Simplified Kitchen

So since becoming a stay-at-home mom again, I have started being more creative with the eating out to eating at home ratio. My husband and I took a look at the number of times that we had been eating out lately and WHOA...we were eating out 3-4 times a week for various meals...and that was a low estimate! Something had to change going down to one income if our kids still wanted to participate in their activities. So, it begins....but I am having fun!

First, I have always been able to whip up meals with what we have on hand. Most of the time it turned out really well, thanks to my creativity, but there were a few doozies in there! I decided to try something new and plan weeks of meals, ones that I know the whole family likes, and create a grocery list to go along with it. That way all I have to do is print out the week I want and I have the meals for the week (lunch and dinner because my kids eat lunch at home each day) and the list of stores and items ready to go! Simple, right?

Here's what I did and you can, too:
1. Create a new Excel spreadsheet and create a few tabs at the bottom titled week1, week2, etc. Create the following template in week1 and cut/paste into the other weeks.
2. Then figure out the stores you are WILLING to regularly shop at and write those names at the top of each column (we have 4 stores that we shop at so the first 4 columns have those store names in bold and underlined).
3. Then in the next column (mine is E) create a wider box about 20 lines long, outlined in bold (don't merge cells) and this will be your "Meals" list. I put Lunch at the top, skip about 9 lines and then write Dinner. I automatically have "leftovers" down for 1 lunch so I just need 6 more.
4. Then figure out what meals you want to cook for the week and write them in the under the meals section so you have a nice menu for your family to look at. I try and make a variety of meals each week like chicken, beef, pork, veggie, pasta, crock pot, turkey, Italian, Mexican, etc. so it doesn't get repetitive.
5. Then I go through each recipe and add ALL of the ingredients to the list WHETHER OR NOT I HAVE THE ITEMS AT HOME ALREADY. This is the time consuming part but it pays off! I write it under the store that I would most likely get it at and then look for sales at the other stores.
6. When you are ready to shop, print out the list and cut off the "Meals" column and clip that to the fridge so you remember what you are cooking. Then take the shopping list and before leaving the house, cross off the items that you already have in the pantry or fridge because you don't need to purchase more!
7. Once you have done all your shopping, put your actual recipe cards in the front of your recipe box or a place where you can find them and you are ready to go for the week or more! I like to take a look at the Meal list and write what day I am going to be making what next to it based on our schedule. I tend to do crock pot meals on our busiest days so it's a worry-free dinner that cooks all day!


Well, that's it! Let me know if something doesn't make sense and I will work on getting 1 week up here for you to look at! I have found that I have made some oops' (duplicate items, forgot something, etc.) and I am trying to catch those and get them updates when I see them so it's fool proof. It's working for me so far and now I have 4 weeks of meal planning and grocery lists done! Currently I am working on a couple crock pot weeks because that's becoming my new fun!

Next post...my experience making my own yogurt in the crock pot!