For you food lovers out there!

I have the job of dinner each night. I bet there are several of you out there that have this responsibility/ honor also.  I am not a fantastic cook. Thus dinner is some days more of a struggle than others. I have a system that I have worked with for nearly a year now. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is so much better than standing there realizing with horror that dinner is supposed to be served in a half hour and you have NO idea what you are having. (Of course I am sure that I am the only one who has ever done that.)

May I present to you....A picture you most likely won't be able to identify.

This is my menu. It is a dry erase calendar on my fridge. Yes, important up coming things are written on it. All the things written in green are dinner ideas. Each day has a different idea. Let me give you a better shot.

(please forgive me if it is hard to read. There is a draw back to using dry erase. If your toddler uses a spray bottle on it you won't have much left. ) There is chili and wheat berry salad and enchiladas etc...

Having the menu planned and out where I see it often allows for these benefits-

• I can pick up the ingredients in advance.
• I can have things thawing.
• If I am feeling ambitious, I could make it up ahead of time. Thus only getting my kitchen dirty up until lunch time and then cleaning up.
• Less stressing about what we are going to have.
• This allows me to be more creative and introduce less common foods.
• I am more aware of what we are eating. Right now we are trying to make meat less of a main dish.
• My kids love being able to see what we are having.
• My husband and kids have more say in deciding what we are going to eat.

Now, as with all things, I don't want you to think that I just have this  perfect little system I religiously operate in. I stick to it about 90% of the time.  Sometimes things just don't work out. I am still open to switching things up if needed. This system simply takes the stress off of each day figuring out what to feed my family.

Take some time. Make one out for yourself. It is great, honest.