“March: In like a lion, out like a lamb!” Whenever I hear that phrase, I automatically remember bulletin boards that my elementary school teachers must’ve had. Pictures of storm clouds and wind. Pictures of lions and lambs. That’s the impact that teachers have – their students can recall different images or words that were taught in their classroom. While I’ve never desired to be an official teacher like in a “real classroom”, I do hope I’ve taught things. Particularly to my children – big things like kindness, sure. But also little things like not using mittens as socks. And not to flush door stoppers down the toilet. And don’t swallow pennies. Lessons I never thought I’d have to teach, but apparently, you do.
March is also known for Madness. Not mental illness, although that’s important to remember. But NCAA basketball. While I’m not a fan of the sport, I have been known to fill out a bracket just to win either a few bucks from an office pool or bragging rights. Here’s a helpful tip though: filling your bracket out alphabetically by team name isn’t a winning strategy. It’s as good as anything else random, but you’re probably not gonna win anything doing it that way.
Speaking of madness, it’s madness not to have a menu plan! Well, for me anyway. Not having a plan is guaranteed to increase my stress level AND my grocery budget. Both of which are important to me. Both of which I want to be low. So a menu plan it is!
Do you have a menu plan? If not, start with this one! Use it as is or feel free to customize it!
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?
Meatless Fridays! (Except for St. Patrick’s Day!) Helpful for those celebrating Lent or who want to add some variety to their dinner rotation.
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:
Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
BBQ Chicken Tostadas
Kung Pao Shrimp
Slow Cooker Lo Mein
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Smoked Sausage & Potato Hash
Oven Fried Chicken
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
Pepperoni Roll
Quiche
One Pot Beef & Mushroom Stroganoff
Sesame Chicken
Marlboro Man Sandwiches
Ham & Swiss Pinwheels
Grilled Burritos
Ham & Cheese Crescent Bake
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Baked Teriyaki Chicken
Pork Tenderloin
Santa Fe Chicken Foil Dinners
Sweet Asian Chicken
Queso Chicken Bake
Taco Soup
Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells
Slow Cooker Chili
Slow Cooker Ham
Beef Stew
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken
Easy Skillet Nachos
Tacos
Pizza Casserole
Jayme is a wife to 1 and a mother to four little boys. She coupons, price matches and meal plans. 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.
