Last week’s almond and coconut topped butternut squash soup was so delicious that I want to make more soups! I think I’m going to try making one different soup each week. Most of my recipes this week will keep me warm as it gets colder, but I did throw in a salad because I’m not quite ready for winter yet! Here are this week’s recipes:

Monday
Spicy vegan black bean burger Spring the recipe!

Tuesday
Tomato mozzarella basil salad Spring the recipe!

Wednesday
Beef and snowpeas with pan-fried noodles Spring the recipe!

Thursday
Hearty vegetable soup Spring the recipe!

Friday
Mushroom risotto Spring the recipe!

And for a special treat
Peanut butter blondies Spring the recipe!

Spring the whole meal plan!

I can’t believe it’s already November! This year has gone by so fast. After enjoy the last few warm days, it’s really starting to feel like fall. Most of my recipes this week are fall-inspired – warm and delicious! (Speaking of warm and delicious, last week’s apple pie was phenomenal. I’ll definitely be making it again soon! Maybe for Thanksgiving…) Here are this week’s recipes:

Monday
Turkey with maple mashed sweet potatoes Spring the recipe!

Tuesday
Mango pork tacos Spring the recipe!

Wednesday
Last-minute lasagna Spring the recipe!

Thursday
Almond and coconut topped butternut squash soup
Spring the recipe!

Friday
Cornflake chicken Spring the recipe!

And for a special treat
Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing Spring the recipe!

Spring the whole meal plan!

I’m really excited about desserts this week – the blueberry fool I made last week was so good!  I’m trying out a new apple pie recipe and hoping for the best.

Monday
Baked shrimp in tomato feta sauce Spring the recipe!

Tuesday
Tortilla soup Spring the recipe!

Wednesday
Lentil sausage ragout Spring the recipe!

Thursday
Salmon with pineapple salsa Spring the recipe!

Friday
Mexi-licious egg scramble Spring the recipe!

And for a special treat
Apple pie Spring the recipe!

Spring the whole meal plan!

Does creating a weekly meal plan simplify my life? Absolutely!

Last week’s Tom Yam Chicken turned out really well – I’m definitely going to make it again soon! Here’s what I have planned for this week…

Monday
Pumpkin turkey chili Spring the recipe!

Tuesday
Bow tie pasta with creamy garlic chicken and bella sauce
Spring the recipe!

Wednesday
Taco stuffed shells Spring the recipe!

Thursday
Thin seared beef with tomato jam and potato hash
Spring the recipe!

Friday
Butter paneer masala Spring the recipe!

And for a special treat
Blueberry fool with pistachios Spring the recipe!

Spring the whole meal plan!

Does creating a weekly meal plan simplify my life? Yes!

Julie lives in Ohio with her husband and two young boys.  She’s a SAHM, with a keen interest in saving money wherever she can.  Julie got the suggestion to begin meal planning from one of her Mom Groups.  She’s discovered that she can save a lot of money each week by both couponing and planning out her meals for up to 3 weeks at a time.

Julie’s favorite places online are facebook, cafemom, PaperBack Swap and eBay.  She shares ideas about books, movies, parenting, and meal planning with other moms on message boards and through email lists.  She started reading blogs as a way to find coupons, but has built up quite a list of favorites that she visits on a regular basis.

Julie manages her family’s schedule by posting a central paper calendar that has all scheduled events written on it.  She prints out her springpad weekly meal plan & hangs it on the refrigerator each week so her husband can see what’s for dinner.

What do you like about the springpad Meal Planner?
“My absolute favorite feature is that once I put a meal on a day, that recipe is in my recipe box forever.”  Julie did tell me that it’s not clear how she should save a recipe if she’s not ready to add it to a day.  We’re going to improve that by creating a more obvious Recipe Box.

How do you decide what you will cook each week?
“I find weekly grocery deals on blogs,  and with that information I create a shopping list in Word, which I print out before heading to the store.  When the blogs have links to coupons, I print them out right away.  Then I look for recipes that have the ingredients I am planning to buy.”  It’s becoming apparent to us that finding coupons and weekly deals is an integral part of many people’s meal planning process.

How do you usually add recipes to the Meal Planner?
“I find most of my recipes on allrecipes.com add add them to the Meal Planner with the link.  It works really well on allrecipes, but I tried it on Hillshire Farm and it didn’t seem to work.  On allrecipes.com  I like that I can read the comments about how other people have to modified the recipes.  I have used their online recipe box to save some recipes, but didn’t really feel comfortable adding family recipes to it.”

What do you want to see improved in the Meal Planner?
“I really want to see a month view – I usually plan multiple weeks at a time.”  …  “I’d like the ability to share my meal plan with non-members.  My husband would probably bookmark the page if he could see what we are having for dinner without logging in.”  …  “I would like a way to show my meal plan to my friends online.”  We talked about the possibility of publishing her meal plan to facebook & Julie thought it was a great idea.

Well, it is officially Fall & the holidays are right around the corner.  As my family begins to make their travel plans, I am thinking about the stress that can come along with a house guest. To make it simpler, I have put together a few tips:

1. When making travel reservations, carefully consider the time of arrival & departure. If you will need to drive your guest from/to the airport, figure out when you will need leave the house. Be sure there is not a conflict with work or other plans, and try to avoid rush hour if possible.

