I meal plan two weeks at a time. I start out by making a list of what we want to eat for the next two weeks - usually this includes mostly tried and true recipes, with at least 2-3 new recipes every 2 weeks.
I go through the sale paper to see what's on sale that week and try to plan meals around that. Then next to the list of our meals I start a list of ingredients needed to each meal - ALL of the ingredients. After that, I go to the pantry and cross of items I have in the pantry, which leaves me with the items that I need to get at the grocery store.
I make two "big" grocery shopping trips every two weeks, and quick trips inbetween for produce, etc.
Most meat - minus beef, which we get from my family's organic beef farm - I buy in bulk and freeze in smaller portions. Produce I try to buy at the local market on the day of, and pretty much everything else I buy on the "big" shopping day.
I love summer b/c we make pretty much everything on the grill - and everything tastes better on the grill anyway! And my favorite pasta dish right now is Chicken Cannelloni...
Chicken Cannelloni
Original Recipe:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/re...66560&ao=q%26e
Recipe note: For quick weeknight solutions, prepare and stuff cannelloni shells. Wrap tightly with wax paper; freeze until ready to serve. Let thaw in the refrigerator. Unwrap and place in a baking dish; top with your favorite supermarket pasta sauce, and bake as directed.
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
* 1 (8-ounce) package cannelloni or manicotti shells
* 4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
* 2 (8-ounce) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese
* 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
* 1 cup (8 ounces) or a little more shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
* Sauce (any type)
* Garnish: chopped fresh basil or parsley
Preparation
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. (Note: the pasta does not cook very much more in the oven, so cook thoroughly on the stove-top.)
- Stir together chicken and next 6 ingredients.
- Cut pasta shells lengthwise through the other side. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture into each shell, gently pressing cut sides together. Place, cut sides down, in 2 lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dishes. Pour sauce evenly over shells.
- Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired