School has been going on for 4 weeks now. Everything is running smoothly and we are very busy. One thing that really helps is the menu. I've done this off and on over the years and every time I get back to it I wonder why I ever let it slide.
I make a 4 week menu that we repeat every month. This allows me to have one less thing to think about. I make my grocery list from the menu each week and cook from it as well. This also eliminates the need of pricey convenience foods for the quick lunches we so desperately need. There are usually leftovers that we eat at lunch. By the end of the week, there is usually a selection of leftovers that keeps everyone in the house happy.
There are some recipes that I cook in bulk and freeze so I just have to make the mess and take the time to prepare occasionally. These are mainly the recipes that call for hamburger meat. I will also freeze beans. I buy the 10 lb tube of ground chuck for these meals. One week, the "tube of meat" made 5 meatloaves. Another week it made 4 recipes of chili. I made 3 recipes of taco meat out of one of the "tubes of meat". One "tube of meat" was browned and frozen in 1 lb portions to be used with spaghetti, casseroles or whatever else I might want browned ground meat for. I used a chuck roast to make a large batch of beef stew (I froze half).
Here is the menu as it stands now. There are only a few meals that we eat more than once in the month. There are occasional nights out that we either eat at a restaurant or at someone's home.
Eighteen years after sitting my 5 year old down for his first day of school, we're still at it. We've graduated 2 and have one ready to graduate this year. Three more are working slow and steady at learning what they need to know to be the kind of adults God wants them to be.
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