Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Favorite Things- What's for Dinner?

My life is pretty chaotic, mostly by my own design.  I say "Sure" to most requests before I think about it. It's the Mormon Guilt Factor, I believe.  It's not like I am trying to be a martyr. I usually think I can do everything, or want to try.  Recently I have gotten way, WAY over my head. Room Mom-"Sure", Little League Team Mom-"Sure", PTA whatever "SURE", etc. You get the picture. So, outside of my home, I am amazing, or competent. Inside, disaster! The only one thing that works is meals. I have a system to planned meals so that I have answers for:
A) "What's for dinner?"
B) Didn't we just eat Macaroni and Cheese 2 nights ago
C) My brain is fried, what's in the freezer?

A couple of years ago my friend Leslie (Hi Leslie! ) had this fabulous dinner calendar on her frig.  I CASE'd it and made it my own.  CASE stands for Copy And Steal Everything.   I am not a super creative person, but I CASE everything.  Why re-create the wheel?

double click picture to see close up awesomeness

Anyone who has been to my kitchen has seen this on the frig. Sometimes I use it faithfully. Other times, like during WW III (Weight Watchers, 3rd round) , I put it away. Well, it's time to dust off the dinner menu and get ready for summer.  Being the completely selfless person I am (that was our FHE lesson last night), I am sharing another "Favorite Things" with you,  my friend.

What's for Dinner What's for Dinner princessdanell Dinner calendar
To download, go to the "More" tab next to Scribd above. Choose "Save a document". Don't choose print. It won't be the right size. Once you download each page you can print out each separately.  I glued the calendar part to a 12 x 12 inch fancy schmancy paper, then laminated ("LAMINATED"-from Daddy Daycare). The months and meals also get laminated. Then, cut little squares of Velcro and attach to each day on the calendar and each meal gets the opposite side of the Velcro. Then I glued magnets on the back of the calendar. 

The meals can be substituted for your families favorites.  I found that my family eats about the same 30-40 things all the time.  Some are seasonal, like chili and roast turkey. I keep extra meals and months in a baggie next to the refrigerator.  Also, when I try a new recipe I always ask the family if it gets invited back. That doesn't happen so often. However, if it does, it gets it's own little square.

Tonight, Chicken Stir-Fry. What's for dinner at your house?

6 comments:

  1. You still cook for them? Seriously? You have a chart? And to think I thought we could be friends...

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  2. I have to. I am a control freak. How else am I going to make sure they get all the sodium their little bodies need? Did you notice "Top Ramen" wasn't a choice. That's just a given.

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  3. What a great idea! Mine would say pizza a lot.

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  4. i am so so happy you shared!! i am totally Case ing this thing!!

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  5. Danell, I totally remember that on your fridge! Thanks for posting that. I am going to print that out and make myself one and then a quick reference guide to go with. What a wondeful idea. Thanks for sharing. Just deciding is half the battle! I'm with ya too with the WWIII only for me I think it's officially WWV! I've got wii fit-love it and am thinking of getting wii active. Something has got to get me moving. I like being active, again, it's just deciding to be.

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  6. Sorry, not totally blog savvy yet, didn't know how to post my comment with my name URL huh? It's me...Jennifer K!

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