Happy New Year! January menu

Wow, I can't believe I've been doing this for as long as I have been! It seems like such a short time ago I was presented with the idea of menu planning and my thoughts were, "There's no way that will work for me, I'm way too emotional about what I eat at dinner and PS that's WAYYY too much work".  Fast forward a few kids later, plus after school activities, plus church responsibilities etc...and I can't imagine life without a dinner plan!

 If I don't know what we're having for dinner come 1pm, guaranteed we're in the drive thru at 6, spending way too much money and eating junk (or eating cereal). Period. Life is way too hectic to throw together a plan last-minute.

Here's a look back on how I plan. Not much has changed in the way I do things. I've found a groove so I'll stick to it. A few people have asked how long it takes me to sit down and get a plan together. Well, it totally depends. For example, in the month of December my whole family came down with the flu and I didn't do much cooking. So I have meat in the freezer and recipes that never got used so I move those over to January and I don't have as many blanks to fill in. But, normally, to plan a full menu (including getting my shopping list together) it will take anywhere from 1-2 hours. The more you do it (and I'm going on over 2 years now) the easier it will get. Just keep your previous menus OR a master list of the meals your family eats as a reference.

I'm not sure I have ever shown pics of my calendar/menu so I'll include those today. And without further adieu:

Sweet pork sandwiches with cilantro jalapeno slaw (oh how I love these!!)
Swedish Meatballs and green beans
BBQ pork ribs, sweet cornbread, brussel sprouts (I'll try to get this recipe posted soon!)
Freezer pasta (or make your own pasta and freeze leftovers for another time!)
Sweet n Sour Chicken, rice, steamed veggies (yep, it's a repeat)
Gyros and greek salad (another repeat)
French dip, chips, canned peaches (and another...)
Tuscan grilled chicken, artichokes, biscuits
Taquitos, homemade guac.
Grilled tilapia, roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli
Chicken, strawberry wraps, raw veggies and dip
Chicken noodle soup, rolls
Christmas chicken (another recipe I'll try to get up)
Cordon Bleu, green beans, mashed potatoes
Cheeseburger salads, sweet potato fries (I double the sauce!)
Grilled Pork tenderloin, green salad, rolls
Broccoli potato soup (only use 1/2 C of onion!)
Sriracha Lime salmon
Pesto Wraps, chips, raw veggies
Meatloaf, sweet potatoes, corn
Taco Pizza, Spanish rice
Meatball sandwiches, fruit salad

That first picture is my menu front, written in pencil, of course!
The second is the back of my menu, where fresh produce is listed by week. I add the first week of produce to my big shopping list.