Early in our marriage, I created a meal calendar - basically a schedule of meals for each week so that I had a plan of what to buy and what to fix each night to take the guesswork out of meal prep.
During grad school, I got away from working off of a meal calendar...
Well... let's be honest here, during grad school my cooking took a major nosedive. Between night classes and homework, I didn't do a whole lot of good cooking. I cooked, yes. Was my cooking inspired, creative or exciting? No. Hell no. We also ate far more frozen pizzas than I ever care to admit to.
Now that I am, for all intents and purposes, a normal person again, I have gotten back to a meal calendar. I can't tell you how lovely it is to go to the grocery store with a complete grocery list for the week made out in advance and sorted by department and not be wondering down the aisles trying to shape together meals from the recipes I know by heart.
Putting together a meal schedule takes some time. You have to pull all of your recipe books and cards, make a list of dishes and organize those dishes into week schedules to make sure you have variety with each week. (I try to go by a formula of themes - Mexican, Asian, Italian, a few nights of American, a comfort food night and then make sure there is a balance of meats so that you don't end up eating salmon for five nights straight.) You have to decide on complimentary sides. (I am a bit more vague with my vegetable choice on some meals to allow for variety with whatever is in season) And of course the most important part - generating a list of all the ingredients in each dish for the week. (I include everything in my list - even the basics. If you know you have it already, you can cross it off.) And don't forget to reference the recipe book and page number for each meal! My current schedule pulls from about 8 recipe books, so I definitely wanted to make sure I knew right away where to look. Of course I do this whole process in my most beloved Excel, because I am a nerd and Excel makes my heart happy. In the end, I created a six week rotation with about 90% of the recipes being new ones. Between Dan's on call nights and any date nights out, the week of recipes usually lasts longer than 7 days.
It has been so much fun trying a new recipe every night and we are discovering a lot of new dishes and flavors that we have fallen in love with. It makes cooking so much more enjoyable and rewarding when you have variety and can try new things. And I love to hear Dan say with each new meal, "that was awesome, babe! Definitely make that one again!"
Here is my current schedule that I am working off of. I'm sure it will change some as I find new recipes that I want to try, and pull ones that weren't as much of a crowd pleaser, but it's a good baseline.
Block 1:
- Herb baked chicken with wild rice and green vegetable
- Grilled chicken tortilla soup with quesodillas and fresh avacado
- Teriyaki salmon with brown rice, shiitake mushrooms and snow peas and peppers
- Italian baked pork chops with penne pasta and salad
- Turkey stuffed pasta shells and salad
- Parmeson-dijon chicken with red potatoes and salad
Block 2:
- Grilled halibut in corn husks with Spanish rice and grilled corn on the cob
- Lemon chicken with white rice and Asian salad
- Minestrone soup with homemade foccacia (my favorite so far!)
- Meat loaf with red potoes and green vegetable
- Baked pork chops and apples with roasted squash and zuccini and salad
- Baked macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken
Block 3:
- Mexican pizza with Mexican caesar salad (add fresh guacamole to a caesar salad kit - it's yummy!)
- Stir fried broccoli and pork with brown rice
- Hand stuffed crab ravioli with salad and garlic bread
- Grilled salmon with red mashers and green vegetable
- Orange glazed chicken breast with wild rice and roasted vegetables
- Grilled cheese dippers with spicy tomato soup
Block 4:
- Chalupas with Mexican rice and black beans
- Crispy orange beef with rice and snow peas
- Pesto chicken pasta with green vegetable and garlic bread
- Gillian's chili with jalapeno corn bread
- Pecan crusted pork chops with red potatoes and green vegetable
- Beer BBQ chicken with sweet potato fries and salad
Block 5:
- Turkey tacos with mexican rice and fresh guacamole
- Teriyaki chicken stir fry with brown rice
- Chicken manicotti with salad
- Herbed salmon with red potatoes and roasted vegetables
- Chicken with mushrooms and artichokes with salad
- Baked pork chops with sweet potatoes and pears
Block 6:
- Chicken enchilladas with Mexican rice and black beans
- Thai peanut chicken with coconut rice
- Spaghetti with "gravy" and Roman artichokes
- Beef (turkey) stuffed bell peppers with vegetables and fresh bread
- Rosemary pork tenderloin with red potatoes and roasted vegetables
- Baked potato soup with salad
I have a whole slew of new recipes from friends or magazines that I would like to work in also, but I figure I'll run through these six blocks first and add, move and edit once we get to the end. The lovely thing about doing a six week schedule is it gives plenty of time between recipes to make them always feel fresh and not overplayed.
Got any good recipes or books you'd like to share? I'm always looking for new ones that have been tried and tested and are certified delicious!
