This works for me, except that 9 times out of 10 we end up with enchiladas, chili, or what I like to call "frozen veggie tators" which is basically a baked potato filled with steamed frozen veggies all covered in cheese. It's really starting to get old.
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| An old-fashioned cookbook! Remember them? They were our Grandmothers' Pintrest! |
Of course, like all other internet addicts, I am no where near short on recipe ideas. I've have binders, books, and websites full of great ideas! For a while I made a habit of printing all the recipes I liked and putting them in notebooks. Over time, I ended up with 10 bread recipes (no joke!) and 5 enchilada recipes (which I actually don't need anymore since I can whip up a pan of enchiladas from just about anything). I decided that maybe printing every recipe I wanted to try wasn't a good use of trees.
You see I have plenty of recipes, I just don't have any organization. I've seen all kinds of super cute recipe organization and menu planning ideas on Pintrest, but lets' get real, who has the time to make cute little recipe cards and attach clothes pins to picture frames? Okay, I do. But I just can't bring myself to do it!
I want to be organized. I want to be one of those cute, efficient moms who sits down on Monday and miraculously knows what she's going to make Thursday night for dinner, but I am not (I'm not really sure why since I am obviously cute and efficient...). For one thing, I change my mind way too much. For another thing, I hate schedules. For a third thing, I frequently have bouts of laziness coupled with forgetfulness that usually don't wear off until 6:00 pm when I'm starving!
All of this to say I need a new plan. I want to find a way to organize my recipes, put together a decent menu for the week, and then stick to it!
Of course, I also want a million dollars and a pet panda bear, and we all know that ain't gonna happen!
Chime in! Do have any menu planning tips? How often do you try new recipes and how do you keep them organized?
I don't do a menu, but I do plan what to eat for the week. This helps me to be able to pick and choose what to eat when. I also love the cooking 1 day a month and then just pulling out of the freezer what we will eat at night. We try new recipes all the time, but I have yet to get them organized!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember feeling that way about planning our menus, too. But the 1 thing I hated more than menu planning was getting to 4pm and not knowing what was for dinner. So I started menu planning and it made my life SO MUCH EASIER! I use a simple little spiral notebook to write the week's menu on the same day that I do my shopping. I use that same notebook to write down new recipes. Menu planning has really become like second nature now! Of course I blogged all about it :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post - it so perfectly captures my sentiments! I dread the question that comes across my mind everyday after lunch - "What's for dinner?". I am in the process of making a list of all of our favorite meals and optional side dishes and will hopefully put magnets on the back of them so I can arrange and re-arrange our meal options (including some that say "new recipe" or "out to eat" or whatever). I also hope to become someone who can spend a Saturday cooking several meals to freeze.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see if any of these ideas come to fruition! Sometimes all the internet/blog/pinterest ideas for recipes and organization can be overwhelming!
I am the same way. I wait til the last minute, look in the fridge, get discouraged, check pinterest, haul out all my cookbooks, finally decide on something, find out I am missing one ingredient, and start over. Or I just add-lib it. My goal is to have supper ready when my Husband walks in the door, but that hasn't happened on a regular basis yet. So I bought a daily planner and wrote breakfast, lunch, snack, supper on each page and try to fill it in that way. I just started so I'm not sure how it will go, but I am hopeful because simplicity is my friend lol.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that all the internet/blog/pinterest ideas can be overwhelming--are overwhelming lol!