Before I share the rest of the 4 week plan, I wanted to address some questions that I have received.

1. How does this save you money if you don't plan from the sale flyers?

      I still use my coupons and watch for the sales, but I believe that menu planning this way does save me money for the following reasons:

      a. I can buy items that I will use throughout the 4 weeks in bulk.

      b. I can watch the sales for the whole month instead of by the week.

      c. When items are on sale, I know how much to buy with the plan.

2. I often feel overwhelmed planning for a week, how do you do it for a month?

      Around the second week to early in the third week of the previous menu plan I sit down with my cookbooks, recipe binders, calendar, and laptop. I have already developed a tentative schedule for my menus. It then is just a matter of filling in the blanks.

Example:

Sundays- Large Roasts

Mondays- leftovers

Tuesdays- Chicken

Wednesdays- Pasta or Pork

Thursdays- Chicken

Fridays- Beef or Pizza Night

Saturday- Soups or Main Course Salads

      I follow a pattern that works for us and our preferences. We love chicken and that is in our plan twice a week. It saves me time by following the pattern and because I only have to haul everything out 1 time every 4 weeks.

      I can always change the plan up if we become tired of something. In the summer when we are at the lake, Friday night becomes grilling night and Satuday becomes Crock-pot recipes. In the fall the menu includes Turkey, when prices are lower. In the spring we add in Ham and sausage with the Easter sales.

3. Do you get bored with your plan?

      No. I love having it in place. We are an active family and I find the plan to have enough variety that we don't get tired of it.

Here's the last 2 weeks of the current plan:

Week 3:

Peanut Butter Granola & Yogurt

Baked Ham, Au Gratain Potatoes and Green Beans

Crackers & Cheese with Movie Night

      Bake Bread, Make Chicken Salad, Thaw bacon crumbles

Toast, Bacon, Onion & Hashbrown skillet with Fruit

Chicken Salad with Crackers, Carrots and Ranch

Leftover Buffet

      Thaw potatoes, english muffins, pizza roll-ups and chicken

Eng. Muffins & Egg Scramble

Pizza Roll-ups with Marinara & Yogurt parfait

Marrinated Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes & Sweet Corn

      Make fruit bread, thaw hash

Fruit Bread & Corned Beef Hash

PB&J Sandwiches, Carrots & Ranch and Fruit

Cheesy Mac and Ham & Broccoli Saute

      Make Pitas & Thaw Chicken

Granola & Yogurt

Leftovers

Chicken Gyros, Homemade Pitas, Tzaziki Sauce & Cucumbers with Cream

      Make Biscuits and thaw sausage

Honey Butter Sausage Biscuits & Fruit

Ramen Noodles & Buttered Bread

Pizza Night

Lazy Daisy Cake

      Make Cake & Thaw ground Beef

Pancakes & Fruit

Lunch Out

Chili- double, Midwestern Cornbread

      Make Oatmeal and Thaw potato skins

Week 4:

Baked Oatmeal & Yogurt

Pork Loin, Sweet Onion Marmaletta, Scalloped Potatoes & Salad

Potato Skins & Game Night

      Shred pork, Bake Bread & Thaw sausage

Toast, Sausage & Hashbrowns

Shredded Pork Sandwiches, Carrots & Ranch

Leftovers

      Thaw English Muffins, pizza roll-ups & chicken

Eng. Muffins & Egg Scramble

Pizza Roll-ups with Marinara & Fruit

Chicken & Dumplings with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots

      Thaw hash & muffins

Fruit Muffins & Ham Hash

PB&J Sandwiches, Carrots & Dip & Fruit

Florentine Stuffed Shells- Triple & Garlic Bread

       Thaw chicken

Baked Oatmeal & Yogurt

Leftovers

Chicken Fried Rice & Applesauce

      Make Merry Pop-ins & Thaw groung beef

Merry Pop-ins & Fruit

Lunch Out

Taco Salad, Breadsticks & Blueberry Pie

      Make Breadsticks- double, Make pie & Thaw chicken

Sourdough Waffles & Fruit

Leftovers

Northwoods Wild Rice Soup- Triple, Breadsticks & Ice Cream

      Make Granola & preview next menu for prep

      Whenever I double or triple a recipe, it is for the freezer. Then I incorporate it into the next menu plan on busy days. I will post any recipes that are requested.

      Menu Planning is one of the most important tools I use to help myself stay organized, save my family money, feed my family nutritous meals, and save myself time in the kitchen. I don't buy breads, cereals, chips or snacks. I make my own.

      My son has Asthma and I noticed that for the first time since he was two, he was having pretty bad episodes this fall. When he was 2, we cut preservatives out of his diet. I began to create all our breads and snacks. It really did make a huge difference.

      Then we moved and for some reason I got away from menu planning. We survived that way for a year and when I look back I can see how much money we spent eating out and making extra trips to the grocery store. My son's asthma became much worse during that year. Yuck!

      I finally realized that I needed to go back to my planning. I was doing a week at a time and began to freezer cook about  every other month. I'd make between 30-40 meals and stash them in the freezer for those times when we would be busy and tempted to eat out. I went on this way for 4 years or so. It wasn't bad and the freezer cooking was very helpful. We thought that my son had outgrown his asthma. Yipee!

