Weekly Menu: Simplifying Cooking

At this stage in our life, simple is best.  I need to have as many decisions as possible made ahead of time so I can go through the day and not get caught up in little details.  Having a premade meal plan is one way that we simplify.

With this plan, I try to always add a fruit or veggie for dinner to round it out a bit.  We usually drink a cold glass of Maggie milk! Though homemade lemonade, water or smoothies might be offered instead.

We've been using this current plan for a few months, and I anticipate using it through the winter at least.  We'll probably switch things around in the spring if we're getting bored.

Here is what is on our meal plan:

Sunday:
             Breakfast=French toast casserole, Sausage links, orange juice
              Lunch=Something in the crockpot or on delay in the oven
              Dinner=Mac and Cheese with either hot dogs or hamburger

Monday (Jeff's Day):
              Breakfast=Soaked oatmeal with fruit
              Lunch=Pigs in a blanket, peas, applesauce
              Dinner=Pasta, cooked carrots and salad

Tuesday (Sydney's Day):
                 Breakfast=Pancakes and fruit
                 Lunch=Leftover pasta from Monday night or spaghetti with French bread and salad
                Dinner=Oriental (usually a stir-fry, mandarin chicken, egg-fried rice, or egg-drop soup, but
                                            if we have time, we do potstickers or egg-rolls or wontons)

Wednesday (Ellie's Day):
                  Breakfast=Sausage sandwich and fruit
                  Lunch=Crackers, meat and cheese slices (homemade Lunchable basically) with carrots
                 Dinner= Mexican (enchiladas, tacos, nachos, etc.)

Thursday (Owen's Day):
                 Breakfast=Yogurt & fruit
                 Lunch=Cheese quesadilla with fruit
                Dinner=Seafood (crab sandwich loaf, salmon patties, tuna casserole, shrimp broccoli 
                               delight, baked fish...)

Friday (Jayme's Day):
                Breakfast=Omelets with ham and cheese
                Lunch = Meat gravy, mashed potatoes and corn
                Dinner=Pizza at Grandma's house

Saturday (Will eventually be Simon's Day):
                 Breakfast=Hash browns with smoothies
                  Lunch=Leftovers from the week or hot sandwiches (grilled cheese, tuna melt, etc)
                 Dinner=Whatever we feel like cooking! :)

For lunch, leftovers always trump.  That way we don't waste food.  Bryan eats a lot of leftovers in his packed lunch as well.

Do you have a rotating menu plan? How do you simplify life in the kitchen?