Wow — here we are in November already! Sometimes, I think time is just crawling by and sometimes, it just flies by! For us, these past months have been flying by. As our kids are getting older, they’re involved in activities that are starting to fill our evenings and weekends. We aren’t gone every night of the week, but we’ve definitely noticed an increase in busyness!
Which makes it even more important to me to have a plan for dinner. Without a plan for dinner, I’m just lost and my day does not go nearly as well. And when my day doesn’t go well, I feel stressed. And when I’m stressed, I spend money. Usually in the form of take out for dinner. Which isn’t all bad, but I’d rather be intentional about take out rather than “Oh my goodness! What are we gonna eat!?”
So, that’s why I menu plan. Here’s one that you can use – or you can use as a starting point!
The Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Menu:
Available formats:
- The easy-to-print version.
- 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:
Honey Garlic Broiled Chicken Thighs
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Mac & Cheese with Sausage & Peppers
Chicken Parmesan
Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches
Oven Drumsticks
Swedish Meatballs
Pizza
Pork Tenderloin
Glazed Pork Chops
Cheesy Cheddar Ranch Chicken
Meatball Subs
Vegetable Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Quiche
Meatloaf
Tacos
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Hawaiian Chicken
Turkey
Leftovers
French Bread Pizza
Beef & Barley Stew
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Chicken Pot Pie
Taco Soup
Oven Fried Chicken
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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