Menu Planning: Do You Do It?

Each week, I sit down with a cup of tea and plan our house dinner menus around our activities for the upcoming week.....are we going out to dinner, do I have an evening board meeting, are we in New York with the Grands, etc.

I assign a dinner for each night we are in town and from that I prepare my grocery store list.

I also typically check the cupboards and freezer  to make sure I am not buying duplicates.

This is how I have operated for over fifty years.  It absolutely astounds me when people say they
Never make a list when they go to the store.  They say that once they arrive at the store, they purchase whatever looks good and/or what might be on special sale.

Many, many people (mostly a younger generation) also declare that they never know what they are eating for dinner because they don't know what they will be in the mood for so they decide day of or that very AFTERNOON!

This totally boggles my brain!  Leaving this important decision to the last minute is something I cannot fathom!

Have I ever been in this position?  Absolutely!  And that is why it upsets me so!  I hate not having the control and confidence that a meal will be on the table at a certain time.  I love to plan my day and

scurrying around at the last minute is not something I want to do!

Of course, there have been many, many times that I have tried a new recipe and it just didn't work.....
so that particular well-planned meal was a bust!

My husband is not fond of crockpot meals.....he likes sauteed, broiled, baked .....not a fan of gravy and sauces, so the crockpot is not my "go to" for meal planning.

With this "self isolation" and "lockdown" it seems we are all cooking/baking more and becoming so very creative.  With the store shelves depleted, who knew or thought that pasta and flour would be
worth their weight in gold right now due to inaccessibility!

Taking time to decide on menus and ingredients gives one power and control over the entire week!

I must admit I am in awe of my friends...women who have or had demanding careers, active women

who do not waste a moment.....they are so very innovative when it comes to trying new recipes, new

desserts.....they, too, know each day what they are having or preparing.

The old Girl Scout rule of  "being prepared" resonates........this is a system that truly works!