Meal Plan Monday

Hello friends!

I don't know about you, but I find the start of the new school year is almost like New Year's Day - a chance to start fresh and try new things!

You may have noticed that I took a bit of a blogging break over the summer - Scrumptious Sunday went on vacation (but it's back now!) - and I spent some time thinking about what I'd like to add to my blog that I think you would find helpful.

Anyone who knows me know that I'm a wee bit organized...I find being organized makes life so much simpler, and much less stressful!  One of the biggest organizational changes that I've implemented in the last few years is MEAL PLANNING.  Trust me, if you don't make a meal plan, you should, and you will love me for telling you to do so.  My husband tells me how much he appreciates meal planning - he is usually home from work first, which means he starts / cooks many work night meals - and all he needs to do is look and the calendar and see what the plan is for the day.  Everything he needs for the meal is available in our kitchen - makes everything so easy.

How do I do it?  I make a weekly plan.  Every Sunday morning I do a fridge purge, a pantry check, and I check the grocery flyers.  From there I plan our meals for the week, based on what we have on hand (either fresh, frozen or in the pantry), what is on sale or in season, what I have coupons for, and even what the weather is like (for example - I don't make stew in July, but certainly do in November!).  I also like to make a "big dinner" on Sundays so that we have leftovers for Mondays (Mondays tend to be busy with extra-curricular activities).

Hopefully this new weekly feature will help you with your meal planning and grocery shopping - and where possible I will also include links to recipes!

Here is this week's meal plan:

Sunday - Rosemary Pepper Crusted Roast, Yorkshire Pudding, Roasted Carrots, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Peach Crisp (Dessert)

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday  Savoury Fish

Wednesday - Spaghetti with Homemade Meat, Tomato & Veggie Sauce, Salad

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - BBQ Chicken, Smashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Salad

Enjoy!