What's for dinner?

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
It's 4:00 and your family asks, "What's for dinner?" You make a mad dash to the pantry and stand there just waiting for an idea to pop into your head... nothing! You turn to the refrigerator and find a bottle of ketchup, some yogurt and some eggs. Your response, "pizza is on the way!"

While it might seem time consuming at first, planning a week's worth of meals and shopping one day a week is the way to go. Here's how to get started.

Create a list of 10-15 meals your family eats on a regular basis. If you don't have this many, just list what you can think of. Here are some of my favorite recipe websites:

• http://allrecipes.com
• http://foodnetwork.com
• http://epicurious.com

There are several ways to do the next piece of this meal planning process. If you're computer savvy and think in Excel like I do, read the following ideas. Otherwise, skip over these to the next bold item.

1. Using excel, make a worksheet for each recipe and put the title on the tab. Insert a blank worksheet in the beginning of your workbook for your weekly meal planning.
2. Make a master menu. Vertically label cells Monday-Sunday. Next to each day/date, list the name of the recipe you'd like to serve. Consider the activities you have that week. If you're going to be home late, consider a crock-pot recipe or something you can prepare ahead of time. ***It's also a good idea to use fresh produce early in the week before it spoils. This is the only time I might make a second trip to the store in one week.
3. Next, copy the ingredients of each recipe and paste them into your worksheet.
   
4. Spend a few minutes at your local grocery store and take note of the store's layout. Write down the aisle headers to better help you organize your grocery list.
   
5. Sort your grocery list by aisle to make shopping a breeze. Using the copy and paste features in Excel will make this process fairly easy.
6. Be sure to shop your own pantry and refrigerator before finalizing your list. This will save you lots of money in the long run.
7. Consult your coupons. Look through the big stack and see if any of the coupons will apply to your weekly menu. Some might start with the ads first, basing the meals off of the sale items.
   
8. Post your menu somewhere in your kitchen. I like to post mine inside a cupboard so it's out of sight. It's important to do this so you don't forget what you bought all of your ingredients for.
9. Don't forget to add the items you'll want for breakfast and lunch. Double check your other supplies like paper, cleaning, storage, etc. and note them on your list as well
   

Technophobes, here's your strategy:

1. Create a recipe book on the most commonly used recipes. Try to include at least 15 recipes so your mealtime doesn't get monotonous.
   
2. Make a master menu for the week by choosing 7 recipes and assigning one to each day of the week. Keep your schedule in mind. If you're going to be late one night, consider a crock pot recipe. ***It's also a good idea to use fresh produce early in the week before it spoils. This is the only time I might make a second trip to the store in one week.
   
3. Start your grocery list by dividing your page into the various sections and aisles of your grocery store. Taking a few minutes to note these aisle headers the next time you're at the grocery store will make this especially smooth.
   
4. List your ingredients according to the sections and aisles of the grocery store.
5. Shop your pantry and refrigerator to make sure you don't duplicate items you already have.
6. Consult the ads to see if any of them apply to your menu for the week. Some choose to start with the ads before choosing the weekly menu.
7. Post your menu somewhere in your kitchen. I like to post mine inside a cupboard so it's out of sight. It's important to do this so you don't forget what you bought all of your ingredients for.
8. Don't forget to add the items you'll want for breakfast and lunch. Double check your other supplies like paper, cleaning, storage, etc. and note them on your list as well.

Making copies of your menus and the coordinating lists can save you time in the weeks to come. Be adventurous! Try to add a new recipe every week. I have 30 recipes I use so we don't repeat very often.

Overwhelmed? Here's a website that does most of this for you.
http://www.e-mealz.com/
If you don't have your own recipes, this site is for you. I have used it for two weeks and I like it. There are a few drawbacks. First, there is a cost. It's not expensive but you will pay $15.00 for 3 months. Secondly, you can't include your own recipes so your lists might need slight modifications if using your own recipe in place of one of the suggested meals. Some of the meals take quite a bit of time. While there might not be a lot of hands on prep, some of these meals require starting them 9 hours ahead of time in a crock-pot or over an open flame. Finally, from what I can tell, you can't swap out recipes if there's one that doesn't particularly appeal to you and your family. The grocery list does list the grocery items with the meals they will be used for so these modifications aren't too terribly difficult to figure out. Keep the menus and be sure to make a copy of your grocery lists before going to the store and covering them in your notes. Keeping these hole-punched and in a notebook will allow you to use them again and again.

Additional ways to save time and keep your refrigerator stocked:

• Hire a milkman. If you live in Western Washington, consider Smith Brothers.
  
• Don't forget your Farmer's Markets and fresh produce delivery. It might be an extra stop but you'll be supporting local farmers while getting the freshest produce available.
• Keep a freezer in your garage. Making double batches of your recipes is a great idea! You never know when a snow storm, or a long day at the beach if you're lucky, might keep you from getting to the store.
• Make a run to your local Costco or Sam's club and stock up on some frozen dinners. Yes, I know, it's not what Martha Stewart might suggest but these meals can save you if you're caught unprepared. We have been pleasantly surprised by some of the newer meals available.
• ALWAYS boil your chicken carcass! This makes excellent chicken broth that's sure to cure a cold. If you're really on top of it, chop up a few stalks of celery, an onion and some baby carrots to make chicken soup. Freeze it until you're feeling under the weather and it will feel just like Mom brought over chicken soup!
• No time to shop? Use your list to shop at an online grocer. Some stores might charge a few dollars for this service but it's fast and easy. It also keeps a person from making impulse purchases. Shopping online allows you to more easily stick to a budget! Most sites total your cart as you go. If a recipe is getting expensive, you can quickly delete the items from your cart and choose something less expensive like a pasta or hamburger based meal. These options usually more than cover the cost of delivery making online grocery shopping worth consideration.