Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
I met a dinner crazy for me
Met a menu plan cute as can be
Summer days drifting away to oh oh the summer nights
The song goes something like that, right? It’s all about dinners and menus, if I remember right. Summer’s over and I hope it was a great one for you. We beat the heat. We played it cool by the pool. We laid low in the library. We played it up in the park.
What makes summer so great is that it ends. Bittersweet, but summer is special because it’s a time away from school. But school is soon back in session! It’s a time to re-establish routines and get back into the swing of things.
It’s a time where chaos can reign if we let it. But don’t let it. At least, don’t let it get chaotic in the kitchen. Plan your meals and you plan for chaos to live somewhere else! Try this menu plan if you like, but no matter what — plan, plan, plan!
The Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Menu:
Available formats:
- The easy-to-print version as a .PDF.
- The pre-filled file in Excel.
- An empty file in Excel. Make your own menu plan!
The Dinner Only Menu:
Available formats:
- The easy-to-print version as a .PDF.
- The pre-filled file in Excel.
- An empty file in Excel. Make your own menu plan!
Its okay if you don’t like these recipes or these ideas – make your own! Just open the Excel version, delete what you don’t want and keep what you do want! I have a menu plan that works for my family – you should have one that works for yours!
What if I don’t cook every night?
Awesome! I don’t either – we often have leftovers 2-3 night/week. Just take this basic plan, cut out some meals and make leftovers part of your plan!
What if I don’t want a particular meal on a specific night?
Awesome! Just take this basic plan and swap meals around.
What if I don’t eat beef? Or chicken? Or pork?
Awesome! Just take this basic plan, remove the foods you won’t eat and put in foods you will eat.
What if I don’t know how to make that meal?
Awesome! Included are the links for the recipe that I usually use.
What if we always have pizza on Friday nights?
Awesome! (Can I come over?) Just remove my Friday meals and put in pizza.
What if I don’t like your recipe?
Awesome! Use whichever recipe you normally use and just use this basic plan as a suggestion.
What if I have my own monthly menu plan?
Awesome! Care to share it? Share it down below in the comments so that we all can see it and be inspired!
What’s cool about this menu plan?
Breakfast & lunch are simple and repetitive while still providing variety. For dinners, I try to have a lot more variety each week – some beef, some chicken, and some pastas. That way you won’t get too bored. There are also plenty of ways to save time when using this menu plan.
Examples: When prepping chicken at the beginning of the month, make enough for the other recipes and freeze it for future use. When making ground beef, brown 2-3 times the normal amount and freeze that. Check out these easy crockpot instructions for bulk cooking chicken and bulk cooking ground beef. It makes it super quick to pull meals together!
Recipes in this menu plan:
Breakfast Recipes:
Breakfast Popsicles
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Sausage Bagel Sandwiches
English Muffins (top with butter, cream cheese, peanut butter or jelly)
Breakfast Burritos
French Toast Sticks
Scrambled eggs
Cereal
Pancakes
Cinnamon Rolls
Waffles
Fried Eggs
Bagels (top with butter, cream cheese, peanut butter or jelly)
Baked Oatmeal
Lunch Recipes:
Tortilla Roll Ups
Easy Skillet Nachos
Chicken Nuggets
Soup Ideas: Baked Potato Soup, Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Ham & Potato Soup, Cheesy Veggie Chowder, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Ham & Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Chili, Taco Soup, Vegetable Soup, Broccoli Cheese Soup
Bean & Cheese Burritos
Summer Sausage, Cheese & Crackers
Macaroni & Cheese
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Mini Pizzas
Cheese Quesadillas
Cobb Salad
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Egg Salad
Dinner Recipes:
Slow Cooker Lo Mein
Chicken Tettrazini
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Pizza Chicken Bake
Yellow Rice Chicken Skillet
Chicken Parmesan
Taco Salad
Roasted Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
Italian Sausage & Peppers
One Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken & Rice
Taco Beef Braid
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Queso Chicken Bake
Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap
Bow Tie Fiesta
Ham & Cheese Pockets
BBQ Chicken Tostadas
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Brautwurst
Taco Ranch Chicken
Baked Sweet Hawaiian Chicken
Swedish Meatballs
Tacquitos
Crispy Onion Chicken
Pizza
Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon
Baked Honey BBQ Popcorn Chicken
Slow Cooker Stuffed Shells with Spinach
Grilled Burritos
Santa Fe Chicken Foil Dinners
Oven Baked Ham & Cheese
Jayme is a wife to 1 and to four little boys. She coupons, but isn’t super extreme about it. She price matches and loves it! While she likes to cook, she’s in the stage of life where simple is usually better. She never knows how many hands she’ll have free at dinner time. You can find her at No Regrets Living.
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