{ Time to meal plan for the next two weeks }

It is that time again, to grab the menu planning book, some inspiration, and get writing.

I wish I could convey just how much I love meal planning and grocery shopping.  Putting it all away when I return from the shops?  Not so much, but the actual act of planning our meals and then going to the store, is something I truly enjoy.

Now that I have my cookbooks displayed on the kitchen island, and within my reach, I think meal planning will be even more pleasurable.  It's not just the act of jotting down the recipes that sound good to me, but browsing through my beloved cookbooks brings me so much joy.

When I had the books all packed away, up on high shelves and partly out of sight, I had actually forgotten what I had.  Once I started pulling them all down, it was almost like buying new books.  There are some treasures in there I had completely forgotten I owned.

Can you tell how excited I am to meal plan?

I went through them all this morning, and pulled out a few I wanted to revisit.  Don't you worry though, because in no time I will have gone through them all as I meal plan every two weeks. 

I have even been thinking of doing a sort of feature over on my food blog (linked here on the main blog so you wouldn't miss it, of course), where I cook from a certain cookbook, or country etc.  Or I could cook my way through some of the TV show cookbooks I have, like Outlander, Poldark, Little House on the Prairie.

Anyway, that is for another time, let's get planning.

I've had a quick look through the fridge and took note of the condiments we have, what needs restocking and what we are completely out of.  I've made the mistake before where I've been in such a hurry that I didn't check, ended up buying another and walked into the pantry one day to find 3 bottles of ketchup.  It's a waste of money, in my opinion.

I also check the freezer and write down meat we still have or anything else that can be used for a meal, such as sausage, ham, hotdogs and so on.

This cabinet is my spice cabinet and it drives me insane.  I don't like it one bit, I find that everything is piled on top of each other and it needs some serious reorganizing.  I just feel a bit at a loss as to how to organize all the spice bottles without them constantly looking cluttered, falling over and you know......I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who know exactly what I'm talking about.

If you have any organizing ideas for the spice cabinet please won't you share them?

The spice cabinet is quite easy to overlook, at least for me, I almost tend to forget it's there and then realize I'm out of this or that.  For the most part, the spices I use the most I always remember to stock up on but it helps to go through and throw out expired bottles or make sure that you have enough salt, pepper, etc.

The last place I check is my pantry.  I again go through and see what needs restocking, what we are out of and what needs throwing out.

It's quite easy to overlook certain things, thinking we still have them, not buying more and then realizing that one of the kids (or husband) left an empty carton, bag or box of something.

Now that I've jotted all this down, I can sit and start going through the cookbooks, always keeping in mind the meat, fridge and pantry items I already have on hand, need using up, or have an abundance of.

I try to plan my meals with a meat, side and either a salad or veggie of some kind.  I also try to alternate the days so I don't have chicken for days in a row, followed by beef etc.

So, with that in mind, I always begin with writing down the main dish, so for example if I'm doing beef of some kind, I then add a potato, rice or pasta, and then a salad or veggie.  When I go to the day after, I make sure to switch them up, so it will be a chicken dish, a different kind of carb and veg etc.

Some meal plans come together quickly, some take a few days. 

It all depends on the time of year, what I am feeling like, if I am running out of inspiration, is the budget needing to be cut back on a little.  So many things go into it, but for the most part, I grab a cookbook and go from there.

I've just finished my new meal plan.  The menu is from Friday the 10th to the 24th. 

Friday 10th - Chicken Etti, Salad
Saturday 11th - Slow Cooker Beef Stew, Homemade Dinner Rolls
Sunday 12th - Pepperoni Penne Carbonara, Garlic Knots
Monday 13th - Corn Bread Topped Sausage Pie, Mixed Veggies
Tuesday 14th - Ham and Noodle Bake, Broccoli Salad
Wednesday 15th - Sandra's Rice (Sausage, Okra, chicken)
Thursday 16th - Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Friday 17th - Sloppy Joes, Potato Salad
Saturday 18th - Sausage Florentine Potpie, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Sunday 19th - Homemade Pizza
Monday 20th - Bacon wrapped Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Tuesday 21st - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread
Wednesday 22nd - Sausage and Potato Skillet
Thursday 23rd - Sweet and Sour Pork with Rice

Even though it's only Wednesday, I feel so much better having the menu and the grocery list all planned out for Friday.  If until then something comes up, or I need to change a meal here or there, I can quickly do it and not feel rushed on the day.

While I was doing all this, I managed to finish watching Sanditon (ahhhhhhh it's brilliant but I hate the ending).  I've also been catching up on the last season of Poldark, which I hadn't yet watched.  Another brilliant show that I wish hadn't ended, but that seems to be the norm with all my loved period series.

I suppose it's expected and of course they can't go on forever, much to my chagrin, I wouldn't mind a continuous influx of Downton Abbey, Poldark, Sanditon, Outlander, White Queen, The Tudors......*sigh*.

And I realize I just completely went off track, from menu planning to period pieces.  There's an insight into my mind.  Hahah

I hope you all have a fantastic rest of Wednesday.  I'm going to publish this post, grab my crochet and finish watching my Poldark.