain ole uninspired.

Tonight, though, I am gonna share some very inspiring information about how I do groceries/menus. Wooooo*Hooooo!!!

First of all, let me preface this by stating that I have had (yet again) very few original ideas in this area (as with most areas of my life). There are some wonderful books/blogs on this very topic. I've tried a lot of methods, & this is what is working for us. For now.

My method is this:
1:
I consider our month; when we will be out, special events, church nights & so forth.

2:
We usually have date night several times per month. I don't know when those days will be, so I am very flexible with my menu.

3:
I pull out a couple of my numerous recipe books/magazines/print-outs from Pinterest & choose several new things to try.

4:
Several years ago, I decided to sit down & make a list of everything I make that our family likes. I divided it into sections: Beef, Chicken, Pork, Meatless, Soups, Crockpot, Sides....etc. This is my *Go-To* list to choose from for the month. I update it periodically as we decide that a new thing we've tried is a new family favorite.

5:
Using the menu I have just created, I make my grocery list. I do not buy for the whole month...cause it's sorta a pain. I have done it, though.
What I do, is buy for about 10-14 days at at time. This puts me at the grocery store roughly twice per month.
I confess that I am somewhat a creature of habit. When I go to a store, I tend to head to the same section first every single time. With that in mind, I created a grocery list for the Wal*Mart in my area based on my method of shopping. This is one of the SINGLE BEST, TIME-SAVING activities I have ever done! I simply print it out & check off the items I need. Doesn't get much easier! :)

6:
Now the part of this process I hate more than any other part....heading to the grocery store.
Sigh.
I usually spend 2+ hours, use 2 baskets, & spend $300+ each time. I take the time to put find it, put it in the basket, stand in line, unload it (according to how I want it bagged, thank you), re-load it (according to how I want to put it in the car), & unload it again. When I get home, I....only carry in the bread & bananas...things I can't bear to have mushed, then I sic the kiddos on it. We ALL pitch into the job of putting stuff. Everyone from toddlers to Daddy are in on the job. It takes 8-10 people 30 minutes to put it all away.

When I am done...we usually eat out for dinner!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!

I have been trying to get the forms I use into some sort of format that I can insert into my blog....but I'm pretty much stumped as to how to go about it. So, I will type this out, and at the end of this posting, I will list the documents that I use. If you are interested in having a copy, please email me & I will happily send them to you as well as any recipes that look interesting to you.

Here is our menu for March:
1st
Out

2nd
Oven fried chicken
biscuits
edamame

3rd
out

4th
*Crockpot Chicken & Dumplins

5th
Baked Ziti
Okra
Breadsticks
Salad

6th
Date Night/Mini meatloaves (previously made & frozen)
stuffing
green beans

7th
*Crockpot Salisbury Steaks
Mashed Taters
Cabbage

8th
*Crockpot Island Kielbasa
Rice
Veggies
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

9th
Chicken Pot Pie
Sauteed Broccoli
Deviled Eggs

10th
Beans (Pinto) & Sausage
Cornbread

11th
BBQ Baked Potatoes

12th
Creamy Chicken Stew
Skillet Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Salad

13th
Frozen Lasagna (cooked, of course)
Carrots
Salad
Breadsticks

14th
*Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken
Rice
Stir-Fry Veggies
Asian Salad (still looking for recipe)

15th
Pork chops
Corn on the Cob
Broccoli & Rice Casserole

16th
Little Ceasar's Pizza

17th
Irish Beef Stew
Crusty Bread

18th
Smoothies
*Farmer's Casserole

19th
Poppy Seed Chicken
Rice
Veggies
Rolls

20th
Beef Stroganoff
Green Beans
Salad

21st
*Crockpot Beef Enchiladas
*Corn, Bean & Avocado Salad
Spanish Rice

22nd
Cheese Stuffed Shells
Edamame
Salad

23rd
Homemade Burgers
Pasta Salad
Baked Beans
Banana Pudding

24th
OUT

25th
*Baked Potato Soup
*Herbed Muffins

26th
Chicken Spaghetti
Pea salad

27th
Beef & Bean Chile Rellenos
Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes

28th
Taco Salad

29th
*Spicy Chicken Kebobs with mushrooms & peppers
Okra, corn & tomato saute

30th
Homemade Pizzas
Salad

31st
Pot roast with Horseradish sauce & vegetables

NOTE: Items marked with * are new recipes.

Here is a list of the forms I use:

Blank Calendar

WalMart Master Grocery List

Master Meal List

You may email me at: diayoung (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

Let me know what you think...was this helpful at all?

It's a Crazy Life!!

I really don't know what I'm going to ramble on about tonight, but I just felt the urge to blog. I have been sitting here in my quiet house, listening to the hum of the refrigerator running (better go catch it!! LOL), hearing a random beep (and wondering what it is, but not enough to go find out), and catching up on my blog reading. I find myself wondering what we did before the invention of the internet (should I ask Al Gore???). I feel like I am so much more in contact with friends who are miles away. Texting, emails, blogs...all make the world a much smaller place. I, for one, just love it :) However, (isn't there always one of those?) I find that I do lack discipline in utilizing these wonderful inventions...if I'm not careful. There are legitimate things that can be done on a computer, and I do plenty of them, but the temptation to just "check" on everyone else is sometimes more than I can handle.