     This fall my daughters were on a volleyball team that travelled quite a bit. Their practices were 40 minutes away. We started to eat out more and buy a lot of snacks from the store. "Coincidentally" my son began using his inhaler frequently. He had a significant increase in attacks. He had to use a steroid inhaler and was left pale and shaky for a time. That was followed by stomach pain and cramping.

      It took me awhile, but I finally got it. Could his change in diet and increase in asthma attacks be linked? In December I began to wean us off store bought breads completely, including sandwich buns, english muffins, pitas, and tortillas.

      In January I began eliminating all packaged cereals, snacks, chips, and crackers. We are blessed to be near an Amish wholesale bulk food store. When I go there I can stock up on cheese and meat too. The prices are great and not only are there no preservatives but the meat and cheese has no growth hormones. The prices are decent. If I buy in balk, I can get really good prices. In order to buy in bulk, I needed a plan that would cover more than a week. I tackled 4 weeks and I love it.. It is very freeing. My son has not touched his inhaler since the third week of January.

      So here's the first 2 weeks of my current 4 week plan- if there are any recipes that you would like, leave a comment and I will post them.

Week 1:

Honey Almond Granola & Yogurt

Beef Stroganoff x2, Amish egg noodles, Frozen green beans from my garden, Pumpkin Walnut Cake

Bacon and Cheese Potato Skins (freezer stash)

      Bake Honey Oatmeal Bread ,Thaw whole chicken, Make chicken salad from Fri. leftovers, Bake & crumble 3 lbs bacon

Toast, Hashbrown, Egg & Bacon scramble

Chicken Salad, Carrots & Ranch, Grapes

Leftovers

      Make Pepperoni Pizza Roll-ups, Thaw Cin. Rolls & Sauasage Roll-ups (freezer stash)

Cinnamon Rolls (freezer stash) & Cheesy Eggs

Pizza Roll-ups with Marinara Sauce & Apple wedges

Garlic and Herb Butter Roasted Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Turnips & Carrots, Blueberry Muffins

      Thaw Pumpkin Bread (freezer stash), Thaw pork chops, twice baked potatoes(freezer stash),  & corned beef hash (freezer stash), make muffins

Fruit Bread & Corned Beef Hash

PB & J Sandwiches, Cucumbers & Cream, Grapes

Sweet & Tangy Pork Chops, Twice Baked Potatoes (freezer stash), Sweet Corn

      Make tortillas, Thaw chicken breasts, Begin sourdough starter

Coconut Pecan Granola & Yogurt

Leftovers & Choc. Chip Cookies

Chicken Fajhitas, Tortillas, Toppings, Applesauce

      Bake cookies ( makes 10 dozen- freeze 6 dozen), feed starter

Breakfast leftovers

Lunch out

Sausage Deep Dish Pizza, Salad & Brownie Sundaes

      Bake brownies, Make Chocolate Sauce, Whip cream, Bake potatoes, Bake Italian Cheese Bread, Feed Starter, Check cocoa mix and make more if needed

Banana Crepes

Baked Potato Soup, Italian Cheese Bread, Apple wedges

Mint Hot Cocoa with leftover whipped cream, crackers & cheese,fresh fruit and choc. chip cookies

      Make crackers, Make double batch of Baked Oatmeal, Thaw Roast Beef, feed starter

Week 2:

Baked Oatmeal & Yogurt

Roast Beef, Potatoes & Carrots, Applesauce

Popcorn & Games

      Shred leftover beef, Fry Sausage patties-2 lbs (freeze 1 1/2 lbs)- crumble 1 lb. (freeze half), feed starter

Toast, Sausage and Eggs

Roast Beef Sandwiches, Carrots & Ranch, Clementines

Leftover Buffet

     Make English muffins ( 3 batches- freeze 2), thaw chicken, feed starter

English Muffins & Egg with Sausage crumbles, Yogurt

Pizza Roll-ups, Marinara Sauce, Pear Wedges

Chicken Pot Pie x3 (freeze 2),Cole Slaw

     Make fruit muffins (double-freeze 1), thaw groud beef, thaw ham hash, feed starter

Fruti Muffins, Ham Hash

PB & J Sandwiches, Carrots & & Ranch, Clementines

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (double- freeze 1), Salad, Breadsticks

      Make breadsticks-dbl for Sat., Thaw chicken( extra for Sat), Bake Soudough Loaves

Baked Oatmeal & Yogurt

Leftover Buffet

Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry, Steamed Rice

      Thaw Merry-pop-ins, Thaw ground beef, Cook extra chicken for Sat., Make more trail mix if needed

Merry-pop-ins, Pear wedges

Lunch out

Zesty Onion Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Saute

      check "instant " oatmeal packets- make more if needed

Sourdough Waffles, Clementines

Asian Chicken Salad with leftover breadsticks

Leftover Buffet & Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

      Make Peanut Butter Granola & Vanilla Nut Granola, Bake Hot Fudge Cake

      I will post the last 2 weeks later this week so check back!