Most every Sunday I sit down with a mixture of cookbooks, magazines, recipe files and swirling thoughts to try to map out the next week’s dinner menus. I collect cookbooks and recipes the way some people collect baseball cards or coins. I love recipes, I can’t get enough of them, but there are SO. MANY. And when it comes time to figure out weeknight meals I do feel sometimes as though I need a little guidance.
I read a tip somewhere recently to make each day of the week a unique *type* of cuisine to help guide things along. Taco Tuesday is a popular night, but can you really eat tacos every week without someone in your family complaining that they are getting sick of them by month six (I mean, in my family the answer is no, but I realize we don’t represent all families)? So instead of tacos, you could designate Tuesdays for Mexican food night. Rather than it just serving tacos, you could also incorporate an easy pozole , burritos, chilaquiles, make your own Chipotle bowls, etc.
This tip was kind of a big deal for me, and I laid out a plan for our week that I think will work nicely. Every so often, maybe quarterly, I can mix things up a bit so that I have a chance to use all my recipes that I love so much. This plan will work well during the school year, when we are on a little bit more of a regular schedule.
Here’s my weekly plan:
Monday: Meatless Monday (usually a pasta or another grain)
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (or any Mexican inspired dish like chilaquiles, burritos, or this Easy Posole)
Wednesday: Fish (salmon, poke bowls, shrimp kebabs, etc)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: KITCHEN IS CLOSED, OUT TO EAT
Saturday: John grills or smokes meat
Sunday: Comforting soup or a roast, or any other more complicated, time consuming dish that sounds good
I am really excited about this new approach to planning meals, and I think it’s going to work well for us.
Do you use a system like this? How does it work for you? What are you ideas for days of the week? Please leave a comment below!
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