"What's the big deal?", you may ask.

Well, as you may or may not know, I have 2 toddlers here & even just a few minutes of my attentions being distracted from them can lead to hours of frustrating clean-up, including, but CERTAINLY not limited to: salt all over the dining room table & floor, completely unrolled toilet paper tubes, a brand-new 15 piece pack of gum...completely gone, with wrappers on the floor, all of the clean laundry unfolded & all over the house...I could go on & on & on & on..... So, when all eyes are not on them, the girls get into mischief...to say the least. And, when they do, I am forced to put away what was so enthralling to me to deal with the very real evidence of my distraction. UGH~ I have been feeling somewhat convicted about spending time on my computer, or anything, really, that pulls me away from my # 1 priorities. Don't get me wrong-I don't think there is anything wrong with reading a good book or magazine, or surfing the web in search of the best deal on shoes, books, fabric or whatever (after all, I AM trying to SAVE money!). What is wrong (at least for me), is the lack of discretion in the amount of time I spend doing it. I start out with good intentions, "Just 10 minutes...I need to check on banking, send an email, check the weather..." Then, 30 minutes later--there's a crash (or total silence, which, to me, is WAY scarier) & I'm brought back to real life with a thud! I decided the best way, for me, to handle this & to still feel connected with the outside world, was to make myself a daily schedule. Something like: 6:00 Wake & Shower 6:15 Read Bible 6:33 Pray 6:48 Have a moment of silence 7:00 Kiss all the little cherubs good morning on their perfectly clean faces & admire their tidy attire & hair. 7:30 Join the happy crowd at the table for a hearty breakfast . . . . . . . . 10:00 p.m. Fall happily into bed with a contented *sigh* at the end of an overly productive day. Ummmmmm....

Yeah, right!

So...well, what happened was....

LIFE!

A carefully regimented day like the one mentioned above (possibly without the sarcasm) is truly what would make me happy. However (there it is again), I have learned the hard way that life happens. It's messy. It's unpredictable. It's exciting. It's boring. It's just next to impossible to schedule out all of the things that happen during a day when you have kids in residence. So, I gave up. Um-hmm. You heard (read?) me right. I quit trying to be the organized on-schedule micro-managing momma & just chillaxed. Please, don't get an image in your head of me languishing on the sofa, romance novel in hand, bon-bons & iced tea on a table nearby as my little ones swing from the chandelier (read ceiling fan) & I blissfully cheer them on ... Uh. No. I just have relaxed. I have a loosely scheduled existance now that looks something like this: Monday: Wash towels & linens. Clean kitchen. Make grocery list... Tuesday: Wash our clothing. Iron. Put Away. Clean bathroom. Wednesday: Wash kids clothes. Put dinner in the crock pot. Thursday: Sit & wait anxiously for 5:00 to arrive because it's DATE NIGHT! Friday: Get out of the house & go somewhere. Wash school clothes. Saturday: Um....I dunno...whatever comes our way. Sunday: Wrangle everyone out of the bed by 9 & have a 2 hour cleaning session. Cook lunch, go to church & be grateful we get to go out for dinner tonight.

Somehow...this works.

If you stop by unexpectedly (& maybe even expectedly), you will not find a pristine show home. You will find a reasonably clean, aside from the occasional toy on the floor (just step around it) home. The kitchen is *usually* clean, it's one area I'm pretty strict about. The only bathroom I can totally vouch for is mine...so ask to use it LOL *seriously*. You may find laundry in the works on pretty much any given day. You will also find sometimes strangely dressed children with big ol smiles on their *sometimes dirty* faces who will probably overrun you with questions & stories of their latest adventures, whether real or imagined. You need not take your shoes off...I've never been able to train anyone else but me to do it, why should you...but please wipe them off first. I hate to mop! I may get distracted & forget to ask if you'd like a drink--just ask for one. Then, relax & enjoy our crazy life.

That's what I do.

*Schedules, Menus, & Chore Lists*

I have had a request or two to post some of our family's schedules.

I have not always followed schedules, lists & menus, but, the more chaotic my family life became, the more necessary these items became. I have been making lists, charts & schedules for about 8 or 9 years now. I tweak them about twice a year, at the start of school & the start of summer. Other times that I have made changes includes: birth of a new baby, any type of life changes, or when things just aren't working out.

I will admit that some of these schedules were confusing. Some were too micro-managed. Some chores weren't appropriate for the day or child they were scheduled for. It is important that you keep the following in mind:

Do NOT get so fixated on your schedule that you forget to LIVE your life!!


You may use a schedule as a starting point for your family. Make one up, try it out for a month or so. Keep an extra copy to write in changes that you need to make. Tweak, then go :)

I have tried to post my individual schedules that I have kept through the years, but I am having some technical difficulties in just transferring the files to the blog. However, I would be happy to email you my file, just let me know if you want it.

I would be happy to help you in any way I can.


You might want to check out a site I have found EXTREMELY helpful through the years.

www.Titus2.com