The Dinner Menu

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new month so today I wanted to share something I like to do for each new month.....The Dinner Menu.

The dinner menu was something my mom did when I was growing up.  Each month she would create a menu for dinner for every night of the week.  Instead of having to listen to six kids ask "What's for dinner?" every night, we could just look at the posted menu and know, well beforehand. 

I started to consistently do my own dinner menu back in January of this year.  I love reading through cookbooks and magazines, and browsing the internet, looking for new recipes to try.  And creating a menu seemed like a good way to organize a tiny part of my life.  My ex never really understood the reasons behind the menu, and would often complain about some of the new dishes I wanted to try.   It has been much nicer in the last three months creating menus full of food I enjoy or would like to try and not having to listen to anyone else's opinion. 

Not only does creating a menu take all the guesswork out of what I will make, it saves me a ton of money on groceries each month.   I usually take an inventory of what I have on hand in the freezer and pantry and will plan meals around those items.  Then when it is time to grocery shop, I only need to buy a minimum amount of items.  Unless it is a stock-up month, of course, like October was.   Most times, my grocery list will consist mainly of fresh produce, bread, eggs, milk, cheese, ect.   And if there is ever a night when I don't feel like making what is scheduled, I am free to move meals around, since I usually have the ingredients on hand.  I also schedule a few nights where nothing is planned that I call "Make Whatever I Feel Like Night".  On these nights, I can cook whatever I want or order pizza, chinese, whatever I have a taste for.  I can also use these nights to make a meal I have previously planned to make that I skipped in favor of something else.

Here is November's menu.  I am always willing to share recipes if anyone is interested in any of the planned meals.

Dinner Menu November 2012
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1 Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Soup Rolls with Garlic Butter	2 Strawberry French Toast Sausage Links Orange Slices	3 Bacon Cheeseburgers Beer Battered Fried Pickles Salad
4 Truly Texan Chili Cornbread	5 Chicken Piccata w/ Angel Hair Pasta Garlic Breadsticks Salad	6 Bowling Night	7 Crispy Parmesan Pork Chops Scalloped Potatoes Salad	8 Mexican Pizza Salad	9 Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Grilled Cheese Broccoli	10 Make Whatever I Feel Like Night
11 Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken Spanish Rice	12 Hamburger Steaks w/ Brown Gravy Mashed Potatoes Corn	13 Bowling Night	14 Italian Style Soup w/ Turkey Sausage Bread and Butter	15 Lemon Walnut Chicken Basmati Rice Broccoli	16 Make Whatever I Feel Like Night	17 Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops Oven Roasted Potatoes Salad
18 Columbus for the Day	19 Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole Salad	20 Bowling Night	21 Tacos Chips with Guacamole & Salsa	22 Happy Thanksgiving!	23 Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Fried Rice Egg Rolls	24 Make Whatever I Feel Like Night
25 Spaghetti and Meatballs Garlic Bread Salad	26 Cheesy Potato Soup with Broccoli Crescent Rolls	27 Bowling Night	28 Sausage Gravy & Biscuits Scrambled Eggs Fruit Salad	29 Lemon Thyme Chicken Basmati Rice Salad	30 Make Whatever I Feel Like Night

On to some other things.   I am really looking forward to this weekend.   Not only do I have some really good meals planned, I have the whole weekend free.   Friday night is bowling, and Saturday I have to clean the house and a therapy appointment, but the rest of the weekend is completely unscheduled.  I would really like to get my closet and dresser drawers cleaned out.  I also found some knitting videos on Youtube I plan on checking out, and am going to spend some time watching my shows, reading, and drawing with my new pencils and sketchpad.   I hope it stops raining so Hugo and I can go for a couple of walks.   I think I am also going to make myself a fancy Sunday morning breakfast of waffles and eggs and sausage.  It is little things like these that I am beginning to find true happiness in.  They are small gestures, but they make me feel like I am really taking care of myself, and really trying to make a happy life for myself.  It has definitely not been an easy road for me, but by starting to do these little things, I am building a life I can enjoy. 

Happy Halloween Everyone!