I had an idea a couple of years ago to help the family out during our hectic schedule that I would organize our dinner menus into categories for easy shopping and planning.
Basically heres what we did:
1. All recipes we like are categorized by main entree dish (beef, chicken, pork, fish, pasta, dine-out/order -in)
2. All recipes are numbered in each entree category
3. Wife, kids & I sit down once a month (after dinner on a Sunday evening) and each person takes a turn and randomly picks a number from 1 to highest # of recipes we have for that entree (example: we have 75 recipes for beef, so child #1 picks a number from 1 - 75) That recipe is what we have on Day #1 that month and so on throughout the month.
4. We also look at our schedule of events planned to accomodate special events, etc.
5. I can plan lunch meetings, the kids school lunches, etc. around the planned dinner menu each week and can "look forward" to a certain recipe on that day of the month. I kinda hated when I used to a eat salad for lunch only to come home and my wife had prepared salad for dinner.
Anyway, anyone else out there as OCD as me about this? or should I sell this to Jenny Craig?
I defrosted fish for dinner when I got home from work. Heated up some canned black beans and cooked some asparagus.
I am DEFINITELY not a plan that far in advance for dinner person. I tend to buy meat for the week and decide as my mood hits what is for dinner. I keep a fairly well stocked freezer so I am not so limited (cook meat and put in freezer for easy heat up).
Sometimes I plan 2 or 3 days in advance...sometimes I'm still deciding and hour before dinnertime. I do know a family that is trying out the meal planning and shops once-a-month for non-perishables. They go for milk and other fresh items once a week or so. Somewhere they had read about a couple that did this who discovered they saved money since they weren't grabbing as much extra stuff when they went. That couple was even trying to shop once a year by taking out a home equity loan. Um, I usually try not to judge, but that's just plain goofy. I could see the once-a-month deal working.
I know another mother of young children that cooks once every couple of weeks with a friend. Dads take the kids out that day and the friends cook the required number and variety of meals and divy it up into meals for the freezer to be baked or reheated later. I do large batches of some meals (like lasagna) to do the same thing but not on a regular basis at all. Just when the mood strikes me. Guess I'm just not OCD enough.
Recipies? I have the Internet. Tonight, Dinner is breakfast! Eggs over easy, has browns. no greasy pork.
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It's after 6PM and we haven't decided yet whether to cook or go out.
Sounds more like our style...we eat out 3+ nights a week, just easier to stop on the way home from work. Or throw something on the grill and toss a salad - unless it's a weekend....then I cook, 'cause I like to just too burned out after work.
Shari
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Yep, this was an easy/lazy night. Some of us had popcorn, apples and cheese. The others had cereal. Last night we had portabella mushroom sandwiches with cream cheese (fairly tainted with garlic salt) and lettuce (spinach leaves are even better) with fruit on the side.
We like breakfast foods but all get up in the morning at different times. So sometimes for dinner we have eggs and hashbrowns or pancakes or oatmeal made from steel cut oats and I add apple chunks...Yum!.
Wow Zamboni I think that's so cool you all plan ahead like that! Good for you! Nothing wrong with it at all. With kids it makes so much sense to do it that way if you can!! I wouldn't call that ocd I would call it an organized family!
I wish I could say ours was that well organized, but its a work in progress!
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My goodness Zamboni, you really take this planning thing to heart.
Our big plan is to plan to have a meal. Then we plan where, home or out. Then we plan what. Then sometimes we decide what the heck and just have cereal instead. I do remember at least half a dozen times in the past 39 years where we've planned a non-special event meal several days out, but I doubt we actually ate it on the day we'd planned.
Wait till I show your post to Donna, she will fall over. Her comment will be no one can be that organized and still be married.
Barry
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I'am one heck of a good cook,as long as it fits in the microwave!! Just kidding,I can also use the gas grill too!!
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Well, almost. There is that part where others get to choose.
Nothing wrong with it at all. With kids it makes so much sense to do it that way if you can!! I wouldn't call that ocd I would call it an organized family!
Just kidding,I can also use the gas grill too!! 
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