Ideas for your weekly menu

[WK2]

I didn't see a topic like this, though maybe I missed it. I was wondering how all of you came up with your ideas for meal every week. I used to sort of wing it, but then I realized I was forgetting about meals I really liked for months at a time. So then I made a spreadsheet listing everything I like to cook in categories. On the weekend I look through my list, then spend an hour or so with coffee looking through a favorite cookbook or two before shopping. Of course, the supermarket or market might inspire an idea or shoot down something else, and some days I don't feel like eating what I had planned, so we improvise.

What do you all do?

[Bonnie Ruth]

I can't say I have any ideas, as I am way behind you (no spreadsheet!), but I am looking forward to seeing what other people say. I too simply forget about dishes I really like, and I feel completely haphazard in how I plan my menus. I end up using a lot of recipes from the newspapers just because they are in front of me.

[DanM]

There are two factors that go into our weekly meal planning. First, we have a wonderful Sunday farmer's market 80% of the year and a Wednesday market during the summer and fall. We typically go to the market first thing in the morning to get what's good. Secondly, we try to stick to a daily theme, Sunday we use the best the market offers, Monday is Italian, Tuesday is Mexican, Wed is soup/salad, Friday is a special meal, and Saturday is something simple or pizza. We do not plan a menu for Thursday so we can use up leftovers or as a flex day in case a menu from another day does not work out. We then try to best apply what we bought at the market to the menu for the week.

[Doodad]

We plan several meals in a variety of styles (both style, cooking method and ingredient) so we can cook on the weekend for most of the week. When shopping if something catches the eye or is on sale it usually supplants one idea. Like Dan, Sat is the goodie we found. But after that I will have something in the crock, some bulk sauce or soup to build around and prepped items that can be cooked quickly during the week whether pre assembled or partially cooked.