Ahh the joy of meal planning

My wife does most of the planning.  I get to do most of the cooking.  I think the biggest reason she's working hard on learning to cook is to get out of the planning part.  What kind of tips are you looking for ?

Sunday morning I plan meals for the week and go shopping.  Often on Sunday afternoons I will prepare for some meals.  If we're having spaghetti or baked ziti, I'll brown a pound each of ground beef and Italian sausage (enough for three meals); put it in 2-3 freezer bags and into the freezer.  Same with meat loaf - make a double batch and put half in a freezer bag for dinner a month later.  I also bake 10-12 chicken tenders on Sunday and keep them in the refrigerator for quick use during the week - easily cut up for salads or pasta.  If I make a roast or pork butt for dinner on Sunday, I'll freeze the remainder for future use.  This week we had carnitas tacos one day and pulled pork sliders another from a pork butt smoked a couple months ago.

I only eat fresh fish, so Monday is fish night most weeks.  IQF (individually quick frozen) shrimp, which I buy in two pound bags, are easy to thaw and cook with when you need a protein with a quick meal - only need to thaw the number of shrimp necessary.  The remainder of the days are planned based upon how much time I have to cook dinner between getting home and getting the girls to swim/soccer.  With two middle school aged daughters that have sports every evening, there is no other way.

Yes! And my husband actually brags about it. It isn't perfect but it does keep us relatively organized.

I have a little whiteboard on our fridge with the days of the week (it's meant to be family planner but i use for meal planning) - when i look at the week, i write down what i plan to make (I cook from magazines and blogs quite a bit).  I note when we'll be out and won't need to cook, etc. And i make my grocery list based on the ingredients in the recipe.

On that white board i also keep a bit of a freezer inventory - usually it's for the prepared meals i do at our local supperworks (love that too, but that's another thing) - and keep an eye on what i have on hand to use up. 

I only plan 4-5 days in a row, as we do usually have one day when we'll eat out and i find that's the limit on fresh ingredients. Plus there are usually some 'meals on the fly to make' using things we already had. The plan keeps me aware so i can thaw things appropriately and in time to have that night. Nothing derails dinner like a frozen wad of meat ... which is something that may not be practical for many people but i do try to buy fresh (not frozen) as often as possible since then everything is ready - and i can be flexible on which meal i make in a week of the ones I planned.

For prep, i am a bit hit and miss. Sometimes i spend a sunday afternoon or early evening chopping and getting things organized but i go through phases. Right now if i have something that takes a bit of time, i might not choose it for a week night just because i may or may not do pre-chopping and prep. I often to try to do that if i have time during the week or when cooking other meals.