Carrie Willard

putting the "her" back in motherhood

  • About Carrie
    • Fine Print
  • New? Start here
  • Home & Family
    • Homeschool
    • Mothering
    • Homemaking
  • Well-being
    • Books & Read-Alouds
    • Beauty
    • Food
    • Health
  • Your Money
    • Earning & Investing
    • Blogging & Writing
    • Frugality
  • Your Time
    • Habits & Goals
  • Recommended
  • Need a Side Hustle?

August 5, 2015 By Carrie Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links and I may receive small commissions for purchases made through them.

A Monthly Back to School Menu

One of the habits that keeps me sane is menu planning. I’ve been thinking of ways to make our schedule a little easier once homeschool starts, and creating a month long menu sounded like a great way to save a little time.

We eat gluten free in this house all the time, so things that look like they might contain wheat (pasta, hamburger buns, etc) will always be gluten free versions. I linked to recipes where I have them. Others are from cookbooks I own or they’re recipes I made up.

Also, I usually don’t plan side dishes because they’re almost always the same things: a green salad with homemade dressing and a cooked veggie (typically, broccoli, squash, sweet potatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes or green beans). And the order these dishes appear in the list isn’t necessarily the order I’ll cook them in (it will more likely depend on when things are on sale), it’s just how we listed them.

Coming up with this wasn’t as hard as I thought, mostly because I got input from my family. I’ve thought about doing this for ages and now that I’ve done it, I might just use the menu over and over for a while until I’m ready to do more adventurous cooking instead of relying the tried-and-true dishes.

20140309_174241

A Monthly Back to School Menu 

  1. Slow Cooker Unstuffed Cabbage
  2. Kielbasa & Kraut with Potatoes
  3. Tacos with all the fixings
  4. Chorizo and Peppers with Rice
  5. Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
  6. Pioneer Woman’s Ranch-style Chicken
  7. Garlic-Lime Chicken
  8. Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries
  9. One Pot Cajun Fish (note: the cookbook this recipe comes from kinda changed my life. A review of Glorious One Pot Meals here.)
  10. Cheesy Lentil Rice Casserole (another recipe from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, The One Armed Cook. Copycat recipes abound on Google, and here is an Indian-inspired version. This can be baked or made in the slow cooker.)
  11. Twice-Baked Stuffed Potatoes
  12. Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, bacon, eggs)
  13. Slow Cooker Cauliflower Cheese Soup with rolls
  14. Pioneer Woman’s Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti (I healthy this up by not using canned soup. It is easy to make in huge quantities and freezes and reheats well.)
  15. Pork Chops with Apples and Onions
  16. Quiche or Omelets (using whatever leftover meats, cheeses and veggies I have hanging around)
  17. Shepherd’s Pie
  18. Beef Stroganoff
  19. Chili or White Chicken Chili
  20. Cajun Red Beans and Rice
  21. Lemon-Butter Braised Salmon
  22. Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
  23. Chicken or Beef Enchiladas
  24. Zucchini Lasagna
  25. Vegetable Soup or Minestrone
  26. Slow Cooker Beef Stew
  27. Slow Cooker Pot Roast
  28. Caribbean Shrimp with Rice
  29. Pork Chops with Apples
  30. Endives au Jambon
  31. Slow Cooker Cacciatore Chicken

These aren’t the most adventurous of meals, but they’re things I can prepare in my sleep.

What kinds of things do you do to make the back-to-home-school reentry easier?

 

 

 

Share
Pin1
Tweet
1 Shares

Filed Under: Food

About Carrie

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 7 and the author of this blog. More about her here.

❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Easier Mornings!

Hi, I’m Carrie!

Bienvenue! My goal is to inspire and provide resources for moms to simplify their lives. With what aim?

So they can find time and space for their own goals and passions during the busy mothering years. Simplifying the mundane to make room for the sublime. Let's put the "her" back in motherhood!

Lipsense business

Recent Posts

  • How to Develop Mental Toughness
  • Work at Home, Homeschooling Mom of 7: a day in the life
  • Aldi vs Costco: who has better prices?
  • Five Frugal Wins
  • Save Money On Utilities and Wireless Bills
  • Cheap Homeschooling (with Several Kids)
  • My Morning Routine
  • Lowering food costs (for a family of 9)
  • The Year of Financial Optimization
  • Recent Reads

Browse Categories

Home & Family

Well-Being

Your Money

Your Time

Search

Pretty Chic Theme By: Pretty Darn Cute Design