Monday, December 12, 2011

Menu Plan - rest of December

I'm doing something a bit different with this menu plan, and filling it out for the rest of December. The next few weeks are wild & crazy with trips and events, so I thought it would be easiest to look at the next few weeks when planning out my menu. Hopefully this will mean that I'll be organized with my grocery shopping, and won't have to run to the store four times/week. :-) As you can see, this is definitely a "light cooking" menu, heavy on the freezer foods.

I'll decide on a vegetable for next week based on freshness/availability when we're at the beach. Choices are usually more limited, so we'll go with what's fresh that day.

  • Monday (12/12) - Leftover baked shells with pesto & meat sauce + roasted Brussels sprouts.
  • Tuesday (12/13) - Asparagus & chicken carbonara
  • Wednesday (12/14) - Roasted butternut squash pasta (likely substituting chicken or chicken sausage for the bacon)
  • Thursday (12/15) - Leftover carbonara
  • Friday (12/16) - Clean out fridge day. Eat whatever is available, freeze any remaining leftovers.
  • Saturday (12/17) - Out of town at my nephew's birthday party. I'm in charge of a fruit tray, vegetable tray, & wine. :-)
  • Sunday (12/18) - On a mini trip with M! Eating out at fancy restaurants in Las Vegas.
  • Monday (12/19) On a mini trip with M! Still eating out. 
  • Tuesday (12/20) - Traveling home from our trip, & picking up our kids from my parents, so something easy & from the freezer.
  • Wednesday (12/21) - Chicken Caesar salads + whatever vegetable is available.
  • Thursday (12/22) - Green chicken enchiladas (from the freezer)
  • Friday (12/23) - Chicken taquitos from the freezer, or eating up anything still remaining in the fridge.
  • Saturday (12/24) - Christmas Eve with my parents. I'm bringing a sandwich tray + wine.
  • Sunday (12/25) - Christmas dinner with family. No clue what I'm bringing for this.
  • Monday (12/26) - At our beach house. Barbecued hamburgers & hot dogs + a vegetable.
  • Tuesday (12/27) - Barbecued chicken + goat cheese crostini + a vegetable.
  • Wednesday (12/28) - Leftover burgers + Trader Joe's mushroom turnovers.
  • Thursday (12/29) - Garlic chicken with orzo (using remaining barbecued chicken from Tuesday)
  • Friday (12/30) - Barbecued salmon + a vegetable
  • Saturday (12/31) - Homemade pizzas + some sort of a fun appetizer to ring in the new year.
What's on your menu for the next few weeks? How do you get through the holidays without eating out a lot? Any tips or tricks?
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3 comments:

  1. ~Carla~December 12, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    We very rarely eat out, so I don't have any tips really, except to think of how much money you can save by NOT eating out! ;)

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  2. JenniferDecember 12, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    We always plan our menus for 3 weeks ahead. It is chore, but man, we love it for the next three weeks and it keeps us going.

    As for not eating out - having a menu helps, be flexible with it. Sometimes you have to exchange nights because life happens.

    Eating out over the holidays - it is difficult when traveling, but at home, really it is no different. We just may have a few more crock pot meals.

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  3. NikiDecember 12, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    Eating out has been one of our problem areas too. I think menu planning AND having a decent freezer stash has helped. Some nights I just don't feel like cooking so pulling something out of the freezer is nice and it keeps us from getting in the car to go to a restaurant.

    By the way I LOVE chicken carbonara, yumm.

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