There's simplistic beauty in a patch of lettuce in the garden.
All of my ingredients and time constraints for the month of May have been taken into account. I'll be drawing mostly from our stock in the garden, pantry, fridge and freezer. For produce, May is still in pre-summer mode, here. Our garden will be producing spinach, watercress, mustard greens, lettuce, pea tendrils, chives and rhubarb in abundance, but not much else for now. So, I'll be relying on freezer produce from last summer, as well as canned pumpkin, canned pineapple, and canned tomatoes (in salads, chopped and drained).
I also have given myself 2 nights per week as easy nights, either as meals using primarily leftovers, or, having my kids cook, or, making a simple breakfast-for-dinner supper. Doing so allows me full afternoons to devote to various projects.
I don't strictly follow my menu plans. I almost always make the main dish, but the sides may change, depending on what I have. For example, on May 2, we had the marinated lentil and barley salad, French bread, fruit jello (rhubarb jello), but instead of garden greens, onions and garlic, I added watermelon (picked up at the produce stand) and a bed of watercress to the servings of lentil salad (for the "greens").
If you menu plan, do you deviate very much from your plan? Or do you stick to it pretty closely? Do you menu plan as a way to simplify your work? Or do you menu plan to save money?
I don't strictly follow my menu plans. I almost always make the main dish, but the sides may change, depending on what I have. For example, on May 2, we had the marinated lentil and barley salad, French bread, fruit jello (rhubarb jello), but instead of garden greens, onions and garlic, I added watermelon (picked up at the produce stand) and a bed of watercress to the servings of lentil salad (for the "greens").
If you menu plan, do you deviate very much from your plan? Or do you stick to it pretty closely? Do you menu plan as a way to simplify your work? Or do you menu plan to save money?
So here you go. A month of May menus, simple and frugal-style.
week of May 1 through May 3
1 ham and green pepper pizza, garden salad (or cole slaw if garden lettuce not ready), rhubarb sauce (double batch for fruit jello)
2 marinated lentil salad (double batch for May 5), French bread (make/freeze 2 extra loaves 1 for garlic bread on May 18, 2 for crostini on May 12), sauteed garden greens, onions and garlic, fruit jello
3 turkey, cranberry and cream cheese sandwiches (turkey and cranberries from freezer), sweet potato fries, rhubarb squares (freeze half of the rhubarb squares for Wednesday)
week of May 4 through May 10
4 bean-vegetable soup (double batch for Thursday), rolls from freezer, rhubarb crisp
5 pocket sandwiches (pocket bread filled with leftover lentil salad and shredded lettuce), fresh fruit, brownies (double batch brownies and freeze half)
6 meatloaf muffins topped with marinara, mashed kale, garlic and potatoes, green salad from garden
7 leftover soup from Sunday, rolls, cole slaw, rhubarb squares (from freezer)
8 waffles with fruit topping
9 pinto bean, rice, grilled peppers/onions, corn salsa, and cheese burritos (double batch rice for tomorrow), green salad, leftover brownies
10 grilled whole chicken (shred leftover chicken into 2 containers, freeze 1 container), oven-roasted potato casserole w/ chives/cheese (make extra large for leftovers), pumpkin souffle (canned pumpkin)
week of May 11 through May 17 (Mother's Day on Sunday)
11 Mother's Day (kids make dinner) leftover chicken in BBQ sauce over buns, carrot sticks, leftover potato casserole, blackberry-rhubarb pie
12 chicken noodle soup, made with chicken carcass from Saturday and veggies from garden, crostini, leftover pie
13 spinach souffle, brown rice, fruit salad, tossed green salad
14 bean patties (double batch/freeze for May 20), corn bread, carrot sticks, cole slaw
15 French toast with fruit topping
16 frittata, brown rice, pumpkin muffins
17 hot dog cook-out -- dogs in buns and 2 salads-- pasta salad (w/ chopped, canned tomatoes, olives, garlic greens and any green vegetables from the garden), spinach salad with rhubarb dressing
week of May 18 through May 24 (Memorial Day weekend begins on 24th)
18 tofu garden lasagna, green salad, garlic bread
19 polenta squares (double batch) with marinara sauce/cheese, lentil-barley salad, steamed spinach
20 leftover bean patties, leftover polenta squares, green salad, roasted carrots
21 turkey and dumplings (turkey from freezer), spinach salad with rhubarb dressing
22 black beans and rice, garden salad, blueberry muffins (blueberries from freezer)
23 pancakes topped with rhubarb coulis
24 hamburgers, oven fries, sauteed spinach, cookies
week of May 25 through May 31 (Memorial Day weekend ends on 26th)
25 Asian chicken-noodle salad, (chicken from earlier in month, pea tendrils, green onions, garden vegetables and whole wheat spaghetti noodles), grilled pineapple
26 Memorial Day: hot dog cook-out -- dogs in buns with 2 salads -- potato salad, tossed green salad, rhubarb lemonade, s'mores
27 quiche, brown rice, fruit salad, sauteed greens and garlic
28 baked ham, sweet potato fries, green salad, plum kuchen (using frozen plums)
29 ham and baked beans, cornbread (double batch for tomorrow), creamed spinach, rhubarb sauce (double batch for tomorrow)
30 ham and eggs, leftover cornbread, leftover rhubarb sauce
31 vegetable pizza, pasta salad w/chopped canned tomatoes, olives, green veggies from garden and garlic greens, leftover kuchen
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