Weekly Menu Planning: Lend Me A Hand

For keeping the list:

• Spring pad. Account required.
  +allows you to clip items from the menu,
  +Use it to track nights you eat out vs nights you don't. +organizes your recipes +enter as much (full menus, full recipes) or as little (title only) as you want.
  +shopping list generator -no public view (login required)
  -no export of data (web viewable only)
  -cannot change formatting
  -pantry organizer requires work.
• Meal Outlaw
  +enter as much or as little as you want.
  +very simple to set up
  -no export
  -cannot change formatting
  -no shopping list generator
  -no pantry organizer.
• Tasty Planner
  +allows you to clip items from the menu,
  +organizes your recipes
  +shopping list generator
  -no public view (login required)
  -no export of data (web viewable only)
  -expects full recipes.
• Pen and paper. It's what I usually end up defaulting to because I don't live my life (or go shopping) while online.
• Google calendar (The ehow article explains how to do this.
  +enter as little or as much as you want
  +public view
  +export of data
  -cannot hold full recipes
  -formatting (and space) limited.
  -no shopping list generation

To find recipes:

• Recipe puppy fetches recipes for you.
• Recipe*Zaar allows you to search and sift (filter) recipes by numerous categories. If you get a paid membership you can also use it to plan your menues.
• Cookthink type in what you're craving, and it will try to match recipes to your desire.
• Recipematcher and SuperCook type in ingredients and it will present a list of recipes that use (most) of those ingredients.
• Menu plan monday Organizing Junky hosts menu plan monday. Go over there and sign up if you post a menu plan on your blog. If you don't -- go over there and see what other people are eating.
• Food blog search. Search a whole lot of food blogs all at once.

And then there's Permanent grocery list. The title is correct; and it's kind of neat seeing everyone else's grocery lists too.

Whew. That should get you started. :)
Good luck with it and let me know how it goes.

• I like to make larger portions of things and freeze dinner-for-X portions. This works great for curries, where I just throw on some rice and reheat the curry.
• Canned beans are good, but you can make a batch of chickpeas, black beans, etc. and hold extra in the fridge for a week (maybe more), ready to be used any time. Of course, they're freezable too.
• Lentils are a great alternative, and most cook in under 30 minutes.
• Sometimes just planning ahead and getting mise en place ready for a meal can make it easier to jump into it and get something ready fast when you get home.

I just found your blog recently and it's great!

I'm definitely a planner, though I try to keep it flexible so that I can actually eat something that I'm in the mood for rather than just what's on the list for that night. Here's what I do:

* I shop once a week. Before I shop, I take an inventory of what I have, look through my recipes to see what I'd like to make, and look at the grocery flyer for inspiration and sales. Then I make a list of enough dinners to get us through the week (taking into account leftovers) and make my grocery list.

*I keep an ongoing grocery list so that I can add items to it as I think of them.

* I keep the list of dinners so I can look back at it during the week - I probably wouldn't remember the whole list and then would be at a loss some night! I can pick and choose from the list and still be kind of flexible.

* The dinners always include things that are quick and things that are not as quick. I'll pick a couple of recipes to make when I have the time, one or two standby items, and one or two things in the freezer (like lasagna) that I made a big batch of and froze for later.

* Ideally, I plan ahead an thaw frozen items ahead of time, but that doesn't always happen.

*Standby items include: pasta and sauce, couscous for a quick side dish, Boboli (I keep a Boboli and turkey pepperoni and mozarella in the freezer), omlettes. These aren't that exciting, but they're quick and preferable to eating out just for the sake of eating out. You know what your standbys are - you just need to make sure you've got the ingredients on hand.

* Something quick that's more exciting than a standby is fish. I throw salmon in the oven and it cooks up quickly.

* Another quick one is chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces and marinated in a little soy sauce, Worcestershire, and garlic (you could do that the night before). It cooks quickly in a saute pan and you can have it with couscous on the side. It's a lot quicker than baking or grilling a whole chicken breast. My dinner list might just say "something with chicken" and I'll figure it out that night based on how much time I have. As long as I have the chicken and a stocked pantry, I'm fine.

Add some salad or a veggie, and we're always eating something tasty and often quick! And no last-minute trips to the grocery store or 10pm dinners.