Monday, March 15, 2021

Monday Message

"Be faithful, my brothers and sisters, to this counsel and you will be blessed—yes, the most blessed people in all the earth. You are good people. I know that. But all of us need to be better than we are. Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well." (Ezra Traft Benson)

This week I have been working on menus for a month, I know it seems like a lot but the way I do it is this...

I make a list with thirty main dishes and it is just a list, so if today I have leftovers, that is okay and if I want something else on the list, that is okay or if I don't feel up to fixing that item today that is okay as well. I do thirty days so I don't have to go out so often, even with a store pick-up. I am happy for that service...It is just easier to get it tended in one trip.

I have a main dish binder that I have that I refer to for the recipes.

I start with a piece of paper on which I have numbered 1-30 but I have a few more on this one.

I start looking through my main dish binder for ideas and meals.

I have another sheet of paper that if I need something, I write it on this and that way I can add it to the grocery list.

I don't have anything assigned to a specific day. So if I have chili written down and don't feel like chili, I look at the list and find something to fix instead...like burritos. Will I use all thirty plus items? Well, yes, but maybe not till later after the thirty days, because a lot of what I have on the list is food storage friendly and can wait till I get to it.

I also know that if I have leftovers I will use those for lunches or even more suppers but rest assured, I will have the whole month covered if needed. This is how I save money as well as most of what I make is frugal and storable.

I know that I can make our favorite chicken and rice casserole anytime I want because I have canned chicken that I canned and even metal cans of chicken, so that is handy. I have cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup and I have rice, both instant and regular, and it calls for chicken bouillon and bread crumbs. This means everything I need is on hand already.

I make bread so bread crumbs are never an issue. I also have plenty of bouillon on hand that I store as well.

So if you have a bad day, and with fibromyalgia that is often for me, this is a great recipe to pull out and use.

So I keep that back for a really bad day.

Did I have help this day on making the menus? Well, in the beginning the cats would sit on what I was working on with the open binders and such and would go for my pen but soon the answer is no...no help.


They slept the whole while I worked once they deemed it as BORING.

This week I have also been sorting and organizing. I worked on the stamps in the map drawer.

I worked in the sewing room a bit.

Mostly I rearranged things that I could in the bedroom.

This was tricky as it is a bit hard to shift things in there. I made it easier to get to the knitting machines and the sock machine. I must be in a spring cleaning mood with all this fine weather that we are now having.

How do you do your menus? We would love to hear! Leave us a comment below.

Gus says stay in and stay safe. It is still a good time to take such precautions. He also says it is a good time to be thinking of what you want to grow in your garden. In his mind we cannot see him :p Stay safe everyone.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Becky , I do the same as you for our menus. I taught my sister to do it that way too. We like the flexibility of chosing daily what we want from the list rather than specific dishes on a particular day. My husband found a insta pot with the canning feature ! I have been adding to our pantry using this great tool. I have been processing meat at 15 # pressure for 90 mins. Pints only need 75 mins but I figure a little more time would be better for safety. I have watched youtube videos on the subject and now I have confidence to perfect this skill. Adding skills is very important and I have been trying to learn more during this lock down. Thank you for all the inspiration ♡

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    1. Good job on learning new skills I am not familiar with that insta pot actually not familiar with many the one I have was used from a thrift store an older model but is good there are so many tho I am just not up on them but learning new skills excellent

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  2. I have the canner that Gaila mentioned, too. It is great because I can keep it on my counter and ready to go all the time.

    I do my menus on a (Dollar Tree) calendar and have done it that way for at least 20 years so the kids could look and not have to constantly ask me. But, the kids have been gone for eight years now. I like knowing what day I am planning for since we always want an easy meal on Monday since it is clean the house top to bottom day. I also try to plan a meal for Friday that can do two days and leave half to reheat after church on Sunday. Saturday night is always pizza night here so that is one planned every week. If we do not use a meal I circle it and next time I plan I just move those forward. We do occasionally pick other meals on the calendar if we want something other than what is planned. I save last year's calendar so that I can look back for ideas.

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    1. Yes our pizza nite is Friday and I too like leftover on Sunday as well....goodness I really am out of the loop on those pots. I love your idea on saving the lists thanks

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    2. The canner is this one on Amazon. The price is half what it was a few months ago.
      Carey DPC-9SS, Smart Pressure Canner & Cooker, Stainless Steel, 9.5 Quart

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  3. Great idea for the 30 day idea list. I do it for one week, same philosophy but I will expand to a month. Thank you for this blog, I really appreciate the ideas ;).

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  4. QUERIDA BECKY: ESE AMOHADON ES BELLISIMO¡¡¡¡ ME ENCANTA COMO ESTA DECORADO, TUS IDEAS SIEMPRE SON DE AYUDA. GRACIAS POR TUS ORACIONES PARA MI HIJA PRISCILA, EL CIRUJANO DICE QUE ELLA ESTA MEJORANDO MUY BIEN, CADA DIA QUE PASA, SU HERIDA HA CICATRIZADO Y NO HAY SECUELAS DE LA PERITONITIS, TODAVIA NO PUEDE JUGAR, CORRER O HACER FUERZA, HAY QUE EVITAR QUE SE HABRA LA HERIDA INTERNA, DE LO CONTRARIO HABRIA QUE OPERARLA NUEVAMENTE, HOY HACE 21 DIAS DE LA CIRUGIA, ESTOY AGRADECIDA A DIOS POR SUS CUIDADOS, LOS MEDICOS SE ASOMBRAN DE SU RECUPERACION, ESTE TODO SE LO DEBEMOS A NUESTRO PADRE CELESTIAL. TE ENVIO UN ABRAZO YEL AMOR EN CRSITOJESUS.

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    1. I am so glad she is doing better! Thank you for your kind comments. Starting to see grass trying to turn green and garlic is up so spring will come soon I hope tho we have had huge snow storms at the end of April

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  5. I do a weekly menu the same way you do your monthly menu. Usually Fridays are FFY (Fend For Yourself) nights where each of us makes what we want or eats up leftovers, etc. Gives me a break. I've been doing this since the kids were little and they always knew what was for dinner and life after a long day at work was a little easier because of it. They gave me suggestions as well. I'm not organized in very many areas in my life, but my meals and budget are always organized!

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    1. Thanks we all learn from each other and you have great ideas

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