2. Map out a multi-day meal plan, making sure to include things like breakfast & snacks. You will want to have the kitchen fully-stocked before your guests arrive.

3. Figure out the sleeping arrangements before your guests arrive.  Put out pillows, clean bedding & towels for each guest.  Consider buying an air mattress (don’t forget to buy a pump).

4. Carve out some time for yourself.  Even (or maybe especially) when your family visits, you will need some alone time. Consider going for a quick walk by yourself or maybe getting up an hour early to work on a special project while the house is still quite.

Will this list simplify your life? I sure hope so.

Resources
Mom Central Getting Ready For Houseguests (a great checklist!)
About.com Make Houseguests Feel At Home
pecanne log Houseguest invitations
WikiHow How to Handle House Guests That Stay Too Long
Dig a List How to be or host a perfect houseguest
Real Simple How to Be a Great Houseguest

Whenever I plan to host a dinner party there are lots of things to do besides the basic grocery shopping & cooking. Here’s a simple list:

Four Weeks Before:
1. Invite guests & collect preliminary RSVP’s
2. Begin collecting recipes & decorating ideas

Two Weeks Before:
3. Inventory Dishware & Supplies
- Dishes, Silverware, Glassware, Napkins, Serving Utensils
- Pots, Pans, Thermometers

One Week Before:
4. Finalize menu
5. Confirm with guests & get final headcount
6. Create shopping lists, divided by store
7. Begin shopping throughout the week

Two Days Before:
8. Clean house
9. Finish grocery shopping

One Day Before:
10. Come up with cooking plan – sequence cooking & assign tasks to family members
11. Do as much prep-cooking as possible
12. Choose your outfit

Morning Of:
13. Pick up any final ingredients – anything that must be fresh or was forgotten (grab some flowers)
14. Straighten up the house
15. Set the table

Evening Of:
Enjoy the cooking, the eating & the good company!

Does this list simplify your life? I sure hope so.

Resources
Martha Stewart Living Party Planning Guide
Busy Cooks on About.com How To Plan a Dinner Party
thedinnerpartyplanningsite Thanksgiving Dinner
Food & Wine The $60 Dinner Party
Katie Brown Simple Recipes & Ideas (16 Menus 16 Occasions 16 Tables)

Two weeks ago, I set out to apply Unclutterer’s advice for a creating a weekly meal plan.  The first week was a bit rocky, but I am now happy to report that making a plan & having a pre-made shopping list is great!

My approach:

1. Each weekend, shop for breakfast, lunch & snacks for the whole week, but only 2-3 dinners – that allows us the flexibility to respond to last-minute cravings.  Plus, it makes the mid-week shopping trip quick & easy.
2. Keep a folder with all of the planned recipes for the week in the the kitchen.  Mark notes next to the ingredient lists, like “bought/in fridge” or “in bottom cupboard” – this enables anyone to start cooking when they get home.  Also note modifications to the recipes, like “use fresh basil” instead of dried herbs.
3. On the top of the folder, keep the week’s meal plan & shopping list.  Add everything we need (staples + meal ingredients) to the list throughout the week.  Assign household members responsibility for picking up certain items, based on the store they will come from.  Cross things off as we buy them.
4. Finish the week, print out a new Unclutterer template, copy over any un-made meals or un-bought items & begin planning next week…keeping in mind the ingredients I’ve already got on-hand.

When I told my neighbor I was trying this out, she gave me two more tips: (Thanks, Gloria!)

1. After going grocery shopping, hang a list on the fridge of all of the produce/fish/cheese you just bought (and which recipe it goes with) – that way you will remember what you need to cook in the next few days so it doesn’t go bad.
2. After dinner, store leftovers in individual-sized containers & add the list of leftovers to the list on the fridge – this will be a quick-reference guide of the lunch options to choose from each morning as you pack your bag for work.

So, to answer the question…
Has creating a weekly meal plan simplified my life? Absolutely.

THAT IS IT!  I cannot hear that phrase again, that last-minute, spoken in a fit of hunger, desperate & cranky, “What’s for dinner tonight?”  If you are like me, living in a household with two working adults, sometimes it’s hard to coordinate who will order the take-out, let alone go grocery shopping & cook a meal.

So, I am going to bite the bullet & start making a weekly meal plan for my household. I really didn’t know where to start, but then I found some great advice from Unclutterer.  (It felt like it was written just for me)

Here’s my plan:

1. Since I don’t have many cookbooks: Sign up for a daily recipe mailing list.  I am starting with Everyday Food (we used this for our inspiration last night), but would love to hear a suggestion of a food blog that does something similar.
2. Forward some tasty recipes to my husband at work, to get his input.  A few that got him excited recently: Salmon Skewers, Tomato Caper Tuna, Beans!
3. Print out at least 6 recipes that we find online that look good & put them in a folder in the kitchen – we will add to this weekly (Saturday morning with a cup of coffee sounds perfect).
4. Plan 2-3 meals we will cook next week, looking for common ingredients (or things we already have) in the recipes.  Use Unclutterer’s template.
5. Make a shopping list & hit the grocery store.  Use Unclutterer’s template for this, too.
6. Always have recipes for the next 2-3 meals queued up, with the shopping list prepared – that way, whoever gets home first can just grab the list, hit the store, and start cooking.

Will creating a weekly meal plan simplify my life? I sure hope so.

Have you tried this or other advice?  Let me know what you have found to be effective.