Stocked Up And Planned Out

I did something this weekend that I haven't done for quite a while. I made up an extended meal plan. I was feeling as if the freezers and pantry were stocked up and wanted to see just how well-stocked we are. I also wanted to plan specific (easy) meals around the day of and the days following my surgery on the 15th. I now have complete meals planned for the rest of October and main dishes roughed in for November.

Now, I used pencil and paper instead of chisel and stone, so I still have some flexibility. It will be easy enough to replace one chicken dish with another chicken dish if the mood hits me. I tend to overcook a little, so I planned for at least five nights each month to be "clean out the fridge" nights. If for some strange reason there are no leftovers on those nights, we always have eggs in the fridge for a quick sandwich or "breakfast for dinner" meal.

The summer months saw us going out to eat far more than usual (and far more than planned in our budget) so I've planned for only one restaurant meal in the next two months, on Shane's birthday. We'll also be eating away from home on the night of my daughter's wedding reception (they married in July in a simple ceremony, but are having their marriage celebration this month).

Planning meals for a week was been difficult for me lately, so you'd think planning for a couple of months would have been daunting. It wasn't, though. I was in the right frame of mind, had a free couple of hours and it all just fell together for me this time. Come December, I'll probably be doing well to get a full week's worth of suppers planned, but it's a good feeling to know that for the next several weeks, figuring out what's for dinner is going to be a no-brainer.