Project Organize :: The Two-Week Dinner Plan.

THE TWO-WEEK DINNER PLAN by Serene Heiner of Serene is my name, Not my life!

I think the two most frustrating things about making dinner are one, not having the faintest idea what to make, and two, having something you want to make but are lacking all the ingredients.

So what happens? You think to yourself, “Blast. Well, I guess its macaroni and cheese again! Oh wait... we’re out of macaroni and cheese? Uhhh... do we have any tator tots?”

Been there, done that.

I also LOATHE throwing out food. It feels like I’m tossing money into the garbage. Then I feel guilty for wasting! Yea, you know what I’m talking about mister vegetable drawer! Anyway, I finally decided I needed a plan. Not only to keep dinner organized, less time consuming and less hectic, but also find a way to stick to our grocery budget better and waste less food.

Enter my two-week dinner and grocery shopping plan. It’s easy peasy and works like a charm!

To start, sit down with all your cookbooks, visit your favorite cooking blogs, or browse the internet. Pick out twelve recipes. Yup, twelve. I say twelve instead of fourteen because this allows for one day each week to be the designated “left-over” night. Pick out easy recipes for half the days, like spaghetti or baked potatoes, and half more time consuming recipes.

Now, here’s the trick. When you pick a recipe, write down what it is and where you found it so you don't have to waste time trying to remember. Then add what ingredients you need for it to your shopping list! And wa-la! You will use up what you have in my fridge, resulting in less waste, and you'll always have the ingredients you need for dinner.

Here are a couple other ideas to help organize your meal planning:
- Gather all your recipes for the two weeks and put them together in one place.
- Have your recipes set up so they are compatible with what your day will be like. Will you have company? Will you be gone all day? Etc.
- Cook in bulk. When cooking something, such as chicken for dinner, and you know you are going to need some chicken for a recipe in a couple days, go ahead and cook up the extra right then! It will save you time.
- If you are on a tight budget, don’t be afraid to shop with a calculator! If you find yourself going over your budget, just put that extra box of crackers or cookies back on the shelf.