Menu Planning

Menu planning has been a LIFESAVER in the Shaner house.  No longer am I running to the store two or three times a week and exceeding my grocery budget.  My pantry isn't overflowing with expired goods and well-intended purchases.

So, I do a little couponing and my husband and I have a large deep-freezer in the garage for freeze-ahead meals (when I have time) and  sale purchases.  My menu planning is far from fancy.  I do not use a special form or an app on my phone (tried both and they were too much work).  My list usually appears on a used envelope, note card, or receipt.  On Saturday or Sunday (usually after Eric has run out to grab papers) I sit down and do a brief mental run down of what I have in the freezer/pantry, check for coupons, and pull out the Martin's sale flyer. 

The first thing I do with my menu is write down any special events.  These would be nights when one or both of us will not be home for dinner, available to help with dinner, or too busy to mess with dinner.  Next I fill in meals that I did not make last week (there is usually one) that I already have all of the ingredients for.  Borrowing from my friend Sheila, I plan one Mexican meal and one Italian meal.  Usually I pull these from my staple list of favorite meals - tacos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, lasagna, lasagna roll-ups, tortellini, etc.. - once in a while I try a new recipe from Pinterest.  Following this I scan the sales flyer and see if anything inspires me - chicken drumsticks on sale, GREAT!, BBQ chicken and sweet potato fries with any fresh veggie I can find on sale.  Last but not least, I ask Eric for his input so that he can not complain about the meals for the week. 

To help my sister get used to menu planning, I made her note cards that had the name of the dish on the front, and the ingredients on the back (with serving suggestions) so that she can pull out the meals her and her fiance want and quickly jot down her shopping list.  If you do not have many recipes committed to memory, I would highly recommend sitting down in front of the TV and making these cards.  Again, they aren't anything fancy - just a reference!  (Make sure you include where to find the recipe so that when you go to cook the meal you can quickly located the directions.)

All in all, after a few months of practice, my menu planning takes about 30 minutes (including the time needed to make a cup of coffee), keeps my budget under control, and ensures that my family has 7 home-cooked meals each night of the week.

Next up...
MONTHLY Menu Planning

Back at it again...

I have done a decent job maintaining my professional blog so I am going to try to keep up with my personal blog.

Instead of blogging about family and dogs, this blog will now focus primarly on how I survive each day working full-time, raising an AMAZING son, and running my household.  I have been so inspired by other stay-at-home mom and working mom blogs that I thought I would give it a shot!  Please comment and share links of how you survive as a woman who does it all!!!

It has been FOREVER

For the whole two people that follow my blog, I am sorry I have not posted in the last few weeks.  Life at the Shaner house has been crazy.  Recently, Eric and I were able to get away for the weekend to visit some family.  We really enjoyed our time, but also enjoy being back.  I am off to present this week at a national conference in Baltimore, so I am beginning my travel preparations.  Joba is doing well, no major health concerns recently.  Eric is looking forward to wrapping up his graduate class here soon and getting started with baseball season.  He is up for head coach so we are looking  forward to the official word here in the next few weeks.  Other than that there is not much new to report.  Off to work on presentation materials!

And the Beat Goes On...

With the school year well under way I am trying VERY hard to streamline my chores and responsibilities so that my time is spent wisely and at the end of the day I have a few minutes to myself.  So far I am doing OK at getting what needs to be done, done on time.  If only there were more hours in the day or I didn't require so much sleep.

Joba has adjusted well to the school schedule; we miss him during the day.  He is extra snuggly when we get home.  As with all Wednesday nights; tonight is Joba and Stacie's movie and popcorn night. (Occasionally I get the peanut butter out for him too.)

Eric and I bought more paint the other day while it was on sale.  I don't know when we will paint, but I am hoping to take a few hours here and there and begin taping the easy stuff.  I should be able to paint the rooms upstairs by myself without too many problems.  the living room should be easy enough as well despite the tall ceilings.  I also bought new fabric to cover the pillows in the family room but my sewing machine broke as I was finishing Joba's second snuggle pillow.  (Needless to say he was VERY disappointed.)

Life is good and so far we both enjoy being married.  :)

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

New School Year

What can only be described as an overwhelmingly discouraging three days of chaos, I am now suppose to be ready for school on Monday.  Eric and I both had a series of three in-service days this week.  All of which we were not given enough time to prep for students, given discouraging news, wondered why we are teachers, and forced to sit for exceedingly long periods of time by our colleagues.  In-service "encouragement" aside, I am slowly beginning to look forward to the school year despite many parental warnings that their children are handfuls.  My room at school is currently a disaster zone so Monday morning I will be either hiding what I can't put away or just throwing stuff out.  Ahhh, welcome fall.

Joba is enjoying his last day off before school starts by reeking havoc in the backyard.  Eric and I are airing out the house and cleaning up from canning dilly beans yesterday.  I hope to continue spending time outside today;  maybe the park, wedding the gardens, shopping, or simply sitting outside with a few books.  We shall see!

With the house painted, boxes unpacked, and a little bit of wedding money, I am hoping to pick up some nice fall and Christmas decorations in the coming months that we can use around the house.  I am not one to redecorate each room for each holiday, but I would like a few pieces for the foyer, dining room, and kitchen/family room areas.  Pier one has some nice vase fillers and Pottery Barn has the table runner I would like.  I figure I have to get decorations if the family may be celebrating Thanksgiving here this year.  (Maybe I can sweet talk mom into making me a center piece for my dining room.)

Off to change out of the pajamas and consider the benefits of actually doing my hair and wearing contacts today!

A Million Things to do and Counting...

Eric and I returned from his parent's house this morning completely beat and void of personality.  We drove up early yesterday with the dog and are beginning to feel the effects of such intense travel.  Today we are catching up on errands and cleaning while the dog sleeps off his traumatic journey.  As Eric and I begin to sense the impending start of the school year we are torn between getting a few last minute projects finished around the house and sitting in our pajamas sipping lemonade.  There are many days I wish I worked a 9-5 job in which I am not bringing home the emotional baggage of one hundred children and hours worth of work each night.  But who am I kidding; I love my kids.

Off to finish cleaning, make pasta salad and cupcakes, unpack my bags, weed the garden, pick tomatoes...

...you get the idea.

The Wedding Stuff Continues...

Worried about meeting with the photographer today...