Summer Menu Plan

As you may have guessed from my last post, life is killing me. All the wonderful rewarding people and activities that fill my time are sucking the life out of me. I am always doing dishes; they are never done. There is always a load of laundry running and a pile in my bedroom that I lovingly refer to as the laundry monster. Sometimes I can't remember the last time I vacuumed. I make it to the gym once out of every three times I plan to go. You get the picture. Whatever. 

And then it got worse. I kept burning things on the stove because there was so much going on around me and I am the world's worst multi-tasker. Most recently I burned beans, but not long before that I actually burned beef stock. Stop and think about that! The liquid that results from slowly simmering water with bones! Yes, I burnt it. I forgot the flame on high overnight and woke up to a crematorium. There is something about the smell of burnt bones that is so visceral, like smelling your own death...

While I am also making efforts to streamline other areas of my life, this ultimately brought me to a summer menu plan. A few dishes that I can make without following a recipe on weeknights, dishes that I will faithfully rotate until I can't stand it anymore. A certain someone in my life has been suggesting it for years, but I am finally desperate enough to give in and try something sensible. All the random vegetables I accumulate in the garden go on the side or are able to be incorporated into the dish itself. So far this has worked so well that all my laundry is done, but don't worry. If I get bored I can always return to the chaos. 

1. Spaghetti- with boring old sauce from a jar. I add either sausage or plain ground meat which I brown and then simmer in the sauce. With enough cheese it's good.
   
2. Taco night- either with carnitas, roast chicken, or ground beef sautéed with Mexican seasoning. I chop up all the additions and everyone puts them together however they want it. 
3. Won Ton night- I use either store bought or homemade won ton and serve it with plain rice, a soy sauce-vinegar mixture, and a green vegetable. 
4. BLTs- So good!
5. Pasta with homemade sauce using up whatever I have from the garden
6. Grilled Cheese- my husband makes these- it's embarrassing but I don't really know how... 
7. Stir-Fry Night- an easy option with endless possibilities to use up meat and vegetables
8. Djuvedj- I posted this one a few weeks ago and I've made it at least once a week since then. The name is weird and it doesn't look particularly appealing, but once you make it you will wonder how you ever lived without it. 
9. Burger Night with French Fries- The kids like this so much that we are going to do it every Friday. 

I confess that I have only just completed one full rotation of this menu, but it has worked really well for us. I was afraid that eating things like grilled cheese for dinner would be the death of us, but it's been fun. 

To keep breakfasts simple, we came up with another list. Obviously my list will not look like your list, but here's what we eat on weekdays. I write it all down in advance and the kids really like knowing what they're getting in advance. Raw eggs and rice is something I will post about another time, but it is a staple breakfast in our family due to some bizarre cultural influences. 

1. Eggs and toast (with bacon if I'm feeling generous)
2. Toast and jam
3. Raw eggs and rice or natto
4. Hash browns and eggs
5. Oatmeal 
6. Noodle Soup- this is a great breakfast on a cold morning, and my children love it. 
   
7. Boxed Cereal- clearly the emergency back-up

For lunch we usually eat leftovers, but my life is much easier if I make sure I have the following things prepared at the beginning of the week:

1. A dozen boiled eggs
2. Either Hummus or Ranch Dressing
3. Raw vegetables pre-chopped
4. A pasta salad or some other salad that keeps all week
5. fruit
6. cheese

I hope this helps someone or gives them some ideas. It's been a good tool for me and I will stick with it until I can't stand the boredom anymore. I find this much structure a little suffocating, but then trying complicated dishes every evening can become pretty suffocating too. It's ok, eventually the weekend will come.