Like so many of you, I enjoy cooking, but the real problem is deciding what to make. So, after my trip to the grocery stores yesterday, I decided to come up with a menu for the week. And yes, that is grocery stores, as in multiple. I have three that I frequent to take advantage of the sales and the best products. One store may have a better price on some things, while another store may have a product that I consider to be of better quality. By the time I drive into town, hit all three stores, and drive back home, it usually takes me about two hours. Then add in my others stops that vary by week such as a trip to the library, the dollar store, or a thrift store and I’m looking at three hours. (Don’t tell about the stops I make at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard! The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard is my new weakness.) On to my menu, and these are in no particular order. I pick whichever I am in the mood for or have time to make.

Hamburgers, Sweet Potatoes, and Salad
This is one for an evening when I am pressed for time.
-I keep a bag of hamburger patties in a bag in the freezer. When I buy a bulk package of beef, I form all of it into decent size patties and freeze. I freeze it all this way, knowing that if I want beef for something else, I can just thaw out as many patties as I need and use it for something else like chili. I never buy ground beef that is less than 80% lean. I feel like, what’s the point because there is so much loss of grease. (I have a veggie patty for myself because I don’t eat meat aside from seafood.)
–For the sweet potato, I may just microwave it, or I may peel, dice, and boil, then add butter and brown sugar with a pinch of salt.
-I think the salad is self-explanatory. I like to buy bags or tubs of salad mix from the markdown shelf and then extras to them.

Stir-fry with Shrimp, Jasmine Rice, and Egg Rolls
-I start with a bag of Asian medley vegetables from the freezer section and add other veggies of my choice to bulk it up and add more flavor. I prepared this item from the menu for last evening’s dinner. Always I start with a clove (or two!) of garlic and an onion. Yesterday, I also added quartered fresh mushrooms, a container of Napa cabbage, and some sliced peppers of assorted colors. I added in the bag of Asian medley last. Sometimes I’m not so creative and just use a frozen bag of broccoli to bulk it up. I do try to stick with vegetables grown in the United States because we have more regulations regarding the safety of food as it’s grown than some countries.
-When I make stir-fry, I use Jasmine rice. It has a more delicate flavor than regular long grain rice. I keep three types of rice on hand that I use with different dishes, because I notice the difference and do not think one rice suits all. These are: long grain rice, Jasmine rice, and brown Basmati. These cover most of my needs.
-For the egg rolls I almost always use fresh or frozen pre-made ones. I have made them from scratch before and they are just too much work. We don’t always have egg rolls with our stir-fry but it does make the meal seem fancier.
-The shrimp for this meal was frozen, breaded from the supermarket. I could bake it along with the egg rolls which helped with time. If I cook the shrimp from fresh or use chicken, I cook it in the pan and set it aside, before sautéing the veggies.
–Usually, I make my own sauce, but this time I cheated and used orange ginger sauce from a jar.

Pasta with Mid’s Spaghetti Sauce, Meatballs, and Cheesy Bread
-This is another easy one. Cook pasta of your choice.
-Heat jarred sauce. We really like Mid’s.
-I keep purchased meatballs in the freezer, ground beef and vegetarian. I just put them on a plate and microwave them.
-What really jazzes this meal up is bread from the bakery. They make a cheesy Asiago bread that is amazing!
-We also always have a block of Romano cheese in the refrigerator for grating on top.

Chili with Cornbread
-Just canned tomatoes and beans (either kidney, pinto, black beans, or a combination), garlic, onions, peppers, and spices. Sometimes I add in corn or hominy, and a square of baking chocolate really adds a depth and richness. At this point I split it in half and add ground beef to half and vegetarian crumbles to half.
-I love cornbread! I use a recipe from my mom’s church cookbook. I make it with Bob’s Redmill medium grind cornmeal as I like it to have some texture.

Chicken Breast, Oven Fries, Green Salad with Grapefruit, Avocado, Pecans, and Cheese
-I keep a homemade breading mix in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. I coat the chicken and put it on a baking sheet. For myself, I pull vegetarian “chicken” from the freezer.
-I make oven fries from whole potatoes that I cut into wedges, brush with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. I salt them when they come out of the oven. I can taste the salt better that way without adding extra. Truth be told, I will be using prepared frozen potatoes from a bag this week, because one of our grocery stores had them on sale for 99 cents a bag. Not as healthy but too good a deal to pass up!
-I bought an entire bag of grapefruit recently so I got on Pinterest and looked up grapefruit recipes. I found this one with greens, grapefruit, sliced avocado, pecans, and cheese that looks good. I’m making just one change. My husband is not a big fan of the goat cheese that it calls for so I will substitute mozzarella. And I may toast the pecans, because after splurging on them, I want them to be as tasty as possible.

Pierogies with Peppers, Onions, and Chicken Sausage
This is by far my easiest meal of the week. Boxed perogies, with sautéed onions and peppers. The chicken sausage will be cooked with the peppers and onions, then the perogies thrown in for a little browning. Grated cheese on top gives it a little pizazz.

You may notice that this is only six meal choices for the week. That’s ok. There are bound to be enough leftovers from all these meals to have for dinner one evening. I also try to make enough food that we have leftovers for lunch the next day. If we run a little short for lunch and only have enough for a side, I just throw in a quesadilla or a fried egg sandwich. We also have desserts which I usually make, but that’s for another time.

I hope you are able to glean some meal ideas from this list. I don’t always make a menu list, but it is nice to be able to hand it to my husband as dinner time approaches and say, “pick one”. It’s easier for me when I don’t have to think about it as well. Happy cooking. And happy eating!