Menu planning around here is casual but critical, and so different from how I started married life! I have a set group of things to keep in the house, and then I see what else we have and what’s on sale, and use that to base my menus on. Plus I have a backup list of quick no-fail meals with ingredients always on hand in case of need. 🙂
Mommy isn’t a morning person, so if we do cooked breakfast foods, it’s usually at dinner: pancakes, eggs, etc. But I have breakfast food on hand and we choose what we want: yogurt, cereal with milk, fruit, etc. Lunches get a general list to choose from and we go with what we can, depending on the mood and actual schedule. Dinners are planned based on a general theme:
Mondays: Leftovers (AKA CORN: Clean Out Refrigerator Night)
Tuesday: New recipe
Thursdays: Pasta and Breadsticks
Fridays: Fancy meat dinner (Shabbat/Sabbath meal)
Saturdays: Lunch is our big meal, usually meat, and depends on season
It doesn’t always happen like that, but that is the goal!