Meal Plans for November and December

I have not been very good at meal planning so far this fall.  Some how, things just seem to be getting away from me and I feel like I am slowly regaining control.  I suspect it has something to do with adding more to our homeschooling year, but that is for another post.

We buy most of our beef from my grandparents.  While their farm is not certified organic, they run an organic property and there aren't other working farms bordering their land.  Plus, their grass fed beef is very lean.  I recently called my gram to ask if we could order some more beef and she told me they had 10# waiting for us as a gift and we could buy more ground beef for $2/lb.  Yes, I am very blessed.

Picture a freezer full of ground beef waiting to be made into meals.   Feeling inspired?  Me too.  I finally sat down to make some meal plans.  Of course, I snuck in some chicken too, just to mix things up.

For the months of November and December we are having:

• Goulash
• Wet Burritos
• Chicken Parmesan
• Tater Tot Casserole
• Sesame Chicken with Rice and Veggies
• Chili
• Beef Stroganoff
• Taco Soup
• Chicken with Peanut Sauce Noodles and Veggies
• Cottage Pie
• Beefy Mac 'N Cheese with Peas
• Mexican Rice
• Sloppy Joes
• Mexican Lasagna
• Baked Pasta

We will still do a Turkey Feast for Thanksgiving and a big Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning brunch.  Leftovers are planned for all Thanksgiving weekend and I make enough food to be sure it will feed us for a few days.  Dinner leftovers are packed as individual lunches.  I also planned for one day each month where we would eat out or order delivery.

I try to plan a certain meal or meal type for each day of the week.  Sunday is chili, Monday is casseroles, Tuesdays is Goulash, Wednesdays is Mexican, Thursdays is Chicken Parmesan, Friday is Meat and Potatoes, Saturday is Chinese. 

I choose things that work best for us on those days.  For instance, Tuesdays we are busy in the late afternoons and evenings.  Goulash is easy to make and can be tossed into the crockpot on "keep warm" so we can just walk in and eat when we get back from piano and ballet and before my husband teaches guitar lessons. 

Planning ahead always makes life a little easier.