Happy New Year, my friends! It’s great to be back in the swing of things. If you are looking to get organized and make your life easier for the New Year, menu planning is one of the first steps.
We have a couple years worth of Monthly Menu Plans for you as well as Weekly Menu Plans. As our weather continues to be quite chilly and the snow is piling up, we will enjoy comfort food this month, as well as easy make ahead and Slow Cooker meals to help us with our time management.
Whether you are planning just a week or a whole month, it simply makes your life easier. Here are a few tips we use when planning our menus…
- Keep it simple! Make ahead dishes are a great time saver. While you are making a casserole, make 2, it won’t take that much longer to double the recipe, put 1 in the freezer for later when you don’t feel like cooking or your day exploded on you and the meat never got taken out of the freezer.
- Make themed nights, we typically have Quick & Easy, Mexican, Italian, Slow Cooker and Kid Friendly meals. So when you are planning, you just have to decide what type of meal for that night. Narrowing down the choices is much easier.
- Plan for the month, buy for the week {or 2 weeks}. After you have several monthly menus planned, just rotate them. Having 2 or 3 menus with warmer meals and 2 or 3 menus with cooler meals is perfect.
Due to popular request, the Printable Menu is now available on a calendar in grid form. Print or save to your computer for easy access!
January Menu Plan
1 – HAPPY NEW YEAR
2 – Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
4 – Stir-Fry and Pork Fried Rice
5 – Chili and Corn Bread
6 – Chicken Nuggets and Oven Fries
7 – Ultimate Fried Egg Sandwiches and Fruit Salad
8 – Taco Ring, Chips and Salsa
9 – Meatloaf, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Corn
10 – Bacon Ranch Chicken Strips, Loaded Baked Potato Skins
11 – Honey Hoisin Chicken Sandwiches, Potatoes and Green Beans
12 – Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Potatoes
13 – Meatloaf Sandwiches with Fried Smashed Potatoes
14 – Individual Chicken Pot Pies, Mashed Potatoes and Applesauce
15 – Taco Bake and Spanish Rice
16 – Mom’s Beef Stew with Cornbread
17 – Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Root Beer Barbecue Sauce, Oven Fries
18 – Pepperoni Pizza Ring
19 – Make Ahead Sloppy Joes, Chips and Dip
20 – Breakfast for Dinner – Ham & Egg Casserole and Fruit Smoothies
22 – Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
23 – Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
24 – Homemade Pizza Pockets and Oven Fries
25 ~ Appetizers and Baked Potato Bar
26 ~ Classic Lasagna, Salad and Garlic Bread
27 – Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, Salad
28 – Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles, Salad
29 – Chicken Fajitas and Rice
31-Baked Potatoes in the Slow Cooker and French Dip Sandwiches
Desserts for the Month
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Black Forest Whoopie Pies
- Cake Mix Cookies with Mix ins
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Pie
