What’s For Dinner?
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.
How do you feel when you hear the often repeated question from your family “What’s for dinner”?
If you are anything like me, the angry exhausted voice in the back of your head screams “Grab a fork and figure it out!”
But we don’t do that. We love our family :)
So what is the solution? The goal here is to love our lives. And when the stress of answering this dreaded question hits you at the end of EVERY day, well… nobody's smiling.
Have you tried making a plan?
It's easier than you might think. It is so worth it!
Here are some tips on how to go through your cabinets, fridge, and freezer to come up with a week of Dinners and a grocery list to fill in the rest.
Pick a day of the week that makes sense to you and fits into your schedule. This works best if you do it the same day every week. I have been doing this every sunday for awhile now. It usually only takes me a few minutes.
This is what I use.
I went to Target and got 2 small dry erase boards with magnets so they are up on the refrigerator door. One for the daily menu (one spot for every day of the week) and one for the grocery list.
Or you can find a really nice one on Amazon here that even comes with a pack of markers!
What makes up a meal that makes most everyone happy?
Meat, Potatoes, Something green. Or… protein, starch, and vegetables.
Popular Ingredients for easy dinners:
Chicken Breast or Thighs
Ground Beef, Chicken, or Turkey
Pork Roast, Chops, or Cutlets
Fish
Potatoes mashed or baked
French Fries
Rice
Pasta
Vegetables, whatever you like here :)
Salads
Now, Get your blank menu planner and your grocery list handy.
Start with what’s for dinner tonight. To make things easy, let's say today is sunday.
What's in the fridge?
Are there any leftovers that can be redone into a new meal or just heat it up and eat again? You want to save money where you can, so don’t throw out food that can make a new meal.
If there's no leftovers, do you have any meat in there that needs to be cooked today? If you answered yes, I have some_____. Well, that's what's for dinner! Check the dates on the food in your fridge and put them in order of need to cook by date on your menu planner. Do this for any meat and veggies that you have in the fridge.
Go to the freezer. What’s in there?
The procedure here is very similar to what we looked for in the refrigerator. Poke around looking for options and ideas. My freezer usually has some frozen chicken breasts, maybe some italian sausage, frozen meatballs, or even a pork roast that was on sale a few weeks ago. Your freezer can be your best friend when meat is on sale! I always have french fries, pierogies, or even ready made mashed potatoes stored in the freezer for side dish options. Don’t forget your family's favorite frozen chicken tenders. There are so many ways to make a meal out of those and let's face it, everyone loves chicken tenders and fries!
Check the cabinets.
Next check your cabinets and/or pantry. Do you have any pasta? What about some sauce? Put them together and that’s what's for dinner! Look around to see if you have any other side dish options. Rice, mac ‘n’ cheese, etc.
You might even have a drawer or spot in your kitchen where you keep those packets of what I like to call “recipe helpers”. Taco mix, sloppy joe mix, stuff like that.
Use all of these ingredients to fill as much of the week's dinner plan as you can.
Make your grocery list.
Ok, now it's time to fill in the blanks and make your shopping list. Start by filling in the blanks on your menu plan. Make each one of them a complete meal. This way there will be less stress when it comes time to start preparing dinner. Like I said earlier, I choose a protein, veggie and starch for most of my meals. Side note… I try to make our meals relatively healthy but I am by no means a nutritionist and I admit we could definitely be eating more fruits and veggies. That being said, I 100% think it's ok to have chicken tenders and fries for dinner on a busy night.
As you are filling in the blanks, these are the items that you add to your grocery list. Look at each night and double check that you have all of the ingredients needed to make this meal. If you are sauteing veggies, do you have butter and/or olive oil? Do you have salt and pepper? If you are making BBQ chicken, do you have BBQ sauce? All of these ingredients need to be added to the list.
After the dinner necessities are added to your list, don’t forget breakfast, lunch, snacks, milk, bread, eggs, etc.
Now do your shopping before the 1st night on your plan :)
Here’s an easy idea to get you going. You will need your crock pot for this one.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
With Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries
Pulled Pork Sandwiches, coleslaw, sweet potato fries:
You will need a 2 lb pork roast. I love the ones that are vacuum sealed and already seasoned. Less work! LOL. Or you can get a plain boneless roast and add your own favorite sauce.
In the morning, remove the roast from any packaging and plop it in your crock pot. Dump a bunch of sauce over the roast. A cup or so if you feel the need to measure. Close the lid and cook on low for 8-10 hrs.
20-30 minutes before dinner time, take some frozen sweet potato fries out of the freezer and bake them in the oven as directed. I got a Ninja Foodie for Christmas last year and love using the air crisp setting to make our fries now.
For the coleslaw, you can always pick up some premade at the deli counter or if you are feeling adventurous, I get a bag of coleslaw in the bagged salads area of the store and use some coleslaw dressing that is usually found in the produce section. Or you can use one of those packet “recipe helpers” to make coleslaw dressing. This way you can make it as creamy or vinegary as you like it.
Take 2 forks and shred the pork roast. It took me a while to get the hang of this at first, but through trial and error, you can figure out which way to pull so the pork just starts to fall apart. I do this right inside of the crock pot. No need to dirty any more dishes. You can add more sauce at this point if needed.
Once your fries are done, call the family in for dinner! Set the buns next to the crock pot and everyone makes their own. For our house, this makes enough to feed the 4 of us and we usually have some leftovers for lunch the next day.
Where to find more ideas.
Nobody wants chicken every night of the week. It's good to mix it up. Have a Mexican night, an Italian night, a vegetarian night, a Chinese night, an Indian night.
Check out Pinterest. Search easy recipe ideas for______(enter whatever ingredient you have). You will find endless possibilities.
You can also find ideas and shortcuts in my ebook “Secrets for Less Stress”.
Whatever you do, don’t forget PIZZA night! This week we might mix things up and get Chinese Takeout instead of pizza :)
Conclusion.
Now you get to enjoy the next 7 days knowing the answer to the dreaded question, “What’s for dinner?” Keep this up and you will never again have to say “I don’t know” when you hear those 3 words coming from your family. Speaking of your family, Get them involved! This is their chance to say “I don’t like that” or “Can we have ___?”
This can be fun. It doesn’t have to be hard. Remember we are Overcoming Perfection and Loving Life!
Please, let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or ideas you would like to